Stage

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Monday, September 8, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Monday, September 8, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Monday, September 8, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See website for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Monday, September 8, 2014

The Language of This World A staged reading of Caitlin Coey’s new play exploring family reunions and secrets.  West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 Free w/admission ($4-$6) Monday, September 8, 2014, 7pm

Sandbox Radio LIVE! New work in a radio-theater format. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $15-$20 Monday, September 8, 2014, 8pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Tuesday, September 9, 2014

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Wednesday, September 10, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 7:30pm

Flipside Comedy Show Stand-up every Wednesday at this bastion of old-school Seattle charm. 13 Coins, 125 Boren Ave. N., Seattle See website Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 8pm

Duos Comedy Showcase Unexpected Productions presents comedians two at a time. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $5 Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 8:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Thursday, September 11, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Thursday, September 11, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Thursday, September 11, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Thursday, September 11, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Thursday, September 11, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Thursday, September 11, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Thursday, September 11, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Thursday, September 11, 2014

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Thursday, September 11, 2014, 7:30pm

Black Comedy Peter Shaffer’s one-act is literally titled: it’s set during a power outage. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 20. Erickson Theatre, 1524 Harvard Ave $18-$36 Thursday, September 11, 2014, 8pm

The Rite of Mars Aleister Crowley’s magickal theatrical ritual reimagined as rock opera. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 13. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $15-$20 Thursday, September 11, 2014, 8pm

Improv Anonymous: The Harold A narrative improv format created by legendary improv teacher Del Close.  Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $7 Thursday, September 11, 2014, 8:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Friday, September 12, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Friday, September 12, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Friday, September 12, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Friday, September 12, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Friday, September 12, 2014

Death and the Maiden In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $14 Friday, September 12, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Friday, September 12, 2014

Other Desert Cities In Jon Robin Baitz’s play, secrets are revealed among a powerful family. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 14. Eclectic Theater, 1214 10th Ave., Seattle $18 Friday, September 12, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, September 12, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Friday, September 12, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Friday, September 12, 2014

PROK Open Mike Sign up for this generally zany and enjoyable evening, when professionals are also known to drop by.  The People’s Republic Kafe, 1718 12th Ave., Seattle Free Friday, September 12, 2014, 6:30pm

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Friday, September 12, 2014, 7:30pm

Black Comedy Peter Shaffer’s one-act is literally titled: it’s set during a power outage. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 20. Erickson Theatre, 1524 Harvard Ave $18-$36 Friday, September 12, 2014, 8pm

The Rite of Mars Aleister Crowley’s magickal theatrical ritual reimagined as rock opera. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 13. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $15-$20 Friday, September 12, 2014, 8pm

Searching for the Super Scene Fast-paced improv from Unexpected Productions. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Friday, September 12, 2014, 8:30pm

House of Ink In this improvised murder mystery, authors get bumped off one by one. 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Oct. 4. $5-$7 Friday, September 12, 2014, 10pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Friday, September 12, 2014, 10:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Saturday, September 13, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Saturday, September 13, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Saturday, September 13, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Saturday, September 13, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Saturday, September 13, 2014

Death and the Maiden In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $14 Saturday, September 13, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Saturday, September 13, 2014

Other Desert Cities In Jon Robin Baitz’s play, secrets are revealed among a powerful family. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 14. Eclectic Theater, 1214 10th Ave., Seattle $18 Saturday, September 13, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Saturday, September 13, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See website for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Saturday, September 13, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Saturday, September 13, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Saturday, September 13, 2014

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Saturday, September 13, 2014, 7:30pm

Black Comedy Peter Shaffer’s one-act is literally titled: it’s set during a power outage. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 20. Erickson Theatre, 1524 Harvard Ave $18-$36 Saturday, September 13, 2014, 8pm

The Rite of Mars Aleister Crowley’s magickal theatrical ritual reimagined as rock opera. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 13. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $15-$20 Saturday, September 13, 2014, 8pm

Searching for the Super Scene Fast-paced improv from Unexpected Productions. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Saturday, September 13, 2014, 8:30pm

