Excitement builds for the world premiere of Freak the Mighty at Seattle Rep

The cast of Freak the Mighty (Roger Mastroianni)

Freak the Mighty (world premiere)
Seattle Rep (www.seattlerep.org)
July 30–Sept. 6, 2026

Many people are excited to finally see the world premiere of Freak the Mighty, a musical coproduction between the Seattle Rep and the Cleveland Play House.

Maxwell Kane, a shy boy with learning disabilities, and Kevin “Freak” Avery, who has physical disabilities, feel like outcasts that don’t fit in — until they find each other. Armed with big imaginations, sharp humor, and rebellious spirits, the teens become “Freak the Mighty,” a duo ready to take on the world. 

Freak the Mighty is based on the 1993 best-selling young adult novel by Rodman Philbrick, which was also adapted into a film, The Mighty, in 1998, starring Kieran Culkin and Sharon Stone. The musical is suitable for all ages.

August Brings Surprises to Seattle Stages

The cast of Blood/Sucker at WET (Brett Love)

August doesn’t always have much inside theater…. But this year, there are a wide range of very interesting offerings and new companies to get to know. Get out yer calendars!
 
Complemento
8/1-30/26 (at Seattle Center Theatre)
Latitude Theatre and eSe Teatro, www.latitudetheatre.org
Complemento centers on a mysterious yet charming titular character who becomes what others lack through his enigmatic and “complementary” nature. Childhood friend, conman, vagabond or blessing in disguise, he does not hesitate to behave like a scoundrel to accomplish his mission of mending broken hearts.
 
KAIDAN: Japanese Ghost Stories
8/1-29/26 (various theater spaces)
Za Trans-Pacific Productions (a new company), www.ztpproductions.com
KAIDAN (怪談) are traditional Japanese stories of ghosts (yūrei) and supernatural beings (yokai). These spooky tales are shared in the hottest months of the summer, during the Obon season, when spirits of the dead return to visit the living. Kaidan are believed to help people cool off by sending a shiver down their spine. Join us for these frightening yet melancholy stories of the unseen world that reflect the culture and history of Japan.

The inner lives of EMOJIS – Emojiland: The Musical!

 

Emojiland: The Musical
SecondStory Repertory Theatre
Through July 19, 2026
 
Every great theater town needs a pipeline of performers, up-and-comers who need experience to polish up their talents. For musical theater, a particularly challenging pathway demanding triple threats – dancer/singer/actors – this is the most true.
 
Some might remember CLO – Civic Light Opera, that morphed into Seattle Musical Theatre before fading. Fortunately, we currently have both SecondStory Repertory and Reboot Theatre Company (at least) to help with casting new talents in their musicals.
 
Emojiland: The Musical, directed by Scot Charles Anderson, is overflowing with wonderful newish-to-us cast members, with powerful pipes and boiling over with enthusiastic talent. Emojiland gives some top-notch solos out like candy in this show. Some of the 13-member (!) cast that impresses include Emily Courcy (Construction Worker), Victoria Cooper (Princess), Mae Lederman (Smize), Evan Ponyah (Sunny), and Rebekah Nachman (Police Officer). Special shout out to Teddy Meyer (Skull) who is ripe for casting in The Rocky Horror Show, immediately!

July Theater – Free park plays and more

Ray Tagavilla stars in Seattle Vice (John Cornicello)

Summer! Means free Shakespeare and other plays in various parks. And a very Seattle-centric entertainment and a world premiere musical. Get out yer calendars!
 
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
7/8/26-8/15/26
Taproot Theatre, www.taproottheatre.org
Joseph is a dreamer. Betrayed and enslaved, he rises again with faith, forgiveness, and a dazzlingly colorful coat. This beloved family-friendly tale bursts with pop, gospel, calypso, and rock. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical comedy classic invites all generations to experience a vibrant, heartfelt celebration of hope.
 
Macbeth
7/9/26-8/16/26 (various area parks, free/donation)
Wooden O/Union Arts Center, www.unionartscenter.org
Three witches. One prophecy. A power-couple who will stop at nothing to seize the throne. Shakespeare’s most electrifying thriller has it all: dark magic, ruthless ambition, spectacular downfalls, and one of the most iconic predictions in the last 500 years.

Seda (and ArtsWest) Has Another Great Production

Cast of Wish You Were Here (John McLellan)

Wish You Were Here
Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble and ArtsWest
Through July 5, 2026
 
Sometimes a production of a play smacks you in the face with the urgency of “now,” even though the play was written before current history – even years before. Such a play is being performed at ArtsWest in a co-production with Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble. Wish You Were Here, written by Sanaz Toossi, focuses on five women who grow up together in Iran during crucial periods of Iranian history from 1978 to 1991.
 
Yet, there is no ignoring the present war the U.S. has engaged in and the complicity of our U.S. government’s history, as well, in creating the very foe we are fighting! It becomes clear that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
 
Written several years ago, planned for well ahead of February 2026, there’s no escaping the current war-of-choice and the interference, again, into Iran’s circumstances. The regime in place is there, largely, because this country made choices over 75 years ago!

SecondStory Rep performs an important musical

Cast of A Man of No Importance (courtesy SecondStory Rep)

 A Man of No Importance
(now closed – through 6/7/26)
SecondStory Repertory, www.secondstoryrep.org
 
Terrence McNally (book) Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) are the acclaimed team that created what many believe is one of the best musicals of the late 20^th Century, Ragtime. The team also created, just shortly after the debut of Ragtime in 1998, another important, but infrequently produced musical.
 
A Man of No Importance is about “the love than cannot be named,” and the confusion and shame in society imposed upon people who are so scared of homosexuality that they can’t even allow themselves to apply it personally. Alfie Byrne is a bus conductor who recites poetry, particularly Oscar Wilde’s work, to his regular bus passengers, who look forward to that ritual every day.