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.
 
The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrong
Through Aug 14 (free)
Burien Actors Theatre, www.battheatre.org
In this comedy, Leonor has been wronged by Don Juan—so what’s a girl to do? Hunt the rat down and take a sword to his throat, of course! Dressed as the dashing Leonardo, Leonor travels to find him and initiates her shrewd plan for events. What follows is a hilarious feat of masterful maneuvering, cross-dressing and unexpected twists. Don Juan may have finally met his match!
·  Des Moines – 8/7, at 7 p.m. at Des Moines Beach Park, 22030 Cliff Ave S, Des Moines 98198.
·  Shark Garden – 8/9, at 5 p.m. at the Shark Garden, 614 SW 120th St, Burien 98146..
·  Renton – 8/14, at 7 p.m. at Liberty Park, 1101 Bronson Way N, Renton 98057.
 
Figure Drawing For Dummies (world premiere)
8/6-22/26
Annex Theatre, www.annextheatre.org
Who is responsible for art? When a previously unknown painter rises to viral fame, it seems like a dream come true. The only problem? The painting that everyone loves is a nude of her girlfriend, a younger woman who didn’t explicitly consent to being the subject. As the painter’s career skyrockets, the painted woman’s life is left to be defined by her naked form. Twenty years later, the painter is preparing to unveil a second painting of the same woman, asking the questions: who deserves the credit, and are we truly separate from those who care for us?
 
Festival of New Musicals
8/7-9/26
Village Theatre, www.villagetheatre.org
Widows, Book by Matthew Greene, Music and Lyrics by Kira Stone 8/7 7:30PM

Bonnie feels trapped in her 1950s suburban life until a hit-and-run accident ends her abusive marriage and brings her face-to-face with a group of supportive fellow widows at the funeral home. Soon Bonnie learns that these ladies were responsible for her husband’s death and the demise of countless other monstrous men like him. Given the chance to join them in their vigilante ways while her suspicious brother-in-law breathes down her neck, Bonnie wonders if she’s the murdering kind.

Love Is Dead, Book and Music by Brett Ryback, Book and Lyrics by Jeff Luppino-Esposito
(to be world premiered at Village in 2027) 8/8 2PM

Irreverent, girl-meets-ghost musical comedy that’s screamingly funny and bursting with spirited, pop-infused songs. On Halloween weekend, heartbroken and recently single Jordan books a solo getaway to write the article that could change her life. When she finds her guest house has an unexpected room-mate—a devastatingly sexy ghost who lives to torment short-term renters—sparks fly, souls collide, and things get delightfully weird. 

Jet City Improv presents: An Improvised Musical!, 8/8 5PM

You bring the title—we bring the show. The cast creates a fully improvised musical right before your eyes. No script. No plan. Every word, step, and note is made up on the spot—raw, fearless, and on fire.

Let Me Fly, Book and Original Lyrics by Minhyung Cho, Music by Chanhong Min, English Translation and Lyrics by Michael K. Lee 8/8 8PM

1969. Apollo 11 lands on the Moon. That same night in a backwoods city in Korea, Namwon–the town tailor– receives an acceptance letter to Korea’s finest Design Academy, getting him closer to achieving his dreams. While envisioning the future, his life is unexpectedly transformed by a cosmic event, rendering him unconscious. Next thing he knows, everything has changed yet seems eerily familiar. The year is now 2020, and he meets Sunhee, an elderly woman who agrees to help him. Determined to return to 1969 and the love of his life, Jungbun, Namwon constructs his plan to go back in time. 

An Optimist’s Guide To The Dark Ages, Music by Michael Kooman, Book and Lyrics by Christopher Dimond 8/9 2PM

The Dark Ages: A time of plagues, pestilence, and poor personal hygiene. But in the midst of the mud and the muck, Percival von Schmootz remains impossibly hopeful. In fact, he is the world’s one and only optimist, which does not go unnoticed by the jaded residents of his hometown, who are constantly irritated by his positive worldview. When the Bubonic Plague wipes out the entirety of said hometown, Percival sets out on a quest to personally end the Dark Ages. His efforts meet with hilarious failure at every turn, until he ultimately learns what enlighten-ment truly means.

 
Lost Girl (Young Rep company)
8/7/27-9/16/26
Seattle Rep, www.seattlerep.org
A contemporary reimagining of Wendy Darling’s life after Neverland, Lost Girl explores identity, grief, and the emotional realities of growing up. Performed by a cast of young artists ages 13–20, this powerful production centers youth voices and the complexities of coming of age.
 
Woman Before a Glass
8/21/26-9/6/26
SecondStory Rep, www.secondstoryrep.org
Step inside the intoxicating, scandalous world of the 20th century's most defiant art icon: Peggy Guggenheim. Confined to her beloved Venetian palazzo, an aging Peggy looks back at her life as a self-proclaimed "art addict," fierce champion of the avant-garde, and lover of the world’s greatest creative minds—from Jackson Pollock to Samuel Beckett. This vibrant, witty, and deeply intimate one-woman powerhouse production strips away the public myth to reveal a vulnerable, lonely trailblazer who traded everything to reshape modern art history.
 
Barefoot in the Park
8/21/26-9/6/26
Harlequin Productions with Taproot Theatre, www.harlequinproductions.org
Paul and Corie Bratter are newlyweds. He’s a straight‑laced lawyer; she’s a free spirit chasing her next thrill. Their sixth‑floor Manhattan walk‑up is riddled with leaks, bad plumbing, and a paint job long overdue. After a six‑day honeymoon, Corie’s eccentric mother crashes the party, and their quirky attic neighbor, Velasco, drops in turning domestic bliss into comic mayhem.
 
Blood/Sucker (world premiere)
8/28/26-9/21/26
Washington Ensemble Theatre, www.washingtonensemble.org
Local playwright Anamaria Guerzon writes about Ryan, a high school history teacher, who is trying to save his Asian American History class after a doxxing campaign leaves his school scrambling. Hillary, the principal, needs to decide if the class stays or goes. Meanwhile, something is lurking in the walls, something hungry for blood. And the students are
beginning to act very strange...
 
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