SOAP Fest 2014 includes a Yussef El Guindi One-Act. (He’s ‘Local’ Unless Rent Gets Too High)

SOAP Fest Playwrights Yussef El Guindi, Juliet Waller Pruzan, K. Brian Neel and Brian Healey (photo Ann-Margaret Johnson/Sassafras Photos)

Yussef El Guindi and cat (photo Amal Toleimat)

First there was Sandbox Artist Collective where a bunch of theater “professionals” (does that mean they make money that way?) got together to create work and support each other. Then they expanded into a radio show Sandbox Radio and after that, they decided to create a play festival, Sandbox One Act Play Festival which this year has performances  (tickets) June 4-8 at West of Lenin. Who knows? Is Sandbox Coffee (?) next?

SOAP Fest includes four new plays by four local playwrights: Yussef El Guindi, Brendan Healey, K. Brian Neel and Juliet Waller Pruzan. I spoke with Yussef El Guindi about his participation in the Collective and life in general as a playwright in Seattle.

"Once" is a truly theatrical event!

Once cast (photo Joan Marcus)

(as posted on Seattle Gay Scene)

There’s a reason the musical Once feels like theatrical kin to the acclaimed Black Watch from the National Theatre of Scotland – John Tiffany. He employs a minimalist style of theatrical staging, or maybe more appropriately termed “essential.” The esthetic may be a wholehearted embrace of legendary director Peter Brooks’ boiling down of theatrical moments to their elemental state, as witnessed recently by Seattle Rep’s production of Brooks’ The Suit.

Sometimes, when theater is created by people who know what they have to bring out, it becomes magical in the way that theater can be magic. Once is a reflection of that magic.

Seattle Repertory Theatre and STG Presents have joined to present the touring production of Once at The Paramount Theatre, here through June 8. Surely the production would have felt so much more personal on a smaller Seattle Rep stage, yet even in the cavernous Paramount, this “small” musical catches at people’s hearts and becomes bigger than any might think.

Once, the musical, is based on a lilting movie of the same name, written and directed by John Carney. The movie contains much of the music that ended up in the musical, so the musical had a big head start.

Playing Around the Sound: Quick WrapUps of ‘The Grimaldis’ and ‘Don Juan in Chicago’

If you like vaudeville, aerialists, magic, original songs, ballet and some included noshing, you only have two more chances to see The Grimaldis: A Musical Ghost Story at Hale’s Palladium. Go here for tickets for Sunday night 7:00pm http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/577891. Saturday 7:00pm tickets are only to be had at the door, now. Though they are standing room only.

This is essentially a scripted musical with original music by John Woods. But initially, you’re told, as you walk in, that this is a preview for an auction taking place the next day of Grimaldi Family Estate items. The Grimaldi family is a multi-generational show business family with paraphernalia to match. Written by Dane Ballard and directed by Kerry Christianson, it’s a unique, affordable, snack theater event. (Bites are served during intermission.)

The Schmee Rises! New space, new lease on life!

The Schmee: Some months ago (photo Dave Hastings)

Revered theater, Theater Schmeater, lived in a basement under Brocklind’s Costumes from 1992 until last year. Brocklind was a benevolent upstairs neighbor and was closed at night and on weekends, so that partnership worked for many years, despite support columns in the middle of stage space, lack of ceiling height, concrete sound-bounce, and lack of adequate heating and cooling.

The Schmee made it as cozy as possible, adding a unique lobby area, a bar, and smart technical people who overcame much of the challenge of staging in that space. It was similar to other Capitol Hill locations that grew around available empty spaces, many underground. But that all changed when Brocklind’s closed and the building was sold.

Roger Huston, managing director since August 2012, continues the narrative, “The new owners, Hunters Capital, entered into an agreement for a restaurant to occupy the first floor. It would not be practical to install sound insulation under the already-low basement ceiling (in a 100 year old, uninsulated building) and would no longer be practical to use the basement for theater.”

Village pulls out all the stops on "Funny Girl"

Sarah Rose Davis as Fanny Brice (photo Mark Kitaoka)

Funny Girl

Village Theatre

Issaquah: through July 6

Everett: July 11-August 3

The final show of Village Theatre’s season is Funny Girl, the classic musical turned movie by Jule Stein, Bob Merrill and Isobel Lenhart. Village pulls out all the stops on the technical elements, flying in stage drops and pushing and pulling set pieces just about every 30 seconds! It’s a dizzying technical feat. Some of those stage pictures (like the “wedding” song tableau) are absolutely gorgeous. (Set designer is Bill Forrester.)

It’s a “big” show with a large ensemble cast filling the stage, enchanting bits of choreography by Kristin Holland, and a lot of brass in the orchestra (music directed by Tim Symons and Bruce Monroe). Outstanding smaller roles include a star turn for John David Scott and his terrific tapping, along with his charmingly poignant friendship with Fanny that endures while he clearly is in love with her. Also, great fun is had with Fanny’s mom, Bobbi Kotula, and busybody neighbor Mrs. Strakosh, Jayne Muirhead.

But the focus of the evening, indeed the person who is barely off-stage for even a moment, is Sarah Rose Davis as Fanny. Davis has everything she needs to bring this role to life: a terrific voice, ability to lapse adorably into funny-awkward comedic moments, and the knowledge of how to put a song over the transom and deliver. This show taxes all her abilities to their limit and she rises to the occasion beautifully.

Exhilarating Taproot play is completely up-to-date despite being written in 1908!

Helen Harvester in Diana of Dobson’s. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.

I always expect plays at Taproot Theatre to be well-done in most every respect. Technical support (sets, costumes, lights, sound) is always appropriate, actors are all solidly talented, and the experience is invariably pleasing, at minimum.

Every once in a while, they blow even that high expectation out of the water and their current production of Diana of Dobson’s is one such occasion! The play is a gem of a script by Cicely Hamilton. It focuses on a shop girl whose humdrum and restricted working conditions are similar to any minimum-wage earner or factory worker in our current economy. She unexpectedly receives an inheritance and, despite pleas from her fellow workers to be careful and save her money, decides to blow it all in one glorious month of pleasure that she can remember forever.