Seattle Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 36

BWW Reviews: Well Performed Frustration in ACT's BETHANY
by Jay Irwin - April 18, 2014

There's a plot device that has annoyed me since I was a kid. Sitcoms use it a lot. It's where the main character keeps lying and/or making obviously poor decisions which keeps digging them deeper and deeper into a hole until you just want to scream at them, "Just tell the truth and do the right th...

BWW Reviews: NCTC's TAILS OF WASPS Explores the 'What' of Scandal But Lacks the 'Why'
by Jay Irwin - April 11, 2014

A world premiere play from one of Seattle's best, Stephanie Timm, directed by one of Seattle's best, Darragh Kennan and from one of Seattle's best theatre groups, New Century Theatre Company. Seems like a dead lock winner right? But while I still found "Tails of Wasps" currently playing at ACT tho...

BWW Reviews: SEATTLE VICE at ACT Remembers the Smutty Fun
by Jay Irwin - April 04, 2014

Psst! Hey Buddy! Yeah you! You lookin' for a good time with some scantily clad performers who are ready and willing to do whatever you want while putting on a hell of a show? Well then you'd better hop in your time machine and head back the 1960's because Seattle doesn't do that anymore. But lu...

BWW Reviews: SSR's KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Lacks The Heat and The Fear
by Jay Irwin - March 30, 2014

A musical about imprisonment, homosexuality, fascist regimes, revolutionaries, morphine addiction and a movie star; must be Kander and Ebb because only they could pull it off so beautifully. But their "Kiss of the Spider Woman" is not often produced possibly due to its harsh themes but also that it...

BWW Reviews: THE TUTOR at Village Theatre Abandons Itself
by Jay Irwin - March 27, 2014

You're a cute little new musical that has workshopped itself at Village in their Village Originals program twice before. You have an interesting storyline and a fun little gimmick. You start off a little weak but there are sparks of potential. So why would you completely abandon that cute storyli...

BWW Reviews: A Bit Too YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at SMT Still Sparks With Life
by Jay Irwin - March 24, 2014

I always question the wisdom of these smaller theaters working with almost no budgets putting up these big flashy Broadway shows. They're not going to have the funds for lavish sets and racks of fancy costumes. But even without all that Seattle Musical Theatre managed to take Mel Brooks' "Young Fr...

BWW Reviews: Seattle Shakes' IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Is Thoroughly Delightful
by Jay Irwin - March 23, 2014

When Seattle Shakespeare Company hits one out of the park they do it with gusto. Such is the case with their current production of Oscar Wilde's battle of witty banter, "The Importance of Being Earnest". They've managed to take Wilde's delightful romp and made it even more delightful by executing ...

BWW Reviews: ROYAL BLOOD at West of Lenin Digs Up Dysfunction Amidst Perfection
by Jay Irwin - March 23, 2014

I'll admit to a certain amount of trepidation when going to see the world premiere of "Royal Blood" by Sonya Schneider at West of Lenin. I mean a world premiere play about a dysfunctional family with characters based on the author's relations. It sounds like one of my least favorite things in thea...

BWW Reviews: THE SUIT at Seattle Rep is Simply Beautiful
by Jay Irwin - March 21, 2014

I truly appreciate when a show realizes it doesn't need all the flash, all the bells and whistles, in order to be great. Sometimes a show has such a simple and straightforward story to tell that it just needs to tell it. Such is the case with "The Suit" currently playing at the Seattle Rep. This h...

BWW Reviews: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at ACT Feels a Little Anemic
by Jay Irwin - March 16, 2014

It's one of my all time favorite shows so naturally I'm a little picky about it. I mean, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's "Little Shop of Horrors" is one of those near perfect musicals. Great story, great characters, super fun music, it's got it all. But just as the plant in the show feeds on bloo...

BWW Reviews: THE ELEPHANT MAN from STAGEright Spotlights All Kinds of Freak Shows
by Jay Irwin - March 08, 2014

We all love to gawk at things different from what we call "normal". The internet is full of such things. Hell, one might even view our love of theater as such as it's a window into the lives of others. And that's the focus of Bernard Pomerance's stirring play, "The Elephant Man", as we view a fre...

BWW Reviews: THE LAST FIVE YEARS Gets a New Vision from LungFish
by Jay Irwin - February 21, 2014

Before you start the lynch mob against LungFish Productions for altering Jason Robert Brown's "The Last Five Years" let me assure you that not one word of the original has been changed. It's the intent of the piece as how it's told that director and conceiver Kyle James Traver has reimagined and wh...

BWW Reviews: Book-It's FRANKENSTEIN Filled with Chilling Imagery and Befuddling Choices
by Jay Irwin - February 16, 2014

Sure, it's a story about a monster, but a monster that is looking for love and acceptance and his creator who's looking for power and the redemption they both seek from their mistaken paths to find their goals. Mary Shelley's novel manages all that within a simple gothic romance and David Quicksall...

