Jay Irwin - Page 11

Dear Readers, let's set the way-back machine to May of 2005 when a musical theater geek got to take his first trip to New York and see his first Broadway shows on Broadway. He sat there in Circle in the Square and marveled at a new William Finn show called a?oeThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Beea??. Now this was during its previews so not a lot of buzz on it yet, which made it even more special, as he got to experience its greatness as it unfolded. He laughed, he cried, he fell in love with this silly little show. Obviously that geek was me. Since then I've seen numerous productions here and abroad. The show is a staple of musical theaters as it's inevitably a winner. I wouldn't say it's bulletproof but it's bullet-resistant. As long as you have a decent cast that can have fun playing kids, you're good. But few have taken me back to that original moment and evoked the tears at the end or from one particular song a?? until now.

If you're an aficionado of theater here in Seattle, then you've probably heard of Yussef El Guindi or at least seen one of his plays. An ACT 2018 core member, this prolific writer has had numerous plays around Seattle and beyond. And when reading the synopsis of his current piece making its World Premiere at ACT, a?oePeople of the Booka??, you may think you know what to expect and what hot button topics he'll hit upon. And he does. But he also manages some literary acrobatics bringing in surprise after surprise making this a deliciously complicated show with an ending that may leave you with more questions than when you came in.

Equity. Joy. Imagination. These were the words conveyed to us by Angie Kamel, the Director of Public Works at the Seattle Rep, before the opening performance of Public Works' production of “As You Like It”. And as with their inaugural production of “The Odyssey” back in 2017, those words say it all. Bringing together people from all walks of life across Seattle, professionals and non-professionals alike, to tell a story in such a positive way brings joy and imagination to life in the most equitable way possible.

Washington DC may have the Koch brothers, but we have a Koch brother and sister, specifically David and Lisa Koch. Two of the funniest humans out there, they've brought their delicious satire to Seattle and abroad for years. In fact, 20 years ago their 70's pop duo parody a?oeThe Carpetersa?? were all the rage at Cabaret de Paris. Well, they've reunited that delightful original cast, and brought in some new friends, to make The Carpeters live once again in a concert of their original show, a?oeThe Carpeters: Uncomfortably Close to Youa??. And with the insane laughter and applause, the roof of the Triple Door may never be the same.

Context is Key. Without context, your message can be completely lost. Such has happened with Washington Ensemble Theatre and their season opener, Aleshea Harris' a?oeIs God Isa??. If you look up information on the show or even read the promotional material put out by the theater, the show a?oeInspired by Spaghetti Westerns and Afro-punk, this electrifying play follows twin sisters who go on a killing spree to exact revenge on their creatora?? bringing up notions of allegory and some comedic undertones. In fact, from what I could find about the original production, that's where they aimed. But here they've missed the mark on the context and are left with a story of violence and revenge leaving me, after the show, to ask a?oewhya??.

Eighty percent of having a successful show is casting. If you have the right cast, even the dullest show can shine. However, that means the opposite is also true. You can have a good play, such as Eisa Davis' a?oeBulrushera??, currently being offered from Intiman Theatre, but if the cast isn't there, then neither is the decent storytelling. In the case of Intiman's show, the cast is mostly there, but one glaring weak link sapped the energy and emotion from a piece that should be filled with energy and emotion.

Dear Readers, you've often heard me extoll the prowess and brilliance of The Williams Project. Just last week I raved about how dedicated and tight their ensemble was when presenting the other show they have running in repertory, a?oeSmall Craft Warningsa??. But now that insanely talented ensemble has come in with William Saroyan's 1939 Pulitzer Prize winning drama a?oeThe Time of Your Lifea?? and taken things a step beyond simply performing the play, but deconstructing it with a rotating ensemble.

Dear Readers, remember way back in December when the crazy minds of The Habit showed up at Seattle Public Theater with one of the most hysterical parodies ever, a?oeA Very Die Hard Xmasa??? Well I'm thrilled to tell you that they're back, this time tackling the a?oeRaiders of the Lost Arka?? movies (minus a?oeCrystal Skulla?? since that one was an abomination) and showing off how amazing they are at the lost art of satire with the brilliant a?oeIndy Jones and the Raiders of the Last Temple of the Doomed Arka??.

It's that time of year again. One of my favorite times of year. That time when I get to spend the weekend at Village Theatre checking out the shows brought together by the folks at Village, spotlighting new works around the country. Some amazing, some needing work, but all showing promise. Now, of course, I can't review any of these. They're all still works in progress and not fully staged. But I can share what went on over the weekend as a potential coming attraction of musicals to come to a theater near you.

The Williams Project, that small theater company that burst onto the Seattle theater scene in 2014 with their incredible a?oeOrpheus Descendinga?? is back with the first of two shows within their a?oeBar Playsa?? series. This time it's Tennessee Williams' a?oeSmall Craft Warningsa?? and with this, they once again show what a dedicated company, committed to actually paying their actors, can do with an interesting space, a little money, and a lot of talent.

