Liberté, Egalité, Sororité

Although French women were not given the vote until 1946, women played a huge role in the French Revolution of 1789, as active participants in the rioting, in the political clubs and intellectually as authors and salon hostesses. Produced by Theater22, the play The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson, which runs in repertory at 12th Ave Arts, deals with four women: Queen Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XIV the king at the beginning of the revolution, assassin Charlotte Corday, playwright and pamphleteer Olympe de Gouges and a Black free woman from the Caribbean Marianne Angelle, each of whom played roles in the French Revolution, one of the most important events in Western Civilization.

Laughter and comedy are more powerful than diatribes!

Much to my joy and delight Seattle’s venerable Theatre 22 is back in action, enlightening us through humor and authenticity. WHITE, by James IJames, opened in repertory, Friday night at 12th Ave Arts, as an exposé of “the ugly reality…of being a non-white commodity, a marketing gimmick, where people, organizations, and corporations prove how woke they are, only to appeal to new generations for popularity and revenues.” said Tayo Talabi, Co-Director.

Due to the outstanding performance and talent of its star Shermona Mitchell, and the incredible dialogue by the author, it was also one of the most hilarious plays I have seen in a long time, although the topic is very serious indeed. Like Molière, it highlighted the absurdity of pretentious attitudes and people, and although highly topical, it spoke to universal themes.

Craig Wright’s The Pavilion, directed by Greg Carter and produced by Strawberry Theatre Workshop, opened at 12th Ave Arts on October 10. The cast only consists of three people: Rob Burgess as The Narrator, Allison Standley as Kari and Quinlan Corbett as Peter. Filled with nostalgia and regrets of high school sweethearts, The Pavilion shows […]

You’d be forgiven for not immediately recognizing the name Artemisia Gentileschi. Art history is a bit of a niche area, and Italian Baroque art even more so. However, if you were to go see Joy McCullough’s Blood Water Paint, which opened at 12th Ave Arts on Friday, I guarantee it’s not a name that you […]

Salty, a play written by AJ Clauss and directed by David Hsieh, takes place in the mid-west, sometime in the future. The story follows a quirky cast of zoo-keepers and penguins. The main zookeepers are Desiree (Varinique Davis) and Winnie (Angela DiMarco) and the main penguins are Silver (Tony Magana Jr.) and Bowie (David S. […]

12th Ave Arts is showing Bess Wohl’s Small Mouth Sounds through 11th of May. The play depicts a group of people at a silent meditation retreat in a forest and regardless of how less of a dialogue it has, the audience perfectly understands what is shown on the stage. Actors of Thalia’s Umbrella skillfully deliver […]

I don’t want to give up Caught‘s trick for two reasons. First, as a piece of medium-melding theater, Caught engages as a guessing game. Unfortunately, the second reason is that I’m not sure how well it works as anything else. Christopher Chen wrote the piece and Desdemona Chiang directed. Chen’s script is interesting, creating distinct movements that explore […]

Chinese Folktale-

The White Snake, React Theatre’s superb production of Mary Zimmerman’s play of the same name, now playing at 12th Ave Arts, was 95 minutes of sheer aesthetic beauty involving exquisite original music, incredibly creative visual effects, excellent acting and a truly amazing script. It was delightful in its simplicity and simply delightful.

One of the four great Chinese folktales, the tale of The White Snake has evolved over the years from a horror story to a romance. It has been performed as an opera in China, musical theatre in Hong Kong, and a dance piece in Taiwan. Zimmerman’s English version premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2012. React’s production is the first all Asian Cast in the U.S. And what a cast it was!!!

This month, ReACT Theatre is bringing Annie Baker’s Obie award-winning The Aliens to Capitol Hill under stage manager Rachel Rene Araucto and Director David Hsieh, with original music by Michael Cherrmus. 12th Avenue Arts’ intimate Studio Theatre is an appropriate venue for the small, three-man performance, consisting of realistic, bare-bones conversation and no shortage of […]

Even as adults, some people struggle to define their identities and find their place in the world. But it’s no better as an adolescent, according to talented playwright Allison Gregory, whose breathtaking coming-of-age story Wild Horses debuted to rapturous applause last night at 12th Ave Arts on Capitol Hill.  This one-woman show stars the incomparable […]