Stage
Openings & Events
Auction Schmauction Theater Schmeater’s fundraiser includes the usual munchies and silent auction, plus scenes from past productions. Theater Schmeater, 1500 Summit Ave., schmeater.org. $50. 7 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9.
Buckshot Macha Monkey premieres Courtney Meaker’s play about family and the past. Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 860-2970, machamonkey.org. $12–$20. Opens Nov. 8. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 18. Ends Nov. 23.
CHAD Chats A Portland-based comedy troupe spoofs TED Talks. JewelBox/Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., 800-838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $15. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 7.
Clara The life of Clara Schumann: pianist, mother, wife of one great composer and crush of another. Eclectic Theater, 1214 10th Ave., 679-3271, brownpapertickets.com. $12–$25. Opens Nov. 7. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 24.
The Eric Andre Show Adult Swim’s comedy/variety/music show, live. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., thecrocodile.com. $10. 8 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 7.
Floyd Collins Adam Guettel’s musical about a media sensation in the early days of radio. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., 800-838-3006, seattlestageright.org, hugohouse.org. $15–$20. Opens Nov. 8. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. & Mon. Ends Nov. 23.
Great Soul of Russia ACT’s reading series of (mostly) Russian authors. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676, acttheatre.org. $10–$15. 7 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 7.
Heart Content CabinFever’s site-specific multimedia performance piece is inspired by First Hill’s Stimson Green Mansion, 1204 Minor Ave., 800-838-3006, cabinfeverliveart.com. $15. Opens Nov. 8. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 4:30 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 17.
The Hobbit YTN presents Tolkien. Youth Theatre Northwest, 8805 S.E. 40th St., Mercer Island, 232-4145 x109, youththeatre.org. $13–$17. Opens Nov. 8. 7 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.–Sun. Ends Nov. 24.
Jesus’ Son Book-It adapts Denis Johnson’s semi-autobiographical short stories. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., book-it.org. $22. Preview Nov. 5, opens Nov. 6. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Sun. Ends Nov. 24.
KRAM’s BINGOmatic Improv Machine Impromptu theater (with prizes!) from the quartet KRAM. Ballard Senior Center, 5429 32nd Ave. N.W., 800-838-3006, facebook.com/KRAMimprov. $10. 8 p.m. Fri., Nov. 8–Sat., Nov. 9.
Les Miserables Village Theatre dreams a dream of making a fortune over the holidays. Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah, 425-392-2202. $33–$68. Runs in Issaquah Nov. 7–Jan. 5, then at the Everett Performing Arts Center Jan. 10–Feb. 2; see villagetheatre.org for exact schedule.
Morning’s at Seven The Endangered Species Project reads Paul Osborn’s 1939 dramedy. Stage One Theater, 9600 College Way N., endangeredspeciesproject.org. 7 p.m. Mon., Nov. 11.
My Last Year With the Nuns Matt Smith’s monologue about his late-’60s Capitol Hill Catholic-school days. Bainbridge Performing Arts, 200 Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island, 842-8569, bainbridgeperformingarts.org. $20. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9.
Neverwhere An adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s sub-London fantasy. Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, cornish.edu. $5–$15. 8 p.m. Wed., Nov. 6–Sat., Nov. 9, 2 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9–Sun., Nov. 10.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert The film about three flamboyant friends on a road trip through the Outback is now a musical. The Paramount, 911 Pine St., 877-STG-4TIX, stgpresents.org. $25 and up. 7:30 p.m. Tues., Nov. 12–Thurs., Nov. 14; 8 p.m. Fri., Nov. 15; 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., Nov. 16; 1 & 6:30 p.m. Sun., Nov. 17.
Represent! A six-day multicultural playwrights festival, part of the Hansberry Project. See acttheatre.org for lineup. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676. $5. 7:30 p.m. Tues., Nov. 12–Sat., Nov. 16, 2 & 7 p.m. Sun., Nov. 17.
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher Book-It’s staged reading of an adaptation of Tim Egan’s prize-winning account of the life of pioneering Seattle photographer Edward S. Curtis. Seattle Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., book-it.org. Free. 7 p.m. Wed., Nov. 6.
