Seattle Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 34

BWW Reviews: Arouet's THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW Elicits Little Sympathy or Interest
by Jay Irwin - November 10, 2014

If you're going to turn a highly personal story into a play then make sure that you have something fresh to say about the subject matter or at least that the elements of the play are relatable to the audience. Unfortunately, Arouet's world premiere of Doug DeVita's "The Fierce Urgency of Now" had n...

BWW Reviews: Pony World's OR, THE WHALE Doesn't Engage
by Jay Irwin - October 31, 2014

You're having a nightmare where you're taking a literature class examining "Moby Dick", it's discussion day and you haven't read the book. That's what it felt like watching Pony World Theatre Company's new production of "Or, The Whale". If there were correlations between the play and the Melville ...

BWW Reviews: Seattle Shakes Brings Fresh and Exhilarating Take on TWELFTH NIGHT
by Jay Irwin - October 27, 2014

How many times have we all seen "Twelfth Night"? It is one of Shakespeare's most accessible and arguably one of his best plays and therefore one of his most often trotted out pieces. Even Seattle Shakespeare Company admits this current production is the fifth time they've done it in their 24 year ...

BWW Reviews: ArtsWest's DOGFIGHT Manages Some Touching Moments
by Jay Irwin - October 27, 2014

One of the most exciting and promising new musicals to come out of New York in the last few years for me has to be 'Dogfight'. This adaptation of the little known film from up and coming composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and writer Peter Duchan showed off that musical theater still has quite a v...

BWW Reviews: Chekov Becomes Hilarious in ACT's VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE
by Jay Irwin - October 24, 2014

Sometimes a fun night is just a dead lock. Such is the case when you take three of Seattle's most gifted and seasoned actors and put them in the off kilter world of a Christopher Durang play as has happed over at ACT with their current production of "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike". I have to...

BWW Reviews: SMT's ROCKY HORROR SHOW Is a Bit Rocky But Very Sexy
by Jay Irwin - October 13, 2014

Let me start by saying that "The Rocky Horror Show", on its own, is not a very good show. What makes the show fun and worthwhile is the audience participation. So when that is lacking, as it was at the recent Seattle Musical Theatre production I saw, it only serves to spotlight how mediocre a show...

BWW Reviews: Everybody Say 'Yeah' to KINKY BOOTS at the 5th Avenue
by Jay Irwin - October 10, 2014

As you know, Dear Readers, I have no love for the constant turning of movies into Broadway shows but I'm afraid that it's a trend that is not going away any time soon and sometimes results in some good shows (a certain blonde lawyer springs to mind). And the latest of those movie to stage conversio...

BWW Reviews: THE VAUDEVILLIANS Pump Up Racy Glamour at Seattle Rep
by Jay Irwin - October 09, 2014

"The Vaudevillians" is not an act that you'd expect to see at the Seattle Rep but then they've never really played it safe. But catching an act that I remember seeing at Balagan's "Smorgasbord" nights back when they were in the basement of the noodle house now strutting around the stage at the Rep ...

BWW Reviews: SPT's SLIP/SHOT Resonates with Today
by Jay Irwin - October 03, 2014

A shooting of a black teen in the racially charged south causes unrest in a small town. Sounds like the latest headline of today doesn't it? Well that shows how far we haven't come as shown in the attitudes expressed in "Slip/Shot", currently playing at Seattle Public Theatre, which is set in the ...

BWW Reviews: ALICE'S ANTHEM Gets Wonderland Even More Drugged Up
by Jay Irwin - September 28, 2014

I'm all for taking classic stories and turning them on their head as long as you have something interesting to say about them. A new twist on the mythology can be quite fun. And Copious Love's "Alice in Wonderland" musical retelling, "Alice's Anthem", certainly has that with their dark and macabre...

BWW Reviews: Book-It's I AM OF IRELAND Shares a Bit of Irish Heart
by Jay Irwin - September 25, 2014

To launch their 25th season Book-It Repertory Theatre has dusted off one of their earlier gems. And in doing so have given us a charming and lovely bit of Ireland heritage to take home with us....

BWW Reviews: Schmeater's SEASCAPE Evolves into Quirky Fun
by Jay Irwin - September 22, 2014

What would you do if a human sized, English speaking lizard walked up to you on the beach? How about two of them? Well get ready for that experience as Theater Schmeater explores two different sides of evolution in Edward Albee's "Seascape". And while it takes a bit of time for the show to evolve...

BWW Reviews: Tearjerker MARY'S WEDDING from New Century Wows with Tragic Love Story
by Jay Irwin - September 22, 2014

I'm quite pleased to announce that Seattle, at this moment in time, has an abundance of incredible shows to choose from. OK, well, two of them but they're both stunners. You've already heard me droning on about the other 'can't miss' show recently and now comes along a very different but equally i...

