A Comedic Look at the Tragedy of Depression.
Brian Copeland, nationally known and award winning solo performer revives his most personal one man show, The Waiting Period, in response to the tragic suicide of Robin Williams. This show is an unrelenting look at the period in Copeland’s life, during the mandatory ten day waiting period before he could lay his hands on the newly purchased gun, with which he planned to take his own life.
New City Theater has put Mud back into Seattle’s theater mix. Under John Kazanjian’s the play has a continual feeling of roughness, and lack of completeness, which is congruent with the themes of the play. The company did a terrific job using Fornes signature pause at the end of each of the 17 scenes. This stop-motion tableau slows down time and allows the audience a break to absorb and feel the impact of such bereft lives. Seventeen is a prime number, and variations of the root concept of prime, such as primal, primacy, and primate, can be found in every scene.
I was excited to see this production of The Children’s Hour, directed by Daniel Wood, brought to the Ballard Underground
Breed Bertie Breed! Escape Bertie Escape!
Since author P.G. Wodehouse was not very keen to have theatrical adaptations of his short stories and novels made, Jeeves Intervenes, now playing at Taproot Theatre here in Seattle is an almost unique opportunity to experience the delights of Wodehouse’s frivolous characters, expert use of humorous language and spend an evening laughing.
It would be hard to find a more pleasant way to spend a late spring evening than coming to Green Lake to watch Lanford Wilson’s romantic one act, Talley’s Folly. The set is gorgeous and the acting top-notched. The two-person piece successfully works its quiet magic.
SOAP- Sandbox Collective ‘s Annual One-Act Play Festival, Four days of Three one-act plays :
Las Cruces by Vincent Delaney. Directed by Julie Beckman, Delaney weaves a finely tuned story with equal parts humor and pathos as he transports us to the New Mexico desert. Not far from the casinos and the spaceport, Sheridan is camped out, hiding in a gutted trailer. Everyone knows he’s there, but no one knows why. Except maybe a card player named Soledad
The Seattle Shakespeare Company has moved into the Cornish Playhouse (nee The Intiman) to wrap up their 24th season with a stirring Othello. The big doings of the play work well in this larger venue. Energy sizzles here from the opening curtain and director John Langs is able to keep this most tightly knit of all Shakespeare’s tragedies building and building toward its devastating climax.
History Repeats Itself, First as Tragedy, then as Farce ( Karl Marx)
The Bellingham TheatreWorks’ production The Ghosts of Tonkin by Steve Lyons, opened at ACTLab, (formerly ACT’s Central Heating Lab). It concerns the famous Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which severely escalated what is commonly called “The Viet-Nam War” although Congress never declared war on North Viet-Nam, which would have been constitutionally necessary in order to officially call it a war.
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.
