May is Merry on Seattle Area Stages

Hometown Boy at Seattle Public Theater (John Ulman)

Musicals seem to be a theme for May, and local or ex-local talents display their works on stage (Keiko Green, Justin Huertas), which is exciting. It’s quite a fun set of shows to get onto your calendars. There doesn’t seem to be a frown in sight, this month.
 
Zach, ArtsWest, 5/4-25/23 (world premiere)
Christian St. Croix pens a satirical comedy that skewers the popular tropes of ‘90s teen sitcoms. Gina, a Black girl and budding fashionista, and P.J., a Latino lovesick surfer boy at an affluent, majority-white Southern California high school are both overjoyed when they’re invited into the inner circle of Zach, the white, charismatic, prank-happy new kid at school. But when Zach plans a new prank that goes too far, P.J. and Gina must race to stop him before it’s too late – and along the way, learn to see their peers, and themselves, with fresh eyes.
www.artswest.org
 
Hometown Boy, Seattle Public Theater, 5/4-28/23
Playwright Keiko Green, ex-local actor well-known to many, writes about James who hasn’t been back to his rural Georgia hometown in over a decade. Reluctantly, he returns to check in on his father, whose behavior has become worryingly erratic. The South has a way of holding onto secrets. He soon stumbles into a life he thought he had left behind as a child. That stench in the air isn’t just his father’s decaying house, but the rotten core of long-buried secrets teeming just under the surface and ready to explode.
www.seattlepublictheater.org
 
Lydia And The Troll, Seattle Rep, 5/5/23-6/4/23 (world premiere)
Singer-songwriter Lydia feels held back. Maybe it’s writer’s block, maybe it’s her not-so-perfect boyfriend. But when a mysterious stranger offers her the chance to change her life, she may end up sacrificing more than she ever imagined. Inspired by fantasy and folklore, yet grounded in Seattle’s noted landscape and landmarks, actor and musical writer (often book/music/lyrics) Justin Huertas (Lizard Boy) conjures up Pacific Northwest magic in this intimate new world.
www.seattlerep.org