Stage

Openings & Events

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Burlesco DiVino: Wine in Rome SEE THE AGENDA, PAGE 21.

The Burl-X-Files: The Truth Is Down There The Shanghai Pearl and Jake Groshong star in this “nerdlesque” spoof of the paranormal. (Wish I’d thought of that subtitle.) Theater Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S., 800-838-3006, jojostiletto.com. $20–$35. Opens Aug. 23. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends Aug. 31.

The Comedy of Errors SPT’s Youth Ensemble resets Shakespeare in Appalachia. Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., 524-1300, seattle
publictheater.org. Donation. 7 p.m. Fri., Aug. 23, 2 & 7 p.m. Sat., Aug. 24, 2 p.m. Sun., Aug. 25.

The Construction Zone This reading and development series presents Ben Clawson’s The Dangers of Electric Lightning. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676, acttheatre.org. $10–$20. 7 p.m. Tues., Aug. 27.

Family Affair Jennifer Jasper hosts this performance-art cabaret on the theme of family. JewelBox/Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave. $10. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Aug. 21.

The Raft Rock Paper Theater’s debut stars sketch comics Ryan Sanders and Mike Mathieu as two men lost at sea and coping as best they can. TPS Theatre 4, Seattle Center, rockpapertheater.com. $10. Opens Aug. 23. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Sept. 14.

Ten-Minute Play Festival 14 short plays chosen from 63 submissions. Bainbridge Performing Arts, 200 Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island, IslandTheatre.org. Donation. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Aug. 24–Sun., Aug. 25.

Titanic Ian Bell’s Brown Derby Series lampoons the movie. Re-bar, 1114 Howell St., BrownDerbySeries.com. $18. 8 p.m. Thurs., Aug. 22–Sat., Aug. 24.

Words, Sounds, Silence Unexpected Productions’ new improv show: “This edgy show illuminates three things present in a single moment. We often only hear the words, but it is the sounds that accompany the words that give us a chance at understanding the meaning behind what was said. It is in the silence that we truly see the impact of the message conveyed.” Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 800-838-3006, unexpectedproductions.org. $7. Opens Aug. 22. 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Ends Sept. 26.

Current Runs

Beauty of the Father In Nilo Cruz’s play, the ghost of Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca converses with the living. Presented by Latino Theatre Projects in English. Burien Little Theater, S.W. 146th St. and Fourth Ave. S.W., Des Moines, 242-5180, latinotheatreprojects.org. $17–$20. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Aug. 25.

Break-Up Songs Unexpected Productions takes your tales of romantic trauma and turns them into theater. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 800-838-3006, unexpectedproductions.org. $12–$15. 8:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Sept. 21.

The Half Brothers Brand Old-Time Variety Show Annex’s “pairing of neo-bluegrass and corporate sponsorship” sends up both folky entertainment and consumer culture. Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St., 728- 0933, annextheatre.org. $5–$10. 11 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Aug. 30.

Icicle Creek Theater Festival A reading of Sarah Saltwick’s A Perfect Robot. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676, acttheatre.org. $12. 7 p.m. Wed., Aug. 21.

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Lysistrata Setting Aristophanes’ salacious tale—about a coalition of Athenian and Spartan women who unite in a sex strike against their warrior husbands to end the Peloponnesian War—as a play within a play, performed at a U.S. camp in Afghanistan, makes more urgent the heroines’ crusade to kill the war. This topical Lysistrata, directed by Sheila Daniels, is a forcible reminder of bloody wars still being fought on the other side of the globe. When warfare breaks the suspension of disbelief, it really breaks it. Would an antiwar play like Lysistrata even be allowed on an Army base? MARGARET FRIEDMAN Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 726-5190. $20–$50. See intiman.org for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 12.

Men of Action Jet City’s improv takeoff of adventure movies and their intrepid heroes. Wing-It Productions, 5510 University Way N.E., 781-3879, jetcityimprov.com. $12–$15. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Fri. Ends Sept. 20.

