Henry IV Part 2, one of Shakespeare’s history plays features one of the bard’s most brilliant comic characters, Falstaff. Prepared for Falstaff’s relentless pursuit of revelry and propensity for deception by this play’s precursor, (Henry IV part 1), audiences won’t be disappointed.
While some versions of Two Gentlemen of Verona balance the pathos and the irony, making it a truer tragicomedy, the
Seattle summers, short and usually sweet, offer the promise of much needed outdoor fun. If you love watching the bard’s
Experiencing Two Trains Running, a revival of August Wilson’s famous play, was like taking a step back in time. The play is set in 1969 in a working class, black neighborhood known as the Hill District in Pittsburgh. The action takes place entirely in an ordinary restaurant that serves home cooked food like corn bread, chicken, ribs and beans. The set by the way is fantastic; a beautifully rendered and believable restaurant replete with a real food, a phone booth, a Rock- Ola jukebox, yellow vinyl backed chairs, a blackboard menu and a front door that slams with a tinkling bell and a satisfying thump.
Not one to mess too much with universal truths, I can confirm that it’s true; everyone loves a great comedy. Seattle Repertory Theatre presented the west coast premiere of Kate Hamill’s adaption of Pride and Prejudice last night. The play is directed by Amanda Dehnert, an experienced director who recently directed Westside Story, at Carnegie Hall. Kate Hamill shows her versatility and energy with this reimagined, sharp and humorous take on Pride and Prejudice. As Lizzy Bennet astutely states, “playing games keeps one sane.” Once the actors set foot on stage, there is no stopping the humor and fun.
We all have some parts of our personality that we would like to improve upon or possibly even change. Much Better, set in the future takes this human desire for self-improvement to another level. Unlike in our current times where personality alteration is achieved via drug regimes, Frankel’s play explores the possibility of more permanently altering one’s personality via brain changes. The brain changing treatment is called Neuroclear. Like the name suggests, the treatment doesn’t just mask any undesirable personality traits, the treatment erases them. As Dr. Keith explains to the main character Ashley, the treatment is like “plastic surgery for the personality.”
While not the most familiar play to roll off people’s tongues, Much Ado, once viewed will hold a special place in your – “Oh how I love Shakespeare” corner of your heart. Much Ado is at once a comedy of errors, a love story, a near tragedy and a giant battle of gendered wits.
You know you’re in for a comic treat of an opera when after an introductory serving of serious music, you’re greeted with the specter of a hapless prince being mauled by a dragon. The Magic Flute is a mash-up of genres- part fairy tale, part circus and part religious pageant flouting astronomy and ancient Egypt. Here spectacle reigns supreme. The opera is packed full of sensory overload, with treats for the eyes, ears and the mind too. Seattle Opera’s newest production of The Magic Flute just opened at McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center and will run till May 21st.
Searing acting, tense and thought provoking lines and the powerful energies of fear and deep sadness. Frozen is an arresting play. Delving into outrightly difficult territory- exploring a serial killer and those affected by him, this play asks hard questions. The play asks us to explore the difference “between a crime of evil and a crime of illness.” We’re asked to grapple with the idea that people are perhaps not born evil but act evil due to circumstances beyond their control.
As Seattle skylines are awash with pearly pink cherry blossoms, it’s a good time to consider how hard it is to break from stereotype. Nadeshiko, an original play by Seattle based playwright, Keiko Green, seeks to expose and question ongoing assumptions about Asian women.
