Craig Peterson News

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?

A Contemporary Theatre opens its 55th Season with Lynn Nottage's 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Sweat. Hailed by The New Yorker Magazine as 'The first theatrical landmark of the Trump Era,' Sweat is the gritty, heartbreaking story of factory workers who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. But when layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, and union jobs and factory machinery can disappear overnight, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a gut-wrenching fight to stay afloat. Nottage poignantly captures the roots of our current national economic insecurity; and the political fury and racial tensions in our political climate today.

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced today that Obie and Bessie Award winner Justin Vivian Bond, hailed by The New Yorker as “the best cabaret artist of their generation,' will host the 2019 awards ceremony. The performers and award presenters were also revealed.

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced today the recipients of two special awards.

Abrons Arts Center, the Lower East Side arts institution that has long been a nexus of communities and cultures, today shares its 2019-2020 lineup, which offers an array of art experiences as well as dance, theater, and interdisciplinary performances, exploring the concepts of authorship, agency, activism, and collaboration.

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, celebrates a landmark 35th anniversary this year. Today, the nominees for the 2019 Bessie Awards, along with the recipients of the 2019 Juried Bessie Award and 2019 Outstanding Breakout Choreographer Award, were announced and celebrated at the Bessies press conference. (The list of nominations follows.)

Back in 2002, Dear Readers, I became obsessed with a new play from Richard Greenberg, "Take Me Out". Already a fan of Greenberg's works, this story of a high profile Major League Baseball player coming out was quite intriguing. I got ahold of the script and my obsession grew. I annoyed all my friends about it until they too found out about its glory. And then a local production hit town and my obsession was locked, and this Tony Award winning play has since become one of my all-time favorites. So, if you know my work, you know how picky I'll be about this. And I'm thrilled to say that my favorite play has been done absolute justice in the current production from Strawberry Theatre Workshop over at 12th Ave Arts and you all NEED to go see it.

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, announces partnerships with Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) and the American Dance Festival (ADF), and renews partnerships with the CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI) and the New York State DanceForce, creating new platforms of support and professional opportunities for Bessie artists.

Any good play wants to contain a solid beginning, middle, and end. But you know the old adage, give them a strong ending and they'll forgive a lot. But what happens when a one-act, one hour and 35-minute show just has a strong middle? I'll tell you, a lot of me checking my watch near the end and an audience not sure if the play was over since there were two possible endings and no curtain call. Such was the case with Washington Ensemble Theatre's current production of B, the absurdist political thriller from Guillermo Calderon.

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, announced today that Yoko Shioya, Artistic Director of the Japan Society, is the recipient of the 2019 Bessies Presenter Award for Outstanding Curating. Ms. Shioya will receive the award at the Bessies Presenters Gathering on Sunday, January 6, 2019 (5:00-7:00pm), at La MaMa La Galleria, 47 Great Jones Street, New York, NY 10003

Washington Ensemble Theatre has announced the cast of the North American Premiere of B, the sharp and surrealist political thriller by Chilean playwright Guillermo Calderon, which is now in rehearsals. B, which is the second of three mainstage productions in WET's 15th Anniversary Season, features an ensemble cast of four incredible Seattle actors: WET member Sophie Franco (Intiman Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company) as Alejandra, Craig Peterson (Seattle Shakespeare Company, Pony World) as Jose Miguel, Klarissa Marie Robles (Seattle Repertory Theatre, eSe Teatro) as Marcela, and Gregory Award winner Shermona Mitchell (Sound Theatre Company, ACT) as Carmen. Jay O'Leary, who is known for her work as a director at ArtsWest (Skeleton Crew) and Annex Theatre, makes her WET debut to direct.

The night remained forever young at this year's Bessies, what with live performances, videos, tearful and grinning thank you's, hugs and cheers for the new slew of winners, and a costume sashay thrown into wild mix of celebration that took place tonight, October 8, at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.  As a prelude to the goings-on inside, impromptu dance performances, including Simone Forti's "Huddle," took place outside.  Ayodele Casel and Shernita Anderson hosted the evening.

In 1893, social work and public health pioneer Lillian Wald (1867-1940) founded Henry Street Settlement on Manhattan's Lower East Side to serve New York City's most vulnerable people through social service, healthcare, and arts programs. Since that day, Henry Street Settlement has been a crucial force for progressive reform and a leading advocate for social change, serving 60,000 New Yorkers each year. 

Glasses clinked and cheers crowded the air as this year's 43 Bessie nominees were announced and celebrated today, July 11, at a cocktail party/press conference at Gibney 280, along with the winners of 2018 Juried Bessie Award and the 2018 NY Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding "Breakout" Choreographer.  (See attached for list of selected nominees)

On February 12, 1915, the Abrons Arts Center's Henry Street Settlement Playhouse opened its doors on the Lower East Side. Since that day, it has remained a vital cultural resource, providing audiences with artistically bold work while offering artists opportunities to dynamically grow. The OBIE Award-winning institution has drawn a diverse audience to its historic home at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side and has garnered a wealth of critical acclaim across artistic disciplines. The work Abrons presents reflects the social and political challenges of our times in ways that are programmatically integrated into broader conversations that affect New York City and beyond.

The Open Source Music Festival, November 16-18, 2017 at the Abrons Arts Center, takes its inspiration from the collaborations and connections between artists. The groundbreaking event explores the phenomenon of Open Source through a musical lens.

The Open Source Music Festival, November 16-18, 2017 at the Abrons Arts Center, takes its inspiration from the collaborations and connections between artists. The groundbreaking event explores the phenomenon of Open Source through a musical lens.

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced the complete list of the 2017 award recipients tonight at the 33rd annual Bessie Awards ceremony. Awards were presented in the categories of Outstanding Production, Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Music Composition/Sound Design, and Outstanding Visual Design, with additional awards presented for Lifetime Achievement in Dance and Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance. The full list of 2017 Bessie Award recipients follows.