Greg Carter

It’s the holiday season, Dear Readers, and you know what that means. Myriad productions of “A Christmas Carol” in the area. Just to name a few, there’s the old, trusty standby production out at ACT. And last week I saw an amazing one man “Christmas Carol” performed by the incredible Allen Fitzpatrick. But today we’re going to talk about “Fellow Passengers” from Strawberry Theatre Workshop currently performing at 12th Avenue Arts. Yes, it’s “A Christmas Carol”, but this adaptation by Greg Carter is so much more, and absolutely blew me away.

'The Annex,' a new sketch comedy series, created by actor, writer, director Garth Kravits and Evan Daves, is an official selection of the Palm Springs International Comedy Festival and is screening online through September 18. For online ticket information, visit the PSICF 2020 Virtual Festival website.

Today Black Fret announces their “Black Fret Happy Hour Concert” series. Fueled by a $50,000 grant from the Stand With Austin fund, the Black Fret Happy Hour Concerts will deliver performances from Austin musicians to companies around the country.

Seattle Theater Writers Seattle's theater reviewers circle announces the Winners of Excellence in Seattle theatrical productions. Spanning dozens of theater companies and productions, from large and prominent to small and humble, the Gypsy Rose Lee Awards honor the excellence found across the area.

Seattle's critics' circle announces nominees for the 2020 Gypsy Rose Lee awards celebrating excellence in Seattle theatrical productions.

Oh my! What a year! We've seen bad-ass gospel singers, lost Jewish plays, mythical towns of excretion and even an octopus wrestler or two. No, those aren't allusions to the crazy theater going on in Washington D.C. but the crazy wonderful theater going on right here in the Seattle area. It was tough coming up with just one winner (or even just a few Honorable Mentions) but I managed to do it a?? for the most part. Plus, some shows that more of you should have seen. (Yes, that's me nagging you all, Dear Readers, to check out more of the smaller or obscure theaters around here.) But what it all comes down to is, we're blessed here in the Northwest with an over-abundance of theatrical riches and I'm so fortunate to be able to share some of my favorites of the year with you with the BWW 2019 Seattle Critic's Choice Awards (Jay's Picks). So, let's get started, shall we?

Marking the 150th anniversary of 'the biggest hoax in history,' IndieWorks Theatre Company, Inc., in association with Visceral Entertainment, presents The Giant Hoax a new musical based upon the true(?) story of New York's famous Cardiff Giant, with book, music and lyrics by Kit Goldstein Grant, choreography by Molly Model, music direction by Jonathon Lynch and orchestrations by Mark Brymer. Christopher Michaels directs a cast of 13, including Paul Aguirre*, Mary Albert, Henry Fin Berry, Greg Carter*, Sarah Chiu, Yvette Monique Clark*, Jianzi Colón-Soto, Daniel Moser*, Robyne Parrish*, Kevin Riddagh, Staci Stout, Ben Tostado*, and Forest VanDyke*. Sixteen performances will be staged on a varying scheduling at Theatre Row's Theatre One (formerly The Lion Theatre) 410 West 42nd Street in New York City from November 19-December 7, 2019. The Giant Hoax is recommended for ages six and up.

With performances beginning tonight on Theatre Row, IndieWorks Theatre Company, Inc., and Visceral Entertainment are pleased to announce that $18.69 rush tickets are available for each performance of The Giant Hoax, a new musical based upon the true(?) story of New York's famous Cardiff Giant. In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Cardiff Giant's discovery, rush tickets are available at the door one hour prior to each performance with a maximum of two tickets per person, subject to availability.

On the surface, Craig Wright's a?oeThe Paviliona??, currently being offered from Strawberry Theatre Workshop, doesn't have all that much going for it. It's not a particularly enticing or thought provoking subject, a couple reconnecting at a reunion. But what it does have going for it is a cast of three performers, throwing their considerable talents into the roles, and that's what engages about this show more than anything.

Marking the 150th anniversary of a?oethe biggest hoax in history,a?? IndieWorks Theatre Company, Inc., in association with Visceral Entertainment, presents The Giant Hoax a new musical based upon the true(?) story of New York's famous Cardiff Giant, with book, music and lyrics by Kit Goldstein Grant. Christopher Michaels directs a cast of 13, including Paul Aguirre*, Mary Albert, Henry Fin Berry, Greg Carter*, Sarah Chiu, Yvette Monique Clark*, Jianzi Colón-Soto, Daniel Moser*, Robyne Parrish*, Kevin Riddagh, Staci Stout, Ben Tostado*, and Forest VanDyke*. Sixteen performances will be staged on a varying scheduling at Theatre Row's Theatre One (formerly The Lion Theatre) 410 West 42nd Street in New York City from November 19-December 7, 2019. The Giant Hoax is recommended for ages six and up.

