Seattle Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 37

BWW Reviews: UPSIDE DOWNTON at Jet City Improv Brings Brit-ish Fun
by Jay Irwin - January 10, 2014

The servants are downstairs and the Masters upstairs and the scandals and secrets are flying. It could be another episode of the PBS hit "Downton Abbey" except in this case the scandal is … well, you won't know until the audience shouts it out. As it is with most improv shows at Jet City Improv's ...

BWW Reviews: EVITA at the Paramount Has Its Moments, Even for a Non-Fan
by Jay Irwin - January 02, 2014

I've never particularly warmed to Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Evita". Like most of his shows it just feels like a lot of flash and very little substance. So I can't really come at this production from the point of view of a fan of the show but I can point out some truly stirring performances within it....

BWW Reviews: A CHRISTMAS CAROL and HAM FOR THE HOLIDAYS– Two Very Different Holiday Treats, One Theatre
by Jay Irwin - December 12, 2013

Holiday theatrical traditions are alive and well at ACT but the two shows playing couldn't be more different from each other. First off with their 38th annual production, ACT presents the classic “A Christmas Carol” with all the polish and flash that you've come to expect. And then with their 13th...

BWW Reviews: STC's HOLIDAY OF ERRORS Makes for a Nicely Naughty Holiday Diversion
by Jay Irwin - December 07, 2013

Take equal parts Dickens and Shakespeare, add in a healthy spoonful of historical tom-foolery, the zest from a bawdy queen and stir it up til you don't know one play from another and you'll have the latest outing from one of the more impressive small theater companies in town, Sound Theatre Company,...

BWW Reviews: 5th Ave's OLIVER! Doesn't Have That Oom-Pah-Pah
by Jay Irwin - December 06, 2013

Any Charles Dickens' tale basically has the same theme, working through adversity to get to hope. But even with that simplistic theme his characters are extremely nuanced and complex. And any production of a Dickensian play needs those nuances lest the show just turn into melodrama. Unfortunately...

BWW Reviews: Balagan's THANKSKILLING Offers Crude and Crass Holiday Fun
by Jay Irwin - November 30, 2013

It's the day after Thanksgiving and suddenly I feel myself getting attacked from a Thanksgiving turkey. No, it's not my Sister's cooking but the world premiere offering from Balagan Theatre of "Thankskilling, The Musical". It's still the completely offensive and hilarious show I saw in the summer ...

BWW Reviews: SCT's JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH is Magical Sweetness
by Jay Irwin - November 23, 2013

When casting my reviewers eye to the world premiere musical version of Roald Dahl's "James and the Giant Peach", currently playing at Seattle Children's Theatre, I am forced to look upon the show from two perspectives. From the kid perspective, as this is children's theatre, will this be entertaini...

BWW Reviews: Rep's HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES Filled with Thrills, Humor and Epic Staging
by Jay Irwin - November 21, 2013

I love it when a production manages to actually make me giddy with its technical aspects whether that be the gorgeous set, the intricate staging or the storytelling lights and sound. It appeals to the theater geek in me. So, Dear Readers, you can imagine how much I was in geek heaven at the Seattl...

BWW Reviews: Slightly Off Kilter Hilarity with THE HABIT 13 at The Bathhouse
by Jay Irwin - November 18, 2013

Someone left the gate open on the asylum again as the not-quite-right-in-the-head boys of The Habit are back with their next round of outside the box sketch comedy with "The Habit 13" at The Bathhouse Theater. And really, what better way can you start off the holiday season than a visit with some c...

BWW Reviews: How Village's LES MISERABLES Made Me Remember Why I Love This Show
by Jay Irwin - November 14, 2013

The year was 1996, it was the second time "Les Miserables" was coming through town and I was finally going to see it live. I sat there in the dark and let that incredible score and story flow through me and was such a weepy mess that my friends questioned if I was going to be alright. That experie...

BWW Reviews: PRISCILLA at the Paramount is One Big Spectacle with No Heart
by Jay Irwin - November 13, 2013

OK Broadway Producers, we need to have a chat. I understand your need to turn every mildly successful movie into a big flashy Broadway Musical in hopes that the name recognition will sell tickets. And I understand that "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", currently on tour and playing at the Paramoun...

BWW Reviews: A Soaring Score in the Bleak FLOYD COLLINS from STAGEright
by Jay Irwin - November 11, 2013

It's not the happiest or most easily accessible of shows, which is probably why it's not often done. But those that know it and can allow the score to wash over them know "Floyd Collins" is an absolutely beautiful score with a somewhat hopeful yet heart aching story. And the folks over at STAGErig...

BWW Reviews: Lungfish's SOPHIE Long on Heart, Short on Intent
by Jay Irwin - November 08, 2013

Pass the cigars around; it's the birth of a brand new theatre company. Lungfish Productions has just arrived and is currently presenting their first show, "Sophie" by Bryan Willis, as their first staged production over at The Downstage Theatre. And while the play itself didn't leave me reeling, yo...

