Amelia Reynolds - Page 4

Have you ever seen a production where you thought that the actors where too good for the show? That's how it felt watching Studio 18 Production's inaugural show 'Bonnie & Clyde' at 12th Avenue Arts. I am very impressed that this brand new company threw together such a talented cast for this musical, and at such an esteemed venue. Unfortunately, with its pandering plot line and repetitive score, this musical felt beneath the caliber of those involved.

'Spring Awakening' is a tough musical to take on: all of the performers need to be exceptional singers and dancers, while also finding that sweet spot of giving their character emotional honesty in its darkly funny narrative. On top of it all, most of the actors have to be (or at least pass as) middle schoolers. Any misssteps-especially when adapted for a small stage-are painfully apparent, even when the production has a lot to offer. Basement Theatrics' production of 'Spring Awakening' suffers from these very misfortunes, and despite the show having a number of impressive vocal performances and cool, abstract choreographic choices, the technical and pacing issues made the show feel a hair out of its league.

Rose-of-the-air Amelia Earhart is a very elusive historical figure. I'm even named after her, and I don't know that much about her. So when I heard that Theater Schmeater was not only putting on their very first musical, but it was a musical about Amelia Earhart, I was very excited to learn more about the person behind the legend. As it turns out, 'The Crossing' is not a musical about Amelia Earhart, like it advertises, but rather a musical about Ray Spencer, the weatherman that may have killed Amelia Earhart. In a musical where nobody can stop talking about the woman crazy enough to fly across the Atlantic Ocean (and by herself, to boot!), that very woman is bafflingly under-represented. The Schmee's first musical had outstanding vocal performances by the cast, but it is inaccurate to even pretend that this musical is about Amelia Earhart.

The world is in a particularly tumultuous time right now, so having a play with a call to action feels especially necessary. Live Girls Theatre!'s production of 'Things You Can Do' did just the opposite, restating how global atrocities are too daunting and too vast to help mend on a local scale, and with your personal life containing its own problems to address, the best thing to do is accept the atrocities and hope for the best.

There are some productions where you hear the description and think to yourself, 'this is either going to be amazing, or a complete dumpster fire.' Those were my feelings going to see Pony World Theater's production of 'Suffering, Inc.,' a modern take on Chekhovian realism where every line of dialogue was cut and paste from seven different Anton Chekhov plays.

As a woman in the middle ages, there seemed to be only two options: be a mother, or a strumpet. This dilemma is not unfamiliar to any modern woman stressed by societal demands. In Heidi Schreck's 'Creature,' it is 1401, and Margery Kempe has found a third option: sainthood.

There truly is nothing to not like about 'Billy Elliot' performing at Village Theatre.

Picture it: New York City; the year, 2002. A wide-eyed, Broadway first timer awaiting her first celebrity signature after a production of 'Hairspray' felt a deep connection with the raspy-voiced actor when he looked me dead in the eye and apologized for his dry sharpie. With one 'Darling, I'm so sorry,' I felt connected to something that felt so distant to me before. I was probably the only 10-year-old at my elementary school who was a Harvey Fierstein fan (specifically for 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and 'La Cage aux Folle'). Little did I know that at that exact moment, my love for Broadway would be inextricably linked to my love for drag, so a drag production based on a book written by Harvey Fierstein should be a no-brainer. Throw in a score written by Cindy Lauper and you have a show that had far to fall for me if done incorrectly. Thankfully, 'Kinky Boots' at The 5th Avenue Theatre was as fabulous as I hoped it would be.

Rogers and Hammerstein's 'South Pacific' is almost 70 years old. Seattle Musical Theatre took on this oldie but goodie and brought to life glimmers of classic Broadway razzle-dazzle. The singing was energetic and velvety smooth, the costumes (by Margaret Toomey) were carbon copies of the original production (i.e. high waist bathing suits, tight white naval suits and enviable Bettie Grable victory rolls), and a live pit orchestra to boot that brought the house down. Unfortunately, the mismatched energy levels of the actors, predictable choreography and a minimal set design made the production feel unfinished.

