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Saturday, April 04, 2015

April theater comin' atcha

Bunnies at Annex Theatre (Joe Iano, photo, Evelyn DeHais, design)
April theater is punctuated with the opening of Café Nordo’s permanent location in Pioneer Square (the former location of Elliott Bay Book Company) and their newest show: Don Nordo Del Midwest with tapas, and a remount of Angry Housewives after umpteen million years at ArtsWest. (Don’t know what Angry Housewives was? You obviously haven’t been here that long.)

UMO Ensemble reprises Fail Better; Beckett Moves (April 8-26) from the Beckett Festival last year. Using a giant teeter totter , ropes and pulleys, five archetypal Beckett characters tackle love, life, death and going-on in typical Beckett fashion.

Café Nordo opens in the new, permanent location with Don Nordo Del Midwest, April 9-May 31. Chef Nordo Lefesczki tells his personal journey from soup to nuts and beyond. Through the eyes of the food writer who first discovered him, we meet his trusty sous-chef, Sancho, and witness the duels and dreams that helped shape Nordo into the brilliant megalomaniac he is today. Features a nine-course Midwestern Tapas menu, live original music, and a five glass wine flight of Spanish varietals specially selected by Nordo’s sommelier.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum comes to Seattle Musical Theatre, April 10-26. Journey back to ancient Rome where the quick-witted slave Pseudolus tries to win his freedom by helping his young master Hero earn the love of a beautiful courtesan. The score features well known songs like: Comedy Tonight and Everybody Ought to Have a Maid.

Alice in Wonderland created by the Manhattan Project under the direction of Andre Gregory opens at Stone Soup Theatre, April 10-May 3. This twist on Alice’s adventures includes Freud and Jung, Kafka and Dali.

Into the Woods is STAGEright’s next musical offering, April 10-25 at Richard Hugo House. See Stephen Sondheim’s original vision, where we find out what happens after the fairy tale “happy ending.”

Over the River and Through the Woods by Joe DiPietro is mounted at Phoenix Theatre in Edmonds, April 10 - May 3. This terrific script focuses on Nick’s four grandparents who love him so much they just have to interfere in his love life. He arrives as usual for Sunday dinner to tell them that he has been offered a promotion in Seattle. They begin a series of schemes to keep Nick in New Jersey including inviting the lively and single, Cailtlin, to dinner as bait.

brownbox theatre and Theatre Off Jackson co-produce two locally written one-acts:  Openly We Carry, Carry We Openly, April 16-May 9. Two allegorical tales of open carry gun culture in America, Openly We Carry is written by Paul Mullin and Carry We Openly is written by Nick Stokes.

Seattle Children’s Theatre is reprising a very popular version of Robin Hood, April 16-May 17. As Robin Hood fights for justice, dodges the Sheriff of Nottingham, and woos Maid Marian, the stage comes alive with swordfights and archery, word play and physical comedy.

Ghostlight Theatricals brings us The Caucasian Chalk Circle, April 17-May 2. In Brecht’s parable on doing what is right, Grusha, a young maid, travels throughout Grusinia to save a baby abandoned by his wealthy parents. As they flee their war-torn city they are met with hardship and pursuit from the army and the bourgeois. Meanwhile, a drunk but just judge upends what has previously been taken for justice and helps to determine who is best fit to be the mother of the abandoned boy.

If you have never seen Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in person, then here is your chance. ACT Theatre is presenting it from April 17- May 17 with a powerhouse cast. Kurt Beattie is directing one of his last as artistic director. Big Daddy Pollitt is celebrating his 65th birthday by getting the family together, but the rest of the family just learned he’s suffering from cancer. They conceal that from him as they jockey for influence over his fortune.

Othello is staged by Seattle Shakespeare Company, April 22- May 10 (at Cornish Playhouse). Director John Langs gets a chance to bring out the power. Military leader Othello passes over his second-in-command, Iago, in favor of promoting Cassio. Seeking revenge, Iago seeds Othello’s mind with mistrust for his new bride Desdemona. Jealousy fills Othello with self-doubt, destroying his once-happy marriage.

Little Bee is the next play at Book-It Repertory Theatre from April 24-May 17. A Nigerian girl named Little Bee meets a young English mother, Sarah. The story starts when the two meet for the second time, revealing surprising and unthinkable events.

Angry Housewives comes back to Seattle by way of ArtsWest, April 23-May 24. This was a huge hit in Seattle from 1985 and was one of the only shows that ran for several years! Bored with their everyday mediocre existence and tired of the men in their lives, four housewives get angry and form a punk-rock band to win some much needed cash in a local contest. 

Annex Theatre next presents Bunnies, April 24-May 16. Written by versatile Keiko Green, it’s about a warren of abandoned bunnies in Woodland Park evolves into a dark religious cult in this gleefully unsettling tale of revenge, sacrifice, and the most transgressive love of all. A world premiere with original music, inspired by the classic Greek tragedy The Bacchae.

Annex Theatre’s off-night presentation is H.P. Lovecraft: Stand-Up Comedian!, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,  April 28-May 13. Written by Scotto Moore. H.P. (Howie to his friends) Lovecraft expresses his terrifying vision in the present day via stand-up comedy. But an ancient evil stirs beneath the sea. Can Howie pull off one last sold-out gig before the human race is destroyed?

Jasper in Deadland was presented Off Broadway, and directed by bi-coastal Brandon Ivie. The 5th Avenue Theatre present it from April 30-May 24. A new pop/rock musical in the spirit of RENT and Spring Awakening, Jasper in Deadland takes audiences on a mythological thrill-ride through the underworld.  As teenage Jasper faces gods and monsters in search of his best friend (and true love) Agnes, he learns to let go of the demons of daily life and embrace the music within.

MAP Theatre mounts The Feast at the Schmee, April 30-May 16. When all meat mysteriously turns to rot, ours becomes a world populated with reluctant vegetarians. Four hungry dinner guests impatiently await a latecomer to the table. As the hour grows late and stomachs begin to howl, the traces of civilization turn to decay. The Feast is a biting satire that serves up a heady repast straight from the kitchens of our darkest desires.

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