BWW Review: The Gift We All Need for Christmas is HAM FOR THE HOLIDAYS: JURASSIC PORK
by Jay Irwin - December 12, 2016
In these chaotic and somewhat disturbing times, we can all use a good laugh as a release valve. I know I could. This is why I was so excited that last night I was going to get to partake in my favorite annual holiday tradition. No, not getting to beat some old lady to the last Tickle-Me Pokemon (...
BWW Review: A Beautiful Love Story that Doesn't Always Flow in Seattle Rep's VIETGONE
by Jay Irwin - December 08, 2016
The “playwright” of “Vietgone”, currently playing at the Seattle Rep, tells us from the beginning that this is not a war story but a love story. Well he also tells us that this is in no way based on his parents and we know that's a lie. But while it's not necessarily a story about war but a love s...
BWW Review: Wacky Christmas in Spaaaaaaaace with CHRISTMAS IS BURNING at Café Nordo
by Jay Irwin - December 05, 2016
Welcome aboard the HMS Whooville for your holiday excursion. But don't expect a quick trip around the solar system as the crew takes you on an adventure across space and time and they feed you too! It's "Christmas is Burning" from the folks at Cafe Nordo and Sgt. Rigsby and while the script may be...
BWW Review: Showtunes' LEAP OF FAITH Spotlights Good Voices in a Not So Good Show
by Jay Irwin - December 05, 2016
Just a few days ago I reviewed a show that, if you remember, I felt had one major downfall; that the newer songs bringing it from the film version to the stage version had lyrics written by Glenn Slater. Now, just a few blocks from that other production, Showtunes puts up a concert of another film ...
BWW Review: Seattle Public Theater's CHRISTMASTOWN is a Winning Holiday Diversion
by Jay Irwin - December 05, 2016
Let me see if I can get us into that Noir mood, Dear Readers. It was an uncertain time in the City of Emeralds. The holidays were here and it looked like it we'd be offered up the same old holiday shows. But then a sultry new offering breezed through my door. With a jingle and a jangle and a ho ...
BWW Review: 5th Avenue's THE LITTLE MERMAID is Swimmingly Magical
by Jay Irwin - December 02, 2016
The original animated film of "Disney's The Little Mermaid" is arguably one of the best of the Disney canon. With songs written by the incredible Alan Menken and Howard Ashman it marked the rebirth of the Disney animated musicals. The original conversion of it into a Broadway musical was not so gr...
BWW Review: Book-It's TREASURE ISLAND – A Swashbuckling Good Time
by Jay Irwin - November 28, 2016
I remember my first exposure to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, "Treasure Island". It wasn't the book but rather an animated version they showed occasionally during Saturday morning cartoons and although I haven't seen that one in years I remember loving it for its thrilling swashbuckling adventu...
BWW Review: Theatre Schmeater's Toast TWILIGHT ZONE: LIVE! Turns Twenty-Four, Still Got It
by Amelia Reynolds - November 25, 2016
It's that time of the year again! Theatre Schmeater's 'Twilight Zone: Live!' celebrates its 24th birthday with three culturally pertinent episode adaptations. As a first timer with high expectations, the first few moments seeing my beloved Twilight Zone in color were jarring. This passes. In this pe...
BWW Review: Seattle Rep's KING CHARLES III Fails to Live Up to the Hype
by Jay Irwin - November 23, 2016
There's always a danger in any kind of entertainment that the show will be hyped up so much that when you finally see it, it cannot possibly live up to the image in your mind. I largely think such is the issue with my lack of zeal over “King Charles III”, currently playing at the Seattle Rep. I had...
BWW Review: Enjoy Childlike Wonder with Magical PETER AND THE STARCATCHER at ArtsWest
by Amelia Reynolds - November 25, 2016
We get to be children again! Laugh at the fart jokes! Stare with wonder at the choreography! Giggle at the man playing an uptight Nanny! ArtsWest extends its hand, beckoning audience members to use their imagination in their delightful production of 'Peter and the Starcatcher.'...
BWW Review: SMT's SWEENEY TODD Has the Voices but not the Character
by Jay Irwin - November 14, 2016
Probably one of the most difficult shows in American musical theater to pull off right is Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". It's got incredibly complex music with layers upon layers of intertwining vocals, a bevy of rich, complex characters and a dark and forebodi...
BWW Review: THE FINAL CUT Is the Funniest When From THE HABIT
by Jay Irwin - November 14, 2016
For 20 years The Habit has thrilled us with their hilarious sketch comedy antics. But like all good things, they too must come to an end. But with "The Habit: The Final Cut" the boys manage to send us off into our slightly less mirthful uncertain world with style....
