Experienced Talent Brimming in "The Book of Will" at Taproot Theatre

Nolan Palmer and Melanie Godsey in The Book of Will (John Ulman)

The Book of Will
Taproot Theatre
Through February 24, 2024
 
This production of prolific playwright Lauren Gunderson is rambunctiously performed by a mostly-veteran ensemble of wonderful actors. It’s such a joy to see/hear them chew into the script, especially Nolan Palmer, as he skillfully overacts, as Richard Burbage, Shakespeare’s soliloquys while wanting to murder the young, ridiculous thespians who mangle and change Shakespeare’s words – because Shakespeare’s plays have not yet been codified in print.
 
The play surmises that after Shakespeare’s death, no one has thought to collect all of his plays and make sure they are properly saved for future audiences. In 1619, a few years after Shakespeare’s death, dumbed-down versions of his plays are proliferating, with actors guessing at what the script would be! Determined to fix this are the fabled actor Richard Burbage (Nolan Palmer), who played dozens of the great roles, John Heminges (Eric Jensen),the business manager of Shakespeare’s acting company, The King’s Men, Henry Condell (Reginald André Jackson), an actor and co-owner of the Globe. They are aided by wives and daughter (Llysa Holland, Nikki Visel, and Melanie Godsey).
 
Palmer doubles as William Jaggard, a swindler in the publishing game who has often been accused of plagiarism, and somehow has spawned a son, Isaac (Christopher Clark), who swears he will help bring authenticity and trust to publishing the Folio. The rest of the wonderful ensemble include Ben Johnson (Nik Doner), the other great playwright of the era, and Ralph Crane (Andrew Litzky), a meticulous scribe of the “acting” scripts of Shakespeare who wrote down and kept many crucial scripts for himself (thankfully), and William Eames, who plays several small but important roles.

Special Opportunity to Hear Musical “Sunset Boulevard”

Billie Wildrick and Matthew Kacergis in Sunset Boulevard (Chris Bennion)

Sunset Boulevard
Showtunes Theatre Company
(at Cornish Playhouse)
Through February 11, 2024
 
Below, you’ll see that I was intrigued enough about the musical that I did some Wikipedia-ing about both the movie, Sunset Boulevard, and the musical’s history. But I first want to encourage you to hurry and get tickets for the last two performances of this concert before you lose this unique opportunity!
 
Showtunes Theatre Company, if you have not had the immense pleasure of attending their concerts, yet, allows us to see top-level local musical theater performers tackle musicals that may well never have “full” productions in Seattle. They perform “concerts” where there is no set, not much significant costuming or lights, and the performers generally use scripts-in-hand, so the audience has to bring a lot of imagination along.
 
However, in recent years, the concerts have gotten more and more complex, with choreography, a few key costumes, and fewer music stands between the audience and performers. This concert is more technically sophisticated than most concerts I’ve seen! There are absolutely gorgeous costumes for Norma’s glamourous lifestyle (by Chelsea Cook), and some crucial projections (by Jake Burleigh) that provide the old-timey feel of vintage motion pictures.
 
Then there is a 20-person on-stage orchestra led by artistic director Nathan Young! That means that the musician-ship, the lush sound of the score, couldn’t be better at a large theater with a full production! The atmosphere and quality of the production is top-notch!
 
The ensemble of performers is superb! Glorious Billie Wildrick plays Norma Desmond and trembles with silent-screen-star emotions. She nails every big number, expressing (sometimes crazy) feelings with conviction and passion. Matthew Kacergis, as Joe Gillis, has great vocal range and power and whose down-at-heart screenwriter is by turns driven and defeated. Jeff Church, as Max the taciturn butler, has a beautiful bass voice. Karin Terry, as Betty Schaefer, the 22 year old (!) literary assistant determined to write a movie, enchants. The rest of the cast is full of huge talents, as well.

A New “Quixote” Enlivens Both The Classic and Border Issues

Sancho Panza and Don Quixote (Nate Watters)

Quixote Nuevo

Seattle Rep
Through February 11, 2024
 
Octavio Solis’ play, Quixote Nuevo, is a treat for both Spanish and English speakers when you can pick out the interplay of puns and alliteration and literary references. In Quixote Nuevo, he mirrors the well-known tale of Don Quixote, who loved Dulcinea and tried to fight the powers-that-be.
 
He chooses a professor, Jose Quijano (played with elegance and verve by Herbert Siguenza), of the author Cervantes, who wrote Don Quixote. The professor is accelerating in his decline toward dementia and his family feels he’d be safer in an assisted living facility. Jose becomes a “new” Quixote, escapes his concerned family and townsfolk, and begins a search for Dulcinea. But escaping also presents great danger, as his inability to see where reality ends and fantasy starts could cause him to forget to eat or drink out in the bleak desert on the border of Texas.
 
The tone of the play is often joyful, yet mixed with pain. Large puppets are used to menace and to entrance. Tejano music is used masterfully to demonstrate parts of the story and underscore moments of emotional outbursts.

February Theater – Great Choices

 

The Lady Demands Satisfaction at Phoenix Theatre (Eric Lewis)

This short month has already shot out the gate and is galloping along! Quick, start booking your shows before they’re gone!

