Seattle Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 22

BWW Review: Seattle Children's Theatre's Gala Sparkles with Kelli O'Hara
by Jay Irwin - May 06, 2017

Last night musical theatre nerds around the Seattle area may have felt a disturbance in the force as if there was a diva among us. Well, if you did you can take solace in that you were right however unless you were there you certainly missed out as Broadway's Kelli O'Hara killed it during her perfo...

BWW Review: WET's CHERDONNA'S DOLL'S HOUSE Beats the Joke to Death then Quits
by Jay Irwin - April 29, 2017

If you're going to riff on a classic, then have something to add to the conversation. Sometimes it works beautifully such as the amazing 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' or the current critically acclaimed Broadway hit 'A Doll's House, Part 2'. But without something new to add any kind of p...

BWW Review: Powerful and Poignant ODE at West of Lenin
by Jay Irwin - April 28, 2017

You may remember, Dear Readers, my lack of affinity for performance art. I usually just find it confusing and lacking much meaning, which ultimately makes me feel like I'm just not smart enough to get what they're trying to convey. So with that in mind you'll understand how well crafted Nike Imoru...

BWW Review: Café Nordo's 'Twin Peaks' Homage LOST FALLS Bites Off More Than It Can Chew
by Amelia Reynolds - April 26, 2017

Something as stylized as 'Twin Peaks' is really difficult to emulate, even in the form of homage. Cafe Nordo's 'Lost Falls' certainly looks the part: a rustic, log hotel from yesteryear populated by a sultry, young femme fatale, a woman with an imaginary friend, an unwaveringly optimistic detective ...

BWW Review: Gripping FROZEN at ArtsWest Feels Like a Documentary at Times
by Jay Irwin - April 23, 2017

First off, Dear Readers, let me explain that you will see no singing Ice Princesses or wacky snowmen in this show. This particular play called "Frozen", currently playing at ArtsWest, is about as far away from the Disney movie as it could be considering it deals with serial killers. And while the ...

BWW Review: 5th Avenue's THE SECRET GARDEN Has the Talent But Not the Feels
by Jay Irwin - April 22, 2017

Way back in 1991 a young fledgling theater geek saw a performance from the new musical "The Secret Garden" by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon on the Tony awards and he became obsessed with it. He listened to the cast album over and over and fell completely in love with it when he saw the first nationa...

BWW Review: Seattle Rep's HERE LIES LOVE Brings Down the House ... Literally
by Jay Irwin - April 21, 2017

A few years back on one of my trips to New York, pretty much anyone I talked to about what shows I was seeing was aghast that I wasn't seeing 'Here Lies Love' Off-Broadway. And to each of them I'd say, 'a musical about Imelda Marcos written by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim? No thanks, not my thing.'...

BWW Review: SCT's NADESHIKO - Two Stories with Not Much to Say
by Jay Irwin - April 16, 2017

In Keiko Green's 'Nadeshiko', currently getting its world premiere from Sound Theatre Company, there are two stories happening on the stage. Only one of the stories is very well fleshed out and only one is very interesting and unfortunately they're not the same story. With stiff and stilted dialog...

BWW Review: Seattle Musical Theatre's KISS ME, KATE Not Tongue-In-Cheek Enough
by Amelia Reynolds - April 11, 2017

If you have to preface your show with the acknowledgement of misogyny, is showcasing the choreography and vocal talent worth putting on that show?...

BWW Review: A Cerebral Tribute to Freaky, Fringe Theatre with Copious Love's THE FOG MACHINE PLAY
by Amelia Reynolds - April 04, 2017

What an inside joke this one was! 'The Fog Machine Play' is a very smart toast to Seattle fringe theatre written and produced by a Seattle fringe theatre company, Copious Love Productions....

BWW Review: MURDER FOR TWO at ACT Slays with Laughs
by Jay Irwin - March 31, 2017

Expect to be killed when you attend the current production of "Murder for Two" at ACT Theatre in conjunction with The 5th Avenue Theatre. You won't be shot or stabbed but you certainly run the risk of busting a gut, passing out from a lack of oxygen, or just generally dying of laughter largely due t...

BWW Review: Seattle Public's GROUNDED Soars into the Blue
by Jay Irwin - March 27, 2017

Anytime a theater does a one person show it's a risky proposition. You, of course, need the right piece. You need a good set that doesn't detract from the lone performer on stage. You need good direction of that performer so it doesn't feel too static. And most importantly, you need a performer ...

BWW Review: Fantastic Z's BAD PANDA Examines Alternative Families
by Jay Irwin - March 27, 2017

In this ever-changing society of ours it's nice to see shows that take a look at different kinds of love and families. Such is the case with Megan Gogerty's "Bad Panda" currently being offered from Fantastic Z Theatre. And while at times the script felt a bit heavy handed and the production lacked...

