Brews & Bards: Beer for the Stage
Bertolt Brecht once said glibly that a theater without beer is just a museum. The people at Emerald City Scene have taken the master at his word with their production of Brews & Bards, which plays at the Center House at Seattle Center concurrently with Seattle Beer Week.
Three playwrights, Emerald City Scene founding member Joe Mangialardi, artistic director Nathaniel Porter and regular stage manager Jake Farley, have teamed up with local breweries Redhook, Schooner Exact and Baron Brewing to create three pieces which they hope will intoxicate local audiences.
Each brewery has provided an author with a theme based on one of their brews. Baron Brewing have provided author Joe Mangialardi with the challenge of their offbeat Three Skulls Ales beer, Blood Orange Wit, and in turn he has crafted what he calls "a memory play, sweet with hints of that bitter blood orange." Schooner Exact have added their flagship brew, 3 Grid IPA, to the throwdown for Nathaniel Porter to interpret as a bitter comedy. Finally, Redhook's Extra Special Bitter completes the trio of bitterness by giving Jake Farley a chance to indulge his penchant for fantasy, by reimagining the brewery as a sea monster. Seriously.
Behind the pretense of story, however, Brews & Bards is a good excuse to gather up some adults, take them to the Center and celebrate the local obsession with craft brewing in the Pacific Northwest, because beer, of course, will be served. And because we love you all here at Seattlest, we'll give you a helpful tip. If you go to the show tonight you can get 2-for-1 tickets by using the online code "Thirsty Thursday" at Brown Paper Tickets. Think of it as a bait-and-switch way to claim you're going to go get some culture at the theater while actually going to sample some of Seattle's finest.
Through May 28th // TPS Theatre 4, Seattle Center House // Tickets $10-20 available from Brown Paper Tickets
