The American dream as a guiding star, historic relic, or unreachable aspiration has been
Will Kidder is confronted with unpleasant truths in "The Young Man from Atlanta." Photo by Armen Stein.
both studied and sullied by playwrights for decades. Never more so than in Horton Foote’s powerful opus, The Young Man from Atlanta, which made its Seattle debut at Stone Soup Theatre on Friday (Feb. 17).
- Read review at Crosscut.com.
February is the month of love and the month of African American history. On Feb. 19, the
Dancer Scott Bartell and poet Alvin Lloyd Alexander Horn. Photo courtesy of Jack Storms/Storms Photographic.
Seattle-based performing arts project, Poetry+Motion, presented the results of an innovative collaboration between local black poets and dancers. “Love, Our History” featured dancers performing self-choreographed numbers inspired by original poems, which were read aloud by the poets as accompaniment to the dance performances in lieu of music.
- Read review at Crosscut.com.
The difference between being naked and being nude lies at the crux of “See Me
Award-winning actor and playwright Maria Glanz exposes her body and soul in her comedic monologue, “See Me Naked.” Photo by Omar Willey.
Naked,” an award-winning monologue by Seattle actor Maria Glanz that has been remounted at West of Lenin this month, more than a decade after its debut.
Being naked means being embarrassed, deprived of covering, and ultimately ashamed. Nudity, on the other hand, is without discomfort; a condition of utter confidence. As Glanz struggles throughout the hour-long piece to get out of her clothing, she is in truth wrestling with the dichotomy of her fear of nakedness and her desire for nudity.
- Read review at Crosscut.com.
Remember Rosencrantz? From Hamlet? How about Guildenstern? In Shakespeare’s play,
Games of chance sustain Rosencrantz (Alyssa Keene, left) and Guildenstern (Angela Di Marco, right) in Seattle Public Theater's gender-bending production of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." Photo by Paul Bestock.
these childhood friends of the titular character are commissioned to spy on the Prince of Denmark in order to find out what’s ailing him, then escort him by sea to England where he is scheduled to be killed. But then the pirates attack …
- Read review at Crosscut.com.
The 2011 Gypsy Rose Lee Award winners are as follows:
Excellence in Production of a Play:
Equity: The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).
Also recognized: O Lovely Glowworm (Or Scenes of Great Beauty) (New Century Theatre Company).
Non-Equity: Sick (New City Theater).
Also recognized: Live from the Last Night of My Life (Theater Schmeater).
Excellence in Production of a Musical:
Equity: Iron Curtain (Village Theatre).
Non-Equity: The Drowsy Chaperone (Seattle Musical Theatre).
Excellence in Direction of a Play:
Equity: Juliette Carrillo, The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).
Also recognized: Valerie Curtis-Newton, All My Sons (Intiman Theatre).
Non-Equity: Karen Lund, Brownie Points (Taproot Theatre Company).
Also recognized: Wayne Rawley, Live from the Last Night of My Life (Theater Schmeater).
Excellence in Direction of a Musical:
Equity: Steve Tomkins, Iron Curtain (Village Theatre).
Non-Equity: Brandon Ivie, The Drowsy Chaperone (Seattle Musical Theatre).
Excellence in Performance as a Lead Actor:
Equity: Michael Patten, O Lovely Glowworm (Or Scenes of Great Beauty) (New Century Theatre Company).
Non-Equity: Jaryl Draper, How I Learned To Drive (Stone Soup Theater).
Excellence in Performance as a Lead Actress:
Equity: Anne Allgood, Mary Stuart (ACT Theatre).
Also recognized: Carolee Carmello, Saving Aimee (The 5th Avenue Theatre).
Non-Equity: Elizabeth Kenny, Sick (New City Theater).
Excellence in Performance as a Supporting Actor – any non-lead:
Equity: Todd Jefferson Moore, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Seattle Shakespeare Company).
Also recognized: Joshua Carter, Mary Stuart (ACT Theatre).
Non-Equity: Aaron Lamb, An Ideal Husband (Taproot Theatre Company).
Also recognized: Nick Edwards, Shipwrecked (ArtsWest).
Excellence in Performance as a Supporting Actress – any non-lead:
Equity: Bobbi Kotula, Iron Curtain (Village Theatre).
Also recognized: Terri Weagant, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Seattle Shakespeare Company).
Non-Equity: Stacie Calkins, Hairspray (Seattle Musical Theatre).
Excellence in Performance as an Ensemble:
Equity: Cast of The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).
Non-Equity: Cast of Brownie Points (Taproot Theatre Company).
Also recognized: Cast of A Lie of the Mind (Collektor).
Excellence in Set Design:
Equity: Roger Benington, O Lovely Glowworm (Or Scenes of Great Beauty) (New Century Theatre Company).
Also recognized: Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams, The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).
Non-Equity: Mark Lund, Something’s Afoot (Taproot Theatre Company).
Also recognized: Michael Mowery, Live from the Last Night of My Life (Theater Schmeater), Richard Schaefer, Arms and the Man (Seattle Public Theater).
