And that noise is the sound of children laughing. Okay, not children, but 30-somethings and under, drawn to the Seattle Rep's Leo K. theatre by a new play from Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, a playwright so cool and cutting edge he lives in the Mission in San Francisco. And of course having two of Seattle's most talented young-ish actors, Chelsey Rives and Nick Garrison, in lead roles doesn't hurt. Not to mention the scenic design genius of Jennifer Zeyl. more ›

It's not that you forget to tell yourself you know better, that's not a blue sky over the French Quarter, you aren't really sweating in a muggy, swampy heat, the tinny piano isn't spilling out of the bar down the block. Watching A Streetcar Named Desire (at Intiman through August 2, tickets $10-$48) doesn't automatically summon up a hi-def New Orleans, circa 1947--but it does create a rapt, illicit, time-stunned two hours, as if you're having a boozy mid-afternoon conversation in a bar, trading giggling fits and pulling the bandages off old wounds for the sake of the sting. more ›

"This family has sure got a lot on its plate," remarked our companion at the intermission of the new play Wake, from Onward Ho! Productions. Playwright Sonya Schneider loads the Harlows with about a decade's worth of mishap and miscommunication, and then packs them all into a tiny cabin for a birthday party. There's a point about fifteen minutes in where you feel acute sympathy for Delby, a friend who's blindly wandered into this O'Neill-meets-Stoppard family drama (runs through April 13, Thursday to Sunday, at the Little Theatre, tickets $15). more ›