Tag Archives: 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.

World premiere of Take Me America at Village Theatre

19 Sep

Before the play begins, the stage for Take Me America, making its world premiere at

Take Me America at Village Theatre

New musical "Take Me America" made its world premiere at Village Theatre on Sept. 15. Photo by Jay Koh.

Village Theatre on Sept. 15, is concealed by a projection of a blank U.S. government asylum application, in lieu of a curtain. Behind the bureaucratic façade of this new musical, which comes from the development program that generated Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Next to Normal, there lies a tangled tale of legal red tape, desperation, and hope.

Read full review at crosscut.com.

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