Stage
In the words of director Jeffrey Painter, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night "celebrate[s] the world turning upside down." I've seen it produced as an antic farce, and I've seen Kenneth Branagh's downhearted production. The Evergreen Shakespeare-Animal Fire co-production running this weekend and next in The Evergreen State College's Experimental Theater draws from
Arts
It was 20 years before Frank Wedekind's 1890 play Spring Awakening: A Children's Tragedy could be performed in its native Germany. At first only legendary director Max Reinhardt had enough juice to produce it. The play was considered so pornographic that only a single performance was allowed for a limited
Arts
"Always in motion is the future," a wise philosopher once noted, "difficult to see. Alan Kay added, "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." With that in mind, we look forward to a new year of expression, innovation and imagination in our thriving local arts scene. Thriving? Wait, isn't
Stage
As promised last week (with serious caveats), here are my nominees for the Carvy Olympia Theater Awards for 2010. I was obliged to pick a winner; my gut choices are printed in bold. This was a busy year for local theater, so if you didn't win, think of it as
We Recommend
As you know if you've seen the erstwhile Opie's 2008 movie version, Frost/Nixon is Peter Morgan's dramatic distillation of David Frost's historic 1977 TV interviews with Tricky Dick, in which our 37th president finally admitted to being a nefarious crapsack. As good as Michael Sheen and the Oscar-nominated Skeletor
Stage
Citizen Kane, widely regarded as the greatest American movie ever made, was nominated for but didn't win the Academy Award for Best Picture. United 93, to my mind one of the best films of the last decade, wasn't even nominated. Naming the "best" movie of the year says more about
We Recommend
Two weeks ago I expressed my hope that there would be room in Olympia for two productions of Little Women. Turns out I didn't need to worry, as Olympia Family Theater's version sold out on opening weekend. Unlike Capital Playhouse's ongoing production, OFT's is a "straight" (non-musical) version of the
Stage
Two weeks ago I expressed my hope that there would be room in Olympia for two productions of Little Women. Turns out I didn't need to worry, as Olympia Family Theater's version sold out on opening weekend. Unlike Capital Playhouse's ongoing production, OFT's is a "straight" (non-musical) version of the
We Recommend
It's the night before Christmas, so our story begins in darkness, both literal and metaphorical. Jacob Marley, played with empathy by Christopher Cantrell, is in Hell. Providentially, there's a way out, but it's nigh on impossible: He must find a way to get Ebenezer Scrooge (Dennis Rolly), the only
Stage
In the underrated Back to the Future Part II, Marty McFly revisits the sequel's predecessor, observing them from a few yards away. It's as if the events of the previous story are being retold by a second Marty, who sees them from just out of frame. That's the narrative conceit
Stage
Here's what most of us "know" about Massachusetts spinster Lizzie Andrew Borden: In 1892, she took an axe and gave her mother 40 whacks, then dispensed another 41 whacks to eliminate her father. As with so much common knowledge, it's mostly wrong. Borden's stepmother received fewer than 20 blows, her
We Recommend
If you've seen A Stardust show before, you know what to expect: a jukebox musical strung around 1940s crooner classics. Think Forever Plaid minus a decade of musical evolution, or a live version of The Lawrence Welk Holiday Special. I'm a fan of several members of the cast, director Linda
We Recommend
I'm happy to report Capital Playhouse finishes 2010 on a (figuratively) high note with the 2005 Broadway musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic, Little Women. Visiting Illinoisan director Adam Michael Lewis develops vocal and acting performances in equal measure, and Christie Murphy rises to that
Stage
Some families enjoy a tradition of opening Christmas presents before Christmas morning. Apparently South Sound theater does, too; I've already seen two of Olympia's holiday season productions with two more on the way. I'm happy to report Capital Playhouse finishes 2010 on a (figuratively) high note with the 2005 Broadway musical
We Recommend
Tracy Letts' psychodrama Bug has enjoyed a squalidly sexy reputation since its 1996 London premiere. It's sometimes viewed as unstageable due to naturalistic technical demands, nudity, foul language, drug use, violence, and a spiraling level of intensity beyond the tolerance of ordinary theatergoers. I attended an
Stage
Tracy Letts' psychodrama Bug has enjoyed a squalidly sexy reputation since its 1996 London premiere. It's sometimes viewed as unstageable due to naturalistic technical demands, nudity, foul language, drug use, violence, and a spiraling level of intensity beyond the tolerance of ordinary theatergoers. I attended an early tech rehearsal of
We Recommend
South Puget Sound Community College and Saint Martin's University have allied to mount a new production of Grease, but parents expecting a carbon copy of the beloved Travolta adaptation (1978) are in for a rude awakening. "In crafting our production," director Colleen Powers warns in the program,
Stage
When Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs wrote their first version of Grease (then called Grease Lightning) almost 40 years ago, they wrote from recent experience. The Day the Music Died was just 11 years gone. The T-Birds weren't the T-Birds yet; they were the Burger Palace Boys of Jacobs' Chicago
We Recommend
Theater folks needing an object lesson in the value of a director can do no better than the University of Puget Sound's production of The Cradle Will Rock, brilliantly micromanaged by Marilyn Bennett. (I'm told Dr. Bennett has been a "visiting" assistant professor for 10 years. Can somebody
Stage
In 1937, Orson Welles directed a production of Marc Blitzstein's Brechtian, pro-union operetta The Cradle Will Rock. It was meant to be an elaborate spectacle that climaxed on a stage that actually rocked back and forth; but after a disastrous dress rehearsal, the Federal Theatre Project (which financed the costly
