By promising to give audiences a chance to "hear the plays they rarely see," as the motto goes, the Endangered Species Project is an attempt to redress a deep-rooted problem in contemporary theater: many plays that are worthy of being produced are simply not produced for whatever reason. I can hardly fault the mission. What bothers me is what bothers me in general about Seattle theater. more ›

The charmingly dysfunctional family portrayed in Eleanor Brown’s debut novel, The Weird Sisters, has quite the idiosyncratic habit of communicating in tongues. Shakespearian tongues, that is. For instance, when patriarch and Shakespeare expert Dr. James Andreas summons home his daughters to help care for their cancer-stricken mother, he writes to them: “Come, let us go; and pray to all the gods/For our beloved mother is in her pains.” Nothing like a little gem from Titus Andronicus to convey life-altering news, right? more ›

Seattle Shakespeare Company's Chamber Cymbeline aspires to be chamber-like. Yet it lacks the real qualities of chamber music: informality, intimacy and, above all, clarity. more ›

RED ALL OVER: Italian electronica punk DJ duo The Bloody Beetroots has been an international sensation since its first EP release in 2008, Cornelius. Since then DJs Bob Rifo and Tommy Tea have toured with house music master Steve Aoki, added a live drummer, recorded for mega-selling video games, and released their debut album Romborama in 2009 on Aoki's electronica mainstay record label Dim Mak. The group, touring as The Bloody Beetroots - Death Crew 77, call to mind NIN, Atari Teenage Riot, and KMFDM, among others. In other words, they stick to aggressive industrial punk style electronica, and do they ever do it well. We hear the live show è magnifico! more ›

Intiman's Obi-Wan is John Campion, a veteran performer with a rap role sheet a mile long, and one that includes references to his work with Kevin Kline, Linda Hunt, and F. Murray Abraham. You will understand his Iago like never before. He will speak Shakespeare, but with his own vicious cadence. He will bite off the ends of words, and his body will seem to flood with bile. He will offer mean-spirited putdowns and cough out a fake, social laugh. He will never be likable, but always charismatic as he plots his vengeance. more ›

Since GreenStage has sent us three--count them, THREE--emails in as many hours, we bow to their online onslaught and report to you that their 21st annual Shakespeare in the Park series starts this Friday. On the docket through August 15th are The Comedy of Errors and King John. Both plays make the rounds to eleven locations in the Seattle area, and all performances are free of charge (though donations are gladly accepted, natch). Performance calendar here. This weekend also marks the Seattle Outdoor Theater Festival in Volunteer Park, featuring Shakespeare and more from several local companies. more ›

ATTENTION! GENERAL AT THE HALL!: Hoo-ah! Former Commanding General of Multi-National Force-Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, now Commander of United States Central Command, is truly entering the lion's den--the peacenik Fortress of Solitude that is Town Hall. El General will talk about the lessons that our Afghanistan-bound troops can take from Iraq; how to prevent Pakistan from falling into a state of anarchy, and counterinsurgency that works. It's all part of the World Affairs Council's Leadership series--Petraeus was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of our 25 Best Leaders--which means that members get in for cheap and the rest of you hoi-polloi types pay full freight. 7-8:30 p.m. // Town Hall, Eighth & Seneca // Tickets: $20 WAC members/$40 general 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 ›

The hipster spaceman costumes of the soldiers in Titus are your first clue that this isn't a traditional take. So too with the decision to exsanguinate Shakespeare's goriest play--each character “bleeds” red, but it's not stage blood, but rhinestones, thumb tacks, feathers, even gummy worms. more ›

In our review of the "startlingly good" Merchant of Venice at Seattle Shakespeare Company, we left out one other reason we enjoyed the show--the performance of Melanie Moser as Jessica, Shylock's daughter. Few American actors make good friends with Shakespearean speech--they tend to emphasize the important words as landmarks--and their awkward hops from point to point add to the dislocation audiences feel as they struggle to adapt their ear to the rhythm. But fewer have Moser's talent, which is to speak Shakespeare as if he's finally put into words--into these words--what she feels. The emotion lies in the flights of language, in the way the way words pour forth, and Moser nails this. more ›

Pulling off a Merchant at all is not easy. It's a play that pokes its nose into disreputable harbors, taking in the sights in a queasy, sea-voyaging way that keeps you pining for dry land. And it turns around an infamously over-determined character, Shylock, the Jewish loan broker. more ›

We have to start here by jumping in and saying that this is easily one of the most exciting weekends of theatre we've seen in town in months--two festivals running, genre-breaking opera, ballet crossing over into Broadway show tune territory, two shows that have had their runs extended (, you've lost your bloody mind. It doesn't get better than this! more ›

