Jay Irwin - Page 17

Don't let the fact that the title has the word "naked" in it or that the same word is repeated several times in the opening number fool you. This is, indeed, a children's show. Yes, you are still at Seattle Children's Theatre and it's safe to bring the kids in as we're only talking about cute little naked mole rats. Rockin' mole rats to be more precise who will sing their way right into your hearts with Seattle Children's Theatre's world premiere "Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience".

Seattle Public Theater tends towards the darker, edgier plays. That's not to say they're adverse to a comedy now and then as is evident with their next offering, 'Hand to God' which I saw on Broadway and laughed my butt off all the way through but still a very dark comedy. But I digress. Typically, they lean toward stories with grit, pathos and anguish. Now I'll admit that their choices don't always hit with me but when they do they hit hard. Past shows like 'On Clover Road' or 'Grounded' still reverberate in my memory as shows that managed to grab me by the heart and soul and shake me around like a little rag doll. Such is the case with their current offering, 'Ironbound' by Martyna Majok.

If you're familiar with Lauren Yee, possibly from her previous premiere here in Seattle of 'The King of the Yees' last year, you know of her gift for storytelling and crisp dialog. So, when another Yee World Premiere, 'The Great Leap', was announced at the Seattle Rep I was excited. But, oh no! This one's about basketball and anyone that knows me knows that I'm illiterate to all things sportsball. So, I got my sportsball translator to come with me and thankfully didn't need to rely on her too much. She explained what a pick and roll was and what the hell a point guard did but other than that I was good as I was simply immersed in a lovely story of three men at different points in their life and from very different backgrounds each trying to find their own truth during a tumultuous time.

I was speaking with a friend the other day about the current show from Showtunes Theatre Company, "The Boys from Syracuse". He's a somewhat new, fledgling musical theater geek and I said, that it was filled with great Rodgers and Hart songs many of which are standards now. I went through a few and got nothing but blank stares. And that, Dear Readers, is why Showtunes is so important. We need someone to keep bringing us these underdone, and often times older shows such as "The Boys from Syracuse" so established geeks like me can sit there and … well … geek out, and for a place for newbies to come and be exposed to these grand old shows so they might actually learn what a "standard" is.

Seattle Shakespeare Company has never been one to shy away from a challenge and with their current production of "The Merchant of Venice" they certainly seem to have a challenge on their hands. As I see it they have one challenge they can, and hopefully will overcome as the production continues, the pace of the show, and one challenge inherit to the piece that they can never defeat but only embrace, the overt antisemitism.

ACT and The 5th Avenue Theatre's current joint production, 'Ride the Cyclone', now playing at ACT, is one of those quirky little musicals that on the surface should not work. I didn't really know what to expect going in but based on what it is, it's problematic at best. Fortunately for us the brilliant writing team of Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond have done it in such a way that it definitely does work and then some. Allow me to explain.

Ah, the family drama. I've seen too many to count. Parent and child don't see eye to eye even though they're more similar than they realize. Rift comes from neglect/abuse/death of other parent/etc. Catalyst opens wounds further to let secrets out and begin healing. Some work and some are merely someone else's therapy on stage (a thing, Dear Readers, you know I despise). Onward Ho! Productions is currently presenting one such family drama at West of Lenin with the World Premiere of local playwright Sonya Schneider's 'Big Rock'. And I'm thrilled to report that I did not catch Ms. Schneider's therapist anywhere near the stage but then how could I with such a well-crafted, engaging play told by three of Seattle's finest actors.

I'm fortunate enough to have been to a few of the Village Originals Festival of New Musicals where they present concert stagings of new shows in workshop. I've seen shows that I've felt needed to polish a bit but then get that bigger, mainstage production and I've seen shows that I've felt should have been placed carefully back in the writer's desk drawer and forgotten. 'String' was definitely in the former camp, a fun little tuner with a bunch of potential that has now made it to the Village mainstage. Unfortunately, the rework of this show feels like it went in the wrong direction as the story now only has one focus leaving all others out in the cold.

Many have wished they could alter the personality of their significant others in some way but it's usually something small. Don't eat in bed. Stop telling corny jokes. Don't spend all our money on geeky toys. But what if your spouse suddenly had a whole new personality … and you liked it better? Such is the conceit of the world premiere from Thalia's Umbrella with Y York's 'The Impossibility of Now' currently playing at 12th Avenue Arts. And with York's rich dialog and characters and the fantastic cast this sweet little romantic comedy is a delight.

If downtown Seattle was feeling a little more electric, a little more amped up this afternoon maybe that's because 2800 students from around the northwest got the chance to take in the hottest theatrical commodity. I refer, of course, to 'Hamilton' currently at the Paramount Theatre. But this was so much more than a simple school outing as the students were given an opportunity to really dive into the subject and for some, that meant their own moment to shine.

