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| The Picture of Dorian Gray (John Ulman) |
June is bustin out with musicals in our fair town. Classics
and world premieres seem to demand that we sing all month long!
The Hunchback of Notre
Dame, 5th Avenue Theatre,
6/1-24/18 (opens 6/8)
Joshua Castille stars
as Quasimodo in this local edition of this remarkable work, complete with a
30-person choir. A reimagining of Victor Hugo’s epic masterpiece, this powerful
tale of love, faith and prejudice will provide a lush, beautiful score. Songs
are included from the Disney animated feature along with new music from
legendary composer Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. This 5th Avenue
staging will be directed by Glenn Casale, who staged the acclaimed production
of Disney’s The Little Mermaid at The
5th Avenue Theatre last winter.
Journey West! The
Legend of Lewis and Clark, Copious
Love Prods., 6/1-23/18 (at Theatre Off Jackson) (world premiere)
Andrew Lee Creech
(book and lyrics and music) and Evan
Barrett (music) have created a new musical skewering the story of the
westward journey of Lewis and Clark that we’re taught in history class in
school. In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson enlisted Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark's Corps of Discovery to explore the uncharted West and find an
all-water route across North America to unite sea with shining sea. This
whimsical and irreverent send-up re-blazes the historic trail to the Pacific
through song, dance, and Sasquatch. If history is written by the victors, then
what does it look like through the lens of the disenfranchised? Who gets to
tell their story vs. who gets their story told for them? …and who becomes a
footnote? Our diverse, genderqueer cast and crew bring this adventure to the
stage.
Le Grand Fromage, Nicole Aloni, 6/1/18-6/15/18 (at West
of Lenin)
From studying at La Varenne in Paris to catering the Academy
Awards and mixing drinks for Queen Elizabeth, chef Nicole Aloni's adventures in
life and in the kitchen will stimulate all your senses. Her life story bubbles
to the surface during a cooking class. Aromas permeate the theater as Nicole
climbs out of one disaster after another and survives, delicious food in hand.
ZM, Village Theatre, 6/1-10/18 (beta
series)
A developmental full-staging of a new musical by Mark
Hollmann and Greg Kotis, the creators of Urinetown.
In a remote American town, a fast-food
franchise is test-marketing a new sandwich that, apparently, turns people into
zombies. The Walking Dead meets The Book of Mormon as we follow two
teenage fast-food workers who set off to penetrate the corporate behemoth
behind this franchise fiasco and learn the terrible truth about the source of
the plague and the outcome it was designed to create… all while navigating teenage
love. Can the two young lovers save their relationship? And their brains? And
the world?
The Picture of Dorian
Gray, Book-It Repertory Theatre,
6/6/18-7/1/18 (opens 6/9)
When the irresistible Dorian Gray sees the magnificent
portrait his friend Basil Hallward has painted of him, he laments that he will
grow old while picture will always remain young. Dorian strikes a Faustian
bargain and is granted eternal youth while the portrait ages and records his
sins. As his pursuit of pleasure devolves into a life of sin and corruption,
Dorian’s bargain brings devastating consequences. Published in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in 1890, Oscar Wilde’s
only novel scandalized Victorian England with its open examination of sex,
drugs, and even murder, and its ultimate declaration that hiding from one’s
true self is the real sin.
How I Learned to Drive,
Strawberry Theatre Workshop,
6/7/18-7/7/18
Li’l Bit is a survivor of teenage sexual abuse whose story
is disarmingly comic, sweet, and seductive. Her memories are scrambled and
ridden with guilt—making it difficult for the listener to form conventional
judgments. Paula Vogel’s landmark play contains topics that often cause
“trigger warnings” but is considered an
important play on the subject.
Hedwig and the Angry
Inch and Lady Day at Emerson's Bar
and Grill, ArtsWest,
6/7/18-7/8/18 (staggered dates)
Hedwig and the Angry
Inch
The off-Broadway smash-hit Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells the electrifying story of Hedwig, a
German emigrant who suffered a botched sex-change operation (her penis remains
an inch long), as she travels the country in hopeless romantic pursuit of her
former lover. First a hit on stage and again on screen, John Cameron Mitchell's
hard-rock tale of transformation has earned critical acclaim and a legion of
fans across the world.
Lady Day at Emerson's
Bar and Grill
Felicia Loud again
performs as Billie Holiday as she paints a stirring portrait of the jazz legend
performing one of her last solo concerts, four months before her death. Packed
with the music that made her both a legend - "What a Little Moonlight Can
Do", "God Bless the Child" - and a cultural flashpoint -
"Strange Fruit" - Lady Day tells an intimate story of a complex woman
through reminisces, confessions, and unforgettable music. If you missed Loud’s
amazing performance a few years ago at Strawberry Theatre Workshop, you should absolutely
make sure to see this edition.
Until the Flood, ACT Theatre, 6/8/18-7/8/18 (opens 6/14)
The latest work by award-winning playwright, performer and
Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith focuses on the social unrest
following the fatal police shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in
Ferguson, Missouri. This one-act, one-woman drama surrounds eight composite
characters from the St. Louis region, examining the issues of race and social
unrest from a variety of perspectives.
Bat-Hamlet, Fern Shakespeare Co., 6/8/18-7/1/18 (at
Slate Theater)
What if Shakespeare had conceived the melancholy Dane as a
costumed crime fighter? Bat-Hamlet
tells the tale of a Dark Knight that emerges from betwixt the pages of
Shakespeare to exact revenge on his murderous uncle, King Jester. Resolved to
avenge beloved King Police Commissioner Gordrick's death, Hamlet dons the
persona of Bat-Hamlet, a flashier and much cooler version of his brooding
youth. The world of comic books and the Bard of Avon come together in this
hilarious mash-up.
Pageant, A Sensible Theatre Co., 6/13/18-7/8/18
(at ACT Theatre) (opens 6/15)
Pageant, written
by two-time Tony nominee Bill Russell, Frank Kelly, and Seattle's very own
Albert Evans, debuted Off-Broadway in 1991 in New York. It’s a high-heeled
drag-spin on the competitive pageant scene. Go on a fabulous adventure into the
timeless world of the Miss Glamouresse Beauty Pageant. Cheer for favorites that
include Miss West Coast, Miss Great Plains, Miss Industrial Northeast, Miss
Bible Belt, Miss Texas, and Miss Deep South. Your vote will count each night,
with a different possible winner!
The Last Starfighter,
SecondStory Repertory,
6/15/18-7/1/18
Based on the screenplay of the hit 1980's sci-fi movie, this
high-flying show follows the adventures of 18-year-old Alex Rogan, a teenager
with a gift for playing video games. When Alex breaks the record on his
favorite intergalactic video game, he finds himself pulled into a reality where
the fate of the galaxy is placed in his hands. Aided by an alien con-man named
Centauri, and stalked by alien bounty hunters called Zan-Do-Zans, Alex sets off
on an exciting quest that will change the course of his life forever.
The Color Purple,
Paramount Theatre, 6/27/18-7/1/18
The Color Purple is
the 2016 Tony Award® winner for Best Musical Revival, with a Grammy®-winning
score of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues. This Pulitzer Prize-winning story
(also an award-winning movie) tells the tale of Celie, a young woman who starts
out life with all the wrong kinds of attention, pregnant with a second child at
fourteen by her own father. The trials and tribulations she goes through could
stop many another from trying to stay alive, but Celie gets unexpected support
to grow stronger and eventually survives long enough to love herself and thrive.
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