America’s Equivalent to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Although there have been adaptations in several media of Frank Capra’s classic film It’s a Wonderful Life, ArtsWest’s seems to be the only solo performance adaptation. One actor played the hero, George Bailey, as well as all the other parts, including the guardian angel who tries to prevent him from committing suicide when his there is a business crisis.
One of the hidden secrets in Seattle is West Seattle itself; a lower density, less frenetic community with less traffic, and its own little hidden secret: Kenyon Hall. Built in 1916, it has a very old-fashioned small town feel to it, so it was a perfect setting for the 12th Night Production of A Christmas Carol-A Live Radio Production, which opened on Friday night, Dec. 4th.
A good play brings up many themes you can talk about. Elizabeth Irwin’s latest effort My Mañana Comes at ArtsWest, reaches that status under the direction of Matthew Wright and a brilliant cast and creative team. The themes bounce off one another like the banter of four men doing the best they can to live on the sub-minimum wage plus shift tips they receive working the back-of-house at an upscale Manhattan restaurant.
Theme One: there is no such thing as unskilled labor. The cast is never idle
Neanderthal Marines Trolling for Girls
Adapted from the 1990 film of the same name, Dogfight the Musical, opened at Artswest on Thursday. Taking place on November 21, 1963, the eve of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, three teen-aged U.S. Marines spend their last shore leave in San Francisco, before shipping out to Viet-Nam. While there they look for girls to bring to a “Dogfight,” a party where the guy who brings the ugliest girl wins a door prize. Like many adolescent boys in men’s bodies they have both contempt for, and insecurity about, women for which they overcompensate with macho posturing.
He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve seen the Promised Land
I MAY NOT GET THERE WITH YOU
Were the prophetic words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. the day before he was assassinated on the balcony of room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN on April 4, 1968.
“ I alone was spared”
Presented by React Theatre, Neil LaBute’s Break at Noon opened at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, in West Seattle on Friday. John Smith, the sole survivor of a mass shooting, supposedly undergoes a religious experience and wishes to tell the press, his family and the whole world about it.
Truth, Sadness and Endearing Humor
At Kenyon Hall in West Seattle, 12th Night Productions presented A…My name is Alice, a musical revue conceived by Joan Micklin Silver and Julianne Boyd, which originally opened in New York City in 1983. With 21 songs by composers David Zippel, Winnie Holzman, and Lucy Simon, as well as sketches and monologues, the audience is kept amused and engaged for two hours.
Intimacy is paramount in The Little Dog Laughed, a 2006 comedy from creator of To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, Douglas
Entertaining Musical Version of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved Little Women
After suffering through several “gritty, raunchy, proudly & intentionally offensive” shows this fall, I was delighted to have a chance to review the “G” rated “Little Women-the Musical” at Artswest, this past weekend. Originally performed on Broadway in 2005, it was adapted from Louisa May Alcott’s beloved 19th Century semi-autobiographical novel, by Allan Knee, with Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and Music by Jason Howland.
