Archive by Author

Seattle’s naughtier Nutcracker flaunts class amidst nudity

16 Dec

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.

"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.

Seattle’s Watershed Opera presents modernized, family-friendly arias

6 Dec

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.

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

Seattle’s 5 best bets for the holiday season

2 Dec

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.

Seattle's annual production of Black Nativity returns to the Moore Theatre in December. Photo by Chris Bennion.

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.

A drama of aging offers insight, pain

1 Dec

After 15 years of making his Master of Social Work degree earn its keep at various

Mark Cherniack's one-man show, "Jalopies," is at Annex Theatre through Dec 10. Photo courtesy of Mark Cherniack.

Mark Cherniack's one-man show, "Jalopies," is at Annex Theatre through Dec 10. Photo courtesy of Mark Cherniack.

retirement facilities, Mark Cherniack appears to have learned a hard lesson: Getting old is painful. His one-man play, Jalopies, presents inspired-by-true-stories from inside a Seattle assisted-living facility. While not altogether devoid of hope, these stories are none too cheery.

- Read review at Crosscut.com.

Theater Schmeater’s latest takes a road trip through holiday pandemonium

25 Nov

Rachel (Alyssa Keene) is a Christmas junkie. She gets high by anticipating Santa,

Rachel (Alyssa Keene) and Tom (Mathew Middleton) await the first improbable plot twist in Reckless. Photo by D. Hastings.

Rachel (Alyssa Keene) and Tom (Mathew Middleton) await the first improbable plot twist in Reckless. Photo by D. Hastings.

experiences uncontrolled euphoria at the sight of falling snow, and nearly swoons at the sound of holiday carols. But this Christmas Eve, her husband, Tom (Mathew Middleton), gives her the worst present ever.

“I took a contract out on your life!” he blurts out. The hitman is on his way, so out the window she goes, fleeing for her life in her robe and slippers, with the parting words, “This is so . . . mean!”

- Read full review at Crosscut.com.

New Seattle theater company Blank Stage Theater’s first foray

22 Nov

Remember your high school math teacher expounding on the elegance of proofs? These often confounding demonstrations of the truth of mathematical statements have driven many a mathematician to distraction, as evidenced by the 358-year struggle to discover a proof for Fermat’s Last Theorem, former holder of the Guinness World Record for “most difficult math problem.” Their elusive, maddening beauty provides the framework for David Auburn’s 2001 opus, Proof.

Catherine (Nathania ten Wolde) struggles with math and madness in Blank Stage Theater's production of Proof. Photo by Mary Kalhor.

Catherine (Nathania ten Wolde) struggles with math and madness in Blank Stage Theater's production of Proof. Photo by Mary Kalhor.

- Read full review at Crosscut.

Michael Jackson tribute a circus of error and bizarre subtext

11 Nov

If you’ve ever wondered what a big, blowout rock concert would look like if its superstar

The stripper pole routine, performed to Michael Jackson's 1993 song "Dangerous." Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil.

happened to be dead, look no further. Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour is it. A bloated bonanza larded with some of the most popular music of all time, high tech wizardry that failed as often as it astonished, and so-so acrobatic routines, Michael Jackson The Immortal would have destroyed Jackson’s career if he’d had the ego to mount such a production during his lifetime.

- Read full review at crosscut.com.

Mile-high dining and double agents

4 Nov

Cafe Nordo’s latest dinner theatre production blends 1960s air travel, Northwest food, and communist spies. Welcome aboard.

Cafe Nordo International spies Saul Needle (Ray Tagavilla), Svetlana Romanova (Aimee Bruneau) and Lin Biao (Max Davis) are on a mission to Seattle in Cafe Nordo: To Savor Tomorrow.

International spies Saul Needle (Ray Tagavilla), Svetlana Romanova (Aimee Bruneau) and Lin Biao (Max Davis) are on a mission to Seattle in "Cafe Nordo: To Savor Tomorrow." Photo courtesy of Cafe Nordo.

You’re seated aboard Pan Am Flight 892, about to take off from Honolulu bound for Seattle. You’ve just listened to President Kennedy announce the opening of the World’s Fair. It’s 1962. Creating an intimate fantasy world, filled with stunning stewardesses, communist spies, CIA plots, and some of the best cocktail fare in town, Café Nordo launched its fourth dinner theater extravaganza in Fremont’s West of Lenin theater on Oct. 28.

- Read full review at Crosscut.com.

A charming play at The Rep, but a dark question beneath

9 Oct

Lorenzo Pisoni was raised by clowns. As a teenager, his father, Larry, ran away from

Humor Abuse review by Katherine Luck

"Humor Abuse" is at Seattle Repertory Theatre through Oct. 23. Photo by Chris Bennion.

home to join the circus. By the time little Lorenzo could walk, he was running away, too — away from his father’s small-time family circus in search of the real world. His father’s response was to pin a button on Pisoni’s clothing that read, “I’m Lorenzo and I belong to the circus.” Pisoni’s one-man show, Humor Abuse, is simultaneously a tribute and an indictment, drawing the audience into the true story of a childhood dominated by a quest for laughter that was all too serious.

- Read full review at Crosscut.com.

Newer Entries →

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.