Seattle Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 31

BWW Review: Paramount's PIPPIN Shines with a Dark Sexy Circus
by Jay Irwin - August 17, 2015

Stephen Schwartz's "Pippin" is one of those under appreciated musicals. It definitely has its problems but if done well it can deliver the goods. Well, the current tour of the recent Broadway run certainly delivers those goods. Not only does it retain the dark edginess of the story but it's also ...

BWW Review: Steampunk Fantasy Fun Returns in Pork Filled's THE TUMBLEWEED ZEPHYR
by Jay Irwin - August 17, 2015

Two years ago, if you were lucky enough to catch it, we were introduced to the Wild West, steampunk world of 'The Clockwork Professor', a delightful melodrama from the mind of Maggie Lee. Well the denizens of that world continued to have adventures in Lee's mind and now we can all climb on board to...

BWW Reviews: Existential SIDEWINDERS from Fantastic Z Feels Overblown
by Jay Irwin - July 27, 2015

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you have a story to tell then tell it. Existentialism is fine but don't pack in a bunch of superfluous seemingly non sequitur dialog and lose your meaning as a result. Such is the problem with Fantastic Z's current production of "Sidewinders" over at R...

BWW Reviews: Tragic HOLD THESE TRUTHS at ACT Fails to Engage
by Jay Irwin - July 27, 2015

The trouble with one man shows is that it's difficult to make them engaging no matter the subject. Such is the pitfall that Jeanne Sakata's "Hold These Truths", currently playing at ACT Theatre, falls into. This may be an incredibly horrifying thing that happened to this man but unless you have an...

BWW Reviews: Lyrically Haunting AND JESUS MOONWALKS THE MISSISSIPPI From STC
by Jay Irwin - July 20, 2015

Sound Theatre Company has never shied away from difficult plays and now in conjunction with Brownbox Theatre they've taken on Marcus Gardley's moving civil war fable "… And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi". To be blunt, this play is not going to be for everyone with its deeply poetic nature and com...

BWW Reviews: Overly Wholesome and Character Free GREASE at 5th Avenue
by Jay Irwin - July 20, 2015

Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey's musical "Grease" is so much more than just a collection of doo wop numbers. It's a group of teens finding their own identities at a time when teens were finding identities much different from those of their parents. Or at least it should be. Unfortunately the current...

BWW Reviews: ORPHEUS DESCENDING Seethes With Raw Power, Love and Lust
by Jay Irwin - July 13, 2015

When you see as many shows as I do as a theater reviewer there are shows that, on the surface, make you concerned as to what you're about to see. Such a show was "Orpheus Descending" developed and performed by the Williams Project at 12th Avenue Arts as part of the Intiman Theatre Festival. I mean...

BWW Reviews: Superheroes Save Our Fun and Our Beer in Teatro ZinZanni's RETURN OF CHAOS
by Jay Irwin - July 13, 2015

NEWS FLASH: The evil Hoard of Four under the command of the Eric the Evil Overlord is out to steal the special beer that has crash landed from outer space. Who can the Mayor call in to rescue us all? The Jet City Superheroes of course! Yes Teatro ZinZanni has dusted off their spandex and capes to...

BWW Reviews: Theatre22's WIZZER PIZZER Feels Poignant but Has No Point
by Jay Irwin - July 13, 2015

Dreams are there for our brains to work things out when we can't and the more incapacitated we are the weirder those dreams become. I mean Dorothy dreamt about flying monkeys. Well in "Wizzer Pizzer: Getting Over the Rainbow", currently from Theatre22 as part of their Pride Series, the dream is ju...

BWW Reviews: WICKED at Paramount a Bit Flat but Still Wicked
by Jay Irwin - July 10, 2015

I don't think many theater nerds need to argue the virtues of Stephen Schwartz's hit show "Wicked" currently playing at the Paramount Theatre. It's one of those shows that's widely and verbally loved by aficionados and general theatergoers alike. So when the tour comes through town it's bound to h...

BWW Reviews: A Quickie Trip to the Mothership for a Dose of Amazing!
by Jay Irwin - July 05, 2015

Dear readers, it had been about a year since my previous trip back to the Mothership (a.k.a. New York) and I felt it was time for a recharge of my Broadway batteries, even if it could only be a quickie. Well let me tell you there is plenty of awesome happening out there to catch. Now I only caught...

BWW Reviews: Gripping SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE from Book-It Rep
by Jay Irwin - June 22, 2015

How do you come out with an anti-war novel without it becoming preachy or scolding? You let Kurt Vonnegut handle it. His tale of the life of a soldier through his time in war and beyond is so shrouded in other elements that the lessons learned just slide on into your brain along with the rest of t...