BWW Review: A PROPER PLACE at Village Shipwrecks Itself
by Jay Irwin - March 24, 2017

There's the old adage in any kind of entertainment that if you have a strong finish, the audience can forgive some pitfalls that may have come before. Unfortunately the new work currently playing at Village Theatre has many of those pitfalls (and some good moments too) but they're followed by one o...

BWW Review: Darkly Funny DRY POWDER at the Rep Lacks Much Else
by Jay Irwin - March 23, 2017

There's a well-known TV and Film writer who has a reputation for those quick witted, fast paced banter conversations (sometimes in the halls of the White House and sometimes while creating a social media platform. You know who I mean). And it's fun to listen to these people be more eloquent and qu...

BWW Review: A Warm Cup of T with YANKEE PICKNEY at Theater Schmeater
by Amelia Reynolds - March 14, 2017

"Yankee Pickney" is a dynamic relic, a precious time capsule of diaries, photographs, poems, and stories about Jehan Òsanyin's complicated relationship with her identity, primarily her racial and ethnic identity. She talks about how her relationship to her race and ethnicity fluctuated depending on ...

BWW Review: Raucous Fun in Ghost Light's MACBETT but Lacks Levels
by Jay Irwin - March 13, 2017

It's fine to be in the audience's face and have a scene's energy turned up to 11 but when you do it for the entire play, it gets tiring. That's the issue with Ghost Light Theatricals' current production of "Macbett". Sure it's an absurdist comedy piece but they can have levels too and without them...

BWW Review: ACT's TRIBES – Touching and Engaging But a Bit Cliché and Forced
by Jay Irwin - March 10, 2017

I want to start off, Dear Readers, by stating that I really did enjoy ACT's current production of "Tribes". There are some great performances and it's a funny, engaging play with rich dialog. But even with my level of enjoyment in the moments of the play I can't help but also see some glaring shor...

BWW Review: ArtsWest's Gripping MILK LIKE SUGAR Needs Some Time to Settle
by Jay Irwin - March 03, 2017

A play like "Milk Like Sugar" about three teenage girls making a pact to all get pregnant while still in school would be a ridiculous premise if it weren't for the fact that it's based in reality. And while the current production at ArtsWest may boast some gripping performances, opening night also ...

BWW Review: Astonishing Vocals in SMT's LITTLE WOMEN
by Jay Irwin - February 27, 2017

Shows like the musical version of "Little Women" require a powerhouse cast in order to survive. The songs are soaring and powerful and without the vocals to back it up, it's just not worth it. Fortunately Seattle Musical Theatre has some outstanding performers in their current offering but unfortu...

BWW Review: A MOVEABLE FEAST's Sumptuous Supper, Song, and Story at Café Nordo
by Jay Irwin - February 27, 2017

Welcome to the world of Ernest Hemingway's Paris in the 1920's. Just like with any of the Cafe Nordo shows, the instant you walk into Nordo's Culinarium you're transported to another time and place but they seem to have outdone themselves with their current collaboration with Book-It Theatre with "...

BWW Review: 20th Anniversary of RENT at the Paramount Solid but No Tears
by Jay Irwin - February 22, 2017

'Rent' is certainly one of those shows where you either love it or you hate it. I'm firmly in the first camp. I was right there in the fervor when it first came out in 1996 and was the 'it' show the same way a current show about a founding father is today. And when that first tour came around I m...

BWW Review: NCTC's BRIGHT HALF LIFE is Sweet but Lacks Engaging Characters
by Jay Irwin - February 20, 2017

The theater is filled with some of the greatest love stories, "Romeo and Juliet", "Mary's Wedding", and "Falsettos" just to name a few of my favorites. But in order to engage an audience in a love story you need to give them a reason to invest in the relationship whether that's through a specific c...

BWW Review: 5th Ave's PAJAMA GAME Delivers the Steam Heat
by Jay Irwin - February 17, 2017

There's this little subsection of musical theater from the 50's and 60's that are big crowd pleasers due to the fact they were just plain fun. Sure, sometimes they dealt with issues as well but for the most part they were toe tapping good times. One of those that falls into this category is defini...

BWW Review: Seattle Rep's WELL Hilariously Deconstructs One-Woman Shows
by Jay Irwin - February 16, 2017

Author Lisa Kron is known for her one-woman shows. I am known for having issues with one-person shows, as they tend to be someone else's therapy on stage. Luckily Kron also understands that issue as she very self referentially mocks those kinds of shows in her play "Well", currently at the Seattle...