Heather Persinger

The MAP Theatre gang is back, Dear Readers, and as usual they’re not ones to shy away from the bizarre with their latest offering, “Blood Countess” by Kelleen Conway Blanchard. This gothic, horror, sex, comedy doesn’t pull any punches. I just question if it needed all the punches it landed.

Radial Theater Project will present a free reading of My Body No Choice, a collection of eight new monologues by eight great American playwrights. The reading will take place on Monday, October 24 @ 7:30pm at 18th & Union.

Seattle's critics' circle announces Nominees 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 in the myriad of professional theater productions that we reviewers attend in a year.

ArtsWest does it again with another cool, cutting-edge production about identity with their latest show, 'An Octoroon'. Many modern adaptations of antiquated productions pointing out racism, though well-intended, are comparatively watered-down to Brandon J. Simmons' razor-sharp adaptation of 'An Octoroon'. Thanks to the commitment of the actors and the creativity of the set design, this all-out production apologizes to noone, and uses shock value in an intentional, effective way.

This April, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' electrifying, Obie Award-winning play AN OCTOROON will make its Seattle debut, playing April 19 - May 13, 2018 at ArtsWest.

This April, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' electrifying, Obie Award-winning play AN OCTOROON will make its Seattle debut, playing April 19 - May 13, 2018 at ArtsWest.

Spanning 28 theater companies and 59 productions, from the largest and most prominent to small, humble and innovative, the Gypsy Rose Lee Awards honor as much professional theater as we reviewers can cram into our year.

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!?

Spanning 28 theater companies and 59 productions, from the largest and most prominent to small, humble and innovative, the Gypsy Rose Lee Awards honor as much professional theater as we reviewers can cram into our year.

There are some productions where you hear the description and think to yourself, 'this is either going to be amazing, or a complete dumpster fire.' Those were my feelings going to see Pony World Theater's production of 'Suffering, Inc.,' a modern take on Chekhovian realism where every line of dialogue was cut and paste from seven different Anton Chekhov plays.

Slice of life plays, like "Puny Humans" currently playing at Annex Theatre, are difficult at best especially when focusing on one specific sub-culture such as Comic-Con attendees. You need something new to say about your subjects, you need to make your subjects empathetic and you need an over-arching reason for us to be looking at this particular slice of life. Unfortunately writers Bret Fetzer and Keiko Green fail at all three of those elements making their 2 hour and 45 minute show (yeah, you heard me) drone on.

You're having a nightmare where you're taking a literature class examining "Moby Dick", it's discussion day and you haven't read the book. That's what it felt like watching Pony World Theatre Company's new production of "Or, The Whale". If there were correlations between the play and the Melville classic as advertised they were completely lost on me. So without all that foreknowledge (which their press release said was not necessary) all I got what a disjointed and drawn out look at several people's woes that ultimately had no real point.

Seattle Shakespeare Company's Much Ado About Nothing takes on the flavor of the Riviera in 1953 in Artistic Director George Mount's season opening. Highlights in the production include original music by Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra's Michael Brockman, and a lagoon with water in the Center Theatre. Check out a first look below!

theater simple presents The Adventures of OWL & PUSSYCAT, a ricochet off Edward Lear ~ their FIFTH theatrical park adventure created for parks and gardens in King County. theater simple returns with wit, puns a rolling pea-green boat and a ukelele ~ The Adventures of Owl and Pussycat illuminate the adventures of love, as well as a love of adventure for Owl & his amour, Pussycat. Fur, feathers, and puns will fly. (Pigs will not.) Hijinks ensue! - Guaranteed.

theater simple presents The Adventures of OWL & PUSSYCAT, a ricochet off Edward Lear ~ their FIFTH theatrical park adventure created for parks and gardens in King County. theater simple returns with wit, puns a rolling pea-green boat and a ukelele ~ The Adventures of Owl and Pussycat illuminate the adventures of love, as well as a love of adventure for Owl & his amour, Pussycat. Fur, feathers, and puns will fly. (Pigs will not.) Hijinks ensue! - Guaranteed.

For a show that is all about words and how to express them correctly, it sometimes feels that Julia Cho's "The Language Archive" could have done a little better expressing them efficiently. Occasionally the show tends to drone on and could have ended a few times. Fortunately the cast in Seattle Public Theater's production is so engaging that those droning moments dissipate quickly and what's left is an intriguingly sweet love story.

SPT will present the Seattle Premiere of 2009 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Winner Julia Cho's The Language Archive running May 17-June 9, 2013 at the historic Bathhouse Theater on Green Lake.