There's one reason you can't miss Seattle Shakespeare's generally fine production of The Tempest, and her name is Hana Lass. Following a turn as one of the three cast members of the Intiman's lauded production of Crime and Punishment, Lass takes a fine turn as the "airy spirit" Ariel in Shakespeare's final masterpiece. Lass switches up Ariel from a dour male character to a sexy sprite in a black veil. The character doesn't have a lot of line, but Lass still owns the stage when she's speaking, and employed as a plot device to carry along an episodic work, she's just stunning. more ›

If kaboom-style fireworks aren't the bang you're looking for, stop in at ACT for the theatrical fireworks of David Hare's Stuff Happens, reviewed here. It's the play about Iraq and the rockets' red glare, the difference between the spark of liberty and the blinding torch of neocon ideology. (The title refers to Donald Rumsfeld's disingenuous retort to questions about U.S. forces' disregard of post-"liberation" lawlessness.) By all accounts, it's a thought-provoking (almost 3-hour) imagining of what it was like being "in the room" as the decisions were being made, and confronts us with the outcome of those decisions, ready or not. more ›

Intiman's first-ever Richard III opened last Friday. 25 actors pack onto the company's intimate stage for the scheming, slander, and swordplay of Shakespeare's morality play. It runs through July 15. Tickets are $27 - $46, but if you're under 25, prove it and they'll sell you a ticket for $10 for any performance. $20 rush tickets (if any) go on sale 15 minutes before curtain time. [Box Office: 206-269-1900.] more ›