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| Marissa Ryder in South Pacific at Seattle Musical Theatre (Nataworry Photos) |
There are an astonishing amount of world premieres this month
(seven), all locally written! Seattle seems to be in love with new plays as the
buds bloom. April openings are listed below in date order.
The Hat, Bitter Single Guy Productions and Gay City
Arts, 4/1-9/16
World Premiere. The romantic comedy, by local playwright
Greg Brisendine, is about a group of gay men as they navigate dating and love
in the world of Grindr, open relationships, and the intersection of
relationship and friendship.
To Savor Tomorrow,
Cafe Nordo, 4/7/16-6/5/16
Café Nordo takes flight with To Savor Tomorrow, an immersive comedy that parodies the 007 spy
genre, set in the airplane lounge of a swank 1960’s Boeing Stratocruiser with
craft-cocktails and retro-modernist cuisine woven into the experience. Food
scientist Peter Proudhurst is transporting laboratory secrets. Professor
Proudhurst's briefcase contains the revolutionary and potentially devastating
secrets of modern convenience food and the controversial "Green
Revolution." (Meal included)
South Pacific, Seattle Musical Theatre, 4/7/16-5/1/16
Premiering in 1949 on Broadway, South Pacific was an immediate hit. Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted
to write a musical that would send a strong progressive message on racism. The
plot centers on an American nurse stationed on a South Pacific island during
World War II, who falls in love with a middle-aged expatriate French plantation
owner but struggles to accept his mixed-race children. A secondary romance,
between a U.S. lieutenant and a young Tonkinese woman, explores his fears of
the social consequences should he marry his Asian sweetheart.
Stupid Fucking Bird,
ACT Theatre, 4/8/16-5/8/16
Aaron Posner rewrites Chekhov’s story of love, art, and a
hapless bird (The Seagull) for a
remarkable contemporary face lift. On the grounds of a country estate, two
generations worth of Russians mope and love and hate. Winner of the 2014 Helen
Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play.
BRASS: Fatal
Footlights, Theater Schmeater,
4/8-30/16
World Premiere. The two grown children of the Brass family,
Gwendolyn and Cyril, are brought into a mystery involving the premiere of Oscar
Wilde 's first play Vera, or the
Nihilists, while a villainous trio scheme to steal the jewels of a legendary
actress. A mystery, a thriller, and a love letter to theater, written by locals
Louis Broome and John Longenbaugh.
Becky’s New Car, Phoenix Theatre, 4/8/16-5/1/16
Becky's life is straightforward and painfully ordinary. She
lives with her roofer husband, Joe, and college-student son, Chris, and works
far too many hours at a car dealership. Hyper-wealthy Walter arrives one
evening just as Becky is about to leave work, wanting to buy nine expensive new
cars as gifts for his employees. He's newly widowed, forlorn and a little
adrift, and he promptly falls for Becky — who he assumes is widowed, too. After
trying once or twice to disabuse him of the notion, she gives in to his
fantasy. And so begins her attempt to live two lives.
The Letters, Burien Actors Theatre, 4/8/16-5/1/16
Written by John W. Lowell and first staged in Los Angeles in
2009, The Letters is a two-character
play set in a nondescript office in the 1930s Soviet Union. Anna, a demur,
fortyish functionary in a nameless government agency, has been called into the
office of her superior, known here only as The Director.. What is the hidden
agenda? Gradually, the details begins to emerge. The letters of a famous
composer are missing. A colleague has been arrested. Suspicions are being
directed at Anna. What follows is a tense verbal and psychological
cat-and-mouse game between the two. With twists.
Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in
The Hat, Seattle Children’s Theatre,
4/14/16-5/22/16
Back by popular demand, the favorite Dr. Seuss character
introduces his eclectic entertainment with mischievous humor and madcap style. The Cat in The Hat busts the boredom of
a rainy afternoon with all sorts of zaniness – including the iconic and
acrobatic Thing One and Thing Two. Rhyming his way through the house while
balancing cups and tools, Cat brings a cozy home to chaos where Sally, her
brother and their outspokenly cautious pet Fish, are simultaneously amused,
astounded and concerned, with good reason.
