Author name: Alan Sydney

Past

Singing Out in “A Night With the Russells”

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Covid may have briefly interrupted the Russell family’s run at the Taproot, but proving as indefatigable as their onstage personas, the mother and daughters have dug their heels in and extended the run of their entertaining musical production through October 29. Director Jimmy Shields keeps the 90-minute show running briskly as “A Night With the Russells” has all three women exploring a song catalogue that ranges from their homeland Jamaican gospel to modern Broadway hits. The show is a heartfelt ode to the persistence and strength these three black women have displayed as they continue to make their way through a life of onstage performing.  

Past

Theatre 22 Offers a Moving “Nonsense and Beauty”

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If the production of the award winning Nonsense and Beauty is indeed Theatre 22’s swan song, they are leaving us a delightful and thoughtful parting gift.  Upon hearing the opening lines, written by playwright Scott C. Sickles, who was in the opening night’s audience, we know we are in good hands.  We meet British author E.M. Forster and his best friend J.R. Ackerley attending a boating match between Cambridge and Oxford back in April, 1930.  The two are quite enchanted watching the hard working young male boaters rocket down the river.  The dialogue is witty and concise and deftly delivered.  Before long, Forster will meet the love of his life, Bob Buckingham, a young British policeman.  The nearly overwhelming romantic difficulties facing Forster and his much younger partner make for the basic conflict of the play.  Upon this simple premise, Sickles constructs a moving story exploring a theme so important to Forster in his novels: in our crazy spinning world, nothing is more vital than making emotional and intellectual connections with our fellow man.

Past

Wooden O Brings a Very Unique Cymbeline to Our Parks

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It didn’t take the audience in the Luther Burbank Park long to figure out we were in for a very different rendition of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. A large white Ford van is parked upstage left; King Cymbeline enters the stage in pajamas and the proud husband of the king’s daughter, the valiant Posthumus, is wearing a bright yellow dress. Associate Artistic Director Makaela Milburn and artist Meme Garcia have created a wildly imaginative take on this problematic work for Seattle Shakespeare’s outdoor Wooden O series.

Past

Wooden O’s Joyous “Midsummer” Comes to Our Parks

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One would be hard pressed to find a better way to spend a Northwest summer evening than lounging in one of our local parks and enjoying a bit of delightful Shakespearian magic with the Wooden O’s current outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I recently caught the show at the Luther Burbank Park’s venue on Mercer Island as the Seattle Shakespeare troupe set up in a leafy glen, sharing their work with a variety of birds flying above and groups of somewhat flummoxed joggers accidentally coming upon the outskirts of the action. Artistic director George Mount is at the helm here, directing a solid cast of eight actors and a number of life sized puppets, piecing together a highly accessible version of Shakespeare’s wacky love story.

Past

A Vibrant Miss Margarida Lands Punches in Fremont

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The Brazilian playwright Robert Athayde had his unsettling dark comedy “Miss Margarida’s Way” banned in his home country, due to its implied criticism of the totalitarian regime. However, there is no stopping the fireplug of an actress Susan Finque and director John Vreeke from letting loose this terrifying and charming 8th grade teacher to wreak havoc in a classroom setting at the West of Lenin. 

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