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Friday, November 18, 2016

The Wonderland of Zinzanni

Lady Rizo as the Red Queen (Alan Alabastro)
Welcome to Wonderland
Teatro Zinzanni
Through February 26, 2017

An inventive new storyline is now playing at Teatro Zinzanni. They’ve chosen an Alice in Wonderland theme for their newest dinner/show and in a Zinzanni kind of way, they keep the magical and mystical flavor of that story, as well.

Economics has clearly put some pressure on the speigeltent folks. They’ve apparently realized that it’s enormously expensive to change all the characters and themes every three months and have decided to elongate the run of a show. That is simply smart, and it also allows for more thinking and planning and a smarter execution of a concept.

In this adorable show, Lewis and Carol (get it?), a sweet couple of innocence, get lost in Wonderland and find themselves separated while the Red Queen Rizo tries to cut off their heads. Of course there is the ubiquitous “just missing them” routine, and this Queen is not so hard-hearted that she won’t stop to let people eat soup or supper.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Quick Take: Farewell Funny Men - The Habit Bites the Dust

The Habit (WestCoast Bell)
The Habit
Bathhouse Theater
through November 26, 2016

Six guys walk into the Bathhouse....for the last time. I don't know about you but I really really really needed something to laugh at that had nothing to do with politics. The guys of The Habit provided that to me tonight for their opening night of their Last Stand. They've been making sketch comedy together for too many years and there are families and dispersings and I guess it's harder and harder to hang out and make jokes with each other.

The six "guys" are David Swidler, Jeff Schell, John Osebold, Mark Siano, Ryan Dobosh (all of whom you see on stage) and Lucas Thayer (who shall remain anonymous). They've put a show together with some of their best pieces from over the years.

It's silly, it's smart, it's fun, and they don't take themselves too seriously, either. It's the perfect antidote to what just happened and what may yet appear. Do 'em a favor and go see 'em and laugh. You might do yourself a favor, too.

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2605125 or call 800-838-3006.

New Meaker play, "The Lost Girls," has some spooks

The cast of The Lost Girls (Dangerpants Photography)
The Lost Girls
Annex Theatre
Through November 19, 2016

Courtney Meaker writes engaging and untypical and very “current” dialogue in her plays. Her characters do and say things you don’t often expect and talk about life in often-blunt and sometimes funny ways. Having lived here for a number of years, she’s off in Iowa studying how to be an even better playwright.

Her latest work, The Lost Girls, is on stage at Annex Theatre. It contains aspects that Meaker likes to include: women characters (in this case, only women characters) and characters of fluid or Gay sexual orientations. These aspects are still far under-represented in the vast theatrical universe, so her additions are generally making up for that, one play at a time.

The successful parts of this play include a lot of the dialogue and relationship building among the five camp counselor college-aged women who all have been recruited for the very first time to this spooky camp. Except one of them attended camp as a teen and tells them the tale of the foundation of the property and why it has that haunted reputation. And there’s an interesting “women empowered girls and got killed for it” story in there.

Wednesday, November 09, 2016

“The Big Meal” doesn’t fill one up much

The Big Meal (Chris Monsos)
The Big Meal
New Century Theatre Company
Through November 19, 2016

New Century Theatre Company aka NCTC has done some wonderful productions and for this play, The Big Meal, they have assembled a really good cast of actors and a good director, Makaela Pollock. This particular script by Dan LeFranc, however, didn’t convince me that it was essential to produce.

Since NCTC programs itself, it’s not always clear what drives them to choose the works they choose. In this case, this play is a progression of scenes over the course of one couple’s journey through meeting cute at a casual-dining restaurant and spanning some 40 or 50 years of their life together. Some have compared it to A Long Christmas Dinner by Thornton Wilder.

Saturday, November 05, 2016

Taut, terrific “Dangerous Liaisons” takes the stage at ACT Theatre

Dangerous Liaisons
ACT Theatre
Through November 20, 2016

Begin with a beautiful “moment” of set (an ornate door here, a small French desk there, a divan) and add two handfuls of beautifully dressed and coiffed actors sailing through and around the set, mix in some biting sarcasm on love and fidelity, sprinkle a dash – or maybe two or three – of seduction, and you have the delicious recipe for a murderous dramedy. This is the world of Dangerous Liaisons at ACT Theatre.

