SEATTLE THEATER REVIEWS

Sometimes we just don't need those big flashy musicals. Sometimes it's just nice to have a simple little show that you can sit back and let wash over you. Such is the case with the current show out at Seattle Musical Theatre, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change". The perfect little date night...

It's difficult when you have an iconic show to work with such as "The Producers" currently playing at Village Theatre. The Mel Brooks classic movie turned Mel Brooks mega hit stage musical turned Mel Brooks movie musical is definitely a big piece of musical theater history. Add in huge stars like ...

A show about two nobodies writing a musical about themselves writing the musical they are in. Sounds a bit self-serving and pandering. They even note that in the course of the play and that's the impression I've always had of it from the cast recording. And while I still have that impression to a...

The thing I love about catching shows from the only three year old STAGEright is that you can see the amount of heart and love they pour into their productions. From the casting to the sets to the material itself you can tell that these folks have a definite love for what they are presenting rather...

Let me just start by saying I have never read or seen any works by Federico Garcia Lorca, so I could not be called a fan of his work. And I'm wondering if that's what you would need to really get into Arouet's production of Lorca's "The House of Bernarda Alba" adapted into English by Emily Mann. W...

As technology is fast approaching the time when we'll all have our own flying cars and robot servants (even though I thought we were supposed to be there by now) new and interesting tech also avails itself to theatrical productions. Sometimes it goes a little overboard and interferes with telling t...

This is not Liza's "Cabaret". This ain't even the edgier Alan Cumming version. The new Schoolyard production of Cabaret currently playing at Re-bar is a different animal entirely. With its more contemporary rock orchestrations and in your face style this production of the Kander and Ebb classic som...

I'll have to admit I'm a sucker for those stories where people find new and wondrous things about themselves and succeed against all odds. Yes, I'm a sap, which is why I found myself tearing up a few times during ACT's current production of "The Pitmen Painters". It's not the most glorious script ...

"You gotta have heart!" That's the central conceit of any production of "Damn Yankees". Without that heart they might as well be singing about golf. Well luckily the current production at the 5th Avenue Theatre in conjunction with the Paper Mill Playhouse has heart to spare combined with a killer...

Village Theatre has a tradition of bringing up new musicals (often ones showcased in their Village Originals Festival) onto the Mainstage. Sometimes it works ("Next To Normal" or "Iron Curtain") and sometimes it doesn't ("Take Me America" from earlier this season) and sometimes you have a really pr...

Sometimes I don't think we in Seattle know how culturally lucky we are. We have amazing theaters that give us new and exciting works sometimes even as tryouts on their way to Broadway. But now the Seattle Rep has pulled off a new one as we are getting Bruce Norris' thrilling new work "Clybourne Pa...

The Heroes are back! Annex Theatre's favorite band of supers have returned for a prequel to their hit "Alecto: Issue #1" with the uproarious "Team of Heroes: Behind Closed Doors". And while the hilarity and amazingly clever staging is back with some new surprises and some actual poignant moments, ...

Currently up to bat at Seattle Public Theater we have a spotlight on one of the most recent scandals to rock America's pastime, steroids, with "Back Back Back" by Itamar Moses. And while not one of the most scintillating looks into the inner workings of Baseball, director Kelly Kitchens has assembl...

A show that is largely monologue narration is difficult to pull off at best. They have a tendency to fall into static rhythms rather than engaging stories. Such was the pitfall of ReAct Theatre's current show "A Language of Their Own" by Chay Yew. And while the show did have a tendency towards th...

Religion vs. Science. Psychology vs. Faith. Such is the debate of the ages and specifically of two of the greatest minds of the 20th century, C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud with almost polar opposite attitudes. And such is the topic of the west coast premiere of the Off-Broadway hit "Freud's Last S...

I am the wrong audience for the current show at Seattle Children's Theatre, "Help". I am not an avid fan of The Beatles (blasphemy, I know), I think I'm the wrong age group for some of the choices and I'm not sure I completely understand the choice to bring a biographical play about The Beatles to ...

What constitutes a Broadway Diva? A Broadway star who's endured the test of time with iconic roles that remain in the minds of fans forever. Well then dear readers, we had a Broadway Diva in town last night as Lea Salonga brought her incredible talent to the Moore Theatre for a one night only conc...

It's hard to tell from the outset if David Hare's play, "The Blue Room", adapted from Arthur Schnitzler's "La Ronde", dislikes women more or men as the men all seem to be pricks and women all seem to be playthings for the men. But after reflection overnight on this string of distasteful sexual enco...

There are certain givens in Seattle. It rains a lot. You can pretty much find a Starbucks on every block. And Theater Schmeater's presentations of "The Twilight Zone: Live!" are always a blast. And their current incarnation being presented at ACT Theatre's Bullitt Cabaret is no exception as they...

Currently up to bat at Seattle Public Theater we have a spotlight on one of the most recent scandals to rock America's pastime, steroids, with "Back Back Back" by Itamar Moses. And while not one of the most scintillating looks into the inner workings of Baseball, director Kelly Kitchens has assembl...

Saturday night I went to a party. I wasn't sure what to expect at this party but when I got there I saw that two old friends were there. These are the kind of friends everyone wants to have as they are the coolest people you know. And when they come to a party you know you'll have a good time as ...

If you choose to take a date (first or otherwise) to the new World Premiere musical "First Date" currently being presented at ACT and co-produced through ACT and the 5th Avenue Theatre, you may end up getting quite sentimental and mushy towards your date as the evening wears on. Or you may end up b...

Right from the moment we first meet Aphra (Kirsten Potter) at the top of the Seattle Rep's current production of "Or," by Liz Duffy Adams, we know we are in for one hell of a ride. And what a ride it is! This deliciously naughty look into one of the first female playwrights will keep you rolling w...

Religion vs. Science. Psychology vs. Faith. Such is the debate of the ages and specifically of two of the greatest minds of the 20th century, C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud with almost polar opposite attitudes. And such is the topic of the west coast premiere of the Off-Broadway hit "Freud's Last S...

Theatrically the questions of "What is art?" and "Can art be commercialized" are not new ones. But that is precisely what John Logan's Tony Award winning play "Red", currently playing at the Seattle Rep, is putting out there. And while not a new issue, the play still results in an interesting look...