The name Malcolm X has always been met with polarizing opinions, from those who praised him as a revolutionary to those who despised him as an extremist. His tragic assassination nearly 60 years ago is proof of this perspective, leaving him both the martyr and the villain. Yet, it is for this reason that, despite being an extremely relevant cultural icon, Malcolm X has always been severely misunderstood.
Seattle Rep debuted its first play of the new year this weekend at Bagley Wright Theatre with an outstanding production of Quixote Nuevo. Written by playwright Octavio Solis, this play is a bold modern remix of Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th-century literary masterpiece, Don Quixote, an epic story of an old man’s quest for love and fight against reality. Solis’ contemporary adaptation fully grasps the stakes and scale of Cervantes’ original work, claiming the world as its own on the stage. With Lisa Portes’ direction, Quixote Nuevo is positively brought to life, conjuring the spirit of Cervantes’ original work, while retaining its own unique life and rhythm. Quixote Nuevo commands the stage, reminding audiences what it means to be epic.
Last weekend, at the beautiful Bagley Wright Theatre, Seattle Rep debuted its modern adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s original coming-of-age novel, Little Women. At the time of its release, Alcott’s novel about the magnanimous Marches, a family of four young and exceptional women, was an immediate success, marking a cultural turning point for stories written by and about women. Seattle Rep’s production of this notorious nineteenth-century novel, adapted by playwright Kate Hamill and directed by Marti Lyons, emphatically reminds us why Little Women still resonates so deeply with audiences even today. Their fresh and inspiring take on the novel remains true to the source material’s heart while offering a compassionate perspective that liberates the story from its own temporal binds.
The Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute debuted its new exhibition Honored to Tell Saturday night to a full house at Wa Na Wari in Seattle’s Central District. Co-directed by Zola Mumford and Jill Freidberg, this moving exhibition presented a variety of artwork by the Institute’s first graduating cohort. Being surrounded by this art and the community that helped bring it to life was an impressive reminder of the importance of communal storytelling and our role within it.
What does it mean to be treated as a ghost among the living—which technology reminds us is somehow synonymous with the hearing? Sound Theatre Company sought to answer this question with its opening debut of Aimee Chou’s original play, Autocorrect Thinks I’m Dead, at 12th Avenue Arts this weekend. Chou’s play, directed by Howie Seago, did this and so much more by inviting audiences into the world of deaf culture through a witty and heartfelt subversion of the classic ghost story that painfully recognizes its own marginalized invisibility across the world and the stage.
Bloody Romance but Beautiful Rebellion
GreenStage set off its 35th year of “Shakespeare in the Park” with a rousing performance of Romeo and Juliet at Seward Park Amphitheater on Friday night. Directed by Luke Sayler, this production of Shakespeare’s most famous play reminded audiences why the love story still persists today—not merely for its bloody romance but its beautiful rebellion.
At 18th and Union Theatre in Capitol Hill, this weekend just on the cusp of summer, Pacific Play Company has debuted their selection of short original plays compiled within an anthology-style production entitled Summer Magic: Tales of Revenge directed by Buddy Todd. Though these twenty plays differ from each other in many ways, as the title suggests, they are ultimately connected by the transient theme of revenge, which explores the many different manifestations and meanings associated with the act.
