Culture Fiend

Seattle Rep’s 50th Season Includes War Horse, Pullman Porter Blues

Theatre’s 2012–13 lineup also includes plays by Tennessee Williams and David Mamet.

Posted by: Seth Sommerfeld on Apr 02, 2012 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

The Tony-winning War Horse makes a tour stop as part of Seattle Rep’s 2012-13 season.

If 50 is old, Seattle Repertory Theatre isn’t showing its age. The upcoming 2012–13 season will be Seattle Rep’s 50th, and to make sure it’s a celebration worth noting, the theatre has announced a wide-ranging lineup. Not only does the season feature works by theatrical institutions David Mamet and Tennessee Williams and the previously announced touring production of War Horse, but the season kicks off with the world premiere of Pullman Porter Blues by Seattle’s own Cheryl L. West (Before It Hits Home).

Here’s the full lineup, which begins in September.

Pullman Porter Blues
Sept 27–Oct 28
By Cheryl L. West
Midwest blues tunes played by a live band lay the backdrop for the story about three generations of African American porters on a train headed from Chicago to New Orleans one night in 1937.

The Glass Menagerie
Oct 19–Dec 21
By Tennessee Williams
Originally slated for the 2011–12 season before postponement, this classic American drama explores an aging Southern belle who longs for her youth and wants to provide her children with the comforts she once had.

Inspecting Carol
Nov 23–Dec 23
By Daniel Sullivan and the Seattle Repertory Theatre Resident Company
This comedy about a haphazard production of A Christmas Carol by a hapless theater troupe returns for its fourth staging at Seattle Rep since 1991.

American Buffalo
Jan 11–Feb 3, 2013
By David Mamet
Wilson Milam, who directed Seattle Rep’s 2010 production of Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross, directs this story about three men planning to steal valuable coin and the problems that arise.

Photograph 51
Feb 1–Mar 3, 2013
By Anna Ziegler
Ziegler explores the struggles of a woman in the male-dominated scientific field in this biographical play about Rosalind Franklin, who helped discover the double helix mechanism of DNA.

War Horse
Feb 13–24, 2013
Based on the book “War Horse” by Michael Morpurgo, adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford
in association with Handspring Puppet Company
The touring production of 2011’s Tony Winner for Best Play (which spawned the Oscar-nominated Spielberg film), comes to the Paramount Theatre as a joint presentation by Seattle Rep and Seattle Theatre Group. Dazzling puppetry brings to life this tale of a boy and his horse on the Western Front.

Good People
Mar 8–31, 2013
By David Lindsay-Abaire
Class distinctions are at the core of this Tony-nominated play about a struggling single mother who reconnects with an wealthy ex-boyfriend.

Boeing-Boeing
Apr 19–May 19, 2013
By Marc Camoletti, adapted by Beverley Cross
Set in the 1960s, this French farce finds a bachelor, who carefully juggles three stewardess fiancees, in hot water when a faster Boeing jet changes the women’s work schedules and all three show up at the same time.

Seattle Rep season tickets ($98–$472) are now on sale at seattlerep.org.

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Tags: Seattle Repertory Theatre, Theater, Season Announcement

The Book of Mormon, War Horse Coming to the Paramount

Be still our Trey Parker-lovin’ hearts.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Mar 13, 2012 at 01:30PM 2 Comments

The Book of Mormon: funnier than the actual Book of Mormon.

Mormon missionaries are hitting the road, and it’s not to stump for Mitt Romney. Seattle will be the lucky host to The Book of Mormon—the foul-mouthed, warm-hearted musical by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone—when it embarks on its first national tour this winter. After winning nine Tony Awards in 2011, including best musical, BoM became the biggest thing on Broadway since The Producers. I tried to buy tickets for my family this past Christmas, and the best I could do was a show in January… 2013. Ironically, opening night at the Paramount Theatre is January 8, 2013.

On the whole, the 2012-2013 Broadway-in-Seattle season is the most exciting it’s been in years; subscriber tickets are currently on sale, with single tickets available at a later date.

