Seattle-Area Performance & Art
Delightfully campy, nerdy, sexy, and musical, new shows at the Can Can Culinary Cabaret and Village Theatre are likely to attract different audiences. Combined, they might be the most fun duo of the season.
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The first-ever Portable Performance Festival at 18th & Union is in full swing, with 20 or so shows in two weeks.
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An underground new musical examines an old neighborhood’s storied past and vibrant present. People in the Square runs through 8/27 at The New Skid Road Theatre.
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Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster, quintessentially American musical, runs through September 11 at The Paramount Theatre in Seattle.
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In its first national tour, the blockbuster Broadway musical performs in Seattle on July 12-17. If you want tickets, you’d better get them now.
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A futuristic new show from ‘Buttcracker’ series creators Diana Cardiff and Sara Jinks brings dance into outer space. ‘Space 50’ ran through May 1.
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Mega-talented cast and musicians shine in this Showtunes short run, a musical workplace comedy of sexism, revenge, and fresh thinking. It runs through April 16.
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Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Rep 4, ‘Plot Points’, highlights a new generation of dance. It performs through March 27, and streams online through April 4.
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Having trouble choosing what to see among the rush of shows this weekend? Here are my takeaways from five of them to help you decide.
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In his debut book, released today, Seattle-raised actor Mickey Rowe shares how autism guides, not stifles, his stage performance. ‘Fearlessly Different’ offers behind-the-scenes perspective on disability, acting, and difference as strength.
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On March 8, dance company The Gray premieres new work by Beth Terwilleger. Meanwhile, new works take shape to premiere this spring, part of the James Ray Residency Project at Seattle International Dance Festival.
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The gorgeous new opera ‘Blue’ presents a portrait of a middle-class Black family and their chosen families, galvanized by a joy and a tragedy. The West Coast premiere runs through March 12.
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From an all-too-honest advice columnist to audience requests on the mic and a gambling bail-out, the love shown here covers pretty much everything but the romantic kind. Here are my takeaways from each.
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As the pandemic pause put production activity on hold, theatres took the opportunity to reassess their commitments. For some, that means making theatre more accessible than ever, including how much it costs to get in the door.
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It’s vulnerability, not her battle-ready exterior, that’s deepened this much-performed original of the “matriarchal musical tramedies” over the years. Sara Porkalob dazzles in one final Seattle run before heading east.
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A world premiere play from two local playwrights has a somewhat muddled message. But its captivating production and ample discussion fodder make it worth your time. ‘The Fifth Wave’ runs through February 27 at Macha Theatre Works.
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In two shows on now, creaking estates teem with family secrets, uncertain deaths, and bloodthirsty beasts. They’re also very funny. ‘The Mystery of Irma Vep’ (Intiman Theatre) and ’37 Postcards’ (The Phoenix Theatre, in Edmonds) both run for two more weekends.
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Three shows this weekend explore the deepest desires of their characters. Not all goes according to plan.
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With ‘Diary of a Madman,’ Lowbrow Opera Collective humanizes society’s scorn for mental illness in a compelling 45-minute opera. It runs through November 21 at 18th & Union.
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Earlier this year, the rock band Always Naked released an album called “Sex Sells,” along with a music video starring two Seattle-area theatre artists. With next week’s arrival of their third full-length album, the band finally gets to throw a release party. They play the High Dive on November 27.
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‘Steel Magnolias’ at Taproot Theatre (thru 2/29) and Tacoma Musical Playhouse’s ‘Beehive’ (thru 2/16) center strong female characters, from an ’80s small-town salon to world-class stages of the ’60s.
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The new work by dancer/choreographer Elby Brosch looks at trans experience alongside binary and non-binary identities. It runs through 1/30.
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Two versions of ‘A Christmas Carol’ — one new and one classic — seek to highlight the social-justice message at the heart of the original. ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol’ plays at Harlequin in Olympia through 12/31; and ‘A Christmas Carol’ plays at ACT Theatre in Seattle through 12/28.
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Once upon a time, Santa Claus came to visit. The only survivor would like to tell you about it.
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Three interpretations of ‘The Nutcracker’ on Seattle stages demonstrate its adaptability for the tastes — and moods — of new audiences. The invigorated classic epic (at Pacific Northwest Ballet, through 12/28), a sassy spin-off and an elegant workshop (at the Paramount Theatre and On the Boards, both through 12/15) are all delightful, and distinct.
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The Can Can, an established Seattle cabaret tucked away under the Pike Place Market, brings a fun and festive show just up the street to The Triple Door. The dining service is much less successful than the stagecraft.
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This Sunday night, the Rendezvous decks the halls with decades past, with a unique, free, through-the-eras party and variety show called ‘Belltown Exposed’. It celebrates the release of Staci Bernstein’s new art photography book of the same name. NWT talked with Rendezvous owner Jane Kaplan about the show, the book, and the storied neighborhood.
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This weekend, Sean Dorsey — acclaimed choreographer and dancer, and out and proud trans man — brings his new work, ‘Boys in Trouble’, to Velocity Dance Center. NWTheatre talked with him about masculinity in and through his artistic lens, this latest work, and the good and bad in today’s trans representation.
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A showcase of modern works this weekend blends and bends genre and theme, evoking a spectrum of exhaustion, energy, freedom, and hope. ‘HATCH’ is the latest in a line of impressive new works from PRICEarts and N.E.W. It runs through 10/12.
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The evening of family storytelling and operatic comedic cooking, which runs sporadic nights at The Rendezvous, is an odd one to describe. It’s also a lot of fun.
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