Charles Leggett News

This weekend, Intiman Theatre and The Seagull Project opened their outstanding, heart-wrenching, and purposefully uncomfortable production of Maxim Gorky’s The Lower Depths. Housed at the Erickson Theater, the extremely cohesive 14-person cast takes the audience on a journey that is intertwined with effective social commentary and award-worthy performances.

Intiman Theatre and The Seagull Project have announced the cast for their upcoming co-production of Maxim Gorky's masterpiece, The Lower Depths.

In this time of year with black cats, ghouls and ghosts, and things that go bump in the night, it stands to reason that Seattle Shakespeare would bring out one of the bloodier and creepier of Shakespeare’s canon, “Macbeth”, or “the Scottish play” as it’s known by superstitious theater folk who don’t wish to incur its curse. And while this production, directed by the incredible John Langs, hits most of the right notes (in more ways than one), there was one major point of the show that just didn’t work for me. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

Rehearsals began yesterday for Seattle Shakespeare Company's fall production of Macbeth, which runs from October 25 to November 20.

Ten Chimneys Foundation has announced renowned actor Tyne Daly will serve as the Master Teacher for the 2022 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, a national program to serve the future of American theater.

This winter, Village Theatre will warm the cold and dreary Seattle days with the brassy and colorful iconic crowd pleaser, Guys & Dolls. The second show in their celebratory 40th Anniversary Season, Guys & Dolls will run at the Francis J. Gaudette Theatre in Issaquah November 7 a?' December 29, 2019 before moving to the Everett Performing Arts Center January 3 a?' February 2, 2020.

Eighty percent of having a successful show is casting. If you have the right cast, even the dullest show can shine. However, that means the opposite is also true. You can have a good play, such as Eisa Davis' a?oeBulrushera??, currently being offered from Intiman Theatre, but if the cast isn't there, then neither is the decent storytelling. In the case of Intiman's show, the cast is mostly there, but one glaring weak link sapped the energy and emotion from a piece that should be filled with energy and emotion.

Intiman Theatre announce the cast for their upcoming production of BULRUSHER, presented in partnership with The Hansberry Project, and directed by Seattle favorite Valerie Curtis-Newton. The cast will star Ayo Tushinde as Bulrusher, along with Allyson Brown, Adam Fontana, Reggie Jackson, Charles Leggett and Christine Salvador. This lyrical and passionate coming of age story will play at The Jones Playhouse at the University of Washington, from August 20 - September 14, 2019.

The ongoing alternate-history podcast BRASS premieres its third season this month. Recorded in Seattle, Washington and featuring a veteran cast of Pacific Northwest talent, the series follows the adventures of a quartet of Victorian science geniuses and their ongoing battle against a criminal mastermind known only as the Crime Minister.

Nia Vardalos' stage adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's book "Tiny Beautiful Things", currently playing at the Seattle Rep, on the surface may seem like just a string of Strayed's advice columns, but when you peel back the layers and dive deeper it becomes so much more. As we get into the advice, we also get a glimpse into the woman who gave it, painting a portrait of a woman who's been through a lot and come out wiser on the other side.

Seattle Rep today announced the cast and creative team of its final production of the 2018/2019 Season, Tiny Beautiful Things, based on the best-selling book by Cheryl Strayed (Torch, Brave Enough, Wild, 'Dear Sugar') and adapted for the stage by Academy Award nominee Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Instant Mom). Co-conceived by Marshall Heyman ('Dietland'), Thomas Kail (Hamilton, Fox's 'Grease Live!'), and Vardalos, and directed by Courtney Sale (Artistic Director for Seattle Children's Theatre), Tiny Beautiful Things will run May 17 - June 23, 2019 (opening night is May 22) on the Leo K. stage. Single tickets are on sale now (starting at $17) and are available through the Seattle Rep Patron Services Office at 206.443.2222 or online at SeattleRep.org.

The votes are in and the nominees have been announced! And now, the worthy recipients of the 2018 Gypsy Rose Lee Awards are finally able to get the recognition they richly deserve.

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.

 Casting is announced for Seattle Shakespeare Company's free Wooden O productions of King Lear and The Merry Wives of Windsor which start performances on Thursday, July 12. Both productions will perform in park venues throughout King and Pierce Counties (please see attached schedule). This summer marks the 25th Anniversary for Wooden O productions in the parks.

MAJOR BARBARA tackles the age-old question of how best to help someone: Do you give them a fish or a job fishing? It's an interesting play to be putting on right now, but I think the material -- and the audience -- would have benefitted from a slightly less dusty, even if that meant less opulent, production.

The clash between a daughter's philanthropic idealism and her father's hard-headed capitalism is at the heart of George Bernard Shaw's witty and timely classic Major Barbara, which begins preview performances at The Armory on April 14, opens on April 20, and runs through May 13 on the U.S. Bank Main Stage.

There seems to be a spate of plays getting a lot of critical acclaim these days that take on societal changes and amp them up to an extreme and absurd level. For example, the recent "Straight White Men" that looked at white male privilege. And now we have the gender conformity examining "Hir" by Taylor Mac, currently playing at ArtsWest. The thing is they keep billing these as comedies and touting them for their daring. Daring, maybe as they tackle subjects that make people uncomfortable, but comedy, no. As was the case with "Straight White Men", "Hir" takes everything to an absurd level, and don't get me wrong I love an absurd comedy, but they do it in such a way that by the end there is not one likable character.

This month, ArtsWest and Intiman join forces to stage Taylor Mac's HIR, a fearless comedy about a household in revolt, from February 28 to March 25, 2018, with Intiman Artistic Director Jennifer Zeyl directing.  

The winners of the 2017 Gypsy Rose Lee Awards are announced by the Seattle critics circle, Seattle Theater Writers!

Seattle's critics announce the 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 as much professional theater as we reviewers can attend in a year. Named in honor of the famed theater entrepreneur and Seattle native, Gypsy Rose Lee, and in a nod to the vast numbers or theater practitioners forced to travel the country to earn their living, the Gypsys seek to acknowledge the excellence of the Seattle theater community.