“Daisy’s” considerable potential not unleashed

Michael Gotch in Daisy (Dawn Schaefer)

Daisy

ACT Theatre

Through August 7, 2016

The very first “attack television commercial” is now thought of as an iconic ad. It was created to support LBJ’s first run for the presidency after becoming “the accidental president” when Kennedy was shot. The commercial had a little girl pulling petals off a daisy and counting them (upwardly) and then a countdown of some official sort from 10 and a bomb exploding. It was meant to take advantage of people’s innate fear of getting bombed and was supposed to make people fear Barry Goldwater – the upstart Republican who many felt was extreme and rash.

That topic, particularly when another rash Republican is running for election, now, is a compelling and potentially fascinating idea. Playwright Sean Devine has been working on a play, Daisy, for a number of years and decided he would focus on the ad agency, itself, that developed the concept and created the ad. They won awards for it, later, too (the Cleo). That particular choice might have undercut the ability to exploit the excitement of that topic…

Third Guirgis play this year shows he is a genius, and so is Sound Theatre Company!

Shermona Mitchell and Jose Abaoag in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Photo by Ken Holmes)

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

Sound Theatre Company

(at Seattle Center’s Armory Theatre)

Through July 31, 2016

I am officially in awe of Stephen Adly Guirgis. This now Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright (2015 for Between Riverside and Crazy) has had four of his plays done fairly recently in Seattle. Three of them so far have been met with critical and popular acclaim, with several Gypsy Rose Lee Award nominations and wins (many for Jesus Hopped the “A” Train, produced by Azeotrope).

This year alone, we had Motherfucker with a Hat and In Arabia (Washington Ensemble Theatre/Hansberry Project/eSe Teatro) and In Arabia, We’d All Be Kings (Theater Schmeater). Now, newly opened, we have a fantastic full-throated, killer-casted production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Sound Theatre Company reliably produces solid and well-chosen plays each summer. This is absolutely up there with their best! This is now one of the best of the year for me, no question.

Exquisite “Gentleman” will murder your funny bone

Kristen Beth Williams and Kevin Massey in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (Joan Marcus)

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder

The 5^th Avenue Theater

Through July 31, 2016

The Tony Award winning best musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, just opened at The 5th Avenue Theater with the national tour. If you’ve been wondering why it got such smashing reviews on Broadway, what earned it a Tony, well, it is absolutely a barrel of fun and well worth checking out.

It’s got the new-fangled device of having one actor play all the people who get killed. Possibly a good budget support, but the one actor has got to be on his game. John Rapson is absolutely up to the daunting task, though some of his costume changes must be magic. His turn for clowning is an opportunity to study a master. His timing is perfect.

Wait, what? One guy gets killed 9 times? Starting over: Montague Navarro (Kevin Massey) has just lost his mother and an old friend arrives who helps him find evidence that he is a far-down-the-line heir to an enormous Dysquith fortune. Indeed, he has a birth certificate with that name in the middle. But there are 9 people in his way. It’s not long before the idea of helping them die pops into his fertile brain.

Things You Can Do omits actual advice

Things You Can Do (Roberta Christensen)

Things You Can Do

Live Girls! Theater

(at ACTLab)

Through July 31, 2016

Things You Can Do is a world premiere play by Kristen Palmer, a playwright with a solid list of produced plays who is also the artistic director of a theater for young people in Connecticut. The play includes three intelligent women, an intelligent girl, and a street-smart guy. Live Girls! Theater has been working on the script for quite a while, starting with public readings in 2013.

The big theme in the play is glacial ice, permafrost, and climate change. The small theme is whether you can do much about the big issues in life when your individual life is pretty much falling apart. Stevie (Hannah Ruwe) is a scientist, writing her PhD thesis on permafrost. But something has driven her to leave her school and suddenly appear back in her small Virginia town, even before she’s called her mother to say she’s back.

It’s ‘60s Time again at Twister Beach

Gabriella Scherrer in Twister Beach (John Cornicello)

Twister Beach

Marxiano Prods. and Café Nordo

Through July 30, 2016

I had this imaginary scene in my head: Mark Siano and Opal Peachey were sitting around saying, “Hey, we have this giant hammer head shark costume and this giant whale costume… Let’s write a mini-musical called Twister Beach for Café Nordo!” Turns out I had it backward. They actually decided to make enormous costumes of a hammer head shark and a whale for their new musical dinner extravaganza!

