What can be funny about an Alzheimer’s patient.
A funny play about Alzheimer’s behavior seems counterintuitive, but then again the basis of humor is tragedy. In Taking Leave, by Nagel Jackson, which opened at Dukesbay Productions in Tacoma, the astute playwright and the shrewd director, Melanie Gladstone, showed how a good dose of humor can alleviate a tragic situation.
I had the opportunity to see Andelana at Dukesbay Theater this Sunday. One faithful night in 1899, a 4-masted barque called The Andelana sank to the bottom of Commencement Bay, where it remains to this very day. There were no survivors save for one crewman who sought medical treatment for his tooth. Since that day, rumors have circulated around that ship, creating talks of ghosts and a curse. Tacoma playwright Roger Iverson brings to life the story of the Andelana on the stage of the Dukesbay Theater. This production was performed for the first time ever in Tacoma on October 27th at the Dukesbay Theater.
Who then,….am I
Is the question which keeps being asked in Screaming Butterflies’ flawless production of Orlando, playwright Sarah Ruhl’s adaptation of Virginia Woolfe’s 1928 novel of the same name, which opened this past weekend at the Merlino Arts Center in Tacoma.
Let the Good and Bad Times Roll
Rock of Ages, a “jukebox musical” which is to say a musical that features popular songs from the past, opened this past weekend with an enormous amount of youthful energy in a joint production by the University of Washington-Tacoma’s theatre department and Tacoma Little Theatre. 
Only 225 tickets will be sold, Social Distancing is possible.
Tacoma Musical Playhouse will present the award winning A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder opening Friday, March 13. In 2014, it opened on Broadway and garnered the most award nominations for that year; a total of ten nominations and four wins, including Best Musical, Book, Direction and Costumes. In addition, it won seven Drama Desk Awards (including Best Musical, four Outer Critics Circle Awards (including Best Musical and one Drama League Award (Best Musical.)
Pavlina Morris takes us on an adapted Shakespearian journey of whimsical romance and rivalry in The Changing Scene’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In Shakespeare’s time we would have seen an all male cast, as women were not allowed on stage in 1595. As a result The Changing Scene’s decision to gender bend several roles is all the more enjoyable, and provides so much for the eclectic cast to work with. Everything about the intimate space of Dukesbay Theater complimented the elegant performance. This deep breath of fresh air is a much needed escape from Fall’s frigid arrival.
Dukesbay Productions in Tacoma has always been one of the South Sound’s more admirable operations in the theater community. Founders
“Professional theater is back in downtown Tacoma.” That’s the buzz on the street and in the theater community in the
strong>See ART in the original French, then in Translation
Sponsored by Tacoma Arts Live (formerly the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts) Theater on the Square will open ART by Yasmina Reza, using Christopher Hampton’s English translation. The English version will open exactly one week after Rue du Hazard’s French production opens in Kirkland. It makes for a great experience for theatre goers to see the show in the original French and then in translation.
“The Drowsy Chaperone” is a clever slice of theater that was first developed in 1998 by Bob Martin and Don McKellar with music and
