Tag Archives: northwest

Happy Days: Beckett play warns against blissful ignorance

13 Mar

Only Samuel Beckett‏ would write a play about a woman buried up to her chest in a

Mary Ewald and Seanjohn Walsh in "Happy Days." Photo by Lindsay Smith.

Mary Ewald and Seanjohn Walsh in "Happy Days." Photo by Lindsay Smith.

massive hill of sand, her only companions a taciturn old man and a bag containing drugstore goodies and a gun … and call it Happy Days.

On its surface, the play, now on stage at New City Theater, is little more than a faintly optimistic two-hour monologue, delivered by a Pollyanna-ish older woman, Winnie (Mary Ewald). Lurking just beneath the typical Beckett circumlocution is a profound treatise on loss and physical decay that disturbs as often as it illuminates.

- Read review at Crosscut.com.

Strong talent infuses Red at Seattle Rep

4 Mar

The color red means different things to different people. Red can be passion or apples or

Denis Arndt as painter Mark Rothko in the Tony Award-winning play, Red, onstage at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Photo by Chris Bennion.

Denis Arndt as painter Mark Rothko in the Tony Award-winning play, Red, onstage at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Photo by Chris Bennion.

lipstick. It can be a sunset or fire or rage. Or, as painter Mark Rothko reveals in Red, currently on stage at Seattle Repertory Theatre, it can represent both your life’s blood and your life’s work.

- Read review at Crosscut.com.

Seattle Public Theater finds meaning in Stoppard’s Beckett-like play

29 Jan

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."

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.

 

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.

‘Spring Awakening’: A boldly passionate bourgeois critique at Balagan

13 Jan

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.

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.

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.

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.

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