Author name: Marie Bonfils

Past

Outside Mullingar

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Fusion of Irish Pessimism and American Optimism

I went solo to John Patrick Shanley’s play Outside Mullingar, at Seattle Rep, because once I mentioned that it took place in Ireland, everybody made their excuses, expecting one of those violent alcohol soaked plays laden with extra helpings of Irish Alzheimer’s, (which is when you forget everything but your grudges.) Much to my surprise, this play dealt with Irish family life realistically yet optimistically and was thoroughly entertaining and endearing.

Past

Tilt Angel

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To Mourn or Not to Mourn

Written by Dan Dietz, produced by Theater Simple, Tilt Angel asked the very difficult emotional question: How does a red-neck Southern male, who deals with his emotions by perpetually hiding them in anger, effectively mourn the death of his estranged wife after a 20+ year marriage, when she died unexpectedly, in an airplane crash, the very day she left him.

Past

Tall Girls

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What’s a Tall Girl to do During the Depression?

Produced by Washington Ensemble Theatre and directed by Kelly Kitchens, Meg Miroshnik’s play about teenage aspirations amidst hopelessness during the Dust Bowl, Tall Girls opened at 12th Ave Arts. Unfortunately, the play and this production reflected the themes presented in the play-high aspirations but a fairly hopeless outcome.

Past

Sandbox Radio-Spring Fever

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Join in the Fever

One of the big questions I have about Sandbox Radio is: Why ever isn’t it broadcast by NPR? Although Leslie Law, the MC of this Seattle treasure, answered my question, I’m still in the dark!!!!!!

Past

Picasso at the Lapin Agile

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Steve Martin misses the Big Bang at the Beginning of the 20th Century.

An art historian once said that the visual arts in any artistic movement are always connected to everything else that is going on in society, whether it is artistic, scientific or political. In the early 20th Century, these connections are particularly striking although one would not realize it from the play Steve Martin wrote, Einstein and Picasso at the Lapin Agile, currently at Delridge Cultural Center in West Seattle, produced by 12th Night Productions.

Past

Fail Better-Beckett Move UMO

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Existence is too Serious to take Seriously

UMO Ensemble opened a performance featuring text from Samuel Beckett’s the Unnamable, physical theatre and music in the Eulalie Scandiuzzi Space at ACT theatre on April 9th.

Beckett is an extremely difficult author to stage because he writes non-linear confusing novels and plays whose humor that often gets lost because the subject matter deals with the most basic existential question: to go on living or not to go on living. As a result, it is often performed ponderously, tediously and at a snails pace so that the audience is never engaged.

Past

LIVE!From the Last Night of My Life.

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To Be or Not to Be-that literally was the question.

LIVE! From the Last Night of My Life by Wayne Rawley, was not only the most amusing show I have seen in a long time but also the most profoundly tragic as it dealt with the very basic question of existence: should I keep living or should I put an end to everything. Both the Theatre 22’s production and the script itself were masterpieces which simultaneously served to enlighten the audience and provide the best psycho-therapy there is: laughter.

Past

Tartuffe

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Culture War of 17th Century France

Knowing that the Archbishop of Paris threatened to excommunicate anyone who watched, performed in or even read the original version of Molière’s great masterpiece, should be recommendation enough for any one to rush out and buy tickets for Tartuffe. However, Seattle Shakespeare’s current production warrants immediate canonization for director Makaela Pollock.

Past

Java 5 Tacoma-Game of Scones

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Drama and Dreams in the Café

Dukesbay Productions, a wonderful Theatre company in Tacoma opened its fifth episode of an ongoing series, Java 5 Tacoma -Game of Scones, at the Merlino Arts Center in downtown Tacoma. Be prepared for an evening of laughter, irony and poking fun at just about everything fashionable in the Northwest; it is all there, jokes about how bad vegan cooking is, how detestable gluten-free baking is, online entrepreneurship, how nasty even local politics can be and some Monty Pythonish dream sequences.

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