House of Ink In this improvised murder mystery, authors get bumped off one by one. 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Oct. 4. $5-$7 Saturday, September 13, 2014, 10pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Saturday, September 13, 2014, 10:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Sunday, September 14, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Sunday, September 14, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Sunday, September 14, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Sunday, September 14, 2014

Death and the Maiden In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $14 Sunday, September 14, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Sunday, September 14, 2014

Other Desert Cities In Jon Robin Baitz’s play, secrets are revealed among a powerful family. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 14. Eclectic Theater, 1214 10th Ave., Seattle $18 Sunday, September 14, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Sunday, September 14, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See website for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Sunday, September 14, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Sunday, September 14, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Sunday, September 14, 2014

Wicked Wiz of Oz A 45-minute mashup of your favorite Oz musicals, part of the “Mimosas With Mama” drag brunch. Narwhal, 1118 E. Pike St., Seattle $15-$20 Sunday, September 14, 2014, 1:30pm

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Sunday, September 14, 2014, 7:30pm

Piggyback Stand-up and improv unite. 8:30 p.m. Sun.  Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $10 Sunday, September 14, 2014, 8:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Monday, September 15, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Monday, September 15, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Monday, September 15, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See website for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Monday, September 15, 2014

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Tuesday, September 16, 2014

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Wednesday, September 17, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Family Affair Jennifer Jasper’s “sick, hilarious, and ultimately relatable” monthly cabaret on the theme of family. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $10 Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 7:30pm

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 7:30pm

Flipside Comedy Show Stand-up every Wednesday at this bastion of old-school Seattle charm. 13 Coins, 125 Boren Ave. N., Seattle See website Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 8pm

Duos Comedy Showcase Unexpected Productions presents comedians two at a time. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $5 Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 8:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Thursday, September 18, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Thursday, September 18, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Thursday, September 18, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Thursday, September 18, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Thursday, September 18, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Thursday, September 18, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Thursday, September 18, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Thursday, September 18, 2014

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Thursday, September 18, 2014, 7:30pm

Black Comedy Peter Shaffer’s one-act is literally titled: it’s set during a power outage. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 20. Erickson Theatre, 1524 Harvard Ave $18-$36 Thursday, September 18, 2014, 8pm

Improv Anonymous: The Harold A narrative improv format created by legendary improv teacher Del Close.  Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $7 Thursday, September 18, 2014, 8:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Friday, September 19, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Friday, September 19, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Friday, September 19, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Friday, September 19, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Friday, September 19, 2014

Death and the Maiden In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $14 Friday, September 19, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Friday, September 19, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, September 19, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Friday, September 19, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Friday, September 19, 2014

Cancer for College Charity event benefiting Cancer for College. Actor/comedian Will Ferrell will share behind the scenes stories from throughout his career while sharing the stage with his good friend and two-time cancer survivor and Cancer for College founder, Craig Pollard. It will be an evening of inspiration, laughter and good times for the whole family. Meany Hall for the Performing Arts, UW Campus, Seattle, WA 98105 $75-$500 Friday, September 19, 2014, 2 – 3pm

PROK Open Mike Sign up for this generally zany and enjoyable evening, when professionals are also known to drop by.  The People’s Republic Kafe, 1718 12th Ave., Seattle Free Friday, September 19, 2014, 6:30pm

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Friday, September 19, 2014, 7:30pm

Black Comedy Peter Shaffer’s one-act is literally titled: it’s set during a power outage. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 20. Erickson Theatre, 1524 Harvard Ave $18-$36 Friday, September 19, 2014, 8pm

Searching for the Super Scene Fast-paced improv from Unexpected Productions. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Friday, September 19, 2014, 8:30pm

House of Ink In this improvised murder mystery, authors get bumped off one by one. 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Oct. 4. $5-$7 Friday, September 19, 2014, 10pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Friday, September 19, 2014, 10:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Saturday, September 20, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Saturday, September 20, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Saturday, September 20, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Saturday, September 20, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Saturday, September 20, 2014