If you're like me, Dear Readers, you grew up with that indelible classic film, a?oeWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factorya?? starring the amazing Gene Wilder (and hopefully not that abomination with Johnny Depp). Or maybe you found yourself getting lost in the pages of the Roald Dahl novel, a?oeCharlie and the Chocolate Factorya??. Whichever it is you probably found yourself longing for an Everlasting Gobstopper, or wanting to meet an Oompa Loompa, or terrified of that nightmare infused boat ride in the original film. Whichever version you preferred, rest assured there's something for everyone in the current musical incarnation, bearing the same name as the novel, currently on tour and at the Paramount Theatre. There are a few sound issues, and they've taken a few liberties with the characters to punch it up to modern day, but the whimsy and yearning for a?oePure Imaginationa?? is still quite present.

a?oeThis will happen to you.a?? That's one of the opening sentiments of Joan Didion's a?oeThe Year of Magical Thinkinga??, currently playing at ACT. a?oeThis will happen to you.a?? She's referring, of course, to the fact that everyone, sometime in their life, will have to deal with the death of a loved one. Maybe you already have. Maybe you're dealing with it right now. Or maybe you've been lucky enough to avoid it thus far, but it will happen to you. How you will deal with it, well, that's the question. But how Didion dealt with it and the eloquence she used in conveying her personal tragedy to the world is the crux of the play and the folks at ACT handle that with honesty, vulnerability and openness.

Whenever I see a play, Dear Readers, I want that play to just tell me a story. I want it to flow nicely, build at a steady pace, and have a good payoff. I don't necessarily need the trappings of superfluous gimmickry. If the added bits lend themselves to the piece or the story, that's great, but when they interrupt the flow of the show, that's when I have issue. The current piece from Intiman Theatre, "The Events", certainly has a powerful message and is performed by two very gifted actors, but the "gimmicks" only allowed for the show to feel disjointed and the sustained tension to be lost.

Sound Theatre Company, with their season theme of "Un-Erasable" focusing on diversity and "hyper invisibility" of some in America, have started off their season with a stunning piece, "Citizen: An American Lyric" based on the poetry of Claudia Rankine and adapted for the stage by Stephen Sachs. But beyond keying in perfectly to their theme and kicking off the season with a bang, they've coincidentally presented a piece that has tremendous resonance to what's happening in the news today, with the incidents between Serena Williams and Billie Jean King as well as Hurricane Barry in New Orleans giving an all too harrowing reminder of the events of Hurricane Katrina.

Edie Brickell and Steve Martin's 'Bight Star', currently playing at Taproot Theatre, has a lovely and heartbreaking story, but is a musical that suffers from two things. First, it can never quite come to terms with which era it's in, and second (and most importantly) it's a musical that doesn't have very good songs.

Back in 2015, the Seattle theater scene was abuzz with a brand-new musical premiering at the Seattle Rep from local wunderkind Justin Huertas called 'Lizard Boy'. I even remember seeing a workshop of it in 2013. Since then the Lizard has gone on to perform all over, including San Diego and New York, and Huertas has gone on and produced even more new musicals including an adaptation of 'Howl's Moving Castle' at Book-It (which is coming back again this season) and a new one coming to the Seattle Rep next year, 'Lydia and the Troll'. And now, over at ArtsWest, Huertas has given us another of his signature quirky love stories with the World Premiere of 'The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion'. And with his new show we can easily see that the promise of greatness abounds, not only with Huertas and this show but within the show as well.

The folks at the Can Can are back and ready to knock your spurs off in an all new, decidedly Western style show with "The Legend of El Dorado" and once again they've upped their game. First, they brought us sexy ass dancers and comedy to bust a gut over, then they brought in fabulous singers, recently they added those gorgeous 4K video screens for their backdrops, and now they've brought in some culinary delights with their new chef Monica Seward. So, there's good food, entertainment, and sex. You'll never need to leave, but why would you want to?!

Finish strong and they'll forgive a multitude of sins. This old adage of the theater rings truer than ever in this TV-binging, short attention span world in which we live. Unfortunately, the folks at Book-It Repertory Theatre didn't take that into account with their current production of "Behold the Dreamers" which started off slow, then picked up and really engaged in the middle and then ended with a whimper.

Well before that founding father refused to throw away his shot, even before those Mormons made us giggle with their irreverence, the hot ticket in town was "Wicked". Well, Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's witches have returned to the Emerald City and the bloom is still quite firmly attached to that bright pink rose in Glinda's hair.

Anna Ziegler's play 'Boy' gives an unflinching look at gender identity. I was fortunate enough to see it's Off-Broadway premiere back in 2016 and found it quite moving and engaging. But it's a tough one to get into and requires some top-notch performances to grab the audience as it's all talk. I say this because that's exactly what we do not have with the current production from Fantastic.Z Theatre. What we have here is a series of flat and at times strange line readings from an ensemble that are each in their own play and not connecting with the others with whom they share the stage.