Seattle Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

Review: TOSCA at McCaw Hall
by Erica Miner - May 12, 2025

Ending the season with a memorable production of one of opera’s most tour de force masterpieces is sure to motivate audiences to return for Seattle Opera’s next season...

Review: SIX at The Paramount Theatre
by Jay Irwin - May 07, 2025

Dear Readers, It’s true, the Queens are back. The glorious rock show “Six” is back at the Paramount to melt our faces and maybe even teach us a little history. And while it’s still the same amazing show that, if you know, you know, I just wish the Paramount, and really all the musical theater houses...

BWW Review: Sound Theater Company's HUNGRY at Center Theater
by Amelia Divine - May 05, 2025

There’s no escaping the kitchen in Hungry, now playing at Sound Theatre Company. Not just because the set keeps the kitchen table at center stage, no matter where in time we’re dropped. But because food, and everything it represents; culture, class, control, comfort is the simmering heart of this gr...

Review: GOLDEN at ACT Theatre
by Amelia Divine - May 04, 2025

Golden, written by Andrew Lee Creech and now playing at ACT Theater,, is a rich, character-driven drama that delivers clean, linear storytelling about what it means to live with dignity when the world feels like it’s falling apart....

Review: HAMLET at The Seattle Rep
by Jay Irwin - May 01, 2025

Dear Readers, I want to set the not-so-wayback machine to January 2024 when I got to see the first preview of Eddie Izzard doing her one person “Hamlet” in New York. Now I want to emphasize, this was the first preview of a brand-new show, and it was rough. This is to be expected. But afterward I was...

BWW Review: DADS at 12th Ave Arts
by Amelia Divine - April 28, 2025

DADS doesn’t so much invite you in as dare you to stick around long enough to figure it out. Now playing at 12th Ave Arts, this messy, physical, and defiantly queer performance — created and performed by the Drama Tops duo Elby Brosch and Shane Donohue — explores grief through endurance, irony, and ...

Review: LAUGHS IN SPANISH at The Seattle Rep
by Jay Irwin - April 26, 2025

Dear Readers, it’s always a dangerous proposition for a playwright to put the emotion they want you to feel in the title of their play. One such show would be Alexis Scheer’s “Laughs in Spanish”, currently playing at the Seattle Rep. If you’re going to tell me there are laughs, then there had better...

BWW Review: THE THINGS AROUND US at Intiman Theater
by Amelia Divine - April 25, 2025

At its best, a one-person show invites you into the mind and heart of its creator, allowing you to walk a little in their shoes—whether through literal storytelling, experimental performance, or (ideally) a bit of both. In The Things Around Us, now playing at Intiman Theater, Ahamefule J. Oluo lets ...

Review: PARADE at The 5th Avenue Theatre
by Jay Irwin - April 19, 2025

Dear Readers, we live in divisive times. That’s no news to anyone. Our society is extremely polarized with many basing beliefs on fear, misinformation, and xenophobia while those in charge propagate that division by spreading lies. Sadly, this kind of behavior has been around forever, but if we can ...

Review: EMMA at Dacha Theatre
by Shelley Dean - April 18, 2025

Taking on a classic is no easy feat, especially one that has been famously adapted and loved throughout history, such as Jane Austen’s beloved Emma. Seattle’s Dacha Theatre company has proved it’s up for the task with its latest immersive on-stage adaptation of the novel. Freshly directed by Sophia ...

Review: LIFE OF PI at The Paramount Theatre
by Jay Irwin - April 16, 2025

Dear Readers, sometimes we get magic on stage. Whether that’s in the form of a captivating performance or some brilliant tech wizardry or maybe some stunning direction, this magic is what we yearn for when we go to the theater. Lucky for you, all three have come to the Paramount with the gripping “L...

Review: A RAISIN IN THE SUN at Taproot Theatre
by Jay Irwin - March 27, 2025

Dear Readers, in the past I’ve talked about plays that are essential for your theatrical education, plays that are just good for you. If those fluff plays out there are candy, then these essentials are your vegetables. Once such play is Lorraine Hansberry’s Pulitzer Prize winning classic from 1959, ...

BWW Review: OLIVER! at Theatre Off Jackson
by Amelia Divine - March 24, 2025

Oliver! has always been a tale of survival, of the brutal systems that devour the vulnerable, and of the strange and tender communities that spring up in their margins. With Lionel Bart's reframing of Oliver!, now on stage at Theatre Off Jackson, Reboot Theatre Company takes a sharp left turn into 1...