Wicked
Oct 10–Nov 17, 2012
Still one of my favorites. The witches of Oz return after a hugely successful Seattle run in 2009. As Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) will likely tell you, it’s not easy being green—but it’s profitable.

The Book of Mormon
Jan 8–20, 2013
From the twisted minds of the makers of South Park and Avenue Q, the year’s best musical (about Mormon missionaries in Africa) is going to sell out in seconds, so keep an eye on this blog for ticket announcements. See the comment section below for an update.

War Horse
Feb 13–24, 2013
Seattle Repertory Theatre teamed up with Seattle Theatre Group to bring the Tony-winning play—complete with its original, masterful puppetry—to the Paramount for its Seattle premiere. The story of a boy and his horse on the Western Front is based on the same children’s book as Spielberg’s recent blockbuster.

Flashdance
Apr 16–21, 2013
What to expect from this musical remake of the 1980s film: Spandex. “Maniac.” 16 new songs. A girl with a dream (to leave her day job as a welder in Pittsburgh to be a ballerina). More spandex.

Fela!
May 28–June 2, 2013
This pulsating, gyrating musical by Bill T. Jones explores the life of Fela Kuti, the Nigerian bandleader and rebel who gave birth to funk-jazz hybrid Afrobeat. Two words: dance party.

Sister Act: The Musical
Aug 20–25, 2013
Fans of Whoopi Goldberg’s ‘90s movie Sister Act will recognize the story in this adaptation, about a sassy showgirl hiding out from hit men in a convent, but the music by Alan Menken is brand new. It’s irreverent, to be sure, but more importantly, it’s a glitzy, disco-fied tribute to the ‘70s, complete with sequined nun habits.

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Tags: Paramount Theatre, Broadway, Theater, Season Announcement

Rothko Play Red Coming to Seattle Rep

Theater’s 2011–12 season also includes a new Bill Cain play and Glass Menagerie.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Apr 11, 2011 at 01:30PM 1 Comments

Lorenzo Pisoni spent part of his childhood inside a trunk. Seriously.

Last year’s big draw on Broadway (that didn’t involve Jerry Lee Lewis or Scarlett Johansson) was Tony-winning bio-drama Red, about abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko (Alfred Molina) and his protege, Ken (Eddie Redmayne). You’ll never call Rothko’s paintings “blocks of red” again after you hear Molina scream: "You mean scarlet? You mean crimson? You mean plum-mulberry-magenta-burgundy-salmon-carmine-carnelian-coral? Anything but ‘red’! What is ‘red’?!”

Seattle Repertory Theatre takes a stab at defining Red in its 2011–2012 season, with a local production of the Broadway hit. Here’s the full lineup for the upcoming season, which starts in September with…

Humor Abuse
Sept 30–Oct 23
By Lorenzo Pisoni and Erica Schmidt
A warmhearted solo show about the less-than-average childhood of Lorenzo Pisoni: son of a professional clown who went on to join Cirque du Soleil and play the horse in Broadway’s Equus.

The Glass Menagerie
Oct 21–Nov 20
By Tennessee Williams
A “daring and innovative take” on the classic American drama. No word yet on what that means, but I’m hoping it’s along the lines of Chris Durang’s parody For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, with a young Lawrence fawning over his collection of glass cocktail stirrers.

Sylvia
Nov 11–Dec 11
By A.R. Gurney
A Seattle Rep subscriber favorite about empty nesters Greg and Kate and a “street-smart” labradoodle who noses his way into their life. The play’s been called critic-proof since it’s so excruciatingly lovable.

How to Write a New Book for the Bible
Jan 13–Feb 5, 2012
By Bill Cain
Bill Cain, the man behind last year’s Shakespeare hit Equivocation, crafts a new play about coming home to care for his dying mother.

Circle Mirror Transformation
Feb 3–Mar 4, 2012
By Annie Baker
In this comedy by rising playwright Annie Baker, a motley crew—a divorced carpenter, a former actress, a hippie husband and a high school junior—joins a small-town “Adult Creative Drama” class, and learns plenty about life and being a tree.

