Everything Happening in Theater and Dance This Season
by Brendan Kiley
Larger Theaters
5TH AVENUE THEATER
1308 Fifth Ave, 625-1900, 5thavenue.org
The Music Man (Through March 10): Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway hit about a con man—who poses as the leader of a marching band—and the librarian who falls in love with him.
Grey Gardens (March 16–May 26): A musical based on the cult documentary of the same name, Grey Gardens follows Jackie Kennedy's cousin Little Edie on her downward spiral from socialite to delusional hoarder. Produced in conjunction with ACT Theater and directed by ACT's artistic director Kurt Beattie.
Jersey Boys (April 4–May 4): The jukebox musical about the rags-to-riches rise of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.
ACT THEATER
700 Union St, 292-7676, acttheatre.org
These Streets (Through March 10): A world-premiere rock 'n' roll musical about women in the Seattle music scene during the 1990s. Creators Sarah Rudinoff, Gretta Harley, and Elizabeth Kenny based the show on dozens of interviews with people who were there and included music by the Gits, 7 Year Bitch, Hammerbox, and others.
Young Playwrights Festival (March 7–9): Now in its 11th year, the festival showcases plays by student writers age 12 to 18.
Grey Gardens (March 16–May 26): See the entry under 5th Avenue Theater.
Project 6 (March 22–30): Two new works and one encore by Seattle-based choreographer Jason Ohlberg (former dancer with Hubbard Street Chicago), presented by the Seattle Dance Project.
Assisted Living (April 19–May 12): A comedy on aging in America, by Seattle native Katie Forgette and set in a prison-turned-eldercare-facility. Featuring Jeff Steitzer and directed by R. Hamilton Wright.
Other Desert Cities (May 31–June 30): A finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for drama by playwright Jon Robin Baitz, author of The Substance of Fire and creator of the TV series Brothers and Sisters. The liberal daughter of an iconic Republican family threatens to publish a tell-all memoir. Directed by Victor Pappas.
FLYING HOUSE PRODUCTIONS
McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, flyinghouse.org
Dancing Queen: The Music of ABBA (April 6–7): Seattle Men's Chorus, comedian Leslie Jordan, and the music of ABBA.
MEANY HALL
University of Washington Campus, 543-4880, uwworldseries.org
Trey McIntyre Project (April 11–13): Three works from the Boise-based choreographer whose company, according to the New York Times, "exudes earnest American openness, despite its dazzling, ballet-rooted technique. And Mr. McIntyre is a highly gifted choreographer, with broad appeal."
Les Ballets Trockadero (May 16–18): This all-male dance company performs gender-queering ballet and modern dance, poking fun at ballet's stiff, traditional hierarchy and "achieving high comedy by incorporating and exaggerating the foibles, accidents, and underlying incongruities of serious dance," according to the website.
MOORE THEATER
1932 Second Ave, 682-1414, stgpresents.org
Carmen (March 16–17): Presented by Lyric Opera NW.
Nick Offerman (March 21): Standup from the comedian best known for his role as Ron Swanson, the gruff, libertarian bureaucrat on Parks and Recreation.
Tommy Davidson (March 30): Comedy from the original star of In Living Color.
NEPTUNE THEATER
1303 NE 45th St, 682-1414, stgpresents.org
Stephen Lynch (April 7): The standup comedian, Tony-nominated actor, and musician will perform funny music. Wikipedia says his influences include Bill Hicks, Mr. Show, and Gordon Lightfoot.
Janeane Garofalo (April 11): "I guess I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass is always half empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth."
Bob's Burgers Live! (May 8): The stars of the great animated TV series about a family-run burger shop perform segments from the show. Featuring H. Jon Benjamin, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, Dan Mintz, and John Roberts.
ON THE BOARDS
100 W Roy St, 217-9888, ontheboards.org
Culturebot (March 7): Culturebot.org started as a blog for New York's Performance Space 122 in 2003 and has developed into a robust online magazine covering contemporary performance and arts issues. Founder Andy Horowitz and editor Jeremy Barker present Everyone's a Critic, an interactive performance event about the role of criticism in the arts world, featuring a panel of Seattle artists, administrators, funders, patrons, and critics.
