Rose Gibson

We’ve had a recent spate of the murderous, dark comedies, Dear Reader. First there was “Blood Countess” from MAP Theatre and then the 5th Avenue gave us “Something’s Afoot” and is soon to give us “Clue”. And now Seattle Public Theater has joined in with Jen Silverman’s “The Moors”. And like the others, this one has a tendency to dwell on its own joke a touch too long. But luckily for us it also has a killer cast (pun intended) to keep us giggling.

ACT Contemporary Theatre announced today the cast and creative team for their 48th production of the beloved classic, A Christmas Carol. Originally adapted for the stage in 1976 by ACT founder Gregory Falls, this season's production will see Seattle actor Darragh Kennan in the infamous role of Ebenezer Scrooge.

]Intiman Theatre has announced that Amy Thone and Varinique 'V' Davis will co-star in the Seattle premiere production of The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess, directed by Sheila Daniels and associate director Jasmine Lomax. The play will be staged in the round at the Erickson Theatre (1524 Harvard Ave. Seattle WA 98122) as part of Intiman's residency at Seattle Central College, showing April 18-29, 2023. All ticket tiers are now available.

With 2023 comes ACT’s 47th World Premiere play, History of Theatre: About, By, For, and Near, a boldly theatrical, thought-provoking exploration of the lives of those who’ve paved the way for the American theatre we have today.

Mirror Stage's Expand Upon series engages the community in meaningful dialogue, while enabling local artists to develop artistic responses to important issues. For Expand Upon round seven, the community selected the theme Income Inequality and the Wage Gap. Mirror Stage commissioned The EPICC Differential by Mary E. Brown, and Deep Veins by Nelle Tankus.

Dear Readers, if you’re familiar with Dominique Morisseau’s play, “Pipeline”, currently playing at Seattle Public Theater, you know what a striking play it is. Filled with resonant themes and high intensity moments, the show can knock you off your feet. But more than anything, it’s about real people and real situations in our all too real, and all too troubled world. So, it needs to feel real. And while most in the SPT production were up to that task, there were some that I didn’t feel the commitment to being real which took me out of the piece.

Play Your* Part presents Oedipus the King by Sophocles. This Live-Streamed International Broadcast features thirteen actors from across the nation bringing us this cautionary tale LIVE from the safety of their own homes, while a tech savvy team streams their feeds out in real time. All performances are ASL Interpreted and feature Open Captioning.

Theatre That Gets People Talking, Mirror Stage's Expand Upon series engages the community in meaningful dialogue, while enabling local artists to develop artistic responses to important issues. Expand Upon initiates conversation by commissioning two new plays responding to a community-selected issue, using the same multi-generational, multi-racial cast. For Expand Upon round four, the community selected the theme Homelessness, and Mirror Stage commissioned Untitled Play About Homelessness in Seattle by Holly Arsenault, and Hand by Tré Calhoun, with dramaturgy by Sara Keats.

Theatre That Gets People Talking, Mirror Stage's Expand Upon series engages the community in meaningful dialogue, while enabling local artists to develop artistic responses to important issues. Expand Upon initiates conversation by commissioning two new plays responding to a community-selected issue, using the same multi-generational, multi-racial cast. For Expand Upon round four, the community selected the theme Homelessness, and Mirror Stage commissioned Untitled Play About Homelessness in Seattle by Holly Arsenault, and Hand by Tré Calhoun, with dramaturgy by Sara Keats.

With any luck most of us will bypass any connection to opioid or heroin addiction. I know going into Book-It Repertory Theatre's current production of Tom Hansen's "American Junkie", I knew nothing of that world except what you might catch on TV. But what this gritty memoir and gripping performances do is give a much more intense and visceral look into this world while still mixing in humor and hope making this a fascinating ride.

Book-It Repertory Theatre [Book-It] kicks off 2019 with an honest look at addiction in Seattle native Tom Hansen's American Junkie. Adapted by Jane Jones and Kevin McKeon and directed by Jones, Hansen deftly balances a raw story about the path that leads to self-destruction with wry humor and hope.

A Civil War Christmas is a nice escape for folks that are getting a bit of a toothache from the glittery, schmaltzy, and sentimental Christmas plays foisted upon us this time of year. Written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel (for How I Learned to Drive ), A Civil War Christmas is historical fiction circa 1864, a birds-eye view of Civil War-torn America. Infused with hymnals, Union and Confederate songs, and Christmas carols, this musical time capsule bursts at the seams with a myriad of storylines. From slave to president, from Confederate to Union, for better or for worse, Vogel made sure to not miss anybody in this theatric nativity.