Jay Irwin - Page 31

Let's set the way back machine to September 2011 and we'll visit a time when Theatre Schmeater's production of a new play from Wayne Rawley kind of took Seattle by storm. It sold out houses and won several local awards. Now 3 ½ years later and Theatre22 has tried to recreate the magic by remounting the show with the same cast and much of the same crew. And Doug Sample (Ryan Higgins) and the rest of the cast may look a bit older but they're also more seasoned and focused performers as they manage to not only rediscover much of that magic but in some ways surpass it.

It has no huge morally important message to deliver. It won't be stopping wars or fixing societal unrest. But what "Mamma Mia!", currently playing at the Paramount Theatre, does do and has always done is to be fun. A fluffy, bubblegum, rockin' good time and seriously that's enough.

The current production from Pony World Theatre may not be everyone's cup of tea. I mean it's already got a few things that may make people shy away. One of the longest titles in theatrical history to start, “We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915” by Jackie Sibblies Drury. Or how about that it's about a little known genocide? In fact I wasn't sure how I was feeling about it as it tended toward a little preachy and esoteric. But this odd and very hard hitting play ended up having so much going for it, not the least of which was it's cast, that it amounted to quite a moving experience.

How do you decide what is deserving to be considered as art both monetarily and sociologically? Yes, it's all very subjective and depending on the person but for me, especially with theater, it needs to convey some sort of message or at least an engaging story. Unfortunately the current production of "The Most Deserving" at Theater Schmeater missed the mark in those regards as it failed to engage me on a number of levels and came across more as watching a bland Lifetime Original movie mixed with the Government Access Channel.

Moliere's "Tartuffe" is already a classic drink from the comedy well from which many have drawn. But what director Makaela Pollock and the folks at Seattle Shakespeare Company have done with their current production is to take that comedy and reinvigorated it with a kind of screwball comedy style making the already funny downright giddy hilarity.

A serial killer being hunted by the police sounds like ripe fodder for a musical comedy, right? No? Well then you need to expand your perception and get out to Village Theatre to catch their current production of "No Way to Treat a Lady" which not only manages to amuse while it horrifies but also boasts a killer ensemble each of whom slays their roles.

You know when you're in a store or restaurant or even a movie theater and you overhear the conversations of the workers and take that little peak into their lives? Well now there's a nearly three hour play about that, "The Flick" by Annie Baker currently performing from the folks at New Century Theatre Company. And it's only slightly more interesting than the real thing.

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.