SEATTLE THEATER REVIEWS

As hearing people we may think that the advancement and availability of cochlear implants would be welcomed with open arms by the deaf community. But what Don Nguyen's play "Sound", getting its world premiere production from Azeotrope at ACT, points out to us, the cultural effects of suddenly being...

In our jaded and cynical world sometimes our inner cup of hope and romance can get a little low and we can use something to refill it. Well never fear romance seekers as ACT's World Premiere production of Steven Dietz's "Bloomsday" is here. This sweet little charmer is bound to fill up the romance...

ArtsWest has taken on a huge risk by putting up the Green Day musical 'American Idiot' on their intimate stage. Not only by trying to fit this large spectacle in their space but also literally reconfiguring their floor plan and utilizing multiple areas within their theater to create an immersive ex...

Let me start out by saying I do not like "Jesus Christ Superstar". I think it is a completely overrated show. Repeating the same lyric 50 times does not make a song! So it's more than an annoyance that every few years someone feels the need to resurrect it (pun intended). I mean in the past eigh...

The tragic circumstances and attitudes of Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour" may still have some resonance in today's more accepting world but the power and stakes of the piece when set in the unforgiving 1930's feels so much greater than the more progressive 1980's as the current production fr...

Sometimes we forget with all the flashy shows out there what can be done with a minimal bit of stage wizardry and a whole lot of talent. But then a new company comes along just starting out and they remind us. The New Alchemists may be brand new and small but they know how to tell a good little st...

If you're a company thinking of doing the rock musical of 'Spring Awakening' you need to be ready for it, not only as it's such a difficult show but since it was just done in the area a few years ago and to such acclaim. And while I applaud fledgling company Chandelier Production's courage in takin...

When you go to see a Tom Stoppard play such as "Indian Ink", currently playing at Center Theatre from Sound Theatre Company and Pratidhwani, you can expect to be immersed in whatever subject Stoppard has chosen, whether that be literature, history, math, music or landscape architecture, along with a...

I'm going to confess that I am in love with 'Matilda, The Musical'. I have been ever since I first heard the cast album. What I feared would be another bland attempt at putting a beloved children's classic on stage turned out to be a treasure trove of clever lyrics and great storytelling. And so ...

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 Hit...

The final installment of STAGEright's "Find Your Light" season is the uproarious white-trash lampoon, THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL, by Betsy Kelso and David Nehls. Concerning the rather sordid lives of several denizens inhabiting a southern Florida trailer park, the show touches on as man...

Stephen Schwartz's "Pippin" is one of those under appreciated musicals. It definitely has its problems but if done well it can deliver the goods. Well, the current tour of the recent Broadway run certainly delivers those goods. Not only does it retain the dark edginess of the story but it's also ...

Two years ago, if you were lucky enough to catch it, we were introduced to the Wild West, steampunk world of 'The Clockwork Professor', a delightful melodrama from the mind of Maggie Lee. Well the denizens of that world continued to have adventures in Lee's mind and now we can all climb on board to...

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you have a story to tell then tell it. Existentialism is fine but don't pack in a bunch of superfluous seemingly non sequitur dialog and lose your meaning as a result. Such is the problem with Fantastic Z's current production of "Sidewinders" over at R...

The trouble with one man shows is that it's difficult to make them engaging no matter the subject. Such is the pitfall that Jeanne Sakata's "Hold These Truths", currently playing at ACT Theatre, falls into. This may be an incredibly horrifying thing that happened to this man but unless you have an...

Sound Theatre Company has never shied away from difficult plays and now in conjunction with Brownbox Theatre they've taken on Marcus Gardley's moving civil war fable "… And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi". To be blunt, this play is not going to be for everyone with its deeply poetic nature and c...

Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey's musical "Grease" is so much more than just a collection of doo wop numbers. It's a group of teens finding their own identities at a time when teens were finding identities much different from those of their parents. Or at least it should be. Unfortunately the current...

When you see as many shows as I do as a theater reviewer there are shows that, on the surface, make you concerned as to what you're about to see. Such a show was "Orpheus Descending" developed and performed by the Williams Project at 12th Avenue Arts as part of the Intiman Theatre Festival. I mean...

NEWS FLASH: The evil Hoard of Four under the command of the Eric the Evil Overlord is out to steal the special beer that has crash landed from outer space. Who can the Mayor call in to rescue us all? The Jet City Superheroes of course! Yes Teatro ZinZanni has dusted off their spandex and capes to...

Dreams are there for our brains to work things out when we can't and the more incapacitated we are the weirder those dreams become. I mean Dorothy dreamt about flying monkeys. Well in "Wizzer Pizzer: Getting Over the Rainbow", currently from Theatre22 as part of their Pride Series, the dream is ju...

I don't think many theater nerds need to argue the virtues of Stephen Schwartz's hit show "Wicked" currently playing at the Paramount Theatre. It's one of those shows that's widely and verbally loved by aficionados and general theatergoers alike. So when the tour comes through town it's bound to h...

Dear readers, it had been about a year since my previous trip back to the Mothership (a.k.a. New York) and I felt it was time for a recharge of my Broadway batteries, even if it could only be a quickie. Well let me tell you there is plenty of awesome happening out there to catch. Now I only caught...

How do you come out with an anti-war novel without it becoming preachy or scolding? You let Kurt Vonnegut handle it. His tale of the life of a soldier through his time in war and beyond is so shrouded in other elements that the lessons learned just slide on into your brain along with the rest of t...

Most of us in some way still want to believe that magic is real. I know I do. I mean how many of us tried some of those Harry Potter spells just to see what would happen? Just me? Well anyway, some true magicians are visiting Seattle at the moment with the big flashy show "The Illusionists - Wit...

Playwright Dane Whitlock is quite fond of popular culture to the point of obsession (nay, mania!), having created shows like LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE-OKE and I TOTALLY KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST DONNA SUMMER. The names alone hint at the delightfully demented Cuisinart intellect behind StageRight's cu...