Balagan Theatre's Othello (Thursday-Sunday through December 13, tickets $15/$12) is a sordid plunge into an underworld of violence, jealousy, and rage. Three women sitting next to us nearly jumped out of their seats, crying out involuntarily, during fight scenes. more ›

Over at McCaw Hall, SIFF Cinema is kicking off a mini-series of Shakespeare films--today it's a rare double feature of Orson Welles interpretations: Othello (1952) and Macbeth (1948). Tomorrow there's Ian McKellen's Richard III and then Looking for Richard. There's much, much more, as they say. The series runs through October 15. more ›

We saw Wooden O's very likable, well cast A Midsummer Night's Dream on Saturday (traveling to Lynnwood's Lynndale Park next weekend); they're the high-production-value team, with actual mics and speakers and something very like a set. Here's their summer schedule; they're also doing Romeo & Juliet (at Mercer Island's Luther Burbank Park next weekend). more ›

That's really all we wanted to tell you. You got your Shakespeare, your Alice in Wonderland, your Wind in the Willows. It's all free, up in your Volunteer Park. We posted about it all here. The weather is supposed to great, so remember to pack lots of water, slather on the SPF, and maybe even wear a hat if you're catching an afternoon show. Two or three hours sitting still in the sun can really take it out of you. more ›

If you've been alarmed by the groups of people shouting at each other in Volunteer Park recently, it's for a good cause: those are actors rehearsing and, believe us, it's better if they rehearse. more ›

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Lisa Confehr and Kaitie Warren are the co-directors of Balagan Theatre's Romeo & Juliet, and they deserve co-praise for the hectic, breathless pace of this 16-actor-strong production. (Now through March 22nd, Thurs-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 at the door.) more ›

Jeremy: You know, I find it kind of funny: for a show about how theater screwed up, there was very little discussion of how theater is relevant. Mike Daisey seemed to concentrate exclusively on one aspect of the U.S. theater industry--the big regional theaters, like Seattle Rep or the Oregon Shakespeare Festival--and blamed them for their strange business choices. Not that he doesn't have a point, but it seems to dodge (or presuppose) the question: what does theater do that's so important? I have my own thoughts on the matter, but really, Daisey seemed to take it as a given. more ›

Patrick Page's , but with (slightly) less murder. We have little to fault with the production itself--for $20 it's a good price and tolerable time. It feels like watching a romantic comedy, and would probably make a good date. more ›

That's David Quicksall as Brutus and Hana Lass as Cassius, above, in director Gregg Loughridge's quirky, stripped-down take on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. It "doesn't always work," says the P-I, "but the actors stand out." Which sounds like code for "enh." more ›

Through January 27 // Seattle Shakespeare Company // Tickets $30-$34, with student/senior discounts more ›

This morning we were glancing through the Going Out section of the Seattle P-I when we ran across these two questionable entries:

"War and Peace": 1 p.m. Sergei Bondarchuk's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel (part one screens today) is widely considered to be one of Russia's greatest achievements. Right up there with Ivan Drago and those wooden dolls that open up to reveal a bunch of smaller wooden dolls. SIFF Cinema, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall, McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St.; 206-464-5830; seattlefilm.org. $7-$10. Also at 7 p.m.

"As You Like It": 7:30 p.m. This Shakespeare comedy of mistaken identities, clowns and women dressed as men dressed as women gives further credence to the theory that the Wayans brothers are descendents of the Bard. Bainbridge Performing Arts, 200 Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island; 206-842-8569. $15-$20.

Seattle Shakespeare Company's Pericles is awash in contradiction. It's the rarely performed Shakespeare play that Shakespeare may not have written. It's a comedy about a singularly painful life. It's fueled by strong performances -- Reginald André Jackson's Pericles is every minute compelling -- but marred by a directorial misstep that plagues the whole production. We don't recommend it as anyone's first Shakespeare play, but if you have never seen Pericles before, this production is a good reason to go. It runs through November 18 at Seattle Center's Center House; tickets are $20 - $34. more ›

It's Seattle Shakespeare Company's version of the wandering prince Pericles on Friday night for MvB, followed Saturday night by Britain's accordion-driven, Brechtian street opera trio with neo-castrati Martyn Jacques, the Tiger Lilies at the Moore, ladies and gentlemen. more ›

Last night, in the face of too-cold-too-soon autumn weather, we corralled our friend (and friend of the Slog) Carollani into her badass newish car and headed over to the 5th Avenue Theater for the official opening night of --a Broadway-bound musical playing now through Sept. 30. more ›

If there's anything we learned studying literature in college, it's that everything either comes from Shakespeare, Greek mythology or the Bible. Seattlest used to entertain herself by playing "From Whence Did That Allusion Come?" Yeah, we only had two friends in college. more ›

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It's Shakespeare, so you can't complain. That's just "Shakespearean language." Here it is, Act III, Scene 1 from The Merchant of Venice:

If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die?