Jay Irwin - Page 31

Even Musical Theater nerds such as myself might not be familiar with “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well & Living in Paris”, currently performing at ACT in a joint production with ACT and the 5th Avenue Theatre. I, myself, admit only a passing familiarity with the work and mostly from the covers that others have done of some of his songs. But now that I've seen it done I can understand the cultish following the show engenders and thankfully it was this production that filled the gap in my Musical Theater knowledge as this incredible ensemble took every angst ridden note and made them soar.

What does it take for women to be accepted as equals and succeed in the business world? Do they just need to be as ruthless and cutthroat as men or is there another way? The Seattle Rep's world premiere of Laura Schellhardt's "The Comparables" takes a look at these very questions and while we may have gotten an inside look at the world of powerful women I'm not sure we ever really got an answer to any of those questions.

The message of a cultural divide, sometimes hilarious and sometimes tragic, is there in ArtsWest's current production of David Henry Hwang's "Chinglish" but it just needs to settle into a more concise telling of the story. I'm sure it will settle in over time but there was just a lack of pacing as if the actors weren't quite sure of their next line. But that's fairly understandable as about half of the play is in Chinese.

Arouet is currently presenting two very dark and bleak one act plays with "Nine" and "The Long Road". Now don't get me wrong. Bleak and dark can work as long as they engage and don't preach. Unfortunately only one of these plays somewhat manages that. But we'll get to that in a minute.

There are two main problems with doing a show about therapy, such as ACT's world premiere of "Seven Ways to Get There" currently playing. First, that someone else's therapy on stage can be good for the author but often times deadly for the audience. Luckily Bryan Willis and Dwayne J. Clark's new play avoids that trap. But the larger trap is that therapy doesn't really have a definite ending so you either portray an unrealistic look at the world of therapy or, as is the case here, the play just kind of ends as the people involved with the therapy continue onward working on their issues. And while the show definitely has engaging characters and performances, that lack of closure and finality for the audience doesn't work out so well theatrically.

Sometimes a little retooling and freshening up of an old classic isn't such a bad thing. I mean I was a little dubious when I heard they were remounting the classic of "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" especially when I heard it was getting an all new book. But the tour of this new version still keeps all the magic and charm alive while adding in some humor and elements that just make the characters all the more rich and engaging.

If you read my previous review, Dear Readers, of SMT's production of 'Sweet Charity' you'll know that I already had the occasion this weekend of a show where the leading lady just didn't connect for me. Well, that seems to be a trend as the 5th Avenue Theatre's current production of 'Carousel' also had a leading lady who was lacking. There's plenty of good things happening in the show but their Julie Jordan (Laura Griffith) came across as emotionless and stone faced making me wonder why or even if she was falling in love.

Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields and Neil Simon's "Sweet Charity", currently playing at Seattle Musical Theatre, is not a perfect musical. There's plenty that it has going for it but it's loaded with plenty of extraneous things as well. The story is fairly depressing, the book is too wordy and there are some songs that just plain don't need to be there. So in order to get it to engage it has to be done just right. Well, unfortunately I still haven't seen a production that was there.

Buckle your seat belts as Book-It Repertory Theatre is about to take you to funnytown with the world premiere of their adaptation of Charles Portis's "The Dog of the South". And with its stellar cast and charm and sweetness for days, this is one road trip you don't want to miss.

Hollywood icons Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been the butt of many jokes ever since they burst on the scene after winning the Oscar for writing "Good Will Hunting". And one of the high points of that adoring mockery had to be when Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers took it upon themselves to portray their version of the boys' origin story in their hilarious send up "Matt & Ben". And STAGEright's current production also shows respect for the duo even as it pokes fun at them.

Every now and again it's nice to have an evening with a quiet little play such as the Seattle Rep's current offering of "Dear Elizabeth". A play with no grand reveal, or overarching conflict to resolve. Just a simple story about a relationship. That may sound uninteresting and it could be but in the hands of a very gifted playwright and talented cast and crew this quiet tale still packs a punch.

There are some plays that are just kind of done to death. Everyone and their brother, high school and dog have done them. Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" is one of those shows. But there's a reason for that, it's a classic. And when these classics are tackled with style and heart as is the case with the current production from Strawberry Theatre Workshop, we're reminded how they've become such classics and why we should pay attention to what they still have to tell us.

Every season productions come along that are so good that they remind me why us theater folk perform, produce and see theater. Personally, these are the shows that recharge my theatrical batteries so I can sit through the not so great ones (I'm looking at you "Flashdance: The Musical"). Such a show is the latest installment from The Seagull Project, Chekhov's "The Three Sisters" which manages such clarity of story, intent and meaning that you can practically feel the pain and frustration in the character's lives along with them.

Charlotte Jones' "Humble Boy", currently playing at Seattle Public Theater, may not rock your world or alter your perceptions on life or anything like that but this sweet family dramedy has plenty of charm and humor. True it's a bit long winded at times but with such engaging performances and interesting characters, you can get over that and still walk away with a contented little sigh.

Get ready to let your inner kid loose in the circus while the adult in you marvels at the death defying feats as you take in the wonder that is "Cirque du Soleil: Kurios". And while the cohesive story of it all wasn't the most solid, the acts involved more than make up for it as they fly, contort and swing in super human ways.

Here in Seattle we are blessed with a ton of theatrical choices. I mean of course there are the big boys, the Rep, ACT, 5th Ave, etc. But we also have those small companies that may not have the funds for a helicopter to land on stage but instead invest their time and tiny amounts of money into turning in some thoughtful and engaging performances. One such company is Theatre 9/12. They perform in a church and I'm sure most of the set is borrowed but their level of theatrical craftsmanship is right up there with the best as is evident in their current production of Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance" with its solid performances that will stay with you all night long.

A series of journal entries may work well as a literary device but as a theatrical endeavor it tends to fall flat. Unfortunately, Village Theatre's current stage interpretation of Jules Verne's famous novel "Around the World in 80 Days" falls into the latter category as the storytelling gets itself mired in such a passive voice that it just wasn't very interesting.

The Seattle Rep continues their long standing relationship with the works of one of America's greatest playwrights with their current production of August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson". As usual the show comes alive with a rich and stirring history only made more poignant through the stunning direction and performances.

Not since 'Flashdance' has a more ill conceived, and forced 80's movie turned stage show been forced upon the unsuspecting theater goers in Seattle. But unlike 'Flashdance', in 'Dirty Dancing' currently playing at the Paramount there weren't quite as many WTF moments to make it somewhat entertaining (in a train wreck kind of way). So what we were left with, save two stunning performances which we will get to in a minute, was a severe lack of storytelling, choreography and acting making this show not a train wreck but just plain bad.

Take the murderous rampage of "Heathers", the violent cultish attitudes of "Caged Heat" and the hair and clothes of "Working Girl" and you'd have the dark twisted romp of "The Secretaries", currently playing at Theater Schmeater. This macabre cautionary tale goes all out and over the top to give you a dark comedy that at the same time makes you double over laughing and cringe in horror.