12 Minutes Max (March 17–18 at Washington Hall): The longtime monthly performance lab where audiences see the freshest, newest work by local artists. This round is curated by Robin Held (Reel Grrls), Cassandra William (Universal Zulu Nation), and Kathy Hsieh (SiS Productions).
How to Disappear Completely (March 21–24): A multimedia solo show by Itai Erdal, an Israeli-born, Vancouver, BC–based lighting designer. How to Disappear Completely is the story of his young career and the events that occurred after his mother asked him to take her life.
Young Jean Lee's Theater Company (April 4–7): Untitled Feminist Show is a new work by writer/director Young Jean Lee, who runs headlong into thickets of thorny cultural issues where others fear to tread. She has said that she begins a project by asking herself: "What's the last show in the world I would ever want to make?" That process has produced cuttingly, frighteningly funny shows rooted in Asian American and African American identity politics (Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and THE SHIPMENT, both which have toured to OtB). This show is about gender politics and has no words.
KT Niehoff/Lingo Productions (April 18–21): Local composer Ivory Smith and local choreographer KT Niehoff present The Finale, a distillation of a yearlong investigation into how artists and audiences interact. (For the past several years, Niehoff has been experimenting with framing shows as parties, dinners, and field trips to parks and hotel rooms.) The result is The Finale.
12 Minutes Max (April 28–29 at On the Boards): This round is curated by Paul Budraitis (director/writer/performer), Priya Frank (UW Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity), and an unspecified guest curator.
Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People (May 2–5): Choreographer Miguel Gutierrez turns his intelligent, witty mind to creating an "evening-long séance" titled And lose the name of action.
Saint Genet (May 16–19): Born from the ashes of Stranger Genius Award–winning company Implied Violence, Saint Genet has created disturbing, rigorous, and immersive performance experiments drawing on the tension between the sacred and the profane. For this show, titled Paradisiacal Rites, director/auteur Ryan Mitchell is joined by choreographer Jessie Smith and visual artists Casey Curran and NKO for a performance inspired by expensive art forms such as opera and ballet, as well as "all that is fueled by blood, booze, and bands."
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET
McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, 441-2424, pnb.org
Modern Masterpieces (March 15–24): A mixed bill of "repertory giants and a world premiere." Choreography by George Balanchine (Concerto Barocco), Ulysses Dove (Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven), Twyla Tharp (In the Upper Room), and a new piece set to Mozart by Paul Gibson.
Hansel and Gretel (March 17–23): An hour-long, family-friendly ballet by Bruce Wells, set to music by Oskar Nedbal, featuring former principal dancer Ariana Lallone.
Swan Lake (April 12–21): Tchaikovsky's classical ballet about a good swan and a bad swan, redesigned for McCaw Hall in 2003 with Kent Stowell's choreography. Staging by Francia Russell.
Director's Choice (May 31–June 9): A tribute to George Balanchine, this triple bill features a world premiere from contemporary ballet choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, the return of Agon, a 1957 avant-garde ballet by Francia Russell, and the last third of Balanchine's Jewels series, entitled Diamonds.
PARAMOUNT THEATER
911 Pine St, 682-1414, stgpresents.org
Chris Tucker (April 13): "You loan your friend money. You see them again, they don't say nothin' 'bout the money. 'Hi, how ya doin'? How's ya mama doin'?' Man, how's my money doin'?"
Black Watch (April 25–May 5): The National Theater of Scotland brings the acclaimed war drama, inspired by interviews playwright Gregory Burke conducted with soldiers of a Scottish regiment who served in Iraq.
Mythbusters: Behind the Myths (March 16): A live show starring the hosts of the Discovery series, Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage.
Flashdance: The Musical (April 16–21): "What a feeling!"
FELA! (May 28–June 2): The (mostly) true story of Fela Kuti, the Nigerian musician and activist who helped create Afrobeat, a blend of jazz, funk, and Yoruba music. His unusual living situation (he lived in an urban commune with 27 wives) and outspoken political critiques made him a target for the Nigerian military, which attacked and killed some of his family and bandmates. (During an attack on the commune, Kuti's mother was flung out of a window and killed.) Directed by Bill T. Jones, the musical mostly focuses on Kuti's sonic inventiveness and the generation of Africans he inspired.
SEATTLE OPERA
McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, 389-7676, seattleopera.org
La Bohème (Through March 10): Puccini's ever-popular opera about young love, young artists, and tuberculosis.