BWW Reviews: Village's IN THE HEIGHTS Missing That Spark
by Jay Irwin - September 19, 2014

It's never been one of my favorite shows to begin with. I mean I enjoy "In the Heights" for what it is, I was excited about it when it first came out since it was fresh and new and not based on a movie, but it's never been one of those shows that I get all giddy about when one of its songs comes on...

BWW Reviews: SMT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Is Just Too Nice
by Jay Irwin - September 15, 2014

In order to put up the highly complex musical of "Man of La Mancha" you need more than the voices to fill the main roles. You need an ensemble who understands the text and the tone of the situation as well as a pacing to keep this intricate show moving along. Alas, that is what was missing from Se...

BWW Reviews: THE INVISIBLE HAND at ACT Grabs You & Doesn't Let Go
by Jay Irwin - September 15, 2014

There are moments, Dear Reader, when you can encounter a work that can completely revitalize your love of good theater. Such was a moment for me the other night when I was lucky enough to catch ACT's production of "The Invisible Hand". I really wasn't sure what I was in for except that it was a pl...

BWW Reviews: STC's BLOOD RELATIONS Is Overly Complicated
by Jay Irwin - September 14, 2014

Many have attempted to fictionalize the tale of Lizzie Borden. Hell, there's even a rock musical version of the story (that is awesome, by the way). Why? Because we all love a scandal. If this had happened today it'd be all over the news-tainment channels and internet for days (until the next sc...

BWW Reviews: 5th Avenue's A CHORUS LINE Is Almost a Triple Threat
by Jay Irwin - September 12, 2014

There's something to be said for seeing a company of incredible dancers performing the classic "A Chorus Line" especially when they're doing much of the original Michael Bennett choreography as is currently being presented at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Even better when you've got an entire company of ...

BWW Reviews: Intiman's ANGELS IN AMERICA PT. 2 Lacks Punch
by Jay Irwin - September 08, 2014

If you remember, Dear Readers, three weeks ago I said that Intiman's production of Part 1 of Tony Kushner's masterpiece, "Angels in America" still resonated through Kushner's script but the show felt under done and lacked focus. But I hoped it would settle into itself over time. I also hoped that ...

BWW Reviews: Don't Wait, Just Go See Seattle Shakes' GODOT
by Jay Irwin - September 08, 2014

Two tramps waiting by a tree in the middle of nowhere does not sound like the most engaging evening of theater. But when it comes from the absurdist mind of Samuel Beckett, you have one of the most thought provoking plays of the 20th century with his brilliant, "Waiting for Godot". But it's still ...

BWW Reviews: Strawshop's BLACK COMEDY Brings Comedy Into the Light
by Jay Irwin - August 23, 2014

When physical comedy is done well it can be a beautiful thing. I still marvel at a seven-minute bit David Hyde Pierce did with an ironing board on the show Frasier (seriously, go look it up). But good physical comedy is not easy. Fortunately for us the cast of Strawberry Theatre Workshop's produc...

BWW Reviews: QUESTIONS OF THE HEART From Theatre22 Examines Being Gay and Mormon
by Jay Irwin - August 19, 2014

When Proposition 8 was being heavily campaigned for by the Mormon Church, Ben Abbott, a straight devout Mormon with a lot of gay friends due to his involvement with theater came across his own ethical quandary of how to reconcile the two worlds. But then he began to think about the Mormons out ther...

BWW Reviews: STC's SCHOOL FOR LIES Forces Comedy with One Joke
by Jay Irwin - August 18, 2014

If I wanted to watch people sniping at each other with no discernible plot or story then I'll watch reality TV. Unfortunately that's what the latest outing from Sound Theatre Company, 'School For Lies', felt like. David Ives' adaptation of Moliere's 'The Misanthrope' felt like such a contrived and...

BWW Reviews: Wit, Passion & Intrigue in STAGEright's I GELOSI
by Jay Irwin - August 18, 2014

A strong ensemble is crucial in most any play, especially when dealing with commedia dell'arte as each performer takes on typical archetypes which when combined create a solid show. Assuming, that is, there are no weak links. Luckily with STAGEright's current commedia production of "I Gelosi" the ...

BWW Reviews: ANGELS IN AMERICA, PT. 1 from Intiman Still Resonates
by Jay Irwin - August 15, 2014

20 Years ago a bright eyed theater nerd (as opposed to the bitter, jaded wretch I am today) was over the moon that the Intiman Theatre was able to get the rights to do one of the most exciting and talked about plays of the day, "Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches" so close on the heels...