BWW Reviews: Magic Alive with THE ILLUSIONISTS at The 5th Avenue
by Jay Irwin - June 18, 2015

Most of us in some way still want to believe that magic is real. I know I do. I mean how many of us tried some of those Harry Potter spells just to see what would happen? Just me? Well anyway, some true magicians are visiting Seattle at the moment with the big flashy show "The Illusionists - Wit...

BWW Reviews: ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, KAREN CARPENTER
by John James DeWitt - June 17, 2015

Playwright Dane Whitlock is quite fond of popular culture to the point of obsession (nay, mania!), having created shows like LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE-OKE and I TOTALLY KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST DONNA SUMMER. The names alone hint at the delightfully demented Cuisinart intellect behind StageRight's cu...

BWW Reviews: Heavy Handed THREESOME at ACT Might Have Something to Say
by Jay Irwin - June 15, 2015

If you want to ensure that people come to see your play then make sure you have well advertised nudity and sex in it. This is not a condemnation of "Threesome", the current play over at ACT, but a simple fact of the business of theater. But once you've lured those butts into the seats with the tit...

BWW Reviews: TAPHOUSE at The Ballard Underground
by John James DeWitt - June 08, 2015

The old adage “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans,” would be an ideal tagline for local playwright Kiki Penoyer's TAPHOUSE, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's THREE SISTERS....

BWW Reviews: NEVER THE SINNER - Compelling Courtroom Drama
by John James DeWitt - June 07, 2015

The true story of murderous teens Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb has seen many iterations over the years, from thinly veiled derivatives like ROPE, COMPULSION or MURDER BY NUMBERS to direct accounts of their actions such as the musical THRILL ME, or the subject of this review, John Logan's NEVER TH...

BWW Reviews: Self Centered Hollywood in Theater Schmeater's FOUR DOGS AND A BONE
by Jay Irwin - May 31, 2015

There may not be a ton of plot going on with Theater Schmeater's current production of "Four Dogs and a Bone". I mean there's no real message or over-arching moral other than "people in Hollywood are awful". But what it does have going for it is some very funny dialog and an ensemble that, while p...

BWW Reviews: Village's CABARET Slow and Safe but Thoughtful
by Jay Irwin - May 24, 2015

I have to say that when it comes to Kander and Ebb's "Cabaret" I prefer my Kit Kat Club dirty, my Sally Bowles damaged and my Berlin dangerous. And while the current production at Village Theatre has all of those elements, they're all very safe versions of those elements. And while director Brian ...

BWW Reviews: THE CHILDREN'S HOUR Still Packs a Punch at Arouet
by Jay Irwin - May 18, 2015

You might not think that a play from the 1930's would be so resonant today. But in our world where it's so easy to slander someone and spread malicious rumors at the click of a mouse, a play like "The Children's Hour", currently playing from Arouet, feels like an ominous precursor of things to come...

BWW Reviews: 5th Ave's JASPER IN DEADLAND Provides No Reason to Live
by Jay Irwin - May 15, 2015

If you're going to tell a story about a journey to hell and back then you need to have a reason. Some kind of moral or message or even just an engaging character that the audience can grab ahold of to root for success. Unfortunately the new musical “Jasper in Deadland”, currently at the 5th Avenue...

BWW Reviews: Seattle Shakes' OTHELLO Thrives on Multiple Levels
by Jay Irwin - May 04, 2015

When going to see a show you hope for at least one aspect of the show be something good that you can hold onto. The acting, directing, sets, lights, something to make the night worthwhile. Lucky for all of us the current production of Shakespeare's tragic tale of betrayal and lies "Othello", curre...

BWW Reviews: Visceral and Hard Hitting Journey in Book-It's LITTLE BEE
by Jay Irwin - April 27, 2015

Sometimes not even Batman can save you from the atrocities of the world. Such is the case in Book-It Repertory Theatre's current production of Chris Cleave's "Little Bee". With a brutal and visceral tone at times the show manages to show off how the innocent lives of those trod upon in foreign cou...

BWW Reviews: ArtsWest's ANGRY HOUSEWIVES a Bit Shaky but Still Fun
by Jay Irwin - April 26, 2015

It's been quite some time since everyone's favorite Mom-laden punk band has graced a Seattle stage, but those "Angry Housewives" are back at ArtsWest. And while appearing to need a little more rehearsal and settling in time and still with a script that feels a bit hackneyed at times, the show with ...

BWW Reviews: ACT's CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF Not All That Hot
by Jay Irwin - April 24, 2015

Tennessee Williams' searing southern drama, 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' currently playing at ACT, opens with Brick (Brandon O'Neill) and his wife Maggie (Laura Griffith) in a heated conversation about the disintegrating state of their marriage and is filled with sexual tension. Or at least it should be...