Review: JERSEY BOYS at Village Theatre
by Shelley Dean - March 23, 2025

Countless musical groups have risen to fame, many becoming universally known household names. There are fewer groups whose music transcends time, genre evolution, and the classic dramatics. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are among these precious few. Whether you immediately think of 'Walk Like a...

Review: CARNIVAL OF CURIOSITIES at The Can Can
by Jay Irwin - March 21, 2025

Rejoice Dear Readers, as the Carnival is in town. But not your average carnival. No. This is the Can Can and to celebrate their 20th anniversary (yes, they’ve been titillating for 20 years) they’ve brought us a sultry, steamy, magical extravaganza with “Carnival of Curiosities”....

Review: WAITRESS at The 5th Avenue Theatre
by Jay Irwin - March 15, 2025

Dear Readers, when the rights for local theaters to produce hit shows become available, or start to become available, you know every theater will be vying to be the first. One such show currently in this situation is Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson’s huge hit “Waitress”. And once those rights are o...

Review: MOTHER RUSSIA at The Seattle Rep
by Jay Irwin - March 13, 2025

If you’re at all familiar with the plays of Lauren Yee, Dear Readers, then you know of her delightfully odd situations, rich characters and scintillating dialog. People are still talking about last season’s “Cambodian Rock Band” but my favorite was her “King of the Yees”. Her work brings out the goo...

BWW Review: TIME STANDS STILL at 12th Ave Arts
by Amelia Divine - March 02, 2025

Time Stands Still (by Thalia’s Umbrella), draws you into a carefully crafted, intimate world where the line between audience and observer feels blurred. With a thoughtfully detailed set and a standout performance from its lead actress, this production demonstrates the impact of small-scale storytell...

Review: LETTERS FROM MAX at Seattle Public Theater
by Jay Irwin - March 01, 2025

Dear Readers, I love a good play that can make me feel something. Not just tell me a story but immerse me in the subject. One such play is Sarah Ruhl’s “Letters From Max” currently playing at Seattle Public Theater. And while it certainly got to me, the play itself has some accessibility issues I ne...

BWW Review: CRAVE at Intiman Theater
by Amelia Divine - February 23, 2025

CRAVE, Sarah Kane’s stylistic one-act play, is an uncompromising plunge into the raw, chaotic landscape of human emotion. Now performing at Intiman Theater, this is a 55-minute concept piece that seems to revel in its own disarray. In true avant‐garde fashion, the play introduces us to four enigmati...

Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS from ACT And The 5th Avenue Theatre
by Jay Irwin - February 20, 2025

Dear Readers, if you’re not familiar with the Jason Robert Brown love story, “The Last Five Years” currently being offered from ACT and The 5th Avenue Theatre, you could get a bit confused watching it. So be sure to read on to avoid confusion. But for myself, I’ve seen it a few different times. I’ve...

Review: BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY at Seattle Rep
by Jay Irwin - February 13, 2025

Dear Readers, I’m all for a slice of life play showing the inequities in class, race, gender, etc. in the past and spotlighting how far we have not come. Such a play is Pearl Cleage’s “Blues for an Alabama Sky”, currently playing at the Seattle Rep. It’s not a new play; in fact it’s about 30 years o...

BWW Review: HAMILTON at The Paramount Theater
by Amelia Divine - February 06, 2025

The legacy of Hamilton needs no rehashing – record sales, Tony wins and nominations, career launches, and undeniable songs. But is that legacy still preserved in the productions that continue to bear its name, or does any further attempt at putting on an official Hamilton show pale in comparison to ...

BWW Review: LEWIS AND TOLKIEN at Taproot Theater
by Amelia Divine - February 01, 2025

For two men who built grand worlds of myth and magic, LEWIS AND TOLKIEN is a strikingly intimate and deeply human story—not of great battles or epic journeys, but of friendship, regret, and the quiet ache of unspoken words. Now playing at the Taproot Theater, this play, adapted from Colin Duriez’s n...

BWW Review: DIAL M FOR MURDER at The Village Theater
by Amelia Divine - January 27, 2025

What did BroadwayWorld's critic think of Dial M for Murder at The Village Theater? Read the review here and learn more about The Village Theater's production....