Tag Archives: american

New play by Stranger columnist confronts mortality with Youtube

24 Jan

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Northwest premiere of Year Zero at Hugo House

25 Sep

SIS Productions, a Seattle group that supports works that involve Asian American

SIS Productions presents the Northwest premiere of "Year Zero" by Michael Golamco, author of "Cowboy Versus Samurai." Photo courtesy of SIS Productions.

women, themes and issues, will present the Northwest premiere of Year Zero by Michael Golamco on Sept. 30.

Directed by Miko Premo, Year Zero tells the story of Vuthy, a quirky 16-year-old who’s “too Cambodian for the black and Latin kids, and not Cambodian enough for the Cambodian kids,” and his older sister, Ra, who is working towards the American dream of a higher education.

Year Zero by Michael Golamco runs Sept. 30 through Oct. 22. at Richard Hugo House, located at 1634 11th Ave. in Seattle. Tickets are $12-$15. For more information, visit www.sis-productions.org.

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