A year ago, when Seattlest's Amy Mikel and Allecia Vermillion pulled me back into writing about theater after a decade's absence, I was uncertain what I could possibly do to help things. I am now no longer uncertain. more ›

Most people currently living in Seattle are not from Seattle. One of the ways this plays itself out is in Seattle's landscape, where it seems that developers can write policy directly without the need for actual legislation. The city is their playground, to graft, raze and recreate as they see fit, largely because no one cares. So it is somewhat heartening to see Mayor Mike McGinn sign the new resolution creating a Downtown Historic Theatre District. more ›

A Crack in Everything is a mysterious piece in many ways. It is far from a simple programmatic approach to Greek mythology. Ms. Scofield and Mr. Shuey use a constant dynamic of stasis and flux, present and past, depth and breadth, sound and silence to create beautifully sensitive yet witty evocations of relationships through blood. more ›

It doesn't officially open until January, but if you're a fan of Internet humor, a social activist, a person who enjoys theatre, a person who cares about those living with disease, or just someone who's into the macabre, you should immediately add A Short Term Solution To A Long Term Problem to your 2012 must-see list. more ›

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

Rather than engage Marguerite Young's book on any level of real probity, director Jeffrey Fracé has chosen to let the cast skim its surface. And yet this cast is so charismatic, it is impossible not to like the production. more ›

Seventy-five years after Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here was published, the fictional America of the novel strongly resembles the fictional America of today: populated with demagogues, yes-men and a cynical yet oddly demure public willing to be led in whatever direction the loudest speaker will lead them. more ›

For the past two Octobers the Seattle Playwrights' Collective have been doing their part to fix this with their Page to Stage Showcase. But not this October. For various reasons, the Collective have fallen beneath the threshold of arts grants that have allowed the past two showcases to make it over the footlights. more ›

Te haré invencible con mi derrota is a brutal yet beautiful exposition on the struggle of matter against spirit, of artistic ideals against terrestrial reality. It is a contemporary expression of the idea of Antonin Artaud that theater needs to be cruel, dangerous and above all purifying beyond the bourgeois idea of catharsis that makes so much of Seattle theater insufferable. more ›

In the current Sight by Sound production of The Connection, director Gavin Reub has chosen to transfer the play to a reality television context. Presumably this would form a basis for a critique of reality television. Unfortunately Mr. Reub has made some crucial mistakes that undermine the production completely and weaken any possible critique. more ›

Taproot Theatre's 35th anniversary season has reaffirmed their identity in the Seattle theatre community. With The Beams Are Creaking and Brownie Points they continued their interest in social and moral issues. With The Odyssey they reaffirmed their belief in the power of story to cross cultures and time and touch upon the universally human. And now, with Something's Afoot, they have reminded the community that they can be fundamentally silly. more ›

Playwright Sarah Ruhl is pretty white hot these days, in the world of theater. The MacArthur Fellowship (or so-called 'genius grant') recipient was last year nominated for three Tony Awards, including best play, and was a finalist for the the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The recent praise has been over In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), which premiered in February 2009, and is set to run at ACT July 29th through August 28th. Mrs. Ruhl is more immediately accessible, however, at Freehold, where STAGEright Theatre is running the playwright's early (2001) Melancholy Play, through July 31st. more ›

Every time Gretchen Krich came on stage playing the widow Mrs. Saunders in Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine, I had the feeling something was wrong. Then it dawned on me: her acting is a symptom, not a problem. 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 ›

Like the orchestra conductor, the stage director has come to be considered an indispensable part of theatrical production when in fact directors are a recent addition to the stage. Yet there are good reasons to consider abolishing the stage director from the modern theater. In the case of the Seattle Public Theater production of Arms and the Man, it would hardly make a difference. more ›

Bertolt Brecht once said glibly that a theater without beer is just a museum. The people at Emerald City Scene have taken the master at his word with their production of Brews & Bards, which plays at the Center House at Seattle Center concurrently with Seattle Beer Week. more ›

If you're looking for a cute and pleasant retelling of a familiar children's story, you won't find it in The Tale of Jemima Canard, which is running now at Annex. The play, an adaptation of Beatrix Potter's popular The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, renders a beloved roster of anthropomorphised critters as grisly shadows of Potter's conceptions. Playwright Brandon J. Simmons injects into the story a considerable helping of sexual content (including an attempted rape), plenty of fisticuffs, and more than a little psychological unhinging, turning a light and accessible narrative on its ear. more ›

The Satori Loft is a hell of a space. It isn't gilded with gold leaf or vintage moulding; it feels worked-in, like a place where hands have gotten dirty. It's a 'Lab,' the home of the burgeoning Satori Group, a place for "the development of new work, through ensemble generation and collaboration with guest artists and playwrights." True to their focus, they bring to Seattle the debut of Fabulous Prizes, by Seattle playwright Neil Ferron. And what better venue for the play to attain the light of day, having received the treatment of Satori's First Look Series? 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 ›

Whatever the work, Philippe Quesne and his group endeavor to make the audience realize the beauty of the small and normally insignificant and reconsider the relationship of the viewer to the thing (or the person) viewed. more ›

The type of criticism Seattle artists desperately need establishes the need not only for art but also for discussion about art. It takes artists seriously who wish to and deserve to be taken seriously. It requires a divine love for the art and craft of the theater, a relentless devotion to cataloguing and promoting all that is beautiful. more ›

After extensive hours on the phone seeking help, and a bit of help from the offices of Jim McDermott and Patty Murray, several of On the Boards' scheduled performers now have the visas. more ›

If the practitioners of the theater - and this includes the audiences - have lost their way, that is not the fault of the theater, only of theatrical practice. more ›

Change is the only constant. This too shall pass, we are always told, and the wise amongst us are able to hold on to this truth in times of adversity. The wiser still, remember it even during times of prosperity and joy. Walter Wells is not one of them. more ›

Devotion portends to be an intriguing piece. It should remind Seattleites who are familiar with her work of her brilliance, and introduce those who have never seen her work before to one of the major dance and theater artists working anywhere in the world. more ›

Live Girls' world premiere of Victoria Stewart's Hardball takes the personal approach. Instead of a detached, clinical analysis of "opinion journalism," Ms. Stewart has written about the personal transformation of a female journalist as she moves from the world of newspapers, sources and facts into the brave new world of opinion blogs, hearsay and rumors. more ›

Upon reviewing the world premiere of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Harold Clurman noted in 1948 that Americans had not yet learned to stage Brecht's plays correctly. Judging from the University of Washington Drama School's production, the lesson remains unlearned. more ›

As America expands its relations with South Asia nations, how will the country handle it all? If Mother in Another Language is any indication, America is in for a rough ride. The good news is that it will be a carnival ride. more ›

Now is the time of year when lots of people go out to enjoy a little bit of high cult-cha. Whether it's The Nutcracker at PNB, Black Nativity at the Moore or Beethoven at the Symphony, the holiday season is ripe with opportunities to get yourself out there and live it up in the city. This is a behavior of which we stand firmly in support. more ›

In the Seattle Rep's production of Yasmina Reza's Tony-winning God of Carnage, an incident of playground violence results in an increasingly chaotic night of childish bickering between two sets of parents. Veronica Novak (Amy Thone) and her husband Michael (Hans Altwies) have invited Alan and Annette Raleigh (Denis Arndt and Bhama Roget) over to discuss a fight between their two sons and suggest how the boys might reconcile. more ›