Testosterone infused Battle of Cockerels and Cocks
Map Theatre’s latest production, Year of the Rooster, by Olivia Dufault, at 18th and Union, is not about the Chinese Zodiac, but about the blood sport of cockfighting, both the actual roosters who fight in the ring, and the owners who behave like roosters, challenging each other for social dominance outside the ring.
Reminding us that justice is never free, David Christie’s The Most Dangerous Woman in America opened last night on Capitol
Too True Tales of Woody Shticks
“It’s the second cumming of Woody Shitcks solo sextravaganza! Stand-up storytelling, hip hop heroics, and emotionalnuddity collide in this smash-hit smackdown of sexual misadventure. Woody will take you on the scenic route to the bone zone-from his days inside a Puritan cult to his nights inside consenting adults-in this honest onslaught of hanky-panky hijinks!”
Although to some, this blurb might indicate that the show is ever so slightly over-the-top, I can truthfully say that yes it was, but at the same time, it was also endearing, universal and highly entertaining. Read the review of the show I saw in February:
18th and Union, operating out of the New City space in the Central District, this past year has produced and hosted some incredible shows of the small cast variety, which have been a continuing source of creativity and joy. However, the latest show at 18th and Union, produced by the Training Grenades, however well-executed, was not exactly joyful.
Truth Be Told was four unnamed solo pieces, only one of which I would call a ten-minute play, the other three were solo monologues. Although the subject matter of three of the pieces were not quite my cup of tea, the actors, who all emanated from the graduate M.F.A. program at the UW, certainly demonstrated incredible talent and fine training.
As the summer blockbusters start to roll out, Macha Monkey Productions presents a small-scale story that’ll get big laughs at 18th & Union. …And Starring Claire From Hollywood, a new comedy by Jim Moran, is full of humanity, heart, and humor, all in a small town Pacific Northwest setting.
… And Starring Claire From Hollywoo” tells the story of a D-list Hollywood actress, the titular Claire, who returns to her hometown on the Oregon coast…
All Creatures Great and Small Want you Dead!!!
Well, just when I thought 18th and Union Theatre had presented the best comedy show in town, they came up with another one, Animals Attack! Almost True Stories, by Scot Augustson, Kelleen Conway-Blanchard and Jennifer Jasper. The genesis for this particular gem was in 2016, when Kelleen contacted Scot and Jennifer and said, “Hey! Ya wanna do something about animal attacks?”
That something became a reading of stories about very weird and I mean VERY weird animal attacks with some improvisation and audience participation thrown in. It was a delightfully funny evening with some of the most creative writing I’ve heard in a very long time.
Sexual Bildungsroman
Yes, indeed Shlong does mean male appendage in Yiddish. That was about all I knew about the 9:30 Friday night play at 18th and Union, before an adorable young man dressed in combat boots, revealing short shorts and a car-coat length women’s fake fur coat, bounced on stage, like Tigger. Accompanied by what sounded like a female stripper’s song, he started dancing around, and showing off his “equipment.”