Red
Feb 24–Mar 18, 2012
By John Logan
A local production of the 2010 Tony winner for best play (see above).

Or
Mar 23–Apr 22, 2012
By Liz Duffy Adams
Jerry Manning directs this Restoration-era farce about England’s first female professional playwright…who’s also a spy. Expect plenty of cross-dressing.

Clybourne Park
Apr 20–May 13, 2011
By Bruce Norris
Norris borrows from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun for this un-p.c. satire on the gentrification of a Chicago neighborhood. It’s this season’s buzz-worthy comedy.

Seattle Rep season tickets ($78–$437) are now on sale at seattlerep.org.

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Tags: Seattle Repertory Theatre, Theater, Season Announcement

Broadway in Seattle: Million Dollar Quartet, American Idiot Top 2011 Season

And some blue guys are headed our way.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Mar 17, 2011 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

There’s a whole lotta shakin’ going on Million Dollar Quartet returns to the Seattle area.

Broadway Across America just announced its upcoming 2011–2012 season, and the lineup looks strangely familiar. Compare it to the 2010 season: There’s a Disney show (Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast), a rock musical to tempt theatergoers under 40 (Rock of Ages, American Idiot), a revival (Hair, West Side Story), a Tony winner (Billy Elliot, Million Dollar Quartet), and a Cats, aka the show that will never die (Riverdance, Blue Man Group). Not that I’m complaining— I like to feel secure in my Broadway options.

Here’s the 2011–2012 season:

Blue Man Group
Oct 7–16, 2011

Saw this show when it first opened off-Broadway in 1991. Bald men painted blue spit marshmallows at the front row, shot rolls of toilet paper across the theater, and drummed infectious tribal beats. Ponchos were provided for people in the first few rows. (I mentioned the marshmallows, right?)

West Side Story
Jan 10–15, 2012

Can’t go wrong with the Bernstein and Sondheim score—the new cast won a 2010 Grammy for best musical show album. I like to be in America….

Beauty and the Beast
Feb 21–26, 2012

You tell people you’re going to this show “for the kids,” but really, you have a thing for big dance numbers and a certain suave French candlestick named Lumiere.

Mamma Mia!
Mar 20–25, 2012

This ABBA fest attracts the nostalgic thirtysomethings who know, just know, that “Dancing Queen” was written for them. It’s a campy jukebox musical that’s the guiltiest of pleasures.

Million Dollar Quartet
May 15–20, 2012

Issaquah’s Village Theatre hosted an early version of this musical—about the 1956 rock supergroup Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins and their legendary recording session at Sun Records—in 2007. Levi Kreis (as Lewis) went on to win the Tony for best featured actor in a musical. Village Theatre knows how to pick ’em.

American Idiot
June 5–10, 2012

Before Spider-Man was swinging around Broadway, the edgiest new musical was Green Day-penned American Idiot, a rock opera about three twentysomething’s suburban malaise. But honestly, the story doesn’t matter. You go for the faux Green Day concert.

Single tickets are not on sale yet for the 2011–2012 season, but current season ticket holders can renew by calling 888-451-4042 or going to broadwayacrossamerica.com/seattle.

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Tags: Broadway, Ticket Alerts, Season Announcement

Intiman Announces 2011 Season

Arthur Miller, a comedy about adoption, and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow all make the cut.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Oct 12, 2010 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Disney, Christopher Walken, and Intiman Theatre all have a thing for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

After a debut season that included a world premiere questioning faith, a slap-happy Molière comedy, and a Pulitzer-winning drama about a brothel in the Congo, Intiman’s artistic director Kate Whoriskey picked up the nickname ‘risky Whoriskey’ from City Arts magazine’s Tim Appelo—a term of endearment now, considering how well those shows have done. She’s planned an equally diverse lineup for her sophomore season: one that includes the theater’s first-ever Arthur Miller production, a world premiere about adoption, and a remake of Washington Irving’s classic Sleepy Hollow legend, to keep the American cycle kicking.