Death and the Maiden In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $14 Saturday, September 20, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Saturday, September 20, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Saturday, September 20, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See website for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Saturday, September 20, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Saturday, September 20, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Saturday, September 20, 2014

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Saturday, September 20, 2014, 7:30pm

Black Comedy Peter Shaffer’s one-act is literally titled: it’s set during a power outage. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Sept. 20. Erickson Theatre, 1524 Harvard Ave $18-$36 Saturday, September 20, 2014, 8pm

Searching for the Super Scene Fast-paced improv from Unexpected Productions. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Saturday, September 20, 2014, 8:30pm

House of Ink In this improvised murder mystery, authors get bumped off one by one. 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Oct. 4. $5-$7 Saturday, September 20, 2014, 10pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Saturday, September 20, 2014, 10:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Sunday, September 21, 2014

• 

Angels in America For the first two years of its reconfiguration as a summer theater festival, starting in 2012, Intiman went the traditional route for summer stages: several plays and genres, selling both series and individual tickets, with an a la carte approach that meant if you didn’t like one thing, something else might appeal. This year Intiman is going all in, betting the house-well, it no longer truly has a house-on Tony Kushner. The playwright won a Pulitzer and two Tony awards (among others) for his two-part Broadway extravaganza in 1993-94, subtitled “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” (Part I is Millennium Approaches. Part II is Perestroika.) Kushner wrote the famously brainy, sweeping plays in response to, among other things, the AIDS epidemic and the Cold War. But now, with 20 years’ distance, how should we view the twinned works? Are they old history now, too tied to the times and Kushner’s peculiar passions (Mormons among them)? And given the length of both shows, about seven hours in total (with two intermissions each), will audiences have the endurance for such an ambitious revival? Millennium Approaches, if you need reminding, is set back in 1985, with the gay right-wing homophobe Roy Cohn (Charles Leggett), a figure now nearly forgotten, dying of AIDS and haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, if not his conscience. Meanwhile there’s a Greenwich Village couple (Adam Standley and Quinn Franzen) whose relationship will founder because of AIDS; and, married to a closeted gay Republican husband (Ty Boice), is the pill-popping Mormon housewife Harper Pitt (Anne Allgood), into whose paranoid hallucinations we gradually enter. And overseeing both plays is Kushner’s famous, omniscient angel (Marya Sea Kaminski). Andrew Russell directs the whole daunting enterprise. (Part II opens Fri., Sept. 5; both end Sept. 21.) BRIAN MILLER Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $25 and up Sunday, September 21, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Sunday, September 21, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Sunday, September 21, 2014

Death and the Maiden In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $14 Sunday, September 21, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Sunday, September 21, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Sunday, September 21, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See website for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Sunday, September 21, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Sunday, September 21, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Sunday, September 21, 2014

Wicked Wiz of Oz A 45-minute mashup of your favorite Oz musicals, part of the “Mimosas With Mama” drag brunch. Narwhal, 1118 E. Pike St., Seattle $15-$20 Sunday, September 21, 2014, 1:30pm

Waiting for Godot Seattle Shakes brings Beckett to ACT. Preview Sept. 4, opens Sept. 5. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus weekend matinees; see seattleshakespeare.org. for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $25-$43 Sunday, September 21, 2014, 7:30pm

Piggyback Stand-up and improv unite. 8:30 p.m. Sun.  Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $10 Sunday, September 21, 2014, 8:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Monday, September 22, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Monday, September 22, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Monday, September 22, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See website for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Monday, September 22, 2014

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Tuesday, September 23, 2014

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Wednesday, September 24, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Jay Hollingsworth’s True Story Hollingsworth asks visiting and local comics to actually explain the stories behind their supposedly true stories. 7:30 p.m., last Wednesday of every month.  The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue see website Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 7:30pm

Flipside Comedy Show Stand-up every Wednesday at this bastion of old-school Seattle charm. 13 Coins, 125 Boren Ave. N., Seattle See website Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 8pm

Duos Comedy Showcase Unexpected Productions presents comedians two at a time. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $5 Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 8:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Thursday, September 25, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Thursday, September 25, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Thursday, September 25, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Thursday, September 25, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Thursday, September 25, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Thursday, September 25, 2014