Precious Little Madeleine George’s “carefully drawn story of one woman’s experiences: her work, her passions, her desire to be a parent, and her coming to terms with life’s inadequacies.” Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St., 728-0933, annextheatre.org. $5–$20 (Thurs. pay what you can). 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends Aug. 31.

Sister Act All singing! All dancing! All nuns! It’s the Whoopi Goldberg vehicle musicalized. The Paramount, 911 Pine St., 877-STG-4TIX, stgpresents.org. $25–$85. 
7:30 p.m. Wed., Aug. 21–Thurs., Aug. 22; 8 p.m. Fri., Aug. 23; 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., Aug. 24; 1 & 6:30 p.m. Sun., Aug. 25.

Stu for Silverton This new musical, part of Intiman’s summer season, tells the absolutely true story of a small Oregon town and its transgender mayor. Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 726-5190. $20–$50. See 
intiman.org for schedule. Ends Sept. 15.

Teatro ZinZanni: Lucky in Love The spiegeltent becomes Casino ZinZanni in their new Vegas-themed show. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $106 and up. Runs Thurs.–Sun.; see dreams.zinzanni.org for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 8.

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Trouble in Mind Alice Childress’ 1955 Obie winner catalogs the charades and compromises (i.e., sellings-out) demanded of “negro” stage professionals trying to make it on Broadway. Wiletta Mayer (Tracy Michelle Hughes) arrives for her first day of Broadway rehearsal, where she and other black cast members are confounded by the destructively narrow vision of producer/director Al Manners (Tim Gouran). In a play about a lynching, he wants Southern dialect and old stereotypes; his performers are uncomfortable, but they also want the job. Intiman’s splendid rendering marries beautiful acting to the powerful architecture of a laser-sharp script that ricochets between hope and heartache. MARGARET FRIEDMAN Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 726-5190. $20–$50. See intiman.org for schedule. Ends Sept. 15.

Waiting for Godot Arts on the Waterfront takes on Beckett in the shadow of the Great Wheel. Waterfront Park, 1300 Alaskan Way, artsonthewaterfront@gmail.com. Donation. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sun. Ends Sept. 1.

We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! Dario Fo’s 1974 farce about life in an exploitive, inflationary economy is an intelligently ridiculous examination of whether looting is justified under a corrupt regime—timely in our era of unprecedented income inequality. Director Jane Nichols deftly articulates the quick beats that can be so easily muddled in farce. MARGARET FRIEDMAN Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 726-5190. $20–$50. See 
intiman.org for schedule. Ends Sept. 14.

The Wild Party Andrew Lippa’s Roaring 20s-set musical. Center House Theatre, Seattle Center, 800-838-3006, soundtheatrecompany.org. $15–$25. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Aug. 25.

Dance

Music + Motion Relay Dance Collective combines ballet and hip-hop dance, hoping to startle fans of both.Dance Fremont!, 4015 Stone Way N., 800-838-3006, relaydance.org. $15. 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., Aug. 24–Sun., Aug. 25.

Classical, Etc.

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Seattle Opera This production of Wagner’s Ring is, all told, SO’s best yet—more vivid, more gripping, more moving. McCaw Hall, Seattle Center, 389-7676, seattle
opera.org. $300–$1,460 per cycle. Ends Aug. 25.

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Mark Hilliard Wilson Bach, Piazzolla, Schubert, and more on this guitarist’s annual summer recital. St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave., stjames-cathedral.org. $15. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Aug. 23.

Olympic Music Festival Chamber music in a rustic repurposed barn, each Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. through Sept. 1. This weekend, Chopin, Dvorak, Faure, Martinu. Olympic Music Festival, Center Road, Quilcene, 360-732-4800, olympicmusicfestival.org. $18–$33.

Music Northwest Opening the season with British art songs from Dowland to Britten. Olympic Recital Hall, S. Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W., 937-2899, musicnorthwest.org. $16–$18. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Aug. 24.

Russian Chamber Music Foundation of Seattle Borodin, Rachmaninoff, and more al fresco., Luther Burbank Park, 2040 84th Ave. S.E., Mercer Island, russianchambermusic.org. Free. 3 p.m. Sun., Aug. 25.