Sherlock Holmes and
the American Problem, Seattle Repertory
Theatre, 4/22/16-5/22/16
World Premiere. The American Wild West and Victorian England
collide in this original adventure tale. The year is 1887, the occasion is the
Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, and the coincidences are suspiciously piling up. The local
creative team behind 2013’s hit The Hound
of the Baskervilles is at it again with more thrills, more laughs and more
unbelievable deductions. http://www.seattlerep.org/Plays/1516/SH/Synopsis
My Name is Asher Lev,
New Century Theatre Company,
4/22/16-5/21/16 (at 12th Ave Arts)
A young Jewish painter, torn between his Hasidic upbringing
and his desperate need to fulfill his artistic promise, threatens to destroy
his relationship with his parents and community. Asher realizes he must make a
difficult choice between art and faith. This stirring adaptation of a modern
classic presents a heartbreaking and triumphant vision of what it means to be
an artist.
Puny Humans, Annex Theatre, 4/22/16-5/14/16
World Premiere. The Queen City Comicon throbs and bustles
with fans in cosplay, celebrities on the rise (or on the way down), disgruntled
vendors hoping to make a buck, and desperate staff members trying to hold the
whole damn thing together. A young fangirl finds out she’s pregnant, an actor
promoting his new movie tries unconventional means to get laid, and Sailor Moon
and Darth Vader fall in love. Passion, comedy, and geekdom collide as thirteen
characters’ lives intertwine over the course of one epic day. Written by locals
Bret Fetzer and Keiko Green.
Chorestia, Ghostlight Theatricals, 4/23/16-5/7/16
World Premiere. In a coffee shop, a nail salon, at camp, at
school, and more, women of various ages attempt to live their lives as the
events of the Trojan War, played out by one all-powerful man, take place in the
background and everyone runs the risk of invoking the petty wrath of the gods. Chorestia explores what it means to be
an ordinary woman in a society that is or has been at war. Written by local Beth
Raas-Bergquist.
Eat Cake, Annex Theatre, 4/26/16-5/11/16 (Tue/Wed)
World Premiere. Chaos, comedy, and cake collide in Eat Cake, the Queer wedding of the
century. Ariel and Addison are throwing their dream wedding, a DIY
extravaganza, but the clock is ticking and everything is a disaster. The guests
won’t stop screaming at each other or running into backrooms to make out, the
cake is a catastrophe of colossal proportions, and an un-invited guest shows up
stoned. Written by local Seth Tankus.
Kinky Boots, The 5th Avenue Theatre,
4/28/16-5/8/16
It’s a return tour. Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from a gentlemen’s
shoe factory in Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price
is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family
business of Price & Son. With the factory’s future hanging in the balance,
help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, a fabulous burlesque
performer in need of some sturdy new size 13 stilettos.
A Hand of Talons, Pork Filled Productions,
4/29/16-5/21/16 (Theatre Off Jackson)
World Premiere. Written by local Maggie Lee, this is her
third steampunk play. The dark underworld of organized crime lurks beneath the
surface of the fair city of New Providence. Lee’s first two plays in this genre
were fun and punk-filled (and even Pork-Filled).
Barefoot in the Park,
Secondstory Repertory,
4/29/16-5/22/16
Newlyweds Paul and Corie are just starting their life
together in a tiny fifth-floor Manhattan apartment. He's a straight-laced
lawyer and she's a free spirit who's always looking for the latest adventure.
Paul doesn't understand Corie's relaxed ways, and she wants him to be just a
little more spontaneous. Something as simple as running "barefoot in the
park" would be a start.
Death of a Salesman,
Artswest, 4/28/16-5/29/16
The 1949 play, Death
of a Salesman, written by American playwright Arthur Miller was the
recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play.
Businessman Willy Loman struggles with the differences between the Loman
family's dreams and the reality of their lives. The play is a scathing critique
of the American Dream and of the competitive, materialistic American society of
the late 1940s. The storyline features Willy Loman, an average guy who attempts
to hide his averageness and failures behind increasingly delusional hallucinations
as he strives to be a "success."
The Things Are Against
Us, Washington Ensemble Theatre,
4/29/16-5/16/16 (at 12th Ave Arts)
In this dark and twisted comedy, two lovelorn sisters, an ax
wielding hunk, and the poet and lover Federico Garcia Lorca uncover their
destiny when their past comes back to haunt them. They wrestle through time
only to discover the real horror is in their bones.
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