Good satire needs two things: merciless mockery, and a compelling narrative. Sandbox Radio's farcical 63 Trillion nails the mockery, but focuses so much of its attention on cramming in as many double-entendres as possible that the narrative becomes secondary to the dick jokes.
It's going to be very tough, Dear Readers, to tell you about the latest offering from Intiman Theatre, 'Barbecue', as I don't want to give anything away. The show is packed full of twists, turns and misdirections that for me to tell you much would be tantamount to writing up a review of certain movies and sharing details like, Rosebud is a sled, Darth Vader is Luke's Father, or Bruce Willis is a ghost too. But I will try simply by saying that Robert O'Hara's play is quite engaging and filled with rich dialog and his script is only served by some outstanding performers.
Behold, a rare gem, a piece of art that combines two vastly different disciplines: theater, and math. Ironically, what makes David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize winning play, 'Proof' so entertaining isn't so much the math, but the chemistry between the characters. Get out your pens and pencils, students, because Strawberry Theatre Workshop's harmonious performances are noteworthy.
Seattle Repertory Theatre presents A Raisin in the Sun, a classic Lorraine Hansberry's drama, directed by Timothy McCuen Piggee. A Raisin in the Sun is currently running thru October 30, 2016 in the Bagley Wright Theatre. Tickets are on sale now through the Seattle Rep Box Office at (206) 443-2222 and online at seattlerep.org. BroadwayWorld brings you a sneak peek at the making of the show below!
There are certain plays out there that remain enduring classics. Maybe they're just that good. Or maybe they still pack a punch all these years later and resonate with attitudes of today. Well the Seattle Rep is presenting one on those classics with Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" and while it falls firmly into that first category of "just that good" unfortunately watching it last night I also felt how far we have and haven't come since it debuted in 1959 as many of the themes of inequality and prejudice on display are still all too prevalent today.
Seattle Repertory Theatre presents its season opening production, A Raisin in the Sun, a classic Lorraine Hansberry's drama, directed by Timothy McCuen Piggee.
Seattle Repertory Theatre today announced the full ensemble cast of its season opening production, A Raisin in the Sun, a classic Lorraine Hansberry's drama, directed by Timothy McCuen Piggee.
Back in 2013 the Seattle Rep gave us a lovely Christmas Present with R. Hamilton Wright and David Pichette's wonderful adaptation of "The Hound of the Baskervilles". So when they announced that they would be ending this season with more Holmes from Wright with "Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem", naturally there was a lot of excitement and anticipation for more from this team. And while the team is still on point and while it's still more Sherlock goodness, this original Holmes mystery from Wright doesn't quite have the elegance and grace of a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle piece.
In Chekov's THE SEAGULL, writer Constantin Treplev says: 'We need new forms of expression. We need new forms, and if we can't have them we had better have nothing.' And, with THE SEAGULL, the first of his four great plays, Chekov did indeed introduce a new form of theatre -- one that replaced the melodrama popular at the time with realism. Chekov's characters were real people, having real conversations, and doing real things. It wasn't always successful in his time (read about it in the STUPID F**KING BIRD Playbill), but it had a huge impact on theatre.
ACT - A Contemporary Theatre is proud to present its 40th annual production of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL, adapted by Gregory A. Falls. A CHRISTMAS CAROL is directed by incoming Artistic Director John Langs with current Artistic Director Kurt Beattie returning to play Ebenezer Scrooge, in alternating performances with Gregory Award-winning actor Charles Leggett who will debut in the role of Scrooge.
If you're going to tell a story, especially one based on a real event, you need to decide who the story is about, what you are trying to tell and why are you trying to tell it. And those are just a few of the downfalls with the new play from Ana Brown and Andrew Russell "John Baxter is a Switch Hitter" currently from Intiman Theatre.
When local gay softball league favorites the Seattle Fireflies go up against the champion San Francisco Hornets, an all-American pastime turns into an impromptu inquisition as one team halts the game to accuse their opponent of having too many 'straight ringers' on their roster.
When local gay softball league favorites the Seattle Fireflies go up against the champion San Francisco Hornets, an all-American pastime turns into an impromptu inquisition as one team halts the game to accuse their opponent of having too many "straight ringers" on their roster.
Tennessee Williams' searing southern drama, 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' currently playing at ACT, opens with Brick (Brandon O'Neill) and his wife Maggie (Laura Griffith) in a heated conversation about the disintegrating state of their marriage and is filled with sexual tension. Or at least it should be. Unfortunately the relationship of Griffith and O'Neill's Maggie and Brick feels so stale and desperately one-note that there's nowhere for the characters to go. In fact it wasn't until Act Two that the play held much interest for me and really got into the richness of some of these characters.
Rehearsals have begun for a scorching new revival of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof directed by Kurt Beattie in his final season as Artistic Director. The first play to kick off ACT's 50th Anniversary harkens back to our inaugural 1965 season when Cat on a Hot Tin Roof had its Seattle Premiere directed by ACT founder Gregory A. Falls.
There are two main problems with doing a show about therapy, such as ACT's world premiere of "Seven Ways to Get There" currently playing. First, that someone else's therapy on stage can be good for the author but often times deadly for the audience. Luckily Bryan Willis and Dwayne J. Clark's new play avoids that trap. But the larger trap is that therapy doesn't really have a definite ending so you either portray an unrealistic look at the world of therapy or, as is the case here, the play just kind of ends as the people involved with the therapy continue onward working on their issues. And while the show definitely has engaging characters and performances, that lack of closure and finality for the audience doesn't work out so well theatrically.
Seattle media have honored ACT's ambitious 2014-15 season with a number of awards. Details below!
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.
If you remember, Dear Readers, three weeks ago I said that Intiman's production of Part 1 of Tony Kushner's masterpiece, "Angels in America" still resonated through Kushner's script but the show felt under done and lacked focus. But I hoped it would settle into itself over time. I also hoped that the settling in to the characters would affect the power of the second part, "Angels in America Part 2: Perestroika". Alas, it did not. While it's still, again, Kushner's beautiful script, the show lacks the heart, punch and commitment to the piece to make it truly great. And while you may think that now this one needs to settle in, I think it stems from a larger issue.
20 Years ago a bright eyed theater nerd (as opposed to the bitter, jaded wretch I am today) was over the moon that the Intiman Theatre was able to get the rights to do one of the most exciting and talked about plays of the day, "Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches" so close on the heels of it's wowing Broadway and winning the Tony and Pulitzer. That fresh faced 25 year old was blown away by the artistry, language and sheer incredible storytelling prowess of author Tony Kushner and that amazing production solidified my love for this work. But can anything compare to your first time? Well the bloom may be a little off the rose and my cynical sensibilities of today may have missed some of the focus and wow factor of that original production in this current one being presented by Intiman Theatre, but the play still shows itself to be a masterwork and still deserves attention.
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