Voix Humaine and Suor Angelica (May 4–18): The premiere of two one-act operas by separate composers who explore the fates of disappointed women. In Poulenc's Voix Humane, a woman is dumped by her lover over the telephone; in Puccini's Suor Angelica, an aristocrat poisons herself after being shunned by her family.
SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATER
155 Mercer St, 443-2222, seattlerep.org
Good People (March 8–31): David Lindsay Abaire's social comedy about Margie, a "southie" from the tough side of Boston who reaches out to her high-school sweetheart (now turned successful doctor) in a moment of despair. With Ellen McLaughlin, Marianne Owen, Eric Riedmann, and others.
Boeing, Boeing (April 19–May 19): The 1960s bedroom farce about a swinging bachelor struggling to maintain his three stewardess girlfriends after a new, speedier Boeing jet throws off all his careful planning. Directed by Allison Narver.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 215-4747, seattlesymphony.org
An Evening with Eve Ensler (May 18): The author of The Vagina Monologues discusses her new book about cancer and "her ongoing commitment to protect the female body from violence."
SHOWTUNES BROADWAY
Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, showtunestheatre.org
Singin' in the Rain (May 11–12): Lina: "Oh Donny! You couldn't kiss me like that and not mean it just a teensy bit!" Don: "Meet the greatest actor in the world! I'd rather kiss a tarantula."
THE TRIPLE DOOR
216 Union St, 838-4333, tripledoor.net
KINGS: A Boylesque Extravaganza (March 27): An all-male burlesque night with dancing and comedy from international "boylesque" stars (Captain Kidd from Australia, Evil Hate Monkey from New York, and more) and Seattle's own Waxie Moon.
Through the Looking Glass: The Burlesque Alice in Wonderland (May 15–18): Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann (Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker) reimagine Lewis Carroll's classic—Alice wanders into Wonderland's most exclusive nightclub, the Looking Glass. Featuring Lily Verlaine, Miss Indigo Blue, Kitten LaRue, Waxie Moon, and others.
VILLAGE THEATER
303 Front St N, Issaquah, 425-392-2202, villagetheatre.org
Trails (March 14–April 21): Two childhood friends take on a 2,175-mile trek along the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine and find ghosts, long-kept secrets, and an increasingly difficult trail in this new musical developed by Village Theater.
Chicago (May 9–June 29): Kander and Ebb's Prohibition-era musical about merry murderesses and their lust for fame.
Smaller Theaters
ANNEX THEATER
1100 E Pike St, 728-0933, annextheatre.org
Team of Heroes 3: No More Heroes (April 26–May 25): The final installment in the superhero trilogy about "the underbelly of doing good," which Paul Constant has described as "a superhero movie made on a tiny theater budget."
Star Crossed, and other tales from a devious universe (April 26–May 25): Bite-size science fiction and fantasy—including the story of an astronaut in love—by Scotto Moore.
Weird and Awesome with Emmett Montgomery (April 7, May 5, June 2): A monthly collection of folks saying and doing things, oftentimes things outside their comfort zone—scientists telling jokes, comedians being earnest—curated by Seattle comedian and impresario Emmett Montgomery.
Spin the Bottle (April 5, May 3): On the first Friday of every month since 1997, Annex has hosted a cabaret of new stuff that people do in front of other people—music, comedy, dance, film, theater, cirque, burlesque, smut, paper-airplane-making demonstrations, and stuff you can't even imagine.
AROUET THEATER
Various venues, arouet.us
Hen Night Epiphany (March 21–April 6): The North American premiere of an Irish play by Jimmy Murphy about a "hen night" (a bachelorette party) in the countryside.
The Temperamentals (May 10–25): A 2009 play by Jon Marans about the founding of the real-life Mattachine Society—a pre-Stonewall, McCarthy-era gay rights organization.
ARTSWEST
4711 California Ave SW, 938-0963,
artswest.org
Next Fall (March 13–April 6): A near-fatal car accident brings religious differences to a head for a committed gay couple in this 2009 play by Geoffrey Nauffts. Directed by Cindy Bradder.
33 Variations (May 1–25): A Moises Kaufman creation about the parallel lives of (1) a modern-day musicologist dealing with motherhood and the progression of her Lou Gehrig's disease, and (2) Beethoven dealing with the progression of his deafness. Directed by Christopher Zinovitch.