Back in 2002, Dear Readers, I became obsessed with a new play from Richard Greenberg, "Take Me Out". Already a fan of Greenberg's works, this story of a high profile Major League Baseball player coming out was quite intriguing. I got ahold of the script and my obsession grew. I annoyed all my friends about it until they too found out about its glory. And then a local production hit town and my obsession was locked, and this Tony Award winning play has since become one of my all-time favorites. So, if you know my work, you know how picky I'll be about this. And I'm thrilled to say that my favorite play has been done absolute justice in the current production from Strawberry Theatre Workshop over at 12th Ave Arts and you all NEED to go see it.

Dear Readers, it has been one crazy year with some amazing theater. You know it's true. We've had dead teens riding a roller coaster, demonic puppets, and an ageless guy with a picture of himself in his attic. And, of course, a hip-hop founding father sweeping through town. But let's not talk about the juggernaut when we have such amazing things right here that blew us all away. At least they blew me away. So, let's talk about what blew me away this past year and what I have chosen to give my BWW 2018 Seattle Critic's Choice Awards (Jay's Picks) to (not to mention all those honorable mentions since often I can't limit myself to just one).

Any theater company has that fear of, after weeks of rehearsing one play, having to switch it out for another with little rehearsal time left before opening. Maybe the rights to the play get pulled or some other act of the theater Gods which is out of their control forces their hand. But what if a theater were to decide to do it to themselves? Such is the case with Strawberry Theatre Workshop and their current production of Craig Lucas' "Prelude to a Kiss" which took over for what was to be their production of Lucas' "Reckless". After already diving headlong into the show they discovered that one character in particular felt so dated and out of touch as to be offensive without any kind of touchstone in the show to point out the offense. But this is not a review of their decision, so we won't go into all that, this is a review of what they put up … with the same cast … and the same scheduled opening night … after only 12 days of rehearsal.

Last night, May 28, 2018, Theatre Now New York presented its Fifth Annual Festival of 10-Minute Musicals, SOUND BITES 5.0, on The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center, to a sold-out house for the second year in a row. This annual, one-night only event showcases ten new musicals of up-and-coming musical theatre writing teams.

Theatre Now New York is pleased to announce the complete casting and creative teams of the ten musicals featured in SOUND BITES 5.0, the Fifth Annual 10-Minute Musical Festival. This one-night only event showcases ten new musicals of up-and-coming musical theatre writing teams.

Theatre Now New York is pleased to announce the complete casting and creative teams of the ten musicals featured in SOUND BITES 5.0, the Fifth Annual 10-Minute Musical Festival. This one-night only event showcases ten new musicals of up-and-coming musical theatre writing teams.

Far From Canterbury, a new musical by Danny K. Bernstein, is having a staged reading on March 9th. The reading will be directed by Charlie Johnson.

The Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC) recently awarded funding to Austin Film Festival (AFF) and The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University under its TexTreasures Grant program. Starting September of this year, The Wittliff Collections is confirmed to host more of Austin Film Festival's vast audiovisual archive and feature materials preserved from Festivals and Conferences between 1997-2002.

Peter Morgan's brilliant look at the dissection of one of the most powerful men in the country by one whom many considered a joke, 'Frost/Nixon', is enough of an enticement to want to see Strawberry Theatre Workshop's current production. But then when you hear that director Greg Carter has cast the predominantly male show with all women you could find yourself of two minds. Either, 'cool, this will be interesting' or, 'oh, another gimmick casting'. But I want you to put the idea that it's an all-female cast out of your mind as that's not the point. Sure, it's great that these actresses get to play these meaty, traditionally male roles but what you should focus on is how each of them, especially Alexandra Tavares and Amy Thone as the titular David Frost and Richard Nixon, are simply the best people for the roles. And what they create for us is a thrilling game of cat and mouse where the role of the cat keeps changing.

The 'large theater' productions of ACT Theatre's The Royale and The 5th Avenue Theatre's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying take top honors and the 'small theater' productions of ArtsWest's Death of a Salesman and Washington Ensemble Theatre's The Things Are Against Us take top honors - for most category wins!?