Well, the 2011 production season is nearly at an end; there are a handful of shows currently running that will close at some point in the next week and a half -- a list of which will be provided later in the day. But otherwise, most production companies are shutting down for the holiday season, and a bit of relaxation before the madness begins once the new year commences. more ›

After an absence of several months, the beleaguered Seattle theater company, the Intiman, shows signs of life with the announcement of a 2012 Summer Theater festival. Seattlest takes a look at the announced productions and reflects on what they bring to the table. more ›

Another manic Monday? Basically, based on this news. more ›

Theater season ramps up this fall. While Intiman forges ahead and looks to next year, other theaters are getting ready to hit the boards with their season openers this year. In a sure sign that the fall has arrived, two Seattle theater houses open their 2011 season within days of each other. more ›

The saga continues. Word comes today, via the Seattle Times, of discussions taking place behind the usual veil of secrecy the Intiman Board of Directors operates under, regarding the long-term fate of the organization. more ›

Whim W'Him's show at the Intiman Theatre last week, reSet, offered an interesting summary of the group's career so far. It was fascinating to see the evolution of Olivier Wevers' choreography with the group in a triptych of pieces: the newly revisited 3Seasons, the powerful Monster and the debut of INAT$ (It's Not About The Money). more ›

It has been a busy year for Olivier Wevers. With his retirement this spring from the Pacific Northwest Ballet, he has thrown himself into his role as artistic director for Whim W'Him with aplomb. And he has another busy week in store... more ›

For all of the difficulties facing Intiman, you have also been presented a unique opportunity. While every other theatre in town, and really in the country, tries to figure out how to make difficult transitions, shifting the earned/contributed income balance and trying to break from the failing subscription model, you have a blank slate. more ›

Looking for some lunchtime reading? Jose has the weeks arts news, including shake-ups and shut-downs within some of the areas most influential art-makers. more ›

The last time Mike Daisey performed How Theater Failed America in Seattle, it seemed to arrive just in time to address the then recent near collapse of the ACT...Such uncanny timing is part and parcel with Daisey's resume and increasing stature on the national theater scene, as evidenced by the emergence of The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs at a time when the horrible work conditions and corporate practices in China are coming to light. more ›

"I work for a company in Seattle that purchases tickets for a few events in town, and raffles them off to it’s employees. These tickets are a mix of Sports and Arts events - Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders and T-Birds for sports, and the 5th Avenue and Seattle Symphony for the arts side. But when they gave away tickets for Legally Blonde: The Musical, a few feathers somewhere in my mind got ruffled. Why was my employer supporting the Teamsters and pretending to encourage local arts?" more ›

Here's a piece of good (and real) news for the day: the financially-troubled Intiman Theater has reached their first fund-raising benchmark. more ›

It was with bated breath that a sold-out crowd waited for the curtain to open at Intiman Theatre last weekend. The buzz about this new dance company has been building for the past year, starting with Whim W’him’s sold-out premiere at On the Boards last January and culminating with the December announcement that Whim W’him would become Intiman’s first Resident Dance Company, a five-year partnership beginning in January 2011. more ›

MONDAY WITH KID CHARLEMANE: Steely Dan tends to fall off the radar now and again. Their smooth, soft and hypnotic melodies can distract you from remembering how incredibly awesome they are. Technically you can miss them tonight, since they're playing again tomorrow, but why play with fire? more ›

"Inadvertently topical" is perhaps the best way to describe The Year of Magical Thinking, at Intiman Theatre through Sept. 20 (tix $40-$55). Joan Didion's own adaptation of her award-winning 2005 memoir of the same title, the one-woman show follows Didion's struggles with grief following the death of her novelist husband John Gregory Dunne in 2003, which coincided with the beginning of the long, catastrophic series of illnesses that eventually claimed her daughter's life the next year. But playing against the backdrop of the ongoing national debate over health care reform, during the show we kept coming back to the--again no doubt inadvertent--lie that is the throughline of the play, and one of the first things Judith Roberts, the marvelous actress who plays Didion, says at the opening: "This will happen to you." more ›

RECOMMENDED 14/48: The World's Quickest Theatre Festival @ On the Boards. 14/48 has become a twice-yearly staple of Seattle theatre: dozens of actors, directors, and writers get together to throw together the best 10-minute plays they can pull off in 24 hours. The first weekend opens tonight with two showings of the first seven plays, based on themes divvied out to playwrights last night; tomorrow, there's a whole new set of plays--in total, 14 original plays in 48 hours. The festival runs for two weekends at OtB, with a new set of directors, writers, actors, and musicians next weekend. (100 W. Roy St. Fri. & Sat., 8 & 10:30 p.m. Tix $18-$35.) more ›