The Way of All Fish/I Can’t Remember Anything Comic one-acts by Elaine May and Arthur Miller. Trinity Episcopal Church, 609 Eighth Ave., 800-838-3006, theatre912.com. Pay what you will. Opens Nov. 8. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. and Mon., Nov. 18, 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 24.
Current Runs
And Then There Were None Agatha Christie’s thriller about gradually, mysteriously dying houseguests. Renton Civic Theater, 507 S. Third St., Renton, 425-226-5529, rentoncivictheater.org. $17–$22. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 9.
Animal Cruelty Scot Augustson’s “shadow puppet noir” tells of Chicken Jenny’s brush with the law. Theater Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S., 800-838-3006, printers devil.org. $15–$18. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends Nov. 9.
Blak Cloud
The Crucible meets improv. Wing-It Productions, 5510 University Way N.E., jetcityimprov.com. $12–$15. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Fri. Ends Nov. 22.
•
Bo-Nita: In Elizabeth Heffron’s beguiling new one-woman play, meet a smart, sensitive St. Louis girl of 13, her socially marginal single mom Mona, Mona’s various consorts, and Grandma Tiny, known for “professional” belly-dancing in stilettos. Hannah Mootz deftly and heartbreakingly embodies all these characters and more in rapid-fire situational episodes Bo-Nita recounts. Directed by fringe fave Paul Budraitis, Mootz teeters between girl and hag, thug and wag, with nary a moment’s conflation. Bo-Nita tells the funny, affecting 90-minute story of her life while kicking around the playground of her new school. She has plenty to talk about, starting with a mishap in which she thought her “semi-ex-stepfather Gerard” had died while sexually accosting her. Bo-Nita’s lexicon glides seamlessly between raunchiness and poetry; her overuse of similes underscores the urgency to make herself heard by a world outside the pail of mean crabs she was born into. Local playwright Heffron (Mitzi’s Abortion, New Patagonia) gives ambiguities their ample due: Gerard isn’t a pure monster, and Mona isn’t stupid or without a conscience. But the system has failed everyone through wrong incentives and lack of opportunities, compounded over generations. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun., plus some matinees; see website for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 17.) MARGARET FRIEDMAN [See Margaret’s full review.]., 443-2222, seattlerep.org. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, www.seattlerep.org, $12-$65, Wednesdays-Sundays. Continues through Nov. 17.
•
Cafe Nordo Restaging its first Seattle production from 2009, Cafe Nordo’s show pays homage to all things henhouse with a fanciful dining experience that does for the art of fine food and conversation what Shortbus did for sex. Equal parts meet-and-greet, nightclub, and gustatory exploration, Chicken is also a winking nod to—and lampoon of—the dinner theaters of yesteryear. There’s an Old World feel as the evening unfolds, with an accordion player gliding across the ballroom floor while the waiters seat their patrons, not all of whom know each other beforehand. What follows is a didactic-gastronomic tour through the life of a chicken named Henrietta, regularly punctuated with high-flung prose to illuminate each course, offset by generous pours of some of the best wines grown around the state. The intent, successfully achieved, is that you become closer to both the food and the guests at your table. It only makes sense, then, that the meal is the main event, and in both presentation and flavor, it does not disappoint. Designed by director Erin Brindley, the menu proceeds from eggs—nestled in a nest made from Parmesan cheese and phyllo—to a mild and savory chicken soup to a roast chicken stuffed with homemade sausage and habanero cherries. With its delights and surprises (though few plot points other than the courses served), this is one very self-aware Chicken. Its performers all acknowledge the hoary dinner-theater cliches with tongues planted firmly in cheek. KEVIN PHINNEY Washington Hall, 153 14th Ave., cafenordo.com. $65–$90. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sun. Ends Nov. 24.
The Luxuria Cycle Jimmie Galaites’ exploration of modern romance “satirizes not only our society’s obsession with finding the perfect partner, but also the way personal information is used as currency by corporate interests.” Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St., 728-0933, annextheatre.org. $5–$10. 8 p.m. Tues.–Wed. Ends Nov. 13.
