Mari Nelson News

Spanning 28 theater companies and 59 productions, from the largest and most prominent to small, humble and innovative, the Gypsy Rose Lee Awards honor as much professional theater as we reviewers can cram into our year.

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.

Are there any taboo subjects for musicals anymore? I mean we've had shows about serial killers and assassins, drug addicts and prisoners, demons and super powered psychotic teens, and even oversexed puppets. So I don't know why anyone should be surprised by the new musical at ACT in conjunction with ArtsWest and Circle X Theatre Co., 'Bad Apples' which takes a look at one of our countries most disgraceful moments, the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. This in your face rock musical will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea and especially not for the kids. But if you can get past all the language, sex, and horrific images then what you're left with is a killer show that looks at how easily people in power can justify appalling acts.

Bad Apples is the new rock musical inspired by the real-life prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Bad Apples seeks to answer the simple question: How in God's name did this happen? Two soldiers ended up pregnant by fellow soldier Charles Graner; both women wanted to marry him, competed with each other to win his love, and enthusiastically tortured prisoners together, documenting most of it in pictures that later leaked and shocked the world.

There truly is nothing to not like about 'Billy Elliot' performing at Village Theatre.

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!

I'll admit to a certain amount of trepidation when going to see the world premiere of "Royal Blood" by Sonya Schneider at West of Lenin. I mean a world premiere play about a dysfunctional family with characters based on the author's relations. It sounds like one of my least favorite things in theater, someone else's therapy on stage. Not to mention that everyone wants to be "August: Osage County" these days. And sure, while there were a few elements that read a touch predictable, fortunately what I got was a fresh storyline with gripping dialog from an ensemble of outstanding actors which amounted to a thoroughly engaging evening.

The absolutely stirring performances would have been enough. Even if the script for Seattle Rep's world premiere of "A Great Wilderness" were just so-so the ensemble cast knocking ball after ball out of the park would have been enough to make for an amazing evening. But when you add in the fact that this new script from one of the theater world's up and comers, Samuel D. Hunter, amounts to a subtle and gripping thing of beauty, you have an experience at the theater that you won't soon forget.

Balagan Theatre and New York City producer Katie Tomlinson Diamond presented a season preview party in June of Nirvanov, featuring television and stage star C.S. Lee (Dexter) and Van Hughes (American Idiot: The Musical, national tour) as rock legend Kurt Cobain/Nirvanov. Kirsten Delohr Helland and Williams A. Williams perform 'Faded and Jaded' from the show. Check out the video below!

Balagan Theatre continued its Summer New Works program the other night with their reading of the Anton Chekov and Kurt Cobain inspired, 'Nirvanov'. And Broadway World was given exclusive access to bring you photos from the reading of this fascinating look into one of Seattle's biggest and most tragic citizens.

A stellar cast of veteran actors, with Dakin Matthews in the lead role, supported by Emmy and Tony winner Shirley Knight, perform a new play by Samuel D. Hunter at the 32nd annual William Inge Theatre Festival, at Independence, Kansas.

The 32nd annual William Inge Theatre Festival takes place May 1-4, and celebrates the Centennial year of the birth of the Pulitzer Prize and Oscar-winning writer. The Inge Festival-the official Theatre Festival of the State of Kansas-takes place in Inge's hometown of Independence, and is sponsored by the William Inge Center for the Arts at Independence Community College.

Asa Somers' original rock musical, Something as Big as This, will receive a January 2013 developmental workshop at Seattle's award-winning Balagan Theatre, a follow up to the recent NYC workshop starring Brian d'Arcy James and Emma Hunton. There will be a public presentation of selected music and scenes at Balagan tonight, January 14th at 8pm.

Asa Somers' original rock musical, Something as Big as This, will receive a January 2013 developmental workshop at Seattle's award-winning Balagan Theatre, a follow up to the recent NYC workshop starring Brian d'Arcy James and Emma Hunton. There will be a public presentation of selected music and scenes at Balagan January 14th at 8pm.

I've always counted on the Rep to bring in the new and fresh stuff to the Seattle Theater community. And while I understand their nostalgic aspect of choosing to bring back a perennial favorite with their current production of "Sylvia" by A.R. Gurney, I have to question "why this one?" which has become such a staple of smaller theaters and High Schools around the country since the Rep's first production in 1994. But looking beyond that, this production manages to infuse itself with tons of heart and charm and even turns in some extraordinary moments.

The Seattle Rep is currently presenting Brian Friel's Irish familial saga, "Dancing at Lughnasa". And while the show has some lovely moments, the play as a whole seemed sluggish and uneven.

An all-star Seattle cast teams with inventive director Sheila Daniels to revisit Brian Friel's touching Irish family drama Dancing at Lughnasa, playing at Seattle Repertory Theatre Nov. 12-Dec. 5, 2010.

The Seattle Rep is currently presenting Brian Friel's Irish familial saga, "Dancing at Lughnasa". And while the show has some lovely moments, the play as a whole seemed sluggish and uneven.

An all-star Seattle cast teams with inventive director Sheila Daniels to revisit Brian Friel's touching Irish family drama Dancing at Lughnasa, playing at Seattle Repertory Theatre Nov. 12-Dec. 5, 2010.

An all-star Seattle cast teams with inventive director Sheila Daniels to revisit Brian Friel's touching Irish family drama Dancing at Lughnasa, playing at Seattle Repertory Theatre Nov. 12-Dec. 5, 2010.