Seattle Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 16

BWW Review: SKELETON CREW at Arts West
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - September 23, 2018

Skeleton Crew at ArtsWest Theatre is a double punch of grit and heart. The recession is wreaking havoc on the auto industry in Detroit, and the plant workers are caught in the crossfire. When you can't control the forces at work around you, your reactions to the circumstances are all you have left. ...

BWW Review: WET's EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH a Raw Blistering Look at Body Image
by Jay Irwin - September 22, 2018

Over the years I've been to several plays that have cautionary signs in the lobby. Usually they mention cigarette use or strobe lights but more than a few I've seen talk about trigger warnings in the piece. I'd never really understood the trigger warning until last night at Washington Ensemble The...

BWW Review: Village's THE NOTEWORTHY LIFE OF HOWARD BARNES Is Super Fun ... For Nerds
by Jay Irwin - September 21, 2018

A few years back, on one of my trips back to the Mothership (New York), I was going to see one of the many incarnations of "Forbidden Broadway", a series I've loved for years. I asked my travelling companion if he wanted to join me. And while he enjoys theater he's not what you would call a theate...

BWW Review: Book-It's JANE EYRE Has Fire but Lacks Passion
by Jay Irwin - September 16, 2018

Well, Dear Readers, this is a first for me. It seems the first Mrs. Rochester got a little over excited and jumped the gun as we had a fire alarm about 20 minutes into opening night of Book-It's "Jane Eyre" and we all were treated to an early intermission and a breath of fresh air. Luckily it quic...

BWW Review: Seattle Shakes and Upstart Crow Bring Down the House Again with RICHARD III
by Jay Irwin - September 15, 2018

Dear Readers, if you were lucky enough to catch Seattle Shakespeare Company and Upstart Crow's all female epic productions of the "Henry VI" Trilogy that they dubbed "Bring Down the House" and showed in two parts a few years back then you know of the power that they brought to the stage with some of...

BWW Review: ACT's SKYLIGHT Provokes, Ends, and then Ends Again
by Jay Irwin - September 14, 2018

David Hare's "Skylight", currently playing at ACT, is a play teaming with recriminations over infidelities and the struggles of class at the heart of the demise of two people's relationship. It's packed with wonderful moments for both actors to make equally compelling arguments over who's at fault....

BWW Review: WAITRESS at Paramount is Charming, Heartfelt, and Funny all Mixed up and Baked in a Beautiful Pie
by Jay Irwin - September 12, 2018

Known for her soulful sound in the pop music world, Sara Bareilles burst onto the musical theater scene out of the blue with her smash hit 'Waitress'. I'll admit some cynicism with this with the attitude of 'oh good, another pop star who thinks they can write Broadway.' The problem is, she can, an...

BWW Review: Strawshop's PRELUDE TO A KISS a Last-Minute Triumph
by Jay Irwin - September 09, 2018

Any theater company has that fear of, after weeks of rehearsing one play, having to switch it out for another with little rehearsal time left before opening. Maybe the rights to the play get pulled or some other act of the theater Gods which is out of their control forces their hand. But what if a...

BWW Review: Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors in Intiman's NATIVE GARDENS
by Jay Irwin - September 08, 2018

For as long as there have been living spaces people have had points of contention with their neighbors, whether it's the people upstairs, next door, or on the other side of the fence. Maybe they're too noisy, or they shoot off fireworks right outside your bedroom window on the fourth of July, or th...

BWW Review: ACTLab and Pratidhwani's QUEEN Examines the Ethics of Bee Science
by Jay Irwin - August 10, 2018

I've never been a fan of bees, in fact they terrify me. So, I found it a little ironic that the day I'm supposed to go see a play about bees, Madhuri Shekar's 'Queen' from ACTLab and Pratidhwani, that one of the little bastards decides to up and sting me for no reason. Sure, they're important for ...

BWW Review: THE RULES OF CHARITY at Sound Theatre Company
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - August 07, 2018

Rules of Charity by Sound Theater Company is a production that is long overdue. Representation matters. We hear that phrase a lot and the effects of that sentiment are slowly making their way into theater. The disabled community seems to be the last group invited to join the party. Sound Theatre Com...

BWW Review: BLOOD WEDDING at The Williams Project
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - August 03, 2018

The Williams Project latest collaboration with Equinox Studios is the very ambitious production of Blood Wedding. The story by Frederico Garcia Lorca is a twist on doomed lovers who are prevented from marrying by their families. The English version is a translation by Langston Hughes and retains bot...