The world of these pre-revolutionary French aristocrats is one of cards, wine, social one-upmanship and appearance of propriety. Christopher Hampton’s play, which you might have seen as a movie, strips away the velvet coating so we might see the toxic underground of a few particular combatants. Two in particular are hell-bent on revenge and winning. Or maybe winning and revenge.

Wednesday, November 02, 2016

Some of the biggest theater openings of the year are saved for November

Cast of Big Bad (Dangerpants Photography)
Three of the biggest musicals of the year are crammed into November. The 5th Avenue kicks off the new national tour of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, starring our local favorite Diana Huey, who moved to NYC to forward her national career. She’ll be on the road for a year, after the Seattle debut! We wish her the best of experiences.

Village Theatre presents Singing in the Rain, which few of us have seen on stage. Make it rain, folks! ArtsWest brings us Peter and the Starcatcher, continuing the new efforts of this stalwart West Seattle theater to musicalize up our town.  In addition to that excitement, we also have upstart Reboot Theatre Company giving us the local premiere of a new off-Broadway musical, Fly By Night.

Then there is the anticipated arrival of King Charles III at Seattle Rep. It’s a big month!

Monday, October 31, 2016

Shatteringly good - "The Pride" by Theatre22

Angela DiMarco, Andre Nelson, Trevor Young Marston in The Pride (Margaret Toomey)
The Pride
Theatre22
(at 12th Avenue Arts)
Through November 19, 2016

A shattering emotional catharsis awaits audience members who attend The Pride, now being staged by Theatre22 at 12th Avenue Arts! Every SGN reader should make plans to see this production, if you can. It’s exceptionally well-acted, intelligently well-written, and is a great reminder of how far society has changed in a fairly short period of years regarding Gay life and issues.

It’s almost criminal that this play is Alexi Kaye Campbell’s first play, since it is so well-written. Perhaps more of his plays will be produced here in the near future, so we can experience the growth of his writing.

In The Pride, we meet Philip (Andre Nelson), Sylvia (Angela DiMarco) and Oliver (Trevor Young Marston) in two time periods: 1958 and 2008. But no, they don’t “age” – they are two different sets of characters with two different sets of concerns. In 1958, Philip and Sylvia are married and Oliver is a writer that Sylvia works with. In 2008, the three are all very contemporary friends.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Music elevates this sleek production of "Medea" even more

Sylvester Foday Kamara and Alexandra Tavares in Medea (John Ulman)
Medea
Seattle Shakespeare Company
Through November 13, 2016

A taut, sleek and musicalized version of Medea is on tap by Seattle Shakespeare Company. The normally unmusical drama includes original compositions by Shenandoah Davis that are aptly provided and allow a Greek Chorus to actually sing! This aspect elevates this well done production even more.

Ritualistically directed by Kelly Kitchens, the play runs about an hour and forty minutes straight through as the Euripides’ story of Medea unfolds on a spare, modern bedroom suite set by Andrea Bryn Bush. The translation used, by Kenneth McLeish and Frederick Raphael, feels contemporary and because of that feeling, it both helps the audience understand the words well, yet hurts the understanding of an ancient story.

Certainly, the language feels immediate and accessible, and with contemporary costuming by Chelsea Cook, it feels like it could be a story that happens today. But part of what we need to understand about Medea is that she is a woman “of her time.” Euripides wrote more than two thousand years ago about a woman treated as worthless when her husband decides to throw her over for a princess and a crown.

Triumphant debut by new SWC/SMC Artistic Director Paul Caldwell

Paul Caldwell (courtesy Seattle Choruses)
Seattle Women’s Chorus: Unveiled
St. Mark’s Cathedral
October 21-22, 28-29, 2016

SWC has clearly fallen head over heels for new artistic director Paul Caldwell. By the looks of things, he’s fallen in love with them, too! The love fest is on full display at St. Mark’s Cathedral on Capitol Hill during Seattle Women’s Chorus’ concert, Unveiled.

The audience is falling in love, too, because the program is fresh and inviting and focuses on the core function of a concert: choral singing. There are a few soloists, and they are all fantastic, but by and large, the whole chorus sings every song except for those done by “pocket choir” Sensible Shoes.