Spookies, World Premieres, and Much More for October Theater

Cast of Escaped Alone at As If Theatre (photo by Christine Mitchell)

Fall Theater is proving to be eclectic and electric. There’s so much wonderful stuff to schedule. Get out yer calendars!
 
References To Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot
10/1-17/26 (at Center Theatre)
Sound Theatre Company, www.soundtheatrecompany.org
Set in the desert of Barstow, California, Gabriela, the wife of a career soldier, escapes into a dreamlike fantasy world during her husband’s prolonged absences. Under a glowing moon, reality gives way to a surreal world where a Coyote and a Cat mirror the passions and questions in Gabriela’s own marriage.
 
Escaped Alone
10/1-18/26
As If Theatre, www.asiftheatre.com
In a quiet suburban garden, three old friends and a visiting neighbor share tea and small stories. But how long can they skim the surface when beyond the fence the world is on fire? This Caryl Churchill play weaves together the rich histories of four women staring down a catastrophic future.
 
Don’t Call It A Journey
Through 12/5/26 (at University Heights)
ese Teatro, https://eseteatro.ludus.com/index.php
Written and co-created by Julieta Vitullo and performed and co-created by Iveliz Martel, Don’t Call It a Journey is a one-woman show based on the playwright's experience with love and loss. Told through tape recorders, overhead projectors, a walking stick, and a house full of tchotchkes, this solo performance moves between a Seattle kitchen, a hospital room, and a dreamscape where crabs, hydras, and robins carry what words can't.

Great Idea to Plan Your Funeral with Brendan Healy

Brendan Healy in Eulogy (Brett Love) 

Eulogy Or How To Plan Your Own Funeral (And Have Fun Doing It!)
Seattle Rep with Pony World Productions
www.seattlerep.org and www.ponyworld.org
Through October 11, 2026
 
In case you’d like to make sure your death is met with exactly what you’d like to have in life, Brendan Healy has come with instructions. Due to his growing up with a challenging health condition, he’s thought about it a lot!
 
The list he provides seems to cover just about everything you’d need to remember, including the ceremony, music, flowers, and exactly what you’d like done with your remains. I can’t think of anything he’s missing for us, except possibly how to house relatives who come in from out of town.
 
In the meantime, he’ll tell you the story of his life in an engaging and compelling way. He’s pretty adorable and has a couple of also adorable undertakers (Emily Huntingford and Deja M. Culver) to demonstrate or illustrate or amplify that story.

"Blood/Sucker" at WET

Peggy Gannon in Blood/Sucker (Brett Love)

Blood/Sucker
World Premiere by Anamaria Guerzon
Washington Ensemble Theatre, www.washingtonensemble.org
12^th Avenue Arts
Through September 21, 2026
 
High school horror! There are strange noises somewhere overhead. People begin changing. A careful, reasoned principal (Peggy Gannon) becomes extra-decisive – not in a good way. And then…. there is screaming.
 
Local playwright Anamaria Guerzon’s world premiere play, Blood/Sucker, is given a smart, savvy production by Washington Ensemble Theatre, cordially referred to a WET. They’ve wrapped a lot of complex ideas into a 90-ish minute show, and maybe it could use a tad simplifying, but more ideas are definitely better than fewer.
 
Three disaffected and emotionally damaged high schoolers unite in appreciation for one teacher’s Asian American History class. Rachel Guyer-Mifune, Monty Rozema, and William Eames conjure their inner youth, and then double as three adult school employees. We learn about their shitty home lives and why they are loyal to Mr. Galay and pay attention to his history class as meaningful, when most other classes turn them off.

Exciting Fall Kick-Off for Seattle Theaters in September

Jar of Fat at Theatre Battery (Photo by Luca Le)

September stage productions are going to give you a puzzle to figure out! How are you going to go to all these intriguing, interesting, must-see shows?  There is so much to crunch on… Get out yer calendars!
 
Jar of Fat (world premiere)
9/3/26-9/27/26
Theatre Battery, www.theatrebattery.org
A phantasmagorical, absurdist Korean American tale about the allure and danger entangled with the quest for beauty and thinness. Two Korean American sisters are deemed too fat to fit in their family grave. Will their close bond survive under the pressure of their community and fretful parents, who will spare no effort to make them tinier? By ex-local playwright Seayoung Yim.

From Sleeping Beauty at Noveltease (Photo by Colin Madison Photography)

Much Ado About Nothing
9/10-26/26 (at Theatre Off Jackson)
Noveltease Theatre, www.theatreoffjackson.org
For drag king Benny Dick and nightclub femmecee Beatrice, love is a real drag. Adapted by and co-produced with Jo Jo Stiletto, Noveltease Theatre’s production reimagines the play in the context of queer nightlife in post-Stonewall Seattle in a production filled with witty banter, disco music, and joy. This is not your father’s Shakespeare.
 

Rehearsal pic from Pippin (Photo by Shane Kiwini)

Pippin
9/11/26-10/3/26 (at 12^th Avenue Arts)
Reboot Theatre, www.reboottheatre.org
This staging reframes Pippin as a 1930s traveling tent revival. The Leading Player is a charismatic preacher; the Players are revivalists. The restless son of Charlemagne searches for a life of purpose — testing war, religion, politics, and romance before discovering that meaning may look nothing like what he expected. The show includes the Grammy and Tony Award-winning score featuring Corner of the Sky, Magic to Do, and Morning Glow.

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.