Seattle Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 26

BWW Review: Studio 18 Productions' Inaugural BONNIE & CLYDE Takes Too Long and Says Too Little
by Amelia Reynolds - August 11, 2016

Have you ever seen a production where you thought that the actors where too good for the show? That's how it felt watching Studio 18 Production's inaugural show 'Bonnie & Clyde' at 12th Avenue Arts. I am very impressed that this brand new company threw together such a talented cast for this musical,...

BWW CD Review: Seattle Symphony, Morlot, Pay Homage to Henri Dutilleux
by Erica Miner - August 11, 2016

Not many conductors have the privilege to be mentored by a living composer. Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot counts himself a part of that echelon...

BWW Review: Searing BLUES FOR MISTER CHARLIE from The Williams Project
by Jay Irwin - August 04, 2016

Dear Readers, I have some really great news for you. The Williams Project, the incredible company that gave us the scintillating 'Orpheus Descending' last year, is back in Seattle and their latest offering, 'Blues for Mister Charlie' by James Baldwin just provides further proof that this is a top n...

BWW Review: Effortful SPRING AWAKENING at 12th Ave Arts Suffers From Technical Difficulties
by Amelia Reynolds - July 27, 2016

'Spring Awakening' is a tough musical to take on: all of the performers need to be exceptional singers and dancers, while also finding that sweet spot of giving their character emotional honesty in its darkly funny narrative. On top of it all, most of the actors have to be (or at least pass as) midd...

BWW Review: Banal Conversation with No Plot in ReAct's THE ALIENS
by Jay Irwin - July 19, 2016

I'm seriously starting to believe that Annie Baker thinks she gets paid for her plays based on how long they are. Furthermore she finds the banal conversations of random people fascinating. She must as once again we have a play from Ms. Baker, this time from ReAct Theatre with "The Aliens", with l...

BWW Review: SCT's Uneven LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT Has Moments but Not Enough
by Jay Irwin - July 18, 2016

It's tough when you see a play that has some really amazing moments but also sits there and screams, "My God I need an editor!" Such is the case with Stephen Adly Gurgis' "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" currently performing at the Center Theatre from Sound Theatre Company. Not only could Gurgis ...

BWW Review: Theater Schmeater's THE CROSSING : Great Singing, Wrong Focus
by Amelia Reynolds - July 18, 2016

Rose-of-the-air Amelia Earhart is a very elusive historical figure. I'm even named after her, and I don't know that much about her. So when I heard that Theater Schmeater was not only putting on their very first musical, but it was a musical about Amelia Earhart, I was very excited to learn more abo...

BWW Review: Powerful Political and Historical Tension in ACT's World Premiere DAISY
by Jay Irwin - July 18, 2016

In our current political climate where candidates regularly hurl insults at each other on things such as penis size it's hard to remember that politics used to be about the candidate's stand on issues as well. So when did that change? When did we go from building up our own candidate in an ad to t...

BWW Review: Outrageously Fun GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE Hits 5th Ave
by Jay Irwin - July 15, 2016

When you're catching the touring production of a show you saw with it's original cast on Broadway, you hope that the folks on tour will be up to par at least somewhat. Such was my fear catching the touring company of the Tony Award winning Best Musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" current...

BWW Review: ACT's THINGS YOU CAN DO Needs Better Answers
by Amelia Reynolds - July 13, 2016

The world is in a particularly tumultuous time right now, so having a play with a call to action feels especially necessary. Live Girls Theatre!'s production of 'Things You Can Do' did just the opposite, restating how global atrocities are too daunting and too vast to help mend on a local scale, and...

BWW Review: Pony World's SUFFERING, INC. Surprisingly Fun
by Amelia Reynolds - July 12, 2016

There are some productions where you hear the description and think to yourself, 'this is either going to be amazing, or a complete dumpster fire.' Those were my feelings going to see Pony World Theater's production of 'Suffering, Inc.,' a modern take on Chekhovian realism where every line of dialog...

BWW Review: Sweet BIG FISH at Taproot Lacks Power
by Jay Irwin - July 11, 2016

Back in 2013 Andrew Lippa sent his latest work off to Broadway. "Big Fish", based on the movie of the same name, was sure to be a big hit. But for some reason this sweet little tuner failed to catch fire and closed in just under 4 months. Sadly with such a tepid reception no tour of the show was ...

