Kurt Beattie News

Right off the bat let's just get out there what Sarah Ruhl's "In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play" is about. It's in the title for Pete's sake. Yes, the show is about vibrators and their use in the 1880's. Yes, THOSE kinds of devices and activities that usually are not discussed in polite society. So I'll try and be as delicate as I can for my more sensitive readers. But beyond the obvious, the show deals with a small group of people as they come to grips with … er … I mean … get in touch with their … um … DAMN, this is harder than I … uh … well, they discover more about their true feelings. Yes the show is slightly naughty but in a delightful way with depth and humor and ACT's production is presented with beauty and skill.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre offers up something for everyone! Sarah Ruhl's tender, electric new comedy hit, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play lights up the Mainstage, while the Central Heating Lab keeps things cooking with steamy performances all month long!

A Contemporary Theatre prepares to stage another scintillating Sarah Ruhl modern masterpiece, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (July 29-August 28) , a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Play.

Circle Theatre's 30th Anniversary Season continues with Becky's New Car, a new play by renowned playwright Steven Dietz. When Becky's New Car first premiered in 2008, Variety claimed that it 'takes the audience on a smart, comic cruise through the perils of middle-aged longing and regret.' In 2009, it was one of six finalists for the prestigious Steinberg New Play Award given by the American Theatre Critics Association. Preview performances are Thursday, July 28; Friday, July 29; and Saturday, July 30 (matinee). The production officially opens Saturday evening, July 30, at 8:00pm, followed by a post-show party with the cast and crew.

A Contemporary Theatre serves up plenty of new works in the month of July, starting with the continuation of the very sexy, 'very now' World Premiere of Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World by acclaimed local playwright Yussef El Guindi, followed by scorching performances produced from The Central Heating Lab: Pinter Fortnightly, featuring a first for Seattle audiences - a reading of Grace by Doug Lucie; the return of The Love Markets with Summer Nacht; and the debut of REPRESENT!

Timely, relevant, bittersweet, and scathingly funny, The Prisoner of Second Avenue by the prolific Neil Simon gets the all-star treatment at ACT Theatre, April 29-May 29, with director Warner Shook at the helm and a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Seattle Theatre.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre opens summer with the World Premiere of Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World by acclaimed local playwright Yussef El Guindi. The Central Heating Lab keeps things cooking with the debut of a new cabaret show by Seattle luminaries, Jayne Muirhead and John Engerman, It's In the Cards; the return of RAWSTOCK Short Film Festival with another installment of grindhouse favorites; and staged readings with the wildly popular Pinter Fortnightly series and TheFilmSchool's amazing-and amazingly free!-Caught in the ACT screenplay series. Short Stories Live brings the magic of fairy tales to Town Hall, while award-winning poets take to the stage in Copper Canyon's A Longing for Light. And it wouldn't be June without the return of The Hansberry Project's Juneteenth Celebration, featuring actress, playwright, director and activist Regina Taylor!

A Contemporary Theatre brings to stage a host of performances for the month of May! Vanities: A New Musical concludes it successful run, as ACT's next Mainstage production starts, Neil Simon's comic portrait of urban angst, The Prisoner of Second Avenue.

The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT - A Contemporary Theatre announce the Northwest premiere of Vanities: A New Musical, closing at ACT on May 1, 2011.

Timely, relevant, bittersweet, and scathingly funny, The Prisoner of Second Avenue by the prolific Neil Simon gets the all-star treatment at ACT Theatre, April 29-May 29, with director Warner Shook at the helm and a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Seattle Theatre.

A Contemporary Theatre brings to stage a host of performances for the month of May! Vanities: A New Musical concludes it successful run, as ACT's next Mainstage production starts, Neil Simon's comic portrait of urban angst, The Prisoner of Second Avenue.

Timely, relevant, bittersweet, and scathingly funny, The Prisoner of Second Avenue by the prolific Neil Simon gets the all-star treatment at ACT Theatre, April 29-May 29, with director Warner Shook at the helm and a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Seattle Theatre.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre is pleased to announce the return and expansion of Pinter Fortnightly, the popular series devoted to giving public readings of the plays of Harold Pinter and other challenging writers.

Stone Soup Theatre Proudly Presents The Odyssey Homer's epic tale, directed by Eve Hammond

Stone Soup Theatre Proudly Presents The Odyssey Homer's epic tale, directed by Eve Hammond

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre is pleased to announce the return and expansion of Pinter Fortnightly, the popular series devoted to giving public readings of the plays of Harold Pinter and other challenging writers.

Stone Soup Theatre Proudly Presents The Odyssey Homer's epic tale, directed by Eve Hammond

A Contemporary Theatre ends 2010 with a projected surplus of at least $5,171 (pre-audit), the second consecutive year for the 46-year Seattle institution to balance its budget since 2005.

San Jose Repertory Theatre's Artistic Director Rick Lombardo today announced the Rep's highly anticipated 2011-2012 Season, with seven productions starting September 2011 through July 2012. This season includes two major Broadway hits, a World Premiere and several Bay Area Premieres. The shows will appeal to an especially wide range of audiences, with drama, alternative rock, comedy and challenging themes.

ACT-A Contemporary Theatre-skips into springtime with a fabulous musical, more new work from emerging artists, and some returning favorites. This month, ACT's Mainstage play series continues with ACT and The 5th Avenue Theatre's production of VANITIES: A NEW MUSICAL, the life-affirming journey of three women, three decades, and one friendship. The Central Heating Lab at ACT keeps things simmering with returning favorites, including the Young Playwrights Festival, the 2011 ACT New Play Award, and TheFilmSchool's popular Caught in the ACT. The Central Heating Lab at ACT also welcomes new theatre partners ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani presenting Mother in Another Language by Taniya Hossain. Additionally, The Moisture Festival, Seattle's infamous springtime celebration of comedy, varietè and burlesque, returns to ACT for a fifth year!