Seattle Spotlight: October 2010
Seattle Repertory Theatre goes for two prize-winning comedies with the 2009 Tony Award winner for Best Play, God of Carnage by Yazmina Reza (October 1-24), about two couples squabbling over a playground and the 1994 Pulitzer Prize winner Three Tall Women by Edward Albee (October 22-November 28) starring Megan Cole, Suzanne Bouchard, and Alexandra Tavares.
ACT presents a comedy from Oscar winner Martin McDonagh, The Lieutenant of Inishmore (October 15-November 14) about a merciless Irish terrorist and his obsessive love for his precious black cat, Wee Thomas. ACT also brings back the acclaimed series, Pinter Fortnightly (October 4 and 11), with the first evening featuring The Hothouse, one of Pinter’s most unambiguous and often hilarious creations, while the second evening spotlights J.T. Rogers’ Madagascar, the winner of the Pinter Review Prize for Drama.
Intiman opens a new adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter by Naomi Iizuka (October 22-December 5), where Hester Prynne’s forbidden love affair leads to her wearing a scarlet “A.” Seattle Public Theater debuts Theresa Rebeck’s suspenseful thriller, Mauritius (October 1-31). In it, half-sisters Jackie and Mary inherit a rare stamp collection, but it’s not so clear which sister actually owns the stamps, nor which of three dealers can be trusted with their sale.
Unexpected Productions eats up Cannibal the Musical! (October 1-31) by Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park. This is the all singing, all dancing, all flesh eating true story of the only person convicted of cannibalism in America – Alfred Packer. Meanwhile, Evil Dead: The Musical comes alive at ArtsWest (October 20-November 13). Another potential Halloween-flavored treat is Hearts Are Monsters by local playwright Kelleen Conway Blanchard, which receives its world premier from Macha Monkey (at the Jewelbox Theatre, October 28-November 20). In it, 16-year-old Marcy is a genius with a misshapen head and a love of mole rats, who has a pretty twin sister, a drunk and lonely mother, and a ghost Daddy who seeks justice.
Annex Theatre offers another world premiere: Money Changes Everything by local playwright Rachel Atkins (October 22-November 20) based on the actual events of three trailer park dwellers from North Carolina who stole $17.5 million dollars from a Loomis Fargo warehouse. Washington Ensemble Theatre world premieres Sextet (October 7-November 15), by Tommy Smith, as three love triangles reveal a symphony of seduction and betrayal.
Richard Hugo House is hosting The Actors Theater of Orcas Island presenting Brilliant Traces by Cindy Lou Johnson (October 21-November 7), starring Seattle’s former Police Chief Norm Stamper in the role of Henry Harry. Pick-Up Artist: The Musical opens at Washington Hall (October 15-30), asking what it means to be man and what it means to be woman in today’s American society. Seattle Playwrights Collective presents their Page to Stage Showcase (October 15-24), an evening of short plays by eight leading Seattle playwrights.
Phoenix Theatre teaches The Complete History of America, Abridged (October 22-November 14). SecondStory Repertory spooks with Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, starring Shanna Allman and Corey McDaniel (October 1-23). Seattle Shakespeare Company beckons Shakespeare’s Hamlet, directed by John Langs (October 27-December 5). Stone Soup Theatre reveals Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound and The Boundary (October 28-November 21).
Seattle Children’s Theatre sends in the clown with Morgan’s Journey (October 21-November 14), performed by creator Robert Morgan, founding artistic director of Children’s Peace Theatre, on a journey of self-discovery. Share in the delight of his birthday and meeting Herkimer, Morgan’s sock puppet friend, and learn a lesson about love and the true meaning of friendship. Tacoma Children’s Musical Theatre hops along with A Year With Frog and Toad (October 23-31) with two great friends, the cheerful and popular Frog and the rather grumpy Toad, through four fun-filled seasons. Studio East sweetly presents Willy Wonka (October 15-30), Roald Dahl’s timeless story of the world famous candy man and his quest to find an heir.
