This Week In Theater: Mysterious Bertie, Short Pyg & Brown Derby

We have arrived at the calm before the storm, the middle of the dog days of August...Let's take a moment to enjoy the relative calm before we dive into the final third of the year, which begins in a couple of weeks.

Right.

This week's foray into the dramatic arts begins with the Outsider's Inn Collective, something of an unknown entity in Seattle (though they've been around since 2008), and their West Coast premiere production of Bertie (Bertrand Russell's Excellent American Adventure) by Sidney Norinsky. The play won the 2008 Eugene O'Neill playwright's competition, and is about the controversy surrounding Bertrand Russell, British philosopher and noted pacifist, and the concentrated effort by special interest groups (religious and otherwise) in the media to marginalize his message.

Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30p.m.; through August 27 // Ballard Underground, 2220 NW Market // PWYW ($15 suggested donation)

Mention the word 'clown' and the majority of people either think of John Wayne Gacy or Bozo the Clown -- outlandish male faces in horrifying white makeup. It doesn't have to be that way, much is dependent on the discipline a clown is practicing under, and the makeup can be as minimal or as copious as the individual artist desires. Sometimes, all that is needed is a simple red nose; sometimes the clown can be female. Enter Have Nose, Will Clown's All-Girl Red Nose Revue, a benefit event happening at the Rendezvous this Friday and Sunday that will feature several local female clowns (Christine Longe, Jenna Bean Veatch, Alex Blouin) and the music of the Nu Klesmer Army. Proceeds from the event will go to help finance Blouin's tuition and living expenses while she attends the nation's most renown clown college, helping her hone her already sharp talent into a scalpel-like edge.

Friday and Sunday at 7:00p.m. // Rendezvous' Jewelbox Theater, 2322 2nd Avenue // $10

If you aren't familiar with the work of Ian Bell's Brown Derby series, we attempted to encapsulate the viewing experience in this preview written in March. For those who know what the Brown Derby is, prepare for what is going to be a doozy. This weekend, Bell and is band of hambone comedians take on the Stephen King's screenplay adaptation of his Pet Sematary; and if that wasn't tantalizing enough, the cast features the talents of comedic ringers like Bell, Basil Harris, Lisa Sanphillippo, Erin Stewart, Scott Shoemaker and Dusty Warren...These are some funny motherfuckers, y'all, don't miss out.

Thursday through Saturday; doors open at 7:00p.m., show begins at 8:00p.m. // Re-bar, 1114 Howell Street // $16, no reservations, so get there early to guarantee a seat

Bringing our entry to a close, we bring you Sound Theater Company's production of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. Easily Shaw's most celebrated and accessible play, Pygmalion is mostly known for providing the basis for the hit musical My Fair Lady which focused on the romantic comedy portion of Shaw's script, and ignored the thorny class issues he loved to talk about. Most US productions regrettably follow that lead, though the result is still an exceedingly witty and urbane evening out, but it's one that misses the point of all of Shaw's words...Sound Theater and Pygmalion director Theresa Thuman are not known for backing away from a textual challenge, however, so there is hope that the production will still deliver the romcom goods, while bringing Shaw's famous thorns.

Thursday through Monday at 7:30p.m. (Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2:00p.m.); through August 28 // Center House Theater, 305 Harrison Street // $15 - $20 (performances on August 22 and 25 are PWYW.)