SEATTLE THEATER REVIEWS

Let me start by saying that I've never seen the original movie of "Bullets Over Broadway" all the way through. I'm just not a Woody Allen fan. So a musical interpretation of it didn't exactly thrill me. So what about the current production turned me around? Was it the story? It's cute but nothi...

Peter Shaffer's stirring play "Amadeus" can move you to the point of tears, but only when it's done well. It is by no means a bulletproof play. Unfortunately the current production at Seattle Public Theater, while managing a few interesting performances, really just stands out as having an unfocus...

Clifford Odets built a career off of writing dramas that dealt with class inequality and social injustice in the depression era. His first ever produced play, "Waiting for Lefty", certainly falls into that category. And while the current production from Theatre9/12 does manage some stirring perfor...

'The Twelfth Story' at The Annex Theatre reminded me of the Rudyard Kipling Just-So Stories that were read to me at bedtime. Directed by Amy Poisson, the cast of 'The Twelfth Story' was as jubilant as spritely camp counselors. As a child, I think I would have liked the story's magic, goblins, twinkl...

Who hasn't wanted a 'do-over' when on a date? Maybe you say the wrong thing, maybe you run into your ex or maybe you trip the waiter, which causes him to knock over a flaming dessert that burns the restaurant to the ground. We've all been there, right? Well according to Nick Payne's beautiful pla...

Most of us fell in love with Maurice Sendak's enchanting book "Where the Wild Things Are" when we were kids and still kids today all know of the tale of Max's journey to the island of the Wild Things. But how many kids actually get to join in on the Wild Rumpus? Well now kids in Seattle can with t...

Behold: the enemy of the theatre, the millennial. They leech, they binge-drink, and despite having no idea what it is they want, they will do anything to find out. Brace yourself for a no-hope critique of millennial culture in 'Really Really' at ArtsWest....

Stephen Adly Guirgis has made a name for himself for creating glimpses inside the worlds of the rougher and edgier parts of town. Places inhabited by junkies, hookers and criminals like those in his shows 'In Arabia We'd All Be Kings' currently at Theater Schmeater and 'The Motherf**ker with the Ha...

First off if you're expecting to see a Tippi Hedren lookalike being chased by animatronic birds in Strawberry Theatre Workshop's current production of "The Birds" then you'll be quite disappointed. This is not an adaptation of Hitchcock's film but of Daphne du Maurier's book. But even though we ne...

In Beth Henley's play "Crimes of the Heart", currently playing at Village Theatre, the character of Meg says, "To talk about our lives. It's an important human need." Well an important theatrical need is for the characters in a play to listen to each other and not just wait for their next bit but ...

Power shifts, betrayal, adultery, rape, murder and lots and lots of blood. No it's not the latest Tarantino film but it might as well be as Seattle Shakespeare Company puts up their latest effort, "Titus Andronicus" but with a dark and edgy grindhouse feel. But beyond all the blood there's still s...

As you may know, Dear Readers, I recently criticized another currently running show for having shock for shock sake with not enough narrative. So when I see a title like "The Motherf**ker with the Hat", the current offering from Washington Ensemble Theatre, I get a little worried that I may be in f...

In theater, as with any art form, playwrights can walk a fine line between telling a riveting and honest story and saying things simply for shock value. Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize winning play "Disgraced", currently playing at the Seattle Rep, walks that line. And while on the whole this extreme...

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, ReAct performs 'Prelude to a Kiss' in this updated, ethnically diverse adaptation directed by David Hsieh.. Twenty-somethings Peter and Rita fall in love and decide to get married after six weeks. Their basking in the honeymoon phase of their relationship takes a tu...

That unstoppable juggernaut that is 'The Book or Mormon' is back in Seattle and just as deliciously fun as ever. We all know how good the show is. We all know we're going to laugh our butts off at the crass humor while falling in love with the wonderful characters and infectious musical theater go...

First off, it feels superfluous for me to be reviewing this production, for the show is only running for two more days, so before you continue reading, buy your tickets to see it first.*...

In Horton Foote's beautiful play "A Trip to Bountiful" we care about the journey because we care about Carrie and the characters around her. Unfortunately in Morgan Ludlow's new play "Ruth and the Sea", currently playing at Annex Theatre from Pacific Play Company, we have few chances to get to know...

I stepped into the West of Lenin Studio, glancing around the room to try and find a place to sit. Unfortunately, all of the cardboard boxes were taken, but I did snag an antique chair not unlike the one my mom brought up from our old basement anytime we had more than ten dinner guests. I was one of ...

Full disclosure: I had to emotionally prepare myself for 'SnowGlobed' because, admittedly, I find most holiday pieces saccharine and disingenuous. Although collectively 'SnowGlobed's five short plays were irreverent and dark-which resonates with me much more, being the Grinch that I am-unfortunately...

Cynical tributes to the holidays can easily fall into cliches, feeling as stale as the fruitcake they mock, but Seattle Repertory Theatre's Jinkx Monsoon & Major Scales: Unwrapped was a bejeweled middle finger to Christmas that, ultimately, was touchingly sincere. Back by popular demand, the drag du...

It's been 200 years since Jane Austen's incorrigible matchmaker "Emma" first came on the scene in print and since has spawned film versions, adaptations and has never been out of print since its release. And while the current adaptation from Book-It Repertory Theatre keeps the mischievousness and a...

Everyone has their own personal hallmarks that the holiday season has arrived. For some it's catching that favorite movie on TV such as "It's a Wonderful Life" or "The Sound of Music", for others it might be heading downtown to see the lights and carolers. But for me in my own warped and twisted w...

Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'The Sound of Music' is one of those mainstays of the American Musical Theater canon that has endured over the years. Pretty much anyone with a passing interest in musical theater has seen it in some form whether the Julie Andrews film, countless stage productions or even ...

Dear Readers, for those that may only read the beginnings of my reviews, I must start off this by telling you to stop reading this right now and go get tickets to the new musical "Come From Away" currently at the Seattle Rep. After you have done that you can come back and read the rest of this. I'...

As a kid I remember being absolutely thrilled when the stars would align and something wonderful would come on to the afternoon movie like "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" or "The Wizard of Oz" or the magical "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". Well that fantasmagorical, fuel burning oracle is back a...