Past

In Arabia We Would all Be Kings is a Cautionary Tale

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Mr. Guirgis has a gift for dialogue, The Ear. It’s bar and street dialogue, what you might hear in Hell’s Kitchen in New York in the late 90s, where this play is set. The language is rhythmic, even poetic at times, yet grating to middle-class sensibilities. Theater Schmeater’s Director Julia Griffin says the characters resonate with her and the script has been “living in her” for over ten years. With this northwest premiere of In Arabia we would all be Kings she has fulfilled her vision quite well.

Past

Titus Andronicus

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Titus Andronicus, in Shakespeare’s day, was one of his more popular works, detailing the bloody story of General Titus Andronicus, who returns from war with Queen Tamora of the Goths as his prisoner. After Titus sacrifices Tamora’s eldest son as recompense for the deaths of his own sons, she vows to seek revenge no matter the cost – and gains the advantage when Saturninus, newly crowned emperor of Rome, takes Tamora’s hand in marriage and makes her his empress. From there, it becomes an unstoppable cycle of revenge and retribution that can only end in loss.

Past

The Life Model—Artists Amid a Revolution

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This production at On the Boards from January 14 to 17 gave one a glimpse into the results of democracy practiced on a small scale. Six artists, scattered around the country (Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, and New York), collectively composed this show. Democracy is time consuming,

Past

The Motherf**ker with the Hat Has Plenty to Say

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When you intentionally produce “dangerous works” as Washington Ensemble Theatre describes their mission, with dangerous titles, one is well advised to do them well. And the short verdict is: yes, This show is very well done. The credit goes to everyone involved with the three producing companies (Washington Ensemble Theatre, The Hansberry Project, and eSe Teatro) working together for the first time.

It helps that they have an airtight script by Stephen Adly Guirgis.

Past

Ruth and the Sea

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What Idea? That our Divorce is on the Rocks!!!!

Emotionally one of the most difficult aspects of divorce must be: How does one deal with the fatal long-term illness of one’s ex-spouse? This is one of the themes of the new play, Ruth and the Sea by Morgan Ludlow, produced by Pacific Play Company, now playing at Annex Theatre. One of the other themes is : What do you do in the last weeks of your life? Play the good patient or let loose and live?

Past

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

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Suffer the Little Children to Come to Me. And I do mean SUFFER!!!!!!

Often at Christmas time, we are bombarded with traditional tales about compassion for the less fortunate. Besides the Biblical tale of the pregnant Mary and Joseph, having to give birth in an unhygienic stable without an epidural, there is also the Christmas Carol about Bob Cratchit’s family, who Alfred Doolittle would describe as the “Deserving Poor”.

However, the true test of “Christian” that is to say Humanitarian values is whether one can feel compassion for the “Undeserving poor.” We all know it is easy to feel compassion for people like Tiny Tim and babies born in stables, but can we feel compassion for the “Undeserving Poor”?. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, now playing on Saturday and Sunday matinees at Seattle Public Theatre addresses just this dilemma.

Past

The Lion in Winter

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Post Punk Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II

At this time of year, theatres and cinemas are filled with sentimental fare celebrating Christian values of redemption, generosity and family values. For people who come from fractured families, it is often a time of depression and angst, as individuals who don’t see their families feel lonely and isolated and those who do, often feel worse.

Such is the Plantagent family, the ruling family of the Angevin empire ( that is to say present day Great Britain and most of Western France) at Christmas 1183. The Lion in Winter, produced by 12/48 projects, at Ballard Underground, might perhaps be therapeutic for individuals from fractured families because it provides a rather comic touch to sibling & parental rivalry with witty dialogue and very high stakes.

Past

A Charlie Brown Christmas at Taproot Theatre

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The Taproot Theatre is offering up a cute little stocking stuffer in its take on A Charlie Brown Christmas. The play recreates the warmth and good cheer Charles Schultz and director Bill Melendez first served up with their award winning 25-minute television special back in 1965.

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