Jay Irwin - Page 10

Whenever I see a play, Dear Readers, I want that play to just tell me a story. I want it to flow nicely, build at a steady pace, and have a good payoff. I don't necessarily need the trappings of superfluous gimmickry. If the added bits lend themselves to the piece or the story, that's great, but when they interrupt the flow of the show, that's when I have issue. The current piece from Intiman Theatre, "The Events", certainly has a powerful message and is performed by two very gifted actors, but the "gimmicks" only allowed for the show to feel disjointed and the sustained tension to be lost.

Sound Theatre Company, with their season theme of "Un-Erasable" focusing on diversity and "hyper invisibility" of some in America, have started off their season with a stunning piece, "Citizen: An American Lyric" based on the poetry of Claudia Rankine and adapted for the stage by Stephen Sachs. But beyond keying in perfectly to their theme and kicking off the season with a bang, they've coincidentally presented a piece that has tremendous resonance to what's happening in the news today, with the incidents between Serena Williams and Billie Jean King as well as Hurricane Barry in New Orleans giving an all too harrowing reminder of the events of Hurricane Katrina.

Edie Brickell and Steve Martin's 'Bight Star', currently playing at Taproot Theatre, has a lovely and heartbreaking story, but is a musical that suffers from two things. First, it can never quite come to terms with which era it's in, and second (and most importantly) it's a musical that doesn't have very good songs.

Back in 2015, the Seattle theater scene was abuzz with a brand-new musical premiering at the Seattle Rep from local wunderkind Justin Huertas called 'Lizard Boy'. I even remember seeing a workshop of it in 2013. Since then the Lizard has gone on to perform all over, including San Diego and New York, and Huertas has gone on and produced even more new musicals including an adaptation of 'Howl's Moving Castle' at Book-It (which is coming back again this season) and a new one coming to the Seattle Rep next year, 'Lydia and the Troll'. And now, over at ArtsWest, Huertas has given us another of his signature quirky love stories with the World Premiere of 'The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion'. And with his new show we can easily see that the promise of greatness abounds, not only with Huertas and this show but within the show as well.

The folks at the Can Can are back and ready to knock your spurs off in an all new, decidedly Western style show with "The Legend of El Dorado" and once again they've upped their game. First, they brought us sexy ass dancers and comedy to bust a gut over, then they brought in fabulous singers, recently they added those gorgeous 4K video screens for their backdrops, and now they've brought in some culinary delights with their new chef Monica Seward. So, there's good food, entertainment, and sex. You'll never need to leave, but why would you want to?!

Finish strong and they'll forgive a multitude of sins. This old adage of the theater rings truer than ever in this TV-binging, short attention span world in which we live. Unfortunately, the folks at Book-It Repertory Theatre didn't take that into account with their current production of "Behold the Dreamers" which started off slow, then picked up and really engaged in the middle and then ended with a whimper.

Well before that founding father refused to throw away his shot, even before those Mormons made us giggle with their irreverence, the hot ticket in town was "Wicked". Well, Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's witches have returned to the Emerald City and the bloom is still quite firmly attached to that bright pink rose in Glinda's hair.

Anna Ziegler's play 'Boy' gives an unflinching look at gender identity. I was fortunate enough to see it's Off-Broadway premiere back in 2016 and found it quite moving and engaging. But it's a tough one to get into and requires some top-notch performances to grab the audience as it's all talk. I say this because that's exactly what we do not have with the current production from Fantastic.Z Theatre. What we have here is a series of flat and at times strange line readings from an ensemble that are each in their own play and not connecting with the others with whom they share the stage.

Cafe Nordo has come to be known in town for their sumptuous meals and fun, frothy and fascinating shows but this time they've outdone themselves with "The Champagne Widow". With a book by Opal Peachey and Music by Annastasia Workman and Lyrics by Peachey, Workman as well as director Billie Wildrick, this wholly new and original work goes beyond their usual good time and adds heartbreak and even a bit of an education, not only about the creation of Champagnes but the unsung women responsible for many of the great achievements in Champagne.

I used to hate Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim's "West Side Story". My only exposure was the movie and I found the story flat and unconvincing. I mean, an entire song just repeating her name? Geeze, learn how to write a lyric. But then a touring production came through town and they got it. They understood what they were singing about and knew how to convey it. And then I got it too. He only needs the one word because it's all he wants to hear. And I fell in love with the show but only when it's done well. Since then I've seen many productions of varying levels of quality. Now comes the current production from the 5th Avenue Theatre and Spectrum Dance Theatre and while it has some moments and some good dance sequences thanks to choreographer Bob Richards who did his darnedest to reproduce the original Jerome Robbins choreography, it lacks the ability to convey the story and the love thanks to some lackluster lead performances and staging and intent from director Bill Berry that just didn't get it.

