Andre Jackson News

The genius of Shakespeare's plays is their ability to resonate in every age. The timelessness of HAMLET combined with Freehold's Engaged Theatre productions' intentionally dynamic and diverse staging means that any human can see a reflection of some part of themselves in the story, the characters, the music or movement.

Director Robin Lynn Smith and a seasoned company including Seattle theatre veterans Reginald Andre Jacskon (Hamlet), Mary Ewald (Gertrude), Sunam Ellis (Horatio), Shawn Belyea (Claudius) and Peter Dylan O'Connor (Laertes) brings HAMLET to stirring life with live music composted by Kultur Shock member Srdjan "Gino" Yevdjevich and movement by Butoh dancer Vanessa Skantze.

The genius of Shakespeare's plays is their ability to resonate in every age. The timelessness of HAMLET combined with Freehold's Engaged Theatre productions' intentionally dynamic and diverse staging means that any human can see a reflection of some part of themselves in the story, the characters, the music or movement.

Author Lisa Kron is known for her one-woman shows. I am known for having issues with one-person shows, as they tend to be someone else's therapy on stage. Luckily Kron also understands that issue as she very self referentially mocks those kinds of shows in her play "Well", currently at the Seattle Rep, as she deconstructs shows like this and really all shows with her hilarious exploration that has "nothing to do with her relationship with her Mother!"

Some of Seattle's most talented actors will be hard at work in collaboration with writers from around the country in the rehearsal halls of The 5th Avenue Theatre this month as the company's NextFest: A Festival of New Musicals launches its three week intensive development cycle this weekend.

There are some productions of Shakespeare which need all the flashy costumes and sets and transplanting to non-traditional times and places in order to make the show shine. And then there are productions like the outstanding production of "The Winter's Tale" currently being offered from Seattle Shakespeare Company where they've assembled such a talented cast and crew, innately fluent with the meaning of the show, who only require a few chairs and platforms and where the flash would just get in the way. It's those shows that remind us why we love theater when a group of actors can mesmerize us with their words.

Two generations overcome past wrongs and misjudgments in this exotic and magical saga. Obsessive King Leontes accuses his queen, Hermione, of having an affair and sentences her to a trial. Meanwhile their infant daughter gets spirited away to a distant shore. Sixteen years later, through fate and love, the young woman discovers her true heritage and reunites her family.

 It's a fantastical, fairytale-like story with lost princesses, sea journeys, rascally tricksters, and a magical moment that reconciles a family. Seattle Shakespeare Company will present The Winter's Tale at the Leo K. Theatre. Sheila Daniels directs Shakespeare's enchanting intergenerational saga September 7 through October 2.  

One of the reasons we love a good family drama is it appeals to that voyeur in us all. We love to peek inside someone else's world and see how it compares to our own. But as chaotic and messy as those lives may be they still speak more eloquently and at just the right moments than we could, being scripted and all. And while peeking in on the secrets and lies of the LeVay family in Lydia R. Diamond's “Sticky Fly”, now playing as part of the Intiman Theatre Festival, may be powerful and evocative it also lacked some of that ordered chaos as much of the pacing of the play and the timing of it all felt clunky and unfocused.

 Freehold Theater Lab Studio, Seattle's premiere independent theater school and lab for working professionals, has announced that they will be leaving their Belltown home of eight years for a new home at Maynard and Weller in the International District, with a planned opening of their expanded facility on September 15.

Sponsored in part by 4Culture, the 2015-16 season of Mirror Stage's popular Feed Your Mind staged reading series traces commences with An Issue of Blood by Marcus Gardley, on October 24 & 25, 2015 at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre in Seattle's University District. Directed by Suzanne M. Cohen, Feed Your Mind: An Issue of Blood features Marlette Buchanan, Ian Fraser, Reginald Andre Jackson, Pilar O'Connell, Shaunyce Omar, and Tyler Trerise.

Joshua Carter, currently working the national musical tour of Once, wins Performance in a Musical as a Lead Actor (Male) for his work in Little Shop of Horrors, along with his co-lead, Jessica Skerritt. Bill Berry wins as well as director of the co-production of ACT Theatre and The 5th Avenue Theater (housed at ACT).

Seattle Theater Writers critics' circle just announced the nomination slate of the fourth annual Gypsy Rose Lee Awards,theater awards devoted to recognizing excellence across the economic spectrum of professional Seattle theaters in the prior calendar year.

ArtsWest opens their 2014-2015 season with the Seattle Premiere of Katori Hall's The Mountaintop.

A great, big Broadway season is on its way, with fourteen productions already slated to open in the next few months. With several weeks until the craziness begins, there is still plenty of time to catch up on what's been going on at Broadway's already occupied theaters . BroadwayWorld will be profiling the hits of the Great White Way that continue to draw crowds after months, years, and (in some cases) decades. Meet the current cast of Broadway's The Lion King below!

The American Repertory Theater of WNY concludes the highly acclaimed 2013-14 season with a world premiere of the original work, SHINE, written by Matthew LaChiusa on April 24th and runs until May 17th.

I've never particularly been a fan of Shakespeare's histories. To me they amount to a lot of political posturing. But even with all the posturing they usually amount to a story with high stakes for all involved. Unfortunately the pacing and some performances from Seattle Shakespeare Company's current production of "Richard II" are so middle of the road and one note that the show lacked those high stakes and amounted to just so much of that posturing.

With recent airings on PBS via the BBC's 'Hollow Crown' series and a screening of the RSC production with David Tenant, the Puget Sound region has seen a mini-renaissance of Shakespeare's Richard II. Seattle Shakespeare Company starts the New Year with its own production of Richard II directed by Rosa Joshi. Artistic Director George Mount will play the title role in a cast that features 16 actors.

With recent airings on PBS via the BBC's "Hollow Crown" series and a screening of the RSC production with David Tenant, the Puget Sound region has seen a mini-renaissance of Shakespeare's Richard II. Seattle Shakespeare Company starts the New Year with its own production of Richard II directed by Rosa Joshi. Artistic Director George Mount will play the title role in a cast that features 16 actors.

September 15th marked the 50th Anniversary of the tragic bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Senators and members of Congress marked the recent anniversary with ceremonies and speeches, recalling the tragic event as a major turning point in the civil rights movement. The bombing, which killed 4 young girls, prompted calls to action from Martin Luther King, Jr, in his famous 'What murdered these four girls' speech. On November 21st, at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, this historical event will be commemorated with a one-day-only performance of THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM, 1963. The play, based on a popular book by Christopher Paul Curtis, will be performed for the first time in California.