 
Born With Teeth, ArtsWest, 2/1-25/24
With an aging authoritarian British ruler, a violent police state, and a restless, polarized people seething with paranoia, it’s a dangerous time for poets. Two of them — the great Christopher Marlowe and the up-and-comer William Shakespeare — meet in the back room of a pub to collaborate on a history play cycle, navigate the perils of art under a totalitarian regime, and flirt like young men with everything to lose. One of them may well be the death of the other in this biting comedy about ambition, ego, and history.
www.artswest.org
 
Living IncogNegro, Key City Public Theatre, 2/1-11/24
Talented solo performer Gin Hammond writes about her personal journey. When your cultural identity is one thing, but your physical identity is another, how do you navigate self-expression? Both a humorous love-letter, and an academic discourse, dedicated to those who find themselves in the middle of a cultural battle they never asked for.
www.keycitypublictheatre.org
 
Once More, Just for You, Seattle Public Theater, 2/2-25/24 (world premiere)
Local playwright Maggie Lee pens a new sci-fi based play. The only foolproof way to truly fix past mistakes is time travel, right? Rae has a time machine and she's gonna try. But just because you already know which path NOT to take doesn’t always guarantee things will end up where you planned. A curious, heartfelt new play about finding connection, unspoken sacrifice, and the infinite metaphysical paradox of loving and letting go.
www.seattlepublictheater.org
 
A Case for the Existence of God, ACT Theatre, 2/2-18/24
“Whale” writer Samuel D. Hunter won the 2022 New York Drama Critics’ award for this play. Inside a small loan brokerage in Idaho, two men struggle to make a place for their family in the American dream, navigating the tensions of parenthood, financial security, desire, and empathy. Intrigue, revelation, and surprises link the lives of two fathers intertwine reflecting on what it means to be human.
www.acttheatre.org
 
The Lady Demands Satisfaction, The Phoenix Theatre, 2/2-25/24
When a young maiden who has never touched a sword learns she must defend her inheritance in a duel, she struggles with a milksop suitor, a servant girl posing as a Prussian fencing master, the actual Prussian fencing master who believes he is there to marry her, a stodgy lord, and her domineering aunt – the finest blade anywhere - to save her house and lands.
www.tptedmonds.org
 
Sunset Boulevard, Showtunes Theatre Company, 2/3-11/24 (at Cornish Playhouse)
We get a local view of the whole musical – going to Broadway in 2024 – chronicling Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on that fabled, famous Los Angeles street. Billy Wildrick, local musical powerhouse star, takes stage as Norma. When young screenwriter Joe Gillis accidentally crosses her path, she sees in him an opportunity to make her return to the big screen, with romance and tragedy to follow. Joining the large cast of favorite musical theater actors will be a 25 person, on-stage orchestra. (Trust me, this is special!)
www.showtunestheatre.org

25 Years of ZinZanni Fun with Kevin Kent

Kevin Kent at Teatro Zinzanni (Photo by Nate Watters)

In recent years, TeatroZinZanni has “put up its tent” in various temporary locations, and for the last several months, they have been resident in the new Hotel Lotte (Low-tay) in downtown Seattle. The building includes the soaring sanctuary inside what used to be the 1908-built United First Methodist Church. ZinZanni figured out a way to insert the bottom part of the tent inside the sanctuary, and then erect metal structures above to be able to “fly” the aerial performers safely. But you can still see the beautiful dome above that.
 
So, if you’ve been to ZinZanni before, the surroundings will be familiar. The deep burgundy of the curtains, the wooden floor, the mirrors, the booths around the perimeter and the doors through which performers enter and food is served.
 
Kevin Kent was a cast member of the original Teatro ZinZanni show in Seattle in 1998 and the subsequent debut show in San Francisco in 2000, and has been with Teatro ever since. A physical and improvisational humorist, Kevin has honed his comedic audience interactions to a fine point. During the performance, he morphs into a female character that might baffle audience members. (During my visit, my companion did not realize until after the show that Kevin was both the male and female interactor.)
 
I had a great time interviewing Kevin about his life and working with ZinZanni. A New Mexico native, he and his husband Joe are living in the homestead his parents built in the mountains.

Jan + Half Feb Theater Openings, Check Out the World Premieres!

 

Montage of Comedy of Errors photos (Giao Nguyen)

Theater is bringing great energy to the new year! I’m partial to world premieres because of the sense of adventure, seeing a show that only has a tempting blurb, and rolling dice hoping that it will be a great experience. Even if it ends up not being your favorite show, you’re still supporting the forward motion of the theater community. Engage your inner adventurer and get outcher calendars!

The Comedy of Errors, Seattle Shakespeare Company, 1/10-28/24

This small ensemble version cleaves right to the heart of this comedy of separated twins. What are the chances there’s a guy walking around town with your face? What are the chances there’s another guy walking around town with your servant’s face? Antipholus and Dromio encounter some trouble when their doppelgangers seem to be on the loose in Ephesus, not realizing that their identical twins with identical names were separated from them in a shipwreck as babies. Performed by a troupe of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) collaborators.

www.seattleshakespeare.org
 
God of Carnage, SecondStory Repertory, 1/12-28/24
A playground altercation between eleven-year-old boys brings together two sets of Brooklyn parents at a home for a meeting to resolve the matter. At first, diplomatic niceties are observed, but as the meeting progresses, and the rum flows, tensions emerge and the gloves come off, leaving the couples with more than just their liberal principles in tatters.
www.secondstoryrep.org
 
Strong Waters, Global Works 1/13/24-2/3/24 (at 12^th Ave Arts) (world premiere)
“Permission to come aboard?” A retired actor and his recently divorced son share a tranquil life in a floating home community - until an unexpected guest arrives, destined to make waves. The past is awakened, and the present enlivened, as three people discover where their hidden hurts, and their hope for healing, collide.
www.globalworksproductions.com