Dear Readers, back in 2011 I was fortunate enough to see a play entitled "The Brothers Size" at a local theater. It was an evening that shook me to my core theatrically. I mention this, not to compare it with Antoinette Nwandu's "Pass Over", currently being offered at ACT, but to explain that not from that day to this has a show destroyed me emotionally as "Pass Over" did last night. Now you may say it's because I'm a sap or due to some "white liberal guilt" and to that I say, "yeah, probably." But also, it's entirely due to the insanely brilliant play and performances bringing to light such prevalent injustice.

Dear Readers, there are shows out there that are all dessert and give you the fun and fluff. A certain pee-soaked musical comes to mind. Then there are the shows that slip the meaningful messages or vegetables in with the yummy portions to trick you into enriching your mind and soul. There's a baseball show currently running that fits that bill. And then there are the shows that are all nutrition. Shows that are so meaningful and full of raw significance that some may not be ready to handle them. Such is "Blackbird" currently running at 18th & Union produced by White Rabbits Inc and Libby Barnard. That's not to say you can't enjoy those nutritious morsels on some level especially considering the stirring performances but know that while your mind and soul may be richer at the end, the rest of you may walk away feeling not so great. Or, as happened with one patron the night I saw it, you may not be able to handle it and may need to leave. But with the subject matter, the theater knows this may happen and even encouraged it.

Back in 2002, Dear Readers, I became obsessed with a new play from Richard Greenberg, "Take Me Out". Already a fan of Greenberg's works, this story of a high profile Major League Baseball player coming out was quite intriguing. I got ahold of the script and my obsession grew. I annoyed all my friends about it until they too found out about its glory. And then a local production hit town and my obsession was locked, and this Tony Award winning play has since become one of my all-time favorites. So, if you know my work, you know how picky I'll be about this. And I'm thrilled to say that my favorite play has been done absolute justice in the current production from Strawberry Theatre Workshop over at 12th Ave Arts and you all NEED to go see it.

Nia Vardalos' stage adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's book "Tiny Beautiful Things", currently playing at the Seattle Rep, on the surface may seem like just a string of Strayed's advice columns, but when you peel back the layers and dive deeper it becomes so much more. As we get into the advice, we also get a glimpse into the woman who gave it, painting a portrait of a woman who's been through a lot and come out wiser on the other side.

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is arguably a masterpiece of American Musical Theatre. It's haunting, thrilling, and heartbreaking when it's done right. But in order to do it right you need to understand and be able to convey this complex story and characters as well as sing some quite difficult music. Unfortunately, the current gender bent production from Reboot Theatre Company chose to forsake that story for comedy and sight gags leaving a confused, under baked, sloppy mess.

Dear Readers, you know when you leave a play and you just feel unsatisfied? Maybe the performances weren't up to snuff or the direction faltered, but you have trouble putting your finger on why you feel this way. Such was my experience last night at Seattle Public Theater's Northwest Premiere of Tanya Barfield's "The Call". I walked to my car wondering why this hadn't hit me harder. The performers were all top notch and the direction from Annie Lareau was lively and flowed beautifully. And then it hit me, Ms. Barfield was simply trying to tell me too many stories and with so many flying about, none of them quite stuck the landing.

Say what you want about Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber but at least he's consistent. Consistently borrowing from others as is evident in the most recent offering from the Paramount Theatre, 'his' musical version of the 2003 movie 'The School of Rock'. And while it has adorable kids, absolutely shredding it with their vocals and musical chops on stage, it also has utterly forgettable and repetitious songs (at least the ones actually written by Webber and lyricist Glenn Slater) and a lead who takes mugging to a whole new, annoying level.

'Million Dollar Quartet', that Rock and Roll spectacular, has long held a special place in the hearts of Village Theatre patrons owing to it being one of those shows that made a name on Broadway after having its beginnings in the Village Originals workshops. Well, those prodigal sons (and daughter) have returned to Village's stage and this new cast, while still paying homage to the iconic characters, are definitely putting their own spin on the roles. And it amounts to a rockin' good time!

Dear Readers, you may have never heard of the 1996 indie film "The Spitfire Grill". If so then it stands to reason you've never heard of the musical of the same name. Well, Showtunes Theatre Company is here to rectify one of those gaps in your knowledge as they've resurrected the not often done musical and are giving it their usual amazing concert treatment. And with this lovely story and the incredible talent they bring together, the result is a stirring show filled with heart, laughter, and tears and a wonderful little musical that begs to be seen.

Dear Readers, when seeing the west coast premiere of Christina Ham's "Nina Simone: Four Women", currently at the Seattle Rep, if you're expecting a light, jukebox musical about the works of Nina Simone then you may be disappointed and you probably don't know much about Nina Simone in the first place as you couldn't really call her style "light". But what you are in for is a searing look at how Simone branched out from American Songbook covers to her own distinct style of songs that spurred the civil rights movement.