New Holmes mystery has an "American Problem" but is still fun

Cast of Sherlock Holmes (Chris Bennion)

Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem

Seattle Repertory Theatre

Through May 22, 2016

Our community has had some real successes bringing new Sherlock Holmes material to life in the last few years. John Longenbaugh had his Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol done to great acclaim in 2010 and again in 2011. In 2013, the Seattle Rep staged R. Hamilton Wright and David Pichette's adaptation of "The Hound of the Baskervilles." That also was greeted with delight.

There was a good deal of anticipation when the Rep announced that they would do another Holmes play from Wright (without Pichette this time), a new work entitled Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem. This concept entwines historic American Annie Oakley with her lauded visit to Britain with a mystery involving murder, theft of a tunnel-boring machine (deliberate shades of Bertha!), and Sherlock’s estranged older brother.

Massive shows opening in May, 2016! (and lots of others, too)

Part of the cast of Bernie's Apt. (Maryssa Lagervall)

There are some “big” shows opening this month. A sprawling adaptation of a sprawling The Brothers K  at Book-It, and a huge effort for Billy Elliot at Village… Intiman’s  festival kicks off…  and plenty more. May is coming for ya!

The Brothers K, Part One: Strike Zones and Part Two: The Left Stuff, Book-It Repertory Theatre, 5/3/16-6/26/16 (in repertory)

This two-part adaptation (similar to Book-It’s work last year on Kavalier and Clay) encapsulates the sprawling tale of four brothers, influenced by a strong father, that spans the middle decades of the 20th century. The Chance family in Camas, Washington is baseball-immersed, but the story includes the interplay of faith and spirituality, war and politics, family, and love. The title also refers to notifying a ball thrown as a strike, with either a forward or backward “K”. A cast of 26 actors play 83 roles in two full-length parts. (Options for seeing both parts in one day are available.)

http://book-it.org/the-brothers-k/

Romeo and Juliet, Seattle Shakespeare Company, 5/4-22/16 (at Cornish Playhouse)

You know Shakespeare’s doomed lovers. For a new take, Seattle Shakespeare Company will construct a playing space on the stage with audience members on both sides watching the game/play unfold. Director Vanessa Miller has added two characters to the production: Fate and Dream who operate outside the “game,” manipulating the action on the stage and serving as game masters.

http://www.seattleshakespeare.org/

"My Name is Asher Lev" packs a lot of life conflict into a small space

The cast of My Name is Asher Lev (Elise Bakketun)

My Name is Asher Lev

New Century Theatre Company

Through May 21, 2016

“My name is Asher Lev,” he begins, and assures us he is the painter of the “crucifix paintings.” We (apparently) know all about them. Thus begins the new play at New Century Theatre Company named My Name is Asher Lev that feels like an older story. It’s adapted from an acclaimed Chaim Potok book of the same title, though the adaptation by Aaron Posner is only several years old.

Coincidentally, we can see another Aaron Posner adaptation across town at ACT, Stupid Fucking Bird. It’s a unique opportunity that Seattle theaters sometimes accidentally give us to get to know a playwright more deeply by seeing two or more of his/her (but usually his) plays almost at once. Both plays focus on “art” and making it or living it or being compelled by it, but discuss “art” in very different ways.

Intimate production of "The Tempest" at New City Theater

Mary Ewald as Prospero in The Tempest (Shawn Hardison)

The Tempest

New City Theater

Through April 30, 2016

The tiny storefront venue of New City Theater can change just about any stage viewing experience dramatically, just because it’s so tiny. The intimate environment almost plunges one into the action of the play. So it is with their mounting of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which you have two more weekends to catch.

They’ve covered the playing area with fine white sand, since this island play deserves a beachy feel (designed by Nina Moser). The presentation is spare, except for fantasy-appropriate clothing (also by Moser).  The 14 players are mere inches away from the 49 seat audience!

"Stupid Fucking Bird" - more Chekhov, less funny

Adam Standley in Stupid Fucking Bird (Chris Bennion)

Stupid Fucking Bird

ACT Theatre

Through May 8, 2016

When you see Stupid Fucking Bird at ACT Theatre, you’re going to see a play that hews very closely to its source material, Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. It’s a modern adaptation and has some amazing one-liners in it, but it very closely mimics the scene line-up of the Chekhov play. So, what you’ll see is almost a modern translation.

I thought it was a “take-off of” and not a “modern adaptation of” the original. That distinction is important. What the modern take by Aaron Posner does reveal more clearly is that a life is pretty essentially wasted if all one does is pine for a lost love, whether the love was ever requited or not.

Charming "Becky" shows off a great Dietz script

Veronica Tuttell and Jake Friang in Becky's New Car (Ted Jaquith)

Becky's New Car
Phoenix Theatre
Through May 1, 2016

Becky's New Car is a terrific script by Steven Dietz, a prolific playwright who spend half of each year here, so we can call him "local!" Part of its joy is that it showcases the life of a middle-aged woman. How many scripts can you think of, off hand, that have the main character be a woman, much less middle aged!? You can enjoy the play at Phoenix Theatre in Edmonds, a little theater that knows its comedy.

Becky doesn't have a terrible life, it's fairly ordinary. She's got a demanding but fairly ordinary job in a car dealership. She's got a loving, fairly ordinary husband who, less-ordinarily, pays attention to little things she likes and listens to her. She has a young adult son who lives at home, still, and so poses a fairly ordinary problem.

She also doesn't think of herself as a person who would do unusual things, like fall into an affair. Yet, here she is, meeting a rich widower, letting the rich widower mistake her for a widow, and somehow she's sitting in a car, driving to a party, wondering how she got here.