Dealing with a potentially unreliable narrator can be an emotionally frustrating experience. I feel betrayed by a production where I feel like I cannot believe what the storyteller is conveying to me, because, truly, what was the point of entrusting a deceptive narrator with your time? But in 'The Other Place' at Seattle Public Theater, our narrator Juliana Smithton's fluctuation of truth and delusion is, in fact, her subjective truth in a story of dementia and the trauma it inflicts. Never once did I feel betrayed by our protagonist: if anything, I felt I learned the most about her story from the grey area between reality and fantasy thanks to Amy Thone's brilliant performance.

RED Stage's premiere production 'Worse Than Tigers' is more than an emotional roller coaster-- it is a full emotional carnival. Directed by Emily Penick, this jostling, absurdist comedy misleadingly kicks off with understated, easily digestible absurdity, including odd, disjointed language exchanged between an incompatible married couple. But buckle up, because you will plummet into this couple's Lynchian fever dream where getting thrown to the lions (or in this case, tigers) brings their dying marriage back to life. 

Okay, readers. I will be doing my best attempt to review The Paramount's production of 'Jersey Boys' objectively, considering that I am not a fan of Frankie Valli or The Four Seasons. Based on conversations I had with the people in the audience-and conversations I overheard-I seemed to be the only one that had never seen the production before, so I am also coming at this with this one 'Jersey Boys' experience. Bear with me, if you would.

ATTENTION SEATTLE TECHIES: there is a sketch performance for you! ATTENTION NON-TECHIES AND THE TECH BEWILDERED: there is a sketch performance for you too! Come together all who have startup experience and all who believe the tech industry is (as director and writer Bridget Quigg puts it) a bubble where young people run in doing mysterious things and run out with tons of cash. Quigg brings more than a decade of experiences in tech to Theater Schmeater in her one-woman show, 'Techlandia.'

Take two episodes of The Twilight Zone, add psychedelic aesthetics and a musical score and BOOM, you have STAGEright's 'Weird Romance.' Directed by Brendan Mack, this 'two one-act musicals of speculative fiction' somehow made a glam-rock Rod Serling fever dream accessible and intimate.

'The Twelfth Story' at The Annex Theatre reminded me of the Rudyard Kipling Just-So Stories that were read to me at bedtime. Directed by Amy Poisson, the cast of 'The Twelfth Story' was as jubilant as spritely camp counselors. As a child, I think I would have liked the story's magic, goblins, twinkling lights and fairy tales. Unfortunately, due to an overlong script and lack of depth, my adult self was a bit bored.

Behold: the enemy of the theatre, the millennial. They leech, they binge-drink, and despite having no idea what it is they want, they will do anything to find out. Brace yourself for a no-hope critique of millennial culture in 'Really Really' at ArtsWest.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, ReAct performs 'Prelude to a Kiss' in this updated, ethnically diverse adaptation directed by David Hsieh.. Twenty-somethings Peter and Rita fall in love and decide to get married after six weeks. Their basking in the honeymoon phase of their relationship takes a turn when a mysterious man at the wedding asks to kiss Rita, causing a Freaky Friday-esque soul switch that promises a lot of hilarity. Unfortunately, due to lack of chemistry between the lovers along with serious pacing issues in the script, Peter and Rita's love (which should be beyond skin-deep) falls flat.

First off, it feels superfluous for me to be reviewing this production, for the show is only running for two more days, so before you continue reading, buy your tickets to see it first.*

I stepped into the West of Lenin Studio, glancing around the room to try and find a place to sit. Unfortunately, all of the cardboard boxes were taken, but I did snag an antique chair not unlike the one my mom brought up from our old basement anytime we had more than ten dinner guests. I was one of fifteen audience members, some of whom were seated on the floor, sipping wine out of opaque cups; others glancing around, trying to, like me, figure out how this production would unfold in such a tiny room. The two loud men outside the doors who I thought were being rude, clunking about doing something laborious and inconsiderate, where in fact the two main characters of 'For Christmas,' trying to get a couch up the stairs and into, what I soon realized was Jesus Christ's studio apartment. The show simply began.

Full disclosure: I had to emotionally prepare myself for 'SnowGlobed' because, admittedly, I find most holiday pieces saccharine and disingenuous. Although collectively 'SnowGlobed's five short plays were irreverent and dark-which resonates with me much more, being the Grinch that I am-unfortunately, most of the plays did not impact me in a satisfying way.