Upcoming season

All My Sons
Written by Arthur Miller, directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton
Miller’s Tony-winning drama (and first commercial success) tells the story of a Midwest family consumed by greed, guilt, and rumors of treason in the aftermath of World War II. Valerie Curtis-Newton, artistic director of the Hansberry Project at ACT, directs.

The Call
Written by Tanya Barfield, directed by Andrew Russell
Intiman associate producer Andrew Russell (The Thin Place) tackles another world premiere—Barfield’s saga about international adoption, which, according to the press release, asks, “what would it really mean to be responsible for a child from another culture?”

The Playboy of the Western World
Written by J. M. Synge, directed by Kate Whoriskey
A man walks into a bar…no, really, he does. “And seduces the spirited barmaid, and the entire town, with his storytelling” in Irish playwright J.M. Synge’s self-proclaimed “extravagant comedy.” Kate Whoriskey directs and Daniel Breaker (Intiman’s A Doctor in Spite of Himself and a Tony nominee for Passing Strange) stars.

The Piano Teacher
Written by Julia Cho, director TBA
Whoriskey staged this drama—about a beloved retired piano teacher with a dark past—to acclaim in California and Off-Broadway. A director will be announced at a later date.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
By Washington Irving; new adaptation by Chloe Moss, directed by Anne Kauffman
Chloe Moss is already a big deal in her native UK, but only recently made her American debut (in 2009, about the same time she won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for her play This Wide Night). Intiman closes its season with her adaptation of Irving’s headless horseman tale. Updated: This has been replaced by Colman Domingo’s solo show A Boy and His Soul.

Tickets will be available at intiman.org or by calling 206-269-1900.

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Tags: Theater, Season Announcement

Village Theatre Debuts Two New Musicals in 2010-2011

Lineup includes male strippers and a musical “commie-dy.”

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Mar 03, 2010 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Back in the USSR: Comedy Iron Curtain makes its local debut at Village Theatre in 2011. Photo courtesy Lauren Hartman.

NEWS. Village Theatre takes on two new productions in its 2010-2011 season: one based on classic children’s story Anne of Green Gables and the other a musical “commie-dy,” Iron Curtain. Things are getting cheeky over in Issaquah.

The Full Monty
Though the shock of the bare-it-all finale has faded since the movie first came out in 1997, the musical still gets laughs as six unemployed steelworkers plot to strip to get out of debt. Issaquah: Sep 15-Oct 24; Everett: Oct 26-Nov 21.

Anne of Green Gables
Co-composers Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman adapted the 1908 children’s novel about a spunky orphan girl for the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati in 2000. It previewed to standing O’s at last summer’s Village Theatre new musical festival, and returns this year for its local debut. Issaquah: Nov 10-Jan 2, 2011; Everett: Jan 7-30.

Sleuth
Actor Michael Caine enjoyed this caper so much, he starred in the original film in 1972 and the 2007 remake. But it all started with Anthony Shaffer’s Tony-winning play about a mystery novelist who convinces his wife’s lover to come to his estate, where a twisted cat-and-mouse game ensues. Issaquah: Jan 19-Feb 27, 2011; Everett: Mar 4-27.

Iron Curtain
The Soviets decide they want to write a Broadway musical—so they kidnap two New York playwrights and force them to pen it. It’s a comedy! And even better: It’s inspired by actual events. (The Soviet Union wrote propaganda musicals in the 1950s to compete with Broadway.) The show previewed as part of Village Originals in 2007, and now makes its local debut. Issaquah: Mar 16-Apr 24, 2011; Everett: Apr 29-May 22.

Jesus Christ Superstar
It’s been 18 years since JCS last played Issaquah, and Judas is mad. The rock-musical returns with the original score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Issaquah: May 11-July 3, 2011; Everett: July 8-31.

Tickets are available at VillageTheatre.org.

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Tags: Theater, Season Announcement, Village Theatre