Michel just can’t get a break

The Eastside French Language Theatre & Improv Company, Les Seagulls, will present their third show, Florian Zeller’s Une heure de tranquillite, directed by Sebastien Plisson. former comedian at “La DBoussole” in San Francisco. Following last year’s Le Prènom, Tranquillité (Do Not Disturb) is the third show in the Seattle area produced by Les Seagulls. The cast consists of members of the French expat community: Jonathan Garcia, Melissa Kordahi, Katya Samoylenko, Jérôme Vasseur, Nicolas Moreau and Cédric Barnet.

For their first public performance, the French language theatre company ‘Rue du Hazard’ will stage Art, a three person dramatic comedy by Yasmina Reza, directed by Trinity Daudenthun. The play Art is the most frequently performed play in the French language.

Once again, Seattle Shakespeare Company has creatively updated a classic play and produced a masterpiece. She Stoops to Conquer, one of the 18th Century’s perennial favorites, written by Oliver Goldsmith, was superbly directed by Mikaela Pollock. Emphasizing the essence of the play, comedy and not, because of its age, the museum quality, (needing to be treated with solemn reverence) Ms. Pollock added many brilliant touches: the set, the music, the costumes and especially the topical asides, which both honored the text and animated it.

Tragic Tale dished up with large Helpings of Comedy

Based on the real story of a chimpanzee named Travis, who was raised as a human, and had worked in Hollywood as an “actor,” the play Trevor, by Nick Jones, is a semi-fictionalized recounting of the last days of his life. Although Trevor is billed as a comedy, ultimately it is a tragedy, revealing profound truths about the selfish nature of narcissistic pet owners, as well as their parental counterparts. In spite of the tragic ending, the play is uproariously funny due to the witty script, ludicrous situation and the incredible comedic genius of Brandon Ryan, the star, who plays the adolescening champ, with all the frenetic energy of Robin Williams at his looniest.

The Shotglass Heard Round the World

Was a line in Sara Geiger’s Church of Christ N’Pals solo performance part of Intiman’s Festival of Emerging Artists. It referred to Marsha P. Jones who started the Stonewall riot of 1968 in New York City, which ignited the Gay Liberation Front by throwing a shotglass at the N.Y. City vice squad. The image was great and it was a great parody of a famous patriotic line in a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson about the Battle of Lexington.

I am not a cafeteria

Was one of the funniest and most pertinent lines in the solo performance Dandyland: Queering Motherhood One Day @ a Time written and performed by Laurie Lynch, as part of the Intiman Festival of Emerging Artists. As the name implies, it was about a queer woman’s experience with artificial insemination, pregnancy and all its secondary effects- such as the avalanche of advice as one’s body and condition seems to become public property.

Vanya I and Vanya II

Two different productions of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, but using different translations, will be playing more or less at the same time at different theatres in Seattle. First to open will be The Seagull Project’s, at ACT Theatre on Feb 1, using Carol Rocamora’s translation. The play will be set in the era when it was written; fin de siècle Russia (1898)

Festival of Short Ten-Minute play in ASL-American Sign Language Deaf Spotlight will partner with ACTLab to present their first-ever short play festival developed by Deaf artists and performed entirely in American Sign Language (ASL). The festival will run February 15-17, 2019 with a preview performance on February 14. The festival was created by Deaf Spotlight […]

World Premiere
Countertenor, Organ, Piano, and Viola

On Saturday, January 26th, Music @ St. Thomas will present The Lover In Winter, a solo vocal recital of 21st century songs for countertenor, sung by José Luis Muñoz. Muñoz is often heard premiering and creating new works and has been described as “a fabulous countertenor” with “amazing, powerful range.”

Two Funny Dudes Make us Laugh ( and almost cry)

I felt very privileged to be in the audience for Never Did It, the first shows of We Are Here, Intiman’s Festival of original works by Emerging Artists at 18th and Union. Never Did It was comprised of The Hummingbird by Chris Quilici and Just Do It Already by Ponch. aka Alfonso Campos Jr,