SEATTLE THEATER REVIEWS

There are some aspects of life that most of us don't delve into. Dark aspects that are all too common in the world but we've been fortunate enough to avoid. But it seems as dark and unseemly as these areas of life are, Azeotrope is determined to pull back the rug and take a good look at what skitt...

Dear Readers, have you lost that innocence and exuberance of youth? Are you no longer fascinated by the wonder of flying boys, singing mermaids and maniacal pirates? Well then I have the cure for you. If you're a kid at heart or just a kid then you need to get out and catch the current touring pr...

OK, so I've seen it several times. I mean there are the movies plus countless productions about town. It's done a lot as it's one of Shakespeare's more accessible plays with its quick wit and very clear heroes and villains (one hero is even called Hero). But that doesn't mean I don't still love i...

No, it's not "Sybil", just one 13 year old girl with a lot to say about the crazy people in her life. That's the central premise for the World Premiere of Elizabeth Heffron's "Bo-Nita" currently playing at the Seattle Rep. And while the ending left me wanting a little, what comes before is a fasci...

Newborn theatre company Theatre22 has stumbled into the light of the world with its inaugural production of Lanford Wilson's post Vietnam War drama, "Fifth of July". And while the production and play itself took awhile to find its rhythm, the level of professionalism of the production launches this...

Do ya hear that playin'? Do ya know what's playin'? Why it's one of the best interpretations of a classic musical I've seen. The current touring production of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes", on stage now at the 5th Avenue Theatre, has three major things going for it; a director who understands the...

Any true Broadway Geek knows of the infamous flop that is "Carrie: The Musical". Having only run for 16 previews and 5 actual performances back in 1988, some believed it to be one of the worst shows around while others still proclaimed its merits and longed for its return. So when the show was ret...

Sir Alan Ayckbourn certainly knows how to bring rich and complex characters to life and then set them spinning to hilarious ends and his current production of "Sugar Daddies", making it's American Premiere at ACT, is no exception. And while it could use some trimming, he gives us a sobering yet fun...

There are some classics you just don't mess with. "Casablanca", "Lawrence of Arabia" and yes, "The Wizard of Oz". OK, so there have been a number of sequels or prequels and complete rewrites (such as "The Wiz", which I love) but up to now no one has felt they could make the original better. That ...

New Century Theatre Company's track record for putting on stunning shows remains brilliantly intact as they present another absolute winner with Enda Walsh's "The Walworth Farce". It's actually getting a little scary how they keep consistently putting up the goods show after show. It's almost like...

If you're going to have a play espousing rhetoric on politics and the state of our Government let it have something new (or at least clever) to say, otherwise it's the same old stuff we've heard droning on for years. Well as edgy and topical as Lauren Gunderson's play "The Taming", currently playin...

(Sputter, gasp wheeze) There, I can breathe again. So you know when you go to a show and there's that one actor on stage who is so good, so funny, that the show and the other actors just kind of revolve around them like some theatrical sun warming all in its orbit? OK, now imagine an entire stage ...

Imagine you go to see a comedienne. She talks about sex and drugs and racial issues and being a lesbian and any number of taboo subjects. Pretty fun night, right? Now imagine she's in her 50's, 60's or even 70's. Even more fun. Now imagine it's the 1970's or even earlier. And there we have th...

OK, so we're all sick of the trend of movies turned into musicals but, Dear Readers, just as movies have to keep remaking themselves, Broadway will keep culling from film vaults for new musicals. Let's face it, it ain't going anywhere. But if they're going to do it, such as with the current produc...

We've all had those fleeting thoughts in our heads every now and again of doing something completely outrageous like blowing something up or offing someone just because we don't like their face. We have right? No? Just me? Uh oh. Well anyway, MAP Theatre's latest offering of Carter W. Lewis' "S...

Sometimes goofy is all you really need. Sure, it's nice to have a deeply heartfelt and affecting show but sometimes you just want candy. Well look no further as Village has taken the candy coated no brainer that is "Xanadu" and amped the joy and humor up to 11. And while yes, the performances are...

I must be honest here; Balagan Theatre putting on a production of Les Mis already has two hurdles to overcome before I even set foot in the door. First that it's Les Mis. It's a monumental undertaking and one of my favorite shows and I'm incredibly picky about it. And two, it's Balagan and with t...

We don't live in Grover's Corners anymore and a lot has changed in the century since that time. So it stands to reason that a slice of life play like 'Middletown', currently playing at ACT would be a darker and grittier ride than its 'Our Town' predecessor. And while at times it seems like just a ...

There's an old show business adage that if you give the audience a strong ending, they'll forgive most anything that came before. And it's a good thing that still holds true for "Sister Act" currently playing at the Paramount Theatre as the top of the show was filled with painfully forced dialog an...

It's a really good thing the air conditioning is working in the Seattle Center Armory because something has to cool the audience down after Sound Theatre Company's current production of "The Wild Party". Not only is it a sultry good time but the fear, love, lust, anger and danger coming off the cas...

Wagner's 'Ring' is back in town at Seattle Opera. Some say for the last time (at least as it is now) as Speight Jenkins is stepping down from the organization. So it's only fitting that the abridged twangy retelling the cycle, 'Das Barbecu' make it's way back again. But unlike the productions in ...

I like absurdist farce, raucous hijinks and Italian commedia as much as the next guy and Dario Fo is certainly a master of all three. However when a production of one of his plays such as the Intiman's current production of "We Won't Pay, We Won't Pay" starts off going 100 miles an hour and stays t...

When melodrama is done right, it can be a ton of fun. Maniacal cackling villains, stalwart heroes, and everyone gets what they deserve. And while the current steampunk production from Pork Filled Productions, "The Clockwork Professor", playing at Theatre Off Jackson has much of that melodramatic ...

This is not your Grandfather's "Lysistrata". It's not even your Great great great great (you get the idea) Grandfather's version. The Intiman has taken this classic Anti-War story and amped it up to 11 making it resonate with modern sensibilities and given it a hard hitting ending that you won't s...

It's a tough thing to follow up such a widely acclaimed show as Azeotrope's offering of "Jesus Hopped the A Train" last season. Especially when you only put up one show a season. And while their current production of "Gruesome Playground Injuries" may not be as engaging of a script, the cast and c...