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