BALAGAN THEATER
Erickson Theater Off Broadway, 1524 Harvard Ave, 329-1050, balagantheatre.org
Kill Shakespeare (March 7–8): A staged reading of the Kill Shakespeare comic-book series featuring Justin Huertas, Kate Jaeger, and Brian Lange.
Theater Anonymous (March 9): Thirty actors take an oath of secrecy and rehearse one-on-one with the director, sitting with the audience in street clothes until their cue line. Nobody knows the cast, not even the cast. The play is Once in a Lifetime, an early collaboration between Moss Hart and George Kaufman about vaudeville stars giving elocution lessons. Produced in conjunction with the folks who bring you 14/48: The World's Quickest Theater Festival.
August: Osage County (April 5–27): The Pulitzer Prize–winning drama by Tracy Letts about the Westons, a dysfunctional family reunited to discuss the mysterious disappearance of the patriarch and try to control the drugged-up, furious, and destructive matriarch. With a family this sprawling and fucked up, there's room for a playwright to touch all the bases—politics, race, class, incest, abuse, and so on. Directed by Shawn Belyea.
BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATER
Center House Theater, Seattle Center, 216-0833, book-it.org
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Uncensored) (April 16–May 12): Mark Twain's iconic story of an escaped slave and a troublesome teen—this adaptation is an uncensored look at Mark Twain's original 1885 manuscript. Directed by Jane Jones.
BOOST DANCE FESTIVAL
Erickson Theater Off Broadway, 1524 Harvard Ave, 329-1050, boostdancefestival.com
BOOST (March 22–24): The fourth annual edition of this growing dance festival features choreographers Elia Mriak, Anna Conner, Michele Miller, Maya Soto, and others.
CAFE NORDO
The Kitchen by Delicatus, 103 First Ave S, cafenordo.com
SMOKED! (May 2–June 16): A new show by the metatheatrical restaurateurs of Cafe Nordo, who first came onto the scene in 2009 with their fictional chef Nordo Lefesczki and his prix-fixe performance The Modern American Chicken. Their newest show, SMOKED!, has a spaghetti-western theme.
CAN CAN CABARET
94 Pike St, 652-0832 ext. 2, thecancan.com
Boom Boom L'Roux's Late Night Revue (March 6, April 3): A rotating set of local burlesque artists.
Can Can Castaways (ongoing): The Can Can's house dance company—which fuses modern dance with burlesque sexiness and high-octane charisma—has been a gateway drug to the dance world for years. Members of the Castaways also perform at On the Boards and more traditional dance venues.
The Heavenly Spies (ongoing): Another regular quasi-burlesque company at Can Can, the Heavenly Spies spice up their aesthetic with bhangra, trapeze, vaudeville, modern dance, and other stuff.
GHOST LIGHT THEATRICALS
Ballard Underground, 2220 NW Market St, 395-5458, ghostlighttheatricals.org
Paper Bullets (March 8–24): This modernization of Much Ado About Nothing places the dueling lovers in modern Hollywood and was the winner of the annual Battle of the Bards, in which short plays go head-to-head and the audience gets to vote on which gets a full production in Ghost Light's season. Directed by Emily Harvey.
The Hairy Ape (April 19–May 5): One of Eugene O'Neill's lesser-known plays, The Hairy Ape concerns a brutish laborer named Yank looking for his place in a rich, capitalist world.
MACHA MONKEY PRODUCTIONS
Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, machamonkey.org
Cliffhouse (March 8–30): A world-premiere suspense-thriller by Allison Gregory (Fall Off Night, Burning Bridget Cleary) in which three unwilling guests are forced into a resort-style getaway and have to investigate the true reasons they're getting "checked in." Featuring Vincent Delaney, Meaghan Halverson, Troy Lund, and Kristina Sutherland. Directed by Meghan Arnette.
MOISTURE FESTIVAL
Hale's Palladium (plus other venues), 4301 Leary Way NW, moisturefestival.com
Moisture Festival (March 21–April 14): The 10th anniversary of Seattle's vaudeville/varietè festival that has grown extra appendages over the years: a burlesque festival, silent-film events, benefit shows for local organizations, old-fashioned marathon shows with acts running from noon until midnight, and more. This year will feature Hacki Ginda, Dr. Patch Adams, Avner the Eccentric, Inga Ingenue, and many others.