BWW Review: Village's SINGIN' IN THE RAIN Fun but Lacks Spark
by Jay Irwin - November 11, 2016
Arguably one of the best movie musicals there is, "Singin' in the Rain" has always held a very special place in my heart. Probably the first bit of entertainment that put me on the path of musical geekdom thanks to my Mom. So when I heard Village Theatre was putting up a stage production of the cl...
BWW Review: Ghost Light Theatrics' THE BIG BAD is Brechtian, Bloody, and Breathtaking
by Amelia Reynolds - November 11, 2016
Words truly cannot do Ghost Light Theatricals' 'The Big Bad' justice. The best analogy I can conjure: a feminist circus where the clowns rip their hearts out in solidarity. It's no surprise that this little gem won the 2016 Battle of the Bards. Directed by Eddie DeHais, the collective DangerSwitch! ...
BWW Review: Pacific Northwest Ballet Shows Sophistication and Flair
by Erica Miner - November 09, 2016
The theme running through the sophisticated, contemporary triple bill now in repertoire for PNB is that of yearning...
BWW Review: Spooky THE LOST GIRLS at The Annex Theatre Misses Forest for Trees
by Amelia Reynolds - November 08, 2016
Quarter-life crisis is the new midlife crisis, and the characters in The Annex Theatre's 'The Lost Girls' are suffering. What's the point of spending so much on a college education in the liberal arts only to work at a summer camp and move back in with your parents? On top of the expectations of the...
BWW Review: A Predictable Sitcom with UNEXPECTED WILDERNESS at The Annex Theatre
by Amelia Reynolds - November 07, 2016
The Annex Theatre advertises their current production 'Unexpected Wilderness' to be a 'farcical romp'. I saw Jaryl Draper's show at The Annex, and I beg to differ. A farce is a madcap comedy where characters find themselves in extreme, exaggerated, ridiculous situations, and hilarity ensues. A ridic...
BWW Review: NCTC's THE BIG MEAL is a Feast of Emotions and Brilliant Performances
by Jay Irwin - November 07, 2016
Either I'm getting soft in my old age or everyone has decided to bring out their big guns (theatrically) at the end of the year as this is the third show in two weeks that has absolutely floored me. New Century Theatre Company's 'The Big Meal' takes what can be a simple romantic comedy/family drama...
BWW Review: Reboot's FLY BY NIGHT Charms but Mires Itself in Repetition
by Jay Irwin - November 06, 2016
With their second production, Reboot Theatre Company hopes to charm its audience with this sweet little tuner "rebooted" by the company with its gender bent casting. Unfortunately, as talented and likable as the cast is, the show fails on two very important levels. It's certainly not little at 2 h...
BWW Review: Radial's WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT Takes a Visceral Emotional Journey
by Jay Irwin - November 04, 2016
Dear Readers, there's not much I can tell you about Nassim Soleimanpour's searing play, 'White Rabbit Red Rabbit' currently having it's Northwest Premiere at 18th and Union from Radial Theater Project. I'm unable to tell you about the play not because I don't remember but because you shouldn't know...
BWW Review: Theatre22's Elaborate THE PRIDE Pulsates and Plods
by Amelia Reynolds - November 03, 2016
In the opening scene of 'The Pride,' we immediately understand two things about the men on stage: they are British, and they are uncomfortable. It's 1958. Oliver says hello to Philip. The conversation is taught, small, and as light-hearted as two people 'with nothing in common' can muster. In this m...
BWW Review: ACT's Deliciously Naughty and Complex DANGEROUS LIAISONS
by Jay Irwin - October 29, 2016
One of my favorite things in seeing all the shows I do is to stumble upon one that I like to refer to as 'alchemy'. It's that rare instance where all of the elements, the script, actors, director, set, costume, lights, music, etc all come together in just the right way and at just the right times t...
BWW Review: Seattle Shake's MEDEA – A Shining Performance Disrupted by Gimmicks
by Jay Irwin - October 27, 2016
Euripides' tragic title character in 'Medea' is one of those parts that actresses give their eye teeth (or even sacrifice their children) to play. She's a strong and committed woman with a wildly emotional arc. So with a role such as this where it's really all up to the lead, for the rest of the p...
BWW Review: Seattle Children's Theatre's THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE: A Sprint Through Narnia
by Amelia Reynolds - October 24, 2016
C.S. Lewis' 1950 fantasy novel, 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' has withstood the test of time, delighting generations of children and adults, religious and non-religious alike in book, film, and theatre form. Adrian Mitchell's musical adaptation of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' now ...
BWW Review: Powerful and Evocative World Premiere ROZ AND RAY at Seattle Rep
by Jay Irwin - October 24, 2016
Powerful plays such as "Angels in America" and "The Normal Heart" have driven right to the heart of the AIDS epidemic by spotlighting the ignorance and bureaucracy at the center of the disease which allowed it to spiral out of control so quickly. But beyond the gay community there was another group...