Bobbi Kotula News

This October, Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. Scroll down for details!

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents the 30th Anniversary of No Way to Treat a Lady on Sunday, Oct. 15th @ 7:00.

A brand-new theater company has come to Tacoma and Seattle! Sing Out Louise! Theatricals is presenting The Prince and The Showboy (And Their New Old Friends), starring Faith Prince and Jason Graae.

Hello, Dear Readers. I recently got the chance to sit down with Seattle Theater staple David Edward Hughes to pick his brain on his career, his views on the state of local theater and, most importantly, his new theater company Sing Out Louise! Theatricals which will be announcing their inaugural season at their gala event on August 26th. An evening guaranteed to be filled to the brim with songs old, new and strange.

It's been a crazy year, Dear Readers. Lots of ups, lots of downs, and LOTS of emotions. And I'm not just talking about on stage. But let's not dwell on the bad things that may have happened in the world and focus on some of the amazing things Seattle theater companies gave us this past year, and let me tell you there were quite a few. So many in fact that in some categories I simply had to call out more than the usual Honorable Mentions as some performances just needed to be noted. You'll see what I mean especially when you get to the female categories as the ladies were certainly bringing it this year. But let's get started shall we? Out of the myriad shows I saw this year in Seattle, here are the shows and performances that truly stood out to me.

What a glorious feeling! This holiday season, Village Theatre brings to the stage one of Hollywood's most beloved classics,Singin' in the Rain. Based on the MGM film, which is widely lauded as one of the greatest movie musicals of all time, Singin' in the Rain is a faithful adaptation by the original award-winning screenplay team, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, with songs by Nacio Herb Brown andArthur Freed. The production will be helmed by much of the same creative team that launched last season's hit musical, Billy Elliot, with Artistic Director Steve Tomkins once again in the director's chair.

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.

When people think of George Bernard Shaw plays they inevitably go to "Pygmalion" or "Arms and the Man" or something like that. But there's one of his out there that does not see enough of the light of day, "Mrs. Warren's Profession". Maybe it's due to the subject matter or maybe not enough people know about it. Who knows? But it's long been one of my personal favorites so when I saw that Seattle Shakespeare Company was putting it up; you can imagine how excited I was. But of course the cynic in me quickly turned that excitement to trepidation with the thoughts of "Oh please don't screw up one of the few times this show will be done around here." Well lucky for me and for all you Dear Readers, who should rush out and catch this before it's gone, the Seattle Shakespeare Company does absolute honor to this fantastic work with some tight direction from Victor Pappas and performances to rival any production out there (yes, including the one I saw in New York a few years back).

Confronting the truth locks two unconventional women in a battle of wits and wills when Seattle Shakespeare Company presents MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by GeorgeBernard Shaw. Directed by Victor Pappas, MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION will play at the Center Theatre at Seattle Center now through April 10, 2016. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Confronting the truth locks two unconventional women in a battle of wits and wills when Seattle Shakespeare Company presents MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Victor Pappas, MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION will play at the Center Theatre at Seattle Center March 15 through April 10, 2016.

Confronting the truth locks two unconventional women in a battle of wits and wills when Seattle Shakespeare Company presents MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Victor Pappas, MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION will play at the Center Theatre at Seattle Center March 15 through April 10, 2016.

Broadway-bound new musical, Come From Away, presented by Seattle Repertory Theatre, wins four Gypsys, tying with another new musical, Lizard Boy, also produced by Seattle Repertory Theatreand also with four Gypsys, a company that has been known for years as a powerhouse dramatic straight-play playhouse! 

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

A serial killer being hunted by the police sounds like ripe fodder for a musical comedy, right? No? Well then you need to expand your perception and get out to Village Theatre to catch their current production of "No Way to Treat a Lady" which not only manages to amuse while it horrifies but also boasts a killer ensemble each of whom slays their roles.

Oh my! It's been a hell of a year for the Seattle Theatre scene and I can say we've been quite fortunate to see the incredible shows we have. So many amazing shows in fact that picking just a few stand outs (let alone a "best") is a near impossibility. But I have searched the deep dark recesses of my memory to find the shows and performances that really stood out and stuck with me beyond the evening and throughout the year. And so, without further ado, I'm thrilled to present the BWW 2014 Seattle Critic's Choice Awards (or Jay's Picks). Let the awesomeness flow!

ACT and Director John Langs completely nailed it again and then some. I saw the production last year of ACT's Seattle tradition of "A Christmas Carol" and found myself struck by how well they conveyed this classic tale. And as much as I enjoyed it last year there was something even more magical and special in the air for this year's production (or they spiked my eggnog) as I completely found myself swept away by this incredible show and, yes, crying my eyes out.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Seattle Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 25th.

Most of ESP's recent outings have been stories written directly for the stage. For our January 2014 reading (the last to be held at our beloved NSCC before we move to ACT), we turn to a master playwright's take on (apparently) undramatic material - John Van Druten's adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories, I Am a Camera.

Holy Crap! That's really the most emphatic sentiment I can use to describe the internal battles I had when trying to pick my top picks for this past year. There were so many amazing performances and achievements that to pick just one was almost an impossibility (and as you'll see, WAS an impossibility for one category). But the battle is over and it's my distinct pleasure to announce my picks for the 2013 Broadway World Seattle Critic's Choice Awards (or Jay's Picks, if you prefer).

J. B. Priestley's 1938 farcical comedy, set in 1908, is about three couples who married on the same day in the same church, who learn on their twenty-fifth anniversaries that they aren't legally married at all, sending them into a tizzy of spousal re-evaluation. The play is full of funny lines, and is a first-rate screwball comedy - but this hilarious Yorkshire farce has more going on in it than this premise would indicate, because, after all, this is a play by J. B. Priestley!