BWW Reviews: ON THE AIR at Teatro ZinZanni Is Three Hours of Pure Joy
by Jay Irwin - February 14, 2014

Dear Readers, I must warn you against seeing the latest show over at Teatro ZinZanni, "On The Air". After viewing it last night my smile muscles are only now beginning to recover from the perma-grin that this show and its incredible cast stuck on my face. I've been fortunate enough to see a few Zi...

BWW Reviews: Seattle Rep's VENUS IN FUR - In a Word, Delicious
by Jay Irwin - February 13, 2014

Get yourself ready for something naughty, witty and all around fun as the Seattle Rep has brought to town David Ives' battle of wills and words, “Venus in Fur”. This ribald evening from two powerhouse performers is rife with Ives' typical meaty dialog will keep you guessing as to who's really in ch...

BWW Reviews: MARISOL from Collision Project Feels Overly 'Edgy'
by Jay Irwin - February 11, 2014

When my Mom goes to see shows of mine that are on the edgy or weirder side she inevitably comes back with the comment, "That was interesting" afterward. Translation: not my thing and a little too weird. I, on the other hand, like a little weird in my theater especially when it culminates into a go...

BWW Reviews: SPELLING BEE at SMT Embraces the Charming Flaws in Us All
by Jay Irwin - February 09, 2014

One of the things I love about William Finn's shows is that he draws such rich and flawed characters which makes them all the more real and relatable. This is extremely true in his most popular work, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", currently playing at Seattle Musical Theatre, where t...

BWW Reviews: 5th Avenue's SPAMALOT - As Close to Broadway as You're Going to Get
by Jay Irwin - February 07, 2014

If you know what I mean when I say things such as "Are you telling me cocoanuts migrate?!?" "She's got huge tracks of land!" and "Ni!" then you're my kind of nerd who understands the joy that is "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". And while musical theater nerds are aware, I was surprised to find ou...

BWW Reviews: THE EQUATION from Theatre 9/12 – Two Stories that Don't Quite Hold Together
by Jay Irwin - January 27, 2014

A new work is always a risk even from author Charles Waxberg who gave us the amazing "A Shade of Green" a few years back. In this case from Theatre 9/12 we kind of have two works from Waxberg with his new play "The Equation". And while the performances in the piece were admirable, only one of the ...

BWW Reviews: THE FOREIGNER at Village Packs the Laughs with Intelligence
by Jay Irwin - January 24, 2014

It's a show that's done by pretty much everyone and their dog. Why? Because Larry Shue's "The Foreigner" is somewhat easy to put up (one set, manageable cast) and it's one of Shue's funnier and smarter pieces. So it's kind of a staple for smaller theaters. But while it is an easily doable show, ...

BWW Reviews: Seattle Rep's A GREAT WILDERNESS Burns with Thoughtful Poetic Beauty
by Jay Irwin - January 23, 2014

The absolutely stirring performances would have been enough. Even if the script for Seattle Rep's world premiere of "A Great Wilderness" were just so-so the ensemble cast knocking ball after ball out of the park would have been enough to make for an amazing evening. But when you add in the fact th...

BWW Reviews: PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE at SSR Has Moments but Lacks Cohesion
by Jay Irwin - January 19, 2014

When any of Steve Martin's plays such as "Picasso at the Lapin Agile", currently playing at Second Story Rep, is done well it can be a riotous evening of surreal fun. But when it misses the mark it's still funny but lacks that certain spark of genius that Martin is known for. And while SSR's produ...

BWW Reviews: THE NORMAL HEART from Strawberry Theatre Workshop Seethes with Poignancy
by Jay Irwin - January 19, 2014

Before "Rent" put AIDS into the mainstream, before "The Temperamentals" looked at the plight of closeted gay men, there was "The Normal Heart", Larry Kramer's somewhat autobiographical, ground breaking master work which shoved the AIDS crisis and the gay lifestyle front and center at a time when peo...

BWW Reviews: Seattle Shakes RICHARD II Lacks Highs and Lows
by Jay Irwin - January 12, 2014

I've never particularly been a fan of Shakespeare's histories. To me they amount to a lot of political posturing. But even with all the posturing they usually amount to a story with high stakes for all involved. Unfortunately the pacing and some performances from Seattle Shakespeare Company's cur...

BWW Reviews: Balagan Takes JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA to Hell and Back Again
by Jay Irwin - January 11, 2014

Opera has long been considered at the epitome of class and sophistication. Well it's time to give up that idea as 'Jerry Springer: The Opera' has come to town from Balagan Theatre in association with Seattle Theatre Group, and they've taken the highbrow nature of Opera and defecated all over it. A...