If you have any wish to see an enormously silly conversation about killing people between a hammer head shark and a whale, while eating great and interesting food and watching various Frankie and Annette types cavort in bathing suits while preparing for a talent show, then Twister Beach is exactly what the diner ordered!

Big Fish might not be your catch

Chelsea LeValley and Chris Ensweiler in Big Fish. Photo by Erik Stuhaug

Big Fish

Taproot Theatre

Through August 13, 2016

Taproot Theatre almost always has a summer musical. They are, pretty dependably, “feel good” musicals with a heart-warming center. Such a feel-good, heart-warming musical is on tap now. Big Fish is by reliable composer, Andrew Lippa, with book (script) by John August. It’s based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and the movie of the same name, also written by John August.

The musical did get to Broadway in 2013, but didn’t last very long. It’s much more suited to being in a small, more unassuming performance house. In that sense, Taproot is perfect for it.

Everyday folks are the focus of "The Aliens" - ReAct Theatre

Cast of The Aliens (David Hsieh)

The Aliens

ReAct Theatre

(at West of Lenin)

Through July 24, 2016

Now that Seattle theaters have produced three of Annie Baker’s plays (Seattle Rep: Circle Mirror Transformation, New Century Theatre Company: The Flick, and now ReAct Theatre: The Aliens), we have a solid experience set to her style. Most important in her plays is the storytelling importance of silence.

Silence on stage is particularly difficult. An audience sits waiting for “something,” and silence is often not considered “something.” So, an important item to bring to an Annie Baker play is patience and a sense of noticing. Of all three productions, here, The Aliens is most in need of noticing.

Must of what can be discovered in the play is done in silence; either silent communication or in an action of a character that reveals a lot of inner thought. The three men in The Aliens do a lot of onstage thinking or contemplating.

July means Free Theater in the Park and so much more!

Sara Porkalob and her real grandma, Maria Porkalob, Sr. aka "The Dragon Lady" (Joe Iano)

July means Free Theater – in the parks, of course. Go to http://greenstage.org/sotf/ to see the whole schedule including children’s shows for the annual Seattle Outdoor Theater Festival, July 9 and 10 all over Volunteer Park. That weekend explodes with eight (8!) other shows, so unless you’re a clone, you’re going to miss something. Get out those calendars!

The Aliens, ReAct, 7/1-24/16 (at West of Lenin)

In the back of a Vermont coffee shop, a pair of society's misfits spend their days singing songs, writing novels and lamenting past loves. When a young barista asks them to leave, the duo initiate him in the ways of the world, the writings of Bukowski, and the true worth of life. A 2010 Obie Award-winning play by Annie Baker.

https://reactaliens.brownpapertickets.com/

Big Fish, Taproot Theatre, 7/6/16-8/13/16

Edward Bloom has never been much of a dad, but as fantasy wages war with reality his tall tales of mermaids and giants may make his son a better man. Let yourself be reeled in by this adventurous and romantic musical as a son fishes for the answer to the looming question: Is Edward Bloom a lunatic, a liar or a living legend? Taproot’s summer musical.

www.taproottheatre.org

Don't be "Sorry" - See this show...

Cast of Sorry (Alabastro Photography)

Sorry

Thalia’s Umbrella

(at 12^th Avenue Arts)

Through June 26, 2016

If you’re a certain age (middle), you might get pretty tired of all the plays focused on young people. Why the hell are there So Many Plays About Teenagers??? Well, Thalia’s Umbrella is giving you a welcome break with a wonderful script, Sorry, by Richard Nelson that presents a quad of middle-aged siblings dealing with their elderly uncle.

The three sisters, Barbara, Marian, and Jane Apple (Jeanne Paulsen, Macall Gordon, and Leslie Law) and brother Richard (Terry Edward Moore) have a difficult decision to put into effect. They have decided it’s time to move their beloved uncle Benjamin (William Hall, Jr.) into a facility, because it has become too much for Barbara to manage caring for him by herself.