BWW Review: Theatre9/12's SPEED THE PLOW Needs a Touch More Focus
by Jay Irwin - July 11, 2016

There's nothing like a well done David Mamet play with its verbal sparring, clever dialog and constant exchange of power. But in order to be great the performances need to be so laser focused and on point you could cut glass with them. And while the current production from Theatre9/12 of "Speed th...

BWW Review: Music, Mayhem and Man Eating Sharks in TWISTER BEACH at Café Nordo
by Jay Irwin - July 08, 2016

Break out your flip flops and Hawaiian shirts because it's time to head on down to the beach, "Twister Beach", the latest in culinary craziness from Mark Siano and Opal Peachey at Cafe Nordo. This modern day twist on the old Beach Blanket Bingo movies of the 50's and 60's offers up something for ev...

BWW Review: Alan Cumming at Seattle's Town Hall is in a Word, Fabulous!
by Jay Irwin - July 05, 2016

If you happened to be in the vicinity of The Town Hall in Seattle last night, and not fortunate enough to be inside, then you may have noticed that the atmosphere was a little cooler, a little sexier, a little more poignant and basically fabulous. Well that's due to the fact that outrageous star of...

BWW Review: Rewritten PAINT YOUR WAGON at 5th Ave is Better but Still Has Problems
by Jay Irwin - June 10, 2016

I'll admit unfamiliarity with Lerner and Loewe's "Paint Your Wagon" before recently. Never saw the original, never saw the movie, and had only a passing familiarity with the bigger songs in it. So to educate myself before seeing this production I watched the movie, which was also rewritten from th...

BWW Review: Theater Schmeater's CREATURE is Hellish, in a Great Way
by Amelia Reynolds - June 06, 2016

As a woman in the middle ages, there seemed to be only two options: be a mother, or a strumpet. This dilemma is not unfamiliar to any modern woman stressed by societal demands. In Heidi Schreck's 'Creature,' it is 1401, and Margery Kempe has found a third option: sainthood....

BWW Review: Strawshop's 9 CIRCLES Elicits Powerful Emotions on War
by Jay Irwin - June 06, 2016

Sometimes you go to a show and you see what can only be described as a "Star Turn". That performance that shows just how amazing an actor is. But what do you call it when you see it over and over again? Lately I call it Conner Neddersen as, just like his previous stellar performances, his perform...

BWW Review: Sweet and Funny MYSTERY OF LOVE & SEX at ACT
by Jay Irwin - June 03, 2016

In this ever changing world we are getting more and more acceptable variations on love. There are still the traditional ones, man and woman, parent and child, friend to friend. But people are opening up to more with same sex unions and even polyamorous relationships becoming more common. No one c...

BWW Review: Intiman's Seething STICK FLY Feels Clunky
by Jay Irwin - June 02, 2016

One of the reasons we love a good family drama is it appeals to that voyeur in us all. We love to peek inside someone else's world and see how it compares to our own. But as chaotic and messy as those lives may be they still speak more eloquently and at just the right moments than we could, being ...

BWW Review: MOTOWN at the Paramount is a Truncated, Desperately Spun Disappointment
by Jay Irwin - June 01, 2016

That old idiom, "History is written by the victors" kept ringing in my head last night as I watched the National Touring Company of "Motown: The Musical" at the Paramount Theatre. Or rather one could say, "History is written by the one telling it." This retelling of the life of Berry Gordy and his...

BWW Review: Fantastic Z's PSYCHO BEACH PARTY Provides Hot Kitschy Hilarity
by Jay Irwin - May 27, 2016

I'll admit I'm quite picky and protective about the works of Charles Busch. He's one of my favorite authors with his brilliant ability to tell a well thought out story through the kitschy lens of 40's, 50's and 60's pop culture. I've been fortunate enough to see the master himself perform his own ...

BWW Review: Young Stars Perform with Aplomb in Village Theatre's BILLY ELLIOT
by Amelia Reynolds - May 25, 2016

There truly is nothing to not like about 'Billy Elliot' performing at Village Theatre....

BWW Review: Seattle Public Theater's CAUGHT Examines Twisting Truth
by Jay Irwin - May 23, 2016

Absolute truth is an elusive thing. In our daily lives we lie to get what we want. We lie to be polite and spare someone's feelings. We lie by not telling all the facts. And sometimes we lie by manipulating the facts so they're true to us. Seattle Public Theater's current production "Caught" by...

VIDEO: Rehearsal Preview of Robert Cuccioli in 5th Avenue Theatre's PAINT YOUR WAGON
by Michael Dale - May 20, 2016

The Lerner and Loewe classic score will be performed with a new book by Pulitzer finalist Jon Marans....