NEW CENTURY THEATER COMPANY
Solo Bar, 200 Roy St, wearenctc.org
The Trial (April 5–28): Franz Kafka's novel about a man who's been arrested for reasons only known by an unreachable and all-controlling power. This world-premiere adaptation, by Kenneth Alber, features Darragh Kennan, Michael Patten, Amy Thone, and others. Directed by John Langs.
NEW CITY THEATER
1404 18th Ave, 271-4430, newcitytheater.org
Dance on Film (March 9–30): A different program each Saturday night—see newcitytheater.org for details.
Homebody (April 5–May 4): Tony Kushner originally wrote Homebody as a solo for British actress Kika Markham, then extended it to the full-length Homebody/Kabul. Mary Ewald, directed by John Kazanjian, will perform the original solo play.
NORTHWEST FILM FORUM
1515 12th Ave, 829-7863, nwfilmforum.org
L'Autre Tour: Paris at Night (April 18–20): Luc Sante ("acclaimed writer and archaeologist of New York's seedy Lower East Side") explores the underbelly of Paris through films circa 1930–1950.
We Are All Failing Them (May 16–18): A music/film collaboration between composer Robin Holcomb and filmmakers Britta Johnson and Curtis Taylor that explores "the lure of the West" and the destruction of the Donner Party—the infamous group of emigrants who were trapped with inadequate food supply in the Sierra Nevadas.
RE-BAR
1114 Howell St, 233-9873, rebarseattle.com
Monsters, Merkins, and Mayhem (March 9): An evening of burlesque and belly dancing featuring Violet DeVille, Seraphina Fiero, Whisper de Corvo, and others.
Brown Derby Series (March 21–23, May 23–25): Producer/director/impresario Ian Bell wrangles a whole new season of barroom theater, with actors hilariously butchering famous Hollywood screenplays. The theme this time is "sink or swim." They'll mess with The Little Mermaid, and perhaps Titanic and/or Jaws. See brownderbyseries.org for upcoming details.
Dina Martina's Spring Show! (April 5–May 5): Grady West, the most recent winner of the Stranger Genius Award for performance, dredges up some new psycho-drag comedy from the odd corner of the id where pop culture and performance art collide. Born in the bowels of the Seattle's fringe performance scene, Dina has gone on to national and international stages. If you're not already familiar with the gloriously clueless and deranged chanteuse known as Dina Martina, you're missing a major chunk of Seattle culture.
SAINT GENET
Jensen Studios, 1424 10th Ave, saintgenet.org
Sorrows: Music from Transports of Delirium (March 17): Saint Genet and Trench Art records present a performance and cassette release party, featuring music from Saint Genet's Transports of Delirium, a four-part dramaturgical investigation conducted at the Lawrimore Project last year.
Paradisiacal Rites (May 16-19): See entry under On the Boards.
SATORI GROUP
Inscape Arts, 815 Seattle Blvd S, satori-group.com
reWilding (Through March 17): A world premiere collaboration between Martyna Majok and the rigorous young theater ensemble Satori Group, which specializes in building new works and immersive environments for audiences. As of this writing, reWilding is still nascent but has something to do with human drama—comedy, tragedy, romance—in a primitivist-anarchist community in an unnamed forest. (See review, page 13.)
SEATTLE CHILDREN'S THEATER
201 Thomas St, 441-3322, sct.org
The Edge of Peace (Through March 17): Set at the end of World War II in a small Illinois town, the story centers around Buddy, the younger brother of a soldier at war, and Tuc, a deaf man with a shifting relationship to the town. Starring Todd Jefferson Moore, Suzanne Bouchard, Franchelle Stewart Dorn, Nate Kelderman, and others. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Adventures with Spot (March 21–May 5): Eric Hill's picture books about the adventures of an enthusiastic puppy was adapted for the stage by Rob Burgess, Don Darryl Rivera, and artistic director Linda Hartzell. Recommended for ages 2 through 7.