There seems to be a spate of plays getting a lot of critical acclaim these days that take on societal changes and amp them up to an extreme and absurd level. For example, the recent "Straight White Men" that looked at white male privilege. And now we have the gender conformity examining "Hir" by Taylor Mac, currently playing at ArtsWest. The thing is they keep billing these as comedies and touting them for their daring. Daring, maybe as they tackle subjects that make people uncomfortable, but comedy, no. As was the case with "Straight White Men", "Hir" takes everything to an absurd level, and don't get me wrong I love an absurd comedy, but they do it in such a way that by the end there is not one likable character.

Dear Readers, if you're anything like me you grew up with a love for old standards. Those songs from a bygone era that used to dominate the radio waves, many of which came from musicals of the day. And if you love those old standards then you know and love the name Irving Berlin as a hefty number of those gems came from the prolific genius of Berlin. So, you can imagine spending an evening with the man and those songs would be heaven and the Rep has brought that heaven to us with 'Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin'.

Even before Sound Theatre Company's current production of "You Can't Take It With You" began, it showed promise with a stunning, well-appointed set by Robin Macartney. Then the effervescent Shermona Mitchell walked on stage to begin the show with tons of energy, conviction and intent to her character of Penny, the matriarch of the Sycamore clan and I thought, "Excellent! Let's do this! I'm in for a good night." Unfortunately, that excitement continued to ebb and flow all night long as others would enter the stage. Some with the same level of exuberance as Mitchell, while others weren't quite there yet, and while others still had much work to do as they never were quite able to convey their intent or character or in some cases even remember their lines. What resulted was a roller coaster of energy, pace, intent and commitment that didn't leave me joyful over the quirky family winning out, but just left me tired.

It may be cold outside but it is so very hot inside the Can Can with their dazzling production of "Romeo + Juliet". But this is not your typical R+J with its rockin' vocals, thumpin' beat, and just the highlights of a storyline. Oh, and did I mention the cast seems to have trouble keeping their clothes on?

Yes, it's true. The undeniable juggernaut that is the multiple Tony Award winner, including for Best Musical, 'Hamilton' has descended upon Seattle. Just like in New York for so long, theatergoers here will now be uttering the same query to each other, 'Have you seen 'Hamilton' yet?' And if you were lucky enough to snag some tickets through a Season subscription, the general sale or maybe the daily 'Hamilton' lottery you'll be able to answer with a resounding 'YES, and it was AMAZING!' But why is it amazing and how does this one stack up to the original cast with which most are so familiar? Well, Dear Readers, let's talk.

It was a cold night in the City of Emeralds. The kind of cold where your words just hung in the air as you spoke. Lucky for me and the other patrons of Cafe Nordo, the doors would soon open. Once inside a sultry dame looked me up and down and uttered the word I'd been waiting all night to hear, "Name?" Then another dame led me to my table plied me with drinks and food and thus began my journey into Book-It Repertory Theatre's sumptuous mystery dining experience of Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon". An experience that may not make me wealthy as the only falcon I found was a gold dusted cookie (which was delicious) but I certainly left the place richer after having seen one of my favorite Nordo and Book-It shows to date.

Yes, it's that big frothy ABBA musical "Mamma Mia" back again to get all the Dancing Queens shakin' it in the aisles. It's come through town several times and what fan hasn't seen the movie? But the national tour closed a year ago so how has this show not met its Waterloo? Well this is not a tour, this is our local big musical theater house, the 5th Avenue Theatre putting up their very own production. So, how does this local production stack up against that national ones? Let's dive in.

When a show works, when all the elements come together from cast to crew, from set to script, it's just a joy to behold. But when that script is a brand-new piece and you realize you're seeing the birth of something incredible it becomes even more special. Such is the case with the World Premiere of David Grimm's 'Ibsen in Chicago' currently playing at the Seattle Rep, a wonderful new work that manages to sneak up on you with how engaging and meaningful it is amidst all the laughs.

Lloyd Sun's play, "American Hwangap", currently playing at West of Lenin in association with SIS Productions, by its very nature should be about connection and reconnection. Unfortunately, the play itself lacks the depth needed to form those connections and the pacing of the production doesn't help.

Seattle Public Theater currently has a musical on their boards, "Vanishing Point", highlighting the stories of three remarkable women, evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson (Heather Hawkins), aviatrix Amelia Earhart (Cristin J. Hubbard), and mystery writer Agatha Christie (Rebecca M. Davis). Each of these women, very different from each other, have one thing in common, that they each disappeared under mysterious circumstances. And while the premise may sound fascinating and they may boast an impressive cast, the musical itself is weighed down by repetitive lyrics that fail to move anything along and few melodies you can latch onto.