My Heart is a Drum: World Premier in Issaquah
As a critic I occasionally face a dilemma: how do I treat a show that is beautiful, well-done, even sumptuous […]
Parade by Sound Theatre Company
In Sound Theatre Company’s latest musical, Parade, we’re transported back in time to post Civil War Georgia where the terrible
‘Luna Gale’ Spotlights Fraught Daily Dramas
Caught between the Headlights & the Headlines
Rebecca Gilman says it took her 10 years to find the plot for Luna Gale. From the performances of the extremely talented cast directed by Braden Abraham at The Seattle Rep, one can see why. This play is written from the lives of overworked social workers, young, earnest parents hooked on crystal meth, plus rippling entanglements with parents, courts, and Christians. All considered, ten years is pretty fast.
The plot Gilman found follows Caroline, a veteran social worker in Iowa’s Department of Human Services as she deals with a single case out the 80 she’s assigned.
The Reckoning, Pecora for the Public
Government of the Banks, for the Banks and by the Banks
The above quote appeared in a Wall St. Journal article, during the 1933 United States Senate Banking Committee hearings, which investigated the role that the Wall Street head honchos played in the 1929 stock market crash. The investigation as well as the lead investigator, Ferdinand Pecora, was the subject of a world premier, The Reckoning, Pecora for the Public, at the Alhadeff Studio Theatre at Seattle Center, this weekend. Enthralling was one adjective which sprang to mind, along with extremely topical. When I was not laughing, I felt intense moral outrage, as well as feeling that it was the best one-person show I have ever seen. Possibly it is the best solo play ever written.
‘Voilet’ Sings to what it Means to be Beautiful
Violet is a 2014 Broadway hit that Director Andrew Russell has stripped down to the ‘bone’ for this run at ArtsWest. The title character Violet (Brenna Wagner) has hopes that a TV faith healer in Tulsa, Oklahoma will heal her face. It was scarred in a freak accident. The creators—Brian Crawley wrote the lyrics and book to Jeanine Tesori’s music—respect the audience and leave it to us to imagine the scar. They had to assert themselves throughout the long development process, but as Crawley notes, “We weren’t about to drive a bus onstage, why not leave the scar to the imagination as well.” Russell followed the spirit and with scenic designer Christopher Mumaw kept the props and furniture to the barest minimum. What’s left is a musical examination of one woman’s vulnerable search for healing and acceptance with little else on stage to distract your attention.
Explosive Assassins Hits ACT Stage
I’ve always had mixed feelings about the works of Stephen Sondheim. I loved Into the Woods and admired Sweeny Todd and pretty much accepted most of his other shows as fine pieces of musical theater, though maybe not my cup of tea. Where I drew a line was with Assassins, a play I have avoided seeing. Perhaps because I am old enough to remember the deaths of John and Robert Kennedy and Dr. King, I wanted nothing to do with an entertainment that focused on the killers and would-be killers of presidents. This is what I learned on opening night of Assassins at the ACT: It is a fantastically entertaining play; and it is as timely and important now as any show could possibly be for the American theater.
The Duchess Of Malfi
Blood, Comedy, and Tragedy
The Duchess of Malfi opened at North Seattle College on February 26th. This production, put on by GreenStage’s Hard Bard, is a bloody retelling of John Webster’s play directed by Tony Driscoll. It was a serious story told in an unserious manner. With the blood, humor, and acting, this production made for quite an entertaining Friday night.
Phil Schallberger’s (all too) “Full Showberger”
There must be something for everyone at the Seattle Fringe Festival, which is dedicated to presenting 22 different independent and
Fringe 2016: Illuminati: the Musical
Love Snack is the comedy duo Baylie Freeman and Caitlin Obom. For this production, the duo are keying off the common feeling that all of the power moves in the world, from Wall Street to unmarked prisons to major international trade agreements, are controlled by the same secret organization: The Illumanati.
Techlandia
Gigabites of Giggles
Seattle’s most beloved comic, Bridget Quigg, opened her new show, Techlandia, a tribute to all that we love and hate about the technological evolution of Seattle , on Friday at Theater Schmeater. For those of us who have been around the tech revolution for more than 25 years and are perhaps married to the first generation of “geeks” it was nothing short of therapeutic laughter.