BWW Reviews: SEATTLE VICE at ACT Remembers the Smutty Fun

Psst! Hey Buddy! Yeah you! You lookin' for a good time with some scantily clad performers who are ready and willing to do whatever you want while putting on a hell of a show? Well then you'd better hop in your time machine and head back the 1960's because Seattle doesn't do that anymore. But luckily we have "Seattle Vice" now performing over at ACT which takes a look back at those grittier days of Seattle in the 60's where the booze and the boobs flowed freely.

Inspired by the book by Rick Anderson, "Seattle Vice" is part cabaret, part burlesque, part play and all fun. From the filthy minds of Mark Siano and Opal Peachey we enter the world of the Bullitt Club run by crooner Gil Conte (Siano), mobster Frank Colacurcio (Michael Cimino) and Madame Rose Marie Williams or Madame Washington (Peachey) where you can get a drink and a show in the front of the club and spend a little "quality time" with the performers in the back. And all of this thanks to the Tolerance Policy of the Seattle police and officials of 1965 who would look the other way as long as things didn't get out of hand (and they got their cut, of course). But as good as they've got it and as much as the money is rolling in, outside as well as inside forces threaten to put a damper on the party. The rival gang from Tacoma is moving in, the cops are getting greedier and so is Frank. All of which eventually leads to the downfall of the club as they know it and turns Seattle Vice down the road to the Seattle Nice that we know today.

The show is a good time for all (as long as you can handle the naughtier side of things). Siano and Peachey play off each other well and are pretty much the heart of the show. Cimino gives a wonderful duplicitous bad guy as he sells his friends down the river. Ray Tagavilla in multiple roles as Seattle cops and officials is absolutely hilarious. And the stunningly sexy ensemble singers and dancers have enough energy and glee for ten shows and are willing to bare it all for you. And not to worry, it's not only the ladies showing off. There's a little something for everyone (or in some cases not so little. Damn!).

The show does have some rocky moments where things drag a bit in the story. And just as the fun leaves the club in Act Two so does some of the fun and pacing of the show. But those lulls never last for long and pretty soon there's another song to be sung and another bit of clothing to be flung. So those little bumps in the road aside the show is a rousing good time. From the smoking hot band to the smoking hot performers "Seattle Vice" gives us a glimpse into a looser yet more corrupt time in Seattle's history and a time I'm sure most of us would love to visit for just a little while. With my three letter rating system, I give "Seattle Vice" a lascivious little YAY.

"Seattle Vice" from Marxiano Productions performs at ACT through April 19th. For tickets or information contact the ACT box office at 206-292-7676 or visit them online at www.acttheatre.org.

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