BWW Review: Theater Schmeater's Inconsistent and Chaotic SHE KILLS MONSTERS
by Jay Irwin - July 29, 2018

Greetings adventurer, you and your party are approaching a multiheaded beast to which you must convey a story filled with drama, high stakes and dire consequences. You know in order to survive you need to present yourself in a certain way, so do you judiciously put forth just what you need in order...

BWW Review: ACT's LAUREN WEEDMAN DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Cavorts with Little Point
by Jay Irwin - July 27, 2018

Dear Readers, if you know me you know of my disdain for shows that end up as someone else's therapy on stage. So, you'll understand how I was filled with hope when ACT's current offering of Lauren Weedman's one woman show "Lauren Weedman Doesn't Live Here Anymore" began with Weedman commenting on h...

BWW Review: Fairy Tale Princesses Get Real in DISENCHANTED from Mamches
by Jay Irwin - July 21, 2018

A few years back, Dear Readers, I stumbled on an article about a new little show called 'Disenchanted', about Fairy Tale Princesses in a musical revue telling about how life ain't so happily ever after and since I always love a good dose of snark I instantly became obsessed. I followed its journey,...

BWW Review: SWEET LAND at Taproot Theatre
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - July 15, 2018

Sweet Land at Taproot Theatre is a sweet treat of a show. Full of humor, wit, challenges, and struggles, the story of Inge Altenberg and Olaf Torvik becomes an everyman's story. The path to the American dream is paved with suspicion and hardship for immigrants both past and present. Their trials and...

BWW Review: Political Machinations from Theatre9/12's THE LEAGUE OF YOUTH
by Jay Irwin - July 14, 2018

A young idealist comes to town with an aim to take down the rich fat cats who have rigged the government to only work in their favor only to be swayed by the trappings of their wealth and power. Sounds like something from our government today but no, I'm referring to Henrik Ibsen's play, as adapted...

BWW Review: THE COLOR PURPLE Revival at Paramount Fixes the Mediocre Original
by Jay Irwin - June 28, 2018

Back in 2005 Broadway was abuzz with the arrival of a musical version of the much beloved book and movie "The Color Purple". The problem was, when it arrived it landed with a thud and not a splash. It had a decent showing running for three years and touring but never really catching fire (at least...

BWW Review: PAGEANT at ACT - a Hilarious Ride from Beginning to ... Well Almost
by Jay Irwin - June 16, 2018

Dear Readers, I recently commented on a show at ACT on how it was the veggies to your theatrical diet. A show that may be hard to swallow but it's good for you. Well if that show is your veggies then another show currently at ACT is your dessert. "Pageant: The Musical", currently being offered fr...

BWW Review: ACT's UNTIL THE FLOOD Examines a Society After Ferguson
by Jay Irwin - June 15, 2018

We all remember hearing of the tragedy of August 9th, 2014 when Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri was shot in killed by police officer Darren Wilson in his attempt to apprehend Brown after a convenience store robbery. It may have been on the other side of the country fr...

BWW Review: LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL at Arts West is a Study in Nuance and Subtleties.
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - June 12, 2018

Lady Day at Arts West is a study of nuance and subtleties. It is the story of Billie Holiday. Her life and music come to you through song and stories, music and monologues, told in a nightclub setting from Holiday near the end of her life. Just like her life, the show moves through humor, inspiratio...

BWW Review: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH at Arts West is Raw, Real, and Relevant.
by Kelly Rogers Flynt - June 11, 2018

Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Arts West is one of the least passive audience experiences I've ever had. The dialogue and lyrics are clever and full of plays on words and popular culture references. Keep your ears perked to catch all of it, and a few might still slip by. But more than just vocabulary ...

BWW Review: Book-It Deliciously Paints the Original PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
by Jay Irwin - June 10, 2018

If you think you know Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' you may want to think again. In fact, many only know the most basic plot based on its many references in popular culture throughout the years. But whether you're a novice or a die-hard Dorian Gray aficionado, you're in for a treat fr...

BWW Review: 5th Ave's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME Grows Up and Gets Dark
by Jay Irwin - June 09, 2018

Let me start, Dear Readers, by saying this is NOT the frothy Disney cartoon you may recall from your youth. Yes, it does contain many of the Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz songs from the 1996 Disney animated film but this show is more akin to the Victor Hugo novel than the cartoon. Gone are the ...

BWW Review: Strawberry Theatre Workshop's HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE Surprises
by Jay Irwin - June 08, 2018

One thing I've found with Paula Vogel's plays is that they never cease to surprise. You may think you know what you're in for but then she pulls back layer upon layer giving you so much more than you bargained for. This is certainly true with her Pulitzer Prize winning play "How I Learned to Drive...