RECOMMENDED The Elephant Man @ Strawberry Theatre Workshop. "Not knowing much about the play, we went because we saw the cast included David Pichette, MJ Sieber, and Alexandra Tavares, who consistently bring a snap, crackle, and pop (respectively) to whatever they're in. The show is an hour and forty minutes with no intermission--the audience last night was glued to the stage the whole time." [Read our review.] (Fri. & Sat., 8:30 p.m. 1524 Harvard Ave. $10-$54.36.) more ›

ONE WEEKEND ONLY ARC Dance: Summer Dance at the Center @ Seattle Rep. Stunning contemporary ballet by the best local dance company you've never heard of. (Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. Leo K. Theatre @ Seattle Rep. Tix $15-$25.) more ›

RECOMMENDED Pretty Girls @ Seattle Center House/TPS Theatre 4. Despite its low budget and all the attendant challenges faced by small fringe theatres, Marked Women Productions have pulled off a winning show with Pretty Girls. Inspired by the work of Naomi Wolf, the company has produced an ambitious and challenging original script that comes to life onstage on the strength of the company's innovating approach to staging. It features several strong performances, as well, particularly Opal Peachey and local teenage up-and-comer Megan Schutzer. (Fri., Sun. & Mon., 8 p.m. Seattle Center House, Fourth Floor; tix $8-$10.) more ›

It hasn't even opened yet, but the Intiman has just announced the Arin Arbus production of Othello is getting eight extra performances, thanks to brisk ticket sales: "Tickets are on sale now for shows on Tuesday, August 4 at 7:30 pm; Wednesday, August 5 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm; Thursday, August 6 at 7:30 pm; Friday, August 7 at 8 pm; Saturday, August 8 at 2 pm and 8 pm; and Sunday, August 9 at 2 pm (closing)." Also, on Tuesdays, admission is $25 for adults (tickets are always $10 for the 25-and-under set). Directed by Arin Arbus, this "terrific" (NY Times) Othello was originally produced in New York and sold out its February run, then came back in April. This plus the $50K from the NEA should keep Intiman's lights on. more ›

RECOMMENDED NW New Works Fest @ On the Boards. Week two of OtB's annual revue of the best experimental theatre, performance, and dance from around the Northwest. Last weekend was a blast, and this weekend there's eight completely different performers hitting two stages. The Studio Showcase plays tonight at 8 and Sat. and Sun. at 5, and the Mainstage performances are Sat. and Sun. at 8. (100 W. Roy St. Tix $14.) more ›

RECOMMENDED Northwest New Works @ On the Boards. The NW New Works Fest returns in top form! The first weekend features a lineup of top Northwest dance groups on the mainstage, and a cast of brilliant experimental troupes down in the studio, our favorite part of the fest. The studio showcase plays Fri. 8, Sat. and Sun. at 5. The mainstage performances are Sat. and Sun. at 8. Next weekend, the lineup changes, so this is your only opportunity to see some of Seattle's best performers, including Helsinki Syndrome, featuring former Seattlester Rachel Hynes, live from London. (100 W. Roy St. Tix $14.) more ›

ONE WEEKEND ONLY biome @ Seattle Rep. Capacitor, a San Francisco-based performance group that mixes dance, multimedia, and science, is finally back in town with biome. Originally scheduled for January, the performance was canceled when flooding closed I-5. Now, Capacitor is finally back for two nights with a stunning visual exploration of the micro-habitat of the rain-forest canopy, based on a close collaboration with scientists in the International Canopy Network, including Evergreen College professor Dr. Nalini Nadkarni. (Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. 155 Mercer St. Tix $15-$25.) more ›

Terrific. Goddamn terrific, that's what. Intiman's A Thousand Clowns (through June 17, tickets: $40-$55, $10 for 25-and-under) is like if Holden Caulfield grew up, got a job writing for a kids' TV show, and then suddenly quit, desperately angry about having become a "phony." On the one hand, it's as time- and place-stamped as can be--there's the hilarity of dialing the weather lady on the phone, and an impromptu "Guess that New York borough accent" contest--but on the other, these people are such characters, the play sucks you right in. We had no idea three hours had passed at its close. more ›

RECOMMENDED - Final weekend! - The Last Letter @ New City Theatre. "What are you supposed to say about a Holocaust play? The Last Letter is good, it's worth seeing, but in a strange way that's not saying much, because you're talking about the story itself, not the performance. But then again, that may say as much about New City's artistic choices as anything: sometimes, less is more, and revealing the story is mostly a matter of getting out of the way." (1404 18th Ave. Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m. Tix $15.) more ›

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The theatre is considered so negligible in American culture (and in many ways : Bartlett Sher, the artistic director of the Intiman, is the first white director in decades to helm a major production of an August Wilson play, outraging some African-American theatre artists. Wilson, who spent the last 15 years of his life in Seattle, had limited productions of his work to companies that hired African-Americans as directors and designers; since his death in 2005, his widow has overturned that prohibition. more ›

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OPENINGS more ›