Excellence in Costume Design:
Equity: Harmony Arnold, O Lovely Glowworm (Or Scenes of Great Beauty) (New Century Theatre Company).
Also recognized: Catherine Hunt, In The Next Room, or The Vibrator Play (ACT Theatre).
Non-Equity: Deborah Sorenson, Pygmalion (Sound Theatre Company).
Also recognized: John Allbritton, Hairspray (Seattle Musical Theatre).
Excellence in Lighting Design:
Equity: Geoff Korf, The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre)
Non-Equity: Tess Malone, Duel of the Linguist Mages (Annex Theatre).
Also recognized: Dave Hastings, Crooked (Theater Schmeater).
Excellence in Sound Design:
Equity: Matt Starritt, The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).
Also recognized: Matt Starritt, The K of D (Seattle Repertory Theatre).
Non-Equity: Christopher Overstreet, Duel of the Linguist Mages (Annex Theatre).
Also recognized: Larry A. Ryan, Live from the Last Night of My Life (Theater Schmeater).
Excellence in Musical Direction:
Equity: RJ Tancioco, Iron Curtain (Village Theatre).
Non-Equity: Josh Zimmerman, Hairspray (Seattle Musical Theatre).
Excellence in Choreography or Movement:
Equity: Sonia Dawkins, The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).
Also recognized: Noah Racey, Guys & Dolls (The 5th Avenue Theatre).
Excellence in Local Playwriting:
Elizabeth Kenny, Sick (New City Theater).
Also recognized: Scotto Moore, Duel of the Linguist Mages (Annex Theatre).
The Stranger’s “Last Days” columnist, David Schmader,is morbidly
David Schmader is performing his one-man play, A Short-Term Solution to a Long-Term Problem at Richard Hugo House. Photo courtesy of Richard Hugo House.
fascinated by “found” comedy: those moments in life where things go so cosmically awry that the only possible response is laughter. In his new solo play, A Short-Term Solution to a Long-Term Problem, which opened Jan. 20 at Seattle’s writing haven, Richard Hugo House, Schmader delves into the decade-long period when he attempted to mitigate the emotional damage from his HIV diagnosis by indulging his eclectic and idiosyncratic sense of humor.
- Read review at crosscut.com.
There are several reasons Balagan Theatre isn’t letting anyone under the age of 14 into
Melchior (Brian Earp) and Wendla (Diana Huey) discover each other in the regional premiere of Spring Awakening at Balagan Theatre. Photo by Pamela M. Campi.
its production of the musical Spring Awakening, which made its regional premiere on Jan. 6. Namely, teenage pregnancy, child abuse, abortion, incest, suicide, and a graphic sex scene enacted in full view of the audience. All this made-for-TV controversy is packed into a two-hour musical based on an 1892 German play, whose characters are barely older than those banned from attending the Seattle performance.
- Read review at crosscut.com.
Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker is pure adult holiday
"Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker" runs through Dec. 24 at The Triple Door. Photo by Chris Blakeley.
entertainment. Good humored and farcical, with a stocking-full of sly winks to the audience throughout its two acts, the real gimmick of the show is the unexpected fact that these ladies (and gentlemen) of burlesque really can dance.
Now in its sixth year, the show, while not quite tasteful, is never vulgar or crude. Stocked with veterans of Seattle’s burlesque scene, as well as former dancers from Spectrum Dance Theater and Ballet Bellevue, there’s a polish and panache to this deconstructed (and denuded) version of The Nutcracker. Men and women alike engage in impressive pointe work, with fluid port de bras (no, not those kind of bras) that bring unexpected elegance to the production.
- Read review at Crosscut.com.
The singers of Watershed Opera are more attractive than the law allows. Svelte and sexy,
Watershed Opera's “Femmes Fatale” presented an evening of murder, mystery and mermaids at Town Hall Seattle on Dec. 3. Photo courtesy of Watershed Opera.
their look falls somewhere between soap opera glamour and glitzy prom-wear. Think sequined evening gowns, slinky chiffon scarves and sweeping up-dos. If you ever wondered who, besides 15-year-olds, buys those rhinestone chandelier earrings at Claire’s Boutique in the mall, the answer is pretty people with pretty voices. They aren’t tacky, however. They’re having fun with the opera singer stereotype.
- Read full review at Crosscut.com
When it comes to holiday productions, Seattle is drowning. Katherine Luck separates
Seattle's annual production of Black Nativity returns to the Moore Theatre in December. Photo by Chris Bennion.
the men from the boys.
Shopping around for holiday entertainment in Seattle can be as trying as a trip to an overcrowded mall. While the abundance of holiday performances from which to choose is certainly appreciated, narrowing the list down to a core group of must-see shows presents a challenge. The following is a selection of the best bets for 2011, from dance to traditional theatrical favorites to musical extravaganzas.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
“The Herdmans were the worst kids in the whole history of the world,” narrator Beth Bradley informs the audience at the outset of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
- Read article at Crosscut.com.
