Ian Bond

Seattle Shakespeare Company dives into their fourth indoor mainstage production with a Shakespeare classic: Romeo and Juliet.

One thing that can be said about Book-It Repertory Theatre, Dear Readers, is that they know how to surprise and thrill. Their 2016 productions of “The Brothers K” still live rent free in my head. So, when I heard they were tackling a novel such as Stanislaw Lem’s “Solaris”, currently playing at the Center Theater, I was dubious but excited. Taking on this Sci-Fi/thriller/love story is not an easy thing to do. It’s been attempted many times including a few movies, the most recent in 2002 with George Clooney, but to put the Solaris Space Station up on stage sounded like a stretch. But then, I did say they always surprise, and they did this time, as well as thrill.

A deliciously thrilling story of revenge and retribution, The 5th Avenue Theatre is elated to bring Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street to the stage in Seattle April 21 - May 14, 2023. Get a first look at the cast in rehearsal!

A deliciously thrilling story of revenge and retribution, The 5th Avenue Theatre is elated to bring Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street to the stage in Seattle April 21 - May 14, 2023.

Christmas is a most favorite holiday to many, and the Jane Austen fan base has never been stronger. What could be more perfect than to revive some of Austen’s most beloved characters (and some of her most notorious) in a delightful Christmas setting? THE WICKHAMS: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY is a holiday treat. The production blends the lavish frippery of the Regency era with dollops of modern humor that is sure to please both traditional and contemporary tastes.

The provocative title, “Teenage Dick”, for the current show at the Seattle Rep is giving some people pause while others just find it hilarious. Yes, I’m sure it’s intentionally provocative to get attention and yes, it’s funny. But it’s just the nickname for the main character, Richard, and he is a teenager, so let’s get the giggles out of our system now. I’ll wait. All good now? OK, Dear Readers, now I can tell you all about this incredible show and how I was left super excited for “Teenage Dick”. Dammit! I guess it wasn’t all out yet.

New York City’s iconic venue, Joe’s Pub opened its doors on October 5 welcoming a star-studded fall season kicking off with 5 sold-out nights for Justin Vivian Bond. Today, they are sharing the eclectic holiday performances from November 23 through December 31. 

Classic characters from Homer's The Iliad a?" Hector, Ulysses, Achilles, Ajax, Helen a?" leap to life with the help of Shakespeare's imagination to reveal the follies of war in Troilus and Cressida at Seattle Shakespeare Company. David Quicksall directs the production which begins previews on March 17, opens March 20, and runs through April 12 in the Center Theatre at Seattle Center.

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?

The seventh annual 'Night Of A Thousand Judys' - the Pride concert to benefit The Ali Forney Center written and hosted by Justin Sayre - featured the musical talents of two time Tony Award-nominee Christine Andreas (My Fair Lady, Oklahoma!), Nathan Lee Graham (Zoolander, 'LA to Vegas'), Brittain Ashford (The Great Comet of 1812), Matt Doyle (Spring Awakening, The Book of Mormon), Julian Fleisher (New York Public Radio), Molly Pope (Cafe Caryle, Adelaide Festival), Kat Cunning (HBO's 'The Deuce,' Company XIV), and Amber Martin (John Cameron Mitchell's The Origin of Love).

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! opened last night, April 7, at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre. It will play a limited engagement through Sunday, September 1, 2019.

Washington Ensemble Theatre has announced the cast for the Seattle premiere of Feathers and Teeth, the twisted horror comedy by Charise Castro Smith that grapples with the power of grief and the dangers of the other side. WET members Rachel Guyer-Mafune (WET: Teh Internet Is Serious Business, ACT: The Wolves, Book-It: Howl's Moving Castle) and Samie Spring Detzer (WET: Teh Internet Is Serious Business, Revolt. She said. Revolt again.) return to the WET stage to star as the creepy cool daughter/stepmother duo, Chris and Carol. Brandon J. Simmons (WET: Sextet, The Seagull Project: The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sisters) joins the cast as Arthur and James Schilling (ArtsWest: Peter and the Starcatcher, The Horse in Motion: The Great Noise) makes his WET debut as Hugo. WET's Associate Artistic Director Bobbin Ramsey directs. This is the second play by Castro Smith to be produced by WET; the world premiere of The Hunchback of Seville was the company's final play produced at The Little Theater on 19th Avenue East before moving to its current home, 12th Avenue Arts

With any luck most of us will bypass any connection to opioid or heroin addiction. I know going into Book-It Repertory Theatre's current production of Tom Hansen's "American Junkie", I knew nothing of that world except what you might catch on TV. But what this gritty memoir and gripping performances do is give a much more intense and visceral look into this world while still mixing in humor and hope making this a fascinating ride.

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.

Book-It Repertory Theatre [Book-It] kicks off 2019 with an honest look at addiction in Seattle native Tom Hansen's American Junkie. Adapted by Jane Jones and Kevin McKeon and directed by Jones, Hansen deftly balances a raw story about the path that leads to self-destruction with wry humor and hope.

It's a whole new year with a whole new slate of fabulous theater coming to Seattle and the surrounding areas. So many exciting shows ready to thrill and astound us, make us laugh and cry. And so, I thought I'd let you in on the Top 10 shows coming up that I'm most excited about (actually 11 since I couldn't narrow it down to 10 but 'Top 10' sounded better) in chronological order.

Book-It Repertory Theatre kicks off 2019 with an honest look at addiction during Seattle's grunge years with Seattle native Tom Hansen's American Junkie. Adapted by Jane Jones and Kevin McKeon and directed by Jones, Hansen deftly balances a raw story about the path that leads to self-destruction with wry humor and hope. A tight, 90-minute ride through Seattle's music scene during the grunge era, American Junkie looks at the man behind the addiction and takes a hard look at the power heroin and other opioids have on people's lives.

Well, Dear Readers, this is a first for me. It seems the first Mrs. Rochester got a little over excited and jumped the gun as we had a fire alarm about 20 minutes into opening night of Book-It's "Jane Eyre" and we all were treated to an early intermission and a breath of fresh air. Luckily it quickly resolved itself and we were let back in for the show to pick up where we left off, ironically with Jane discussing the fires of hell with Mr. Brocklehurst. And while Jane does get quite keyed up in that conversation and her subsequent one telling off Mrs. Reed, unfortunately that's about as passionate as our Jane got.