Super Musical at Taproot: The Hello Girls ends this weekend

 

Rebecca Cort, Miranda Antoinette, Cassi Q Kohl,
Lauren Engstrom, and Jessica Ziegelbauer
(Photo by John Ulman)

The Hello Girls
Taproot Theatre
Composer/Lyricist Peter Mills, Book/Lyricist Cara Reichel
Through August 19, 2023
 
This musical is a treat from start to finish. It is also such a pleasure to be able to experience full-blown musicals on stage again. Taproot’s choice is a wonderful summer treat!
 
Likely, you won’t know the true history this musical is based on. But boy! is it fun to find out about it!
 
During World War I, at a time when women were sorely underemployed and shunted into very specific “pink” jobs, some women found themselves employed as telephone operators. It was a newer profession, since telephones themselves were pretty new. Operators used large banks of plug-in boards where they had to learn which cords to specifically plug into which switch, quickly and seamlessly. This was a good job across the country.
 
Logically, the need for seamless, fast telephone service applied to the Armed Services, particularly in a war situation. As the war heated up, the generals realized that telephone connections were crucial, and that the reality was that the best operators were women. They were needed in France and had to be bilingual. This is the story of how a bunch of pioneering, brave women fought their way into the military and became unsung heroes of the military communication network.
 
The cast at Taproot is top-notch. It is mostly an ensemble piece with one star turn from Cassi Q Kohl as Grace Banker. Kohl is onstage almost every minute as the woman with natural leadership skills and an innate sense of self-esteem. She is indefatigable, with a belting power that lasts throughout the entire show – which is about two and a half hours. She is riveting.

August Theater In Seattle Includes Classics, Parodies And….Ms. Pak-Man!

 

Ms. Pac-Man (courtesy Shoes and Pants Productions)

Here's your opportunity this summer to revisit classic works from Ibsen and Shakespeare plus new plays and campy comedies to amuse us between barbecues. Get outcher calendars!

Hedda Gabler, General Gabler’s Theatre (GGT), 8/4-12/23 (at West of Lenin)
Hedda, a 19^th Century woman with plenty of will but no room to exact it, thought she made a wise deal with the man she just married. She would be his wife, and he would provide her with the safe and respectable means to occupy her active mind. When it becomes clear that her husband can’t fulfill his end of the bargain, her mind quickly turns dangerous.
www.generaltheatre.org/hedda
 
Ballabhpur Ki Roopkatha, Pratidhwani, 8/4-13/23 (at Ethnic Cultural Theatre)
Once (upon a time) there was a King. His name was Bhoopati Rai. He had a Quee... Nope! He had no queen. That doesn't work! What kind of a fairytale has a king with no queen? To tell you the truth, this isn't a very good tale at all. In fact, it is quite weak in some spots. But if you come to listen to our tale, we will be glad to tell it to you! A Hindi translation of Badal Sircar's original Bengali play.
https://www.pratidhwani.org/bkr
 
Titanish, Marxiano Productions with Seattle Public Theater, 8/10/23-9/17/23
Crashing onto the shores of Green Lake this August, this musical parody (that lampoons the epic film) will showcase the wit and creativity that The Habit Comedy writers are acclaimed for. If you missed it last summer, here’s your chance to see and hear all the silliness, and enjoy a giant ship recreated in a tiny theater.
www.seattlepublictheater.org

Dancing at Lughnasa, SecondStory Repertory, 8/11-27/23

This intimate portrait of a country and a family at a crossroads, set in rural Ireland in 1936, tells the tale of five unmarried sisters -- the proud Mundy sisters -- staving off the hardships of daily life through talk, laughter and dance. But after they welcome their frail missionary brother home from Uganda, several intersecting events threaten to irreparably burst the Mundy women's fragile bubble of happiness.

www.secondstoryrep.org

Festival of New Musicals, Village Theatre, 8/12-13/23
The premiere developmental workshops for new musicals has again drawn major musical theater-writing talent to Issaquah for a weeklong process with professional actors, directors and music directors. The culmination of the work will be presented over two days. “Festival” is a fun-filled and exciting annual summer event, and this weekend is a significant marker in the post-Covid theater landscape!
www.villagetheatre.org

July Theater - Hot Outsides or Cool Indoors!

 

Get ready to get outside! Mainland or islands, there's plenty to soak in at parks in the wide area. There are also choices if you don't want to sit in the hot sun, so get outcher calendars!