Improv Anonymous: The Harold A narrative improv format created by legendary improv teacher Del Close.  Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $7 Thursday, September 25, 2014, 8:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Friday, September 26, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Friday, September 26, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Friday, September 26, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Friday, September 26, 2014

Death and the Maiden In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $14 Friday, September 26, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Friday, September 26, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, September 26, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Friday, September 26, 2014

PROK Open Mike Sign up for this generally zany and enjoyable evening, when professionals are also known to drop by.  The People’s Republic Kafe, 1718 12th Ave., Seattle Free Friday, September 26, 2014, 6:30pm

Searching for the Super Scene Fast-paced improv from Unexpected Productions. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Friday, September 26, 2014, 8:30pm

House of Ink In this improvised murder mystery, authors get bumped off one by one. 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Oct. 4. $5-$7 Friday, September 26, 2014, 10pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Friday, September 26, 2014, 10:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Saturday, September 27, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Saturday, September 27, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Saturday, September 27, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Saturday, September 27, 2014

Death and the Maiden In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $14 Saturday, September 27, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Saturday, September 27, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Saturday, September 27, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See website for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Saturday, September 27, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Saturday, September 27, 2014

Searching for the Super Scene Fast-paced improv from Unexpected Productions. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Saturday, September 27, 2014, 8:30pm

House of Ink In this improvised murder mystery, authors get bumped off one by one. 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Oct. 4. $5-$7 Saturday, September 27, 2014, 10pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Saturday, September 27, 2014, 10:30pm

A Chorus Line Marvin Hamlisch’s iconic backstage musical, with an all-star local cast. Previews begin Sept. 3, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $29 and up Sunday, September 28, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Sunday, September 28, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Sunday, September 28, 2014

Death and the Maiden In Ariel Dorfman’s play, a former political prisoner confronts her captor. Opens Sept. 5. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $14 Sunday, September 28, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See website for complete schedule, including open-mike night.  Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Sunday, September 28, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See website for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Sunday, September 28, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See website for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Sunday, September 28, 2014

The Mountaintop So: Ferguson, Missouri, and the federal takeover of that city’s police department; the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown; the coming midterm elections with new voter-ID laws and restricted early-voting periods in swing states that disproportionately affect minorities, the poor, and the young; black families sliding down the economic ladder, with less economic mobility and household wealth than 40 years ago; our first African-American president getting shellacked in the polls. All that prior audacity of hope has collided with an electorate that now seems tired of talking about race. At the same time, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which is why director Valerie Curtis-Newton is now staging this imaginary account of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night in Memphis. Katori Hall’s drama debuted on Broadway four years ago with Samuel L. Jackson as King and Angela Bassett as a hotel maid who visits him on April 3, 1968. (Here those roles are played by Reginald Andre Jackson and Brianne Hill.) The timing may make it more topical now, as King muses on the past and (unfinished) future of the civil-rights movement. The Mountaintop provides a good opportunity for such stock-taking, and also sets the stage for the historical-minded dramas ahead. Seattle Rep is staging local playwright Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning All the Way and The Great Society in November and December. The first is LBJ’s story alone; the second-following passage of the Civil Rights Act and his re-election-Johnson shares with King, Robert F. Kennedy, and other historical figures. Johnson’s concern for racial and economic equality run up against costly wartime spending; and at the same time, as he predicted, Southern Democrats would abandon the party. Incredibly, we face the same dilemma today. (Preview Sept. 10, opens Sept. 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Sunday, September 28, 2014

Wicked Wiz of Oz A 45-minute mashup of your favorite Oz musicals, part of the “Mimosas With Mama” drag brunch. Narwhal, 1118 E. Pike St., Seattle $15-$20 Sunday, September 28, 2014, 1:30pm

Piggyback Stand-up and improv unite. 8:30 p.m. Sun.  Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $10 Sunday, September 28, 2014, 8:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see website for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Monday, September 29, 2014

Comedy Underground See website for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Monday, September 29, 2014