Weekend Theatre: June 19-21
Marc Bamuthi Joseph in "the break/s" at ACT Theatre. Photo by Bethanie Hines.
OPENING the break/s @ ACT. Marc Bamuthi Joseph is a poet, theatre artist, and educator who's produced a hip hop influenced solo performance piece that's generating buzz all over town. (700 Union St. Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., matinees Sat. & Sun. 2 p.m. Tix $40-$55.)
RECOMMENDED Muffin Face @ the Balagan. Rarely have the promises theatre artists have made us regarding their own work been kept, but Muffin Face is a happy exception. It is a life-changing experience, the effects do last for about six hours after the end of the play, and we hope you're not the sad sort of person who prefers the nevertheless enjoyable Muffin Face pre-show to the real deal. Brilliant. Fucking brilliant. (Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m. 1117 E. Pike St. $15.)
ALSO PLAYING The Tempest @ Seattle Shakespeare. There's one reason why this show is a must-see, and her name is Hana Lass. Following a fine turn as one of three cast members of the critically lauded Crime and Punishment at Intiman this spring, Lass shines as Ariel, the "airy spirit" with dark powers, opposite more experienced actors. (Seattle Center House, Fri. & Sat. 7:30, Sun. 2. Tix $25/$36.)
ONE WEEK ONLY Rent @ the Paramount. The new touring production of Rent features its original stars, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp. Fifteen years ago they played starving young artists struggling to survive in the East Village...when they were starving young artists, trying to survive in the East Village. Now they're just the guys who originally starred in Rent. The show has the same whiff of sell-out nostalgia as the hoopla over the new Broadway production of Hair. (911 Pine St. Fri. 8, Sat. 2 & 8, Sun. 1 & 6:30. Tix $23-$83.)
CLOSING Below the Belt @ ACT. "It's fitting that the star of Richard Dresser's Below the Belt is an actor best known for sitcoms, because the play feels like a 90-minute-long one: There's plenty of one-liners, the characters are all archetypes, and the plot is all about lies, because a story about lies ensures that you can end up exactly where you started and that's exactly how sitcoms like to roll. That's not to say the play's bad—it's actually really funny—but it's not exactly the biting satire it's made out to be." [Read the review.] (Fri. 8, Sat. 2 & 8, Sun. 2 & 7:30. 800 Union St. Tix $10/$15/$40-$55.)