BWW Reviews: ISABELLA ROSSELLINI: GREEN PORNO Is A Naughty Education
by Jay Irwin - November 05, 2013

"You know we're going to talk about sex tonight, right?" Those are some of the first words spoken by Isabella Rossellini (with a devilish twinkle in her eye) after she walked onto stage the other night at the Moore Theatre for her "Green Porno" performance letting the audience know we were in for o...

BWW Reviews: Azeotrope's RED LIGHT WINTER and 25 SAINTS Brim with Dark Passion and Power
by Jay Irwin - November 03, 2013

There are some aspects of life that most of us don't delve into. Dark aspects that are all too common in the world but we've been fortunate enough to avoid. But it seems as dark and unseemly as these areas of life are, Azeotrope is determined to pull back the rug and take a good look at what skitt...

BWW Reviews: PETER AND THE STARCATCHER Brings Magic and Brilliance to the Moore
by Jay Irwin - October 31, 2013

Dear Readers, have you lost that innocence and exuberance of youth? Are you no longer fascinated by the wonder of flying boys, singing mermaids and maniacal pirates? Well then I have the cure for you. If you're a kid at heart or just a kid then you need to get out and catch the current touring pr...

BWW Reviews: Seattle Shakes MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Combines Humor and Jazz
by Jay Irwin - October 28, 2013

OK, so I've seen it several times. I mean there are the movies plus countless productions about town. It's done a lot as it's one of Shakespeare's more accessible plays with its quick wit and very clear heroes and villains (one hero is even called Hero). But that doesn't mean I don't still love i...

BWW Reviews: Seattle Rep's BO-NITA - Seven Characters in One Little Girl
by Jay Irwin - October 24, 2013

No, it's not "Sybil", just one 13 year old girl with a lot to say about the crazy people in her life. That's the central premise for the World Premiere of Elizabeth Heffron's "Bo-Nita" currently playing at the Seattle Rep. And while the ending left me wanting a little, what comes before is a fasci...

BWW Reviews: FIFTH OF JULY Powerfully Begins Theatre22's Life
by Jay Irwin - October 23, 2013

Newborn theatre company Theatre22 has stumbled into the light of the world with its inaugural production of Lanford Wilson's post Vietnam War drama, "Fifth of July". And while the production and play itself took awhile to find its rhythm, the level of professionalism of the production launches this...

BWW Reviews: 5th Ave's ANYTHING GOES Brings Charm, Humor & Spirit to a Classic
by Jay Irwin - October 18, 2013

Do ya hear that playin'? Do ya know what's playin'? Why it's one of the best interpretations of a classic musical I've seen. The current touring production of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes", on stage now at the 5th Avenue Theatre, has three major things going for it; a director who understands the...

BWW Reviews: Balagan's CARRIE: THE MUSICAL Shines Despite Production and Material Woes
by Jay Irwin - October 14, 2013

Any true Broadway Geek knows of the infamous flop that is "Carrie: The Musical". Having only run for 16 previews and 5 actual performances back in 1988, some believed it to be one of the worst shows around while others still proclaimed its merits and longed for its return. So when the show was ret...

BWW Reviews: SUGAR DADDIES at ACT Gives Complex and Funny Characters
by Jay Irwin - October 11, 2013

Sir Alan Ayckbourn certainly knows how to bring rich and complex characters to life and then set them spinning to hilarious ends and his current production of "Sugar Daddies", making it's American Premiere at ACT, is no exception. And while it could use some trimming, he gives us a sobering yet fun...

BWW Reviews: Paramount's THE WIZARD OF OZ Does No Honor to Original
by Jay Irwin - October 10, 2013

There are some classics you just don't mess with. "Casablanca", "Lawrence of Arabia" and yes, "The Wizard of Oz". OK, so there have been a number of sequels or prequels and complete rewrites (such as "The Wiz", which I love) but up to now no one has felt they could make the original better. That ...

BWW Reviews: NCTC's THE WALWORTH FARCE Manages Hilarious Mixed with Terrifying
by Jay Irwin - October 07, 2013

New Century Theatre Company's track record for putting on stunning shows remains brilliantly intact as they present another absolute winner with Enda Walsh's "The Walworth Farce". It's actually getting a little scary how they keep consistently putting up the goods show after show. It's almost like...

BWW Reviews: THE TAMING at ArtsWest Filled with Cliché, Implausibilities and Pauses
by Jay Irwin - October 04, 2013

If you're going to have a play espousing rhetoric on politics and the state of our Government let it have something new (or at least clever) to say, otherwise it's the same old stuff we've heard droning on for years. Well as edgy and topical as Lauren Gunderson's play "The Taming", currently playin...