Crash (April 18–May 19): An adaptation of Jerry Spinelli's novel about a football bully who secretly pines for his dorky neighbor's life. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
SEATTLE MUSICAL THEATER
Magnuson Park Community Center Building, 7120 62nd Ave NE, 363-2809, seattlemusicaltheatre.org
Altar Boyz (Through March 10): Satirical musical comedy about a Christian boy band.
Gypsy (April 26–May 19): The classic by Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, and Stephen Sondheim about a burlesque dancer and the ur–stage mother.
SEATTLE PUBLIC THEATER
Bathhouse Theater, 7312 W Green Lake Dr N, 524-1300, seattlepublictheater.org
Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (March 2–April 21): Two teenage Filipino siblings are abandoned by their father and forced to confront an adult world, while the brother develops feelings for his classmate Benji. Written by A. Rey Pamatmat, directed by David Gassner.
The Language Archive (May 16–June 9): Twin stories by Julia Cho about love and language, in which a linguist can't talk his way out of divorce and an indigenous tongue is threatened with extinction due to a lover's spat. Directed by Shana Bestock.
SEATTLE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
Center House Theater, Seattle Center, 733-8222, seattleshakespeare.org
Love's Labour's Lost (March 13–April 7): A king and his scholarly buddies swear off women for higher academic pursuits—that lasts about 10 minutes after the princess of France arrives with her ladies on a diplomatic mission. Directed by Jon Kretzu.
The Taming of the Shrew (April 25–May 12): A revival of the 2009 trailer-park production, including the return of Kelly Kitchens as Kate and David Quicksall as Petruchio. Directed by Aimée Bruneau.
SPECTRUM DANCE THEATER
800 Lake Washington Blvd, 325-4161, spectrumdance.org
A Cruel New World/the new normal (April 11–13): A 10-year anniversary performance of artistic director Donald Byrd's first Spectrum creation, a rumination on the post–9/11 American landscape. (See interview, page 5.)
STONE SOUP THEATER
DownStage Theater, 4029 Stone Way N, 633-1883, stonesouptheatre.org
5X Tenn (or so) (Through March 9): Six rare one-acts by Tennessee Williams, published after his death, including Chalky White Substance (about a postapocalyptic dystopia) and Kingdom of Earth (about a flooded New Orleans).
TAPROOT THEATER
204 N 85th St, 781-9707, taproottheatre.org
The Whipping Man (March 27–April 27): Matthew Lopez's award-winning post–Civil War drama about a Jewish Confederate soldier who returns—badly injured—to his ruined home, now occupied by former slaves.
Bach at Leipzig (May 17–June 15): German organists play dirty as they vie for the role of musical director after the latest one drops dead. Itamar Moses wrote this farcical version of true events in 1772 Leipzig.
TEATRO ZINZANNI
222 Mercer St, 802-0015, dreams.zinzanni.org
Dinner at Wotan's (Through May 12): Nordic gods celebrate the end of the world with cirque, dinner, and "a hybrid of the classical sounds of Wagner's The Ring and big, epic rock sounds, like Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'" Directed by ZinZanni founder Norm Langill.
St. Patty's Late Night (March 16): A variety show featuring comedy duo Dos Fallopia, burlesque from Lily Verlaine, aerialist Vivian Tam, trapeze artist Sara Sparrow, Inga Ingenue from Atomic Bombshells, clowning from Della Moustachella, and the Seattle Irish Dance Company.
THEATER SCHMEATER
1500 Summit Ave, 324-5801, schmeater.org
The Gingerbread House (March 22–April 20): Money-minded parents consider selling their children in this gallows comedy by Mark Schultz.
The Twilight Zone: Live! (May 17–June 15): The annual round of three live episodes from the sci-fi thriller TV series steeped in Cold War paranoia, space invaders, and tyrannical societies. Directed by Tim Moore.
THEATER OFF JACKSON
409 Seventh Ave S, 340-1049, theatreoffjackson.org
SPF VII (Through March 23): Each year, the Solo Performance Festival (SPF) brings some new gem, usually a thrilling performer we didn't know existed or a great, unexpected direction from a performer we thought we knew. The seventh annual SPF brings another round of promising shows, including Hippiecrit: I Want to Change the World, I Just Don't Feel Like It by Bhama Roget, and I Can Hear You but I'm Not Listening by comedian/storyteller Jennifer Jasper. Other shows include Wanted by Tina Vernon (directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton), Peggy Platt/Mama Tits in 2x2: A Duplex Comedy, and Lisa Koch in Show Me the Way to Go Home.
Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam, Volume V: Collaboration (March 10): New adult short-form puppetry from around the country.
The Final Tribunal into the Mysterious Death of Mister Señor Salvador Dali (April 11–May 4): A new creation from Pony World Theater (who most recently performed Suffering, Inc., a contemporary office comedy stitched together from fragments of Chekhov) that follows a bureaucrat's investigation into the death of the eccentric surrealist painter.
UNEXPECTED PRODUCTIONS
1428 Post Alley, 587-2414, unexpectedproductions.org
Impromptu: An Improv with Music (Through March 30): An improvised jam session melding music and scenes.
Blank Slate (Through March 14): Improv where the audience creates the play.
Black-Eyed Blonde (March 21–May 2): Film noir–themed improv.
Pretty Wonderful Club (April 5–27): Improv inspired by Brat Pack teen movies of the '80s.
TheatreSports (Fri–Sat): An improv institution.
UW SCHOOL OF DRAMA
University of Washington Campus, 543-4880, depts.washington.edu/uwdrama
Once Upon a Time 6X in the West (April 17–28): A world premiere in six sections that riff on iconic Western movies.
One Act Plays by Tennessee Williams (May 29–June 9): Plays to be announced.
VELOCITY DANCE CENTER
1621 12th Ave, 325-8773, velocitydancecenter.org
Version Excursion Dance Company (March 15–16): Original contemporary dance from Erin Boyt (who will perform pieces inspired by the music of Paul Simon), Ingrid Porte, Ann MacLean, and others.
The Rite of Spring (April 5): This year, Velocity's annual bash takes its theme from the 100th anniversary of Ninjinsky's "crime against grace." Performances by Mark Haim and Beau Van Kirk, an auction, and honorary party chairpersons Saint Genet, Kate Wallich + the YC, and zoe | juniper.
SCUBA 2013 (April 26–28): SCUBA is an annual exchange program that provides touring opportunities and support for companies in different cities. This year features new work by the Maureen Whiting Dance Company (Seattle), the Real Shannon Stewart (Seattle), and the Green Chair Dance Group (Philadelphia).
Life + Art: Living with the Mentally Ill (April 14): A speakeasy conversation with choreographer and dancer Ezra Dickinson (Spectrum, the Offshore Project, Maureen Whiting Dance Company) about caring for his schizophrenic mother and his upcoming performance in May. (See interview, page 5.)
Ezra Dickinson (May 6–19): Part performance and part activism, Dickinson's Mother for you I made this is a guided tour through the performer's complicated relationship with his schizophrenic mother and America's failed mental-health-care system.
Full Tilt 2013 (May 10–11): New work by artists TBA.
Maya Soto (May 18–19): Gathering Bones, by choreographer Maya Soto, is "a performance event exploring myths and stories of powerful and wild women."
WASHINGTON ENSEMBLE THEATER
608 19th Ave E, washingtonensemble.org
Smudge (March 29–April 22): A gallows comedy by Rachel Axler (The Daily Show, Parks and Recreation) in which a loving couple is expecting a baby, but instead get a limbless, one-eyed "smudge." Directed by Erin Kraft.
Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys (May 31–June 24): Brandy is a popular birthday-party clown who can't seem to get it together, with complications like teenage boyfriends, binge drinking, and a demon living under her bed. This part puppet/part clown fantasy stars Hannah Victoria Franklin and is directed by Jane Nichols (Yale School of drama, professor of clown and physical comedy).
WEST OF LENIN
203 N 36th St, 352-1777, westoflenin.com
"Master Harold"... and the boys (March 27–April 21): Athol Fugard's reflection on 1950s apartheid in South Africa follows a 17-year-old white boy and two black servants. Directed by Burke Walker (founding artistic director, Empty Space).
WING-IT PRODUCTIONS
5510 University Way NE, wingitpresents.com
The Adventures of Gilbert and Sullivan (Through March 22, April 4–19): Musical comedy with an improvised libretto based on audience suggestions.
Twisted Flicks (April 25–27): Old movies with live commentary.
World's Fair (May 22–24): Improv inspired by the true story of a serial killer at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Jet City Improv (Fri and Sat, ongoing): Another improv institution.
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