Falsettos, Harlequin Productions, 7/1-22/23
Winner of two 1992 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical and set in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, Falsettos revolves around the life of a charming, intelligent, neurotic gay man named Marvin, his wife, lover, his about- to-be-Bar-Mitzvahed son, their psychiatrist, and the lesbians next door. It’s a poignant look at the infinite possibilities that make up a modern family.
www.harlequinproductions.org
 
The Tempest, Seattle Shakespeare Company/Wooden O, 7/6/23-8/6/23 (various parks)
When you’re stranded on an enchanted island for twelve long years with only your daughter and magical spirits for company, it turns out you have plenty of time for plotting revenge. Enter Prospero, the erstwhile Duke of Milan who was usurped by his brother Antonio. Prospero’s ire at his brother is given glorious life when Antonio and his crew sail too close to the island, and with the aid of his magical spirit Ariel, he conjures a supernatural storm to shipwreck the passengers. But his plot goes awry as the island becomes a wondrous playground for romance, trickery, and spectacle, ultimately leading to forgiveness and reconciliation.
www.seattleshakespeare.org
 
The Fairy’s Bottom: A Midsummer Burlesque, Marxiano Productions, 7/6-16/23 (at The Triple Door)
From the creators of the absinthe infused hit Bohemia and Seattle Vice comes a new show that undresses the Shakespearean classic A Midsummer Night's Dream, and reveals a clever and sexy new cabaret. Original music by hosts Mark Siano and Opal Peachey will invite audiences into the fairy's bower where some of the Northwest's hottest dancing nymphs and dryads will entertain adventurous human guests. https://tickets.thetripledoor.net/eventperformances.asp?evt=1955

June Sprouts Interesting Stage Options

 

 Kay Taylor Yelinek & Jasmine Lomax in All New Cells (Kirk Hostetter)

Good weather sprouts some very interesting theatrical choices this month. Unique world premieres and a long-awaited covid-paused production, dance/theater, a challenging series of directors’ work, and diverse and neuro-untypical content abound.
 
All New Cells, Shattered Glass Project, 6/1-18/23 (at Theatre Off Jackson) (world premiere)
When Nils's ex-girlfriend dies suddenly, he is dragged back into a toxic online roleplay scene he swore he'd never return to. He'd been doing okay sticking to his seven-year plan for getting over their breakup - but now, everyone either blames him or expects him to have answers, and he's getting nasty anonymous messages that might be coming from beyond the grave. A nuanced examination of identity, trauma, assault, grief, and mental health through an online world.
www.shatteredglassproject.org
 
Glorious: The True Story of Florence Foster Jenkins – The Worst Singer in the World, Phoenix Theatre, 6/2-25/23
In 1940s New York, the performer who everyone wanted to see live was Florence Foster Jenkins, an enthusiastic soprano whose pitch was far from perfect. Known as "the first lady of the sliding scale," she warbled and screeched her way through the evening to an audience who mostly fell about with laughter. But this delusional and joyously happy woman paid little attention to her critics, instead she was surrounded by a circle of devoted friends who were almost as eccentric as she was.
www.tptemonds.org
 
Cost of Living, Sound Theatre Company, 6/8/23-7/1/23 (at 12^th Ave Arts) (opens 6/10)
Breathless reviews greeted the Broadway production of Martyna Majok’s play, Cost of Living, in late 2022. Now we get to see this 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning play (finally, after a 2020 covid-hiatus) in Seattle, where Sound Theatre Company showcases the play along with several disabled (wheelchair-assisted) crew and cast. The play peeks into the rarely-seen world of Disabled individuals and their caregivers. Class divisions, safety nets, financial haves and have-nots, and interdependence emerge. 
www.soundtheatrecompany.org

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

Not-To-Miss: “The Niceties” is Urgently Acted

 

Varinique 'V' Davis and Amy Thone (Joe Moore)

The Niceties

Intiman Theatre

At Erickson Theatre

Through April 29, 2023

The fierce arguments between Janine Bosko (Amy Thone) and Zoe Reed (Varinique “V” Davis) in The Niceties are as brutal, intense and absorbing as any political-polemic-on-stage you may ever see. Bosko, a history professor, and Reed, a whip-smart well-prepared junior in college, each implore, beseech, demand, and exhort each other to LISTEN.
 
And yet, they yell past each other, rarely even acknowledging some of the heart-rending details each reveals about their personal life. As intense as this is, it feels like Not To Miss Theater. Eleanor Burgess' playwriting is crisp and, while intellectual at times, beautifully encapsulates the various issues at hand between the white professor and the Black student.