•
Much Ado About Nothing: It’s 1953, and Messina, as conceived by Craig Wollam, is a waterside pleasure dome, replete with canal, pool, harbor, rampart, and tawny stone esplanade. All the screwball elements are in place (under the direction of George Mount). Jennifer Lee Taylor and Matt Shimkus get the plummest bits as the fiercely unhitched sparrers Beatrice and Benedick. Her Bette Davis eyes belie a knack for clowning, and his seemingly impassive, Kennedy-jawed face becomes irresistible when stricken by her words. The careenings of this love-wreck, and that of Beatrice’s virtuous cousin Hero (Brenda Joyner) and her gullible admirer Claudio (Jay Myers), propel us from sartorially sophisticated swizzle parties to casual picnics, outfitted (emphasis on “fitted”) by Doris Black. As if the rich visuals, enhanced by Roberta Russell’s ethereal lighting, were not world enough, Rob Witmer’s soundscape offers yet more gratifications, including crickets, waves, and payoffs for some funny slapstick setups. But despite the trappings of the superficially chipper, tragedy-erasing early ’50s, Mount doesn’t force historicity, opting rather to let the themes sing as they will to whom they will. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., plus some weekend matinees; see website for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 17.) MARGARET FRIEDMAN [See Margaret’s full review.]., 733-8222, seattleshakespeare.org. Center House Theatre, 305 Harrison St., Seattle Center, Seattle, $25-$48, Wednesdays-Sundays. Continues through Nov. 17.
Our Town And over here’s the Bathhouse Theatre, where Seattle Public Theater’s Youth Program is staging Thornton Wilder’s classic. Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., 524-1300, seattle publictheater.org. 7 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 2 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 9.
The Purification Process Malika Lee’s play explores breast cancer from the viewpoint of African-American women. Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Ave. S., 800-838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $7–$15. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.–Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat.–Sun. Ends Nov. 16.
•
Red Light Winter: In Azeotrope’s second staging of Adam Rapp’s 2005 drama, with the same fine cast as its 2010 debut production, Red Light Winter is a tale of alienation, over-education, and the selfish choices people make when they think no one is looking. At the bottom of the heap is Matt (Richard Nguyen Sloniker), a suicidal “emerging” playwright who might actually emerge—if he weren’t so terrified of the world and hiding in his ratty little abodes. During a winter trip to the sex salons of Amsterdam, his former college roomie Davis (Tim Gouran) returns to their hostel with French hooker Christina (Mariel Neto), supposedly to help Matt get over his cheating ex-girlfriend. Act II begins in New York a year later. Matt’s obsession is now no longer his ex, but the Amsterdam one-night stand who left a red gown he now regards as her surrogate. Christina shows up unexpectedly because (of course), nothing like what she originally represented herself to be. Desdemona Chiang again directs this maelstrom-in-miniature with near-balletic grace. She lets Rapp’s characters stalk one another in concentric circles until there’s no place left for refuge. None of the nude scenes feels gratuitous; they only compound the characters’ vulnerabilities and missed opportunities to make amends. KEVIN PHINNEY ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676, azotheatre.org. $25–$30. Runs Thurs.–Sun.; see acttheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 24.
Rope SEE REVIEW, PAGE 30.
Sex Drugs Death Disco Vincent Kovar’s play about ‘90s club promoter Michael Alig. Re-bar, 1114 Howell St., 800-838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $15. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Nov. 23.
Teatro ZinZanni: Hail Caesar: Forbidden Oasis Frank Ferrante returns as the flamboyant, omnisexual chef Caesar. Slinky Dreya Weber, equally skilled as an aerialist and singer, plays a resurrected Cleopatra. You pay a lot more at TZZ than you might for a show at Re-Bar or the Pink Door—though you’re not just buying dinner and a show, but a lavish evening-length party. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $108 and up. Runs Wed.–Sun.; see dreams.zinzanni.org for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 26.
Teatro ZinZanni: Tambourine Submarine Recess Monkey stars in TZ’s nautical-themed family show. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $19–$25. Runs 11 a.m. selected Sat. & Sun.; see dreams.zinzanni.org for exact schedule. Ends Dec. 15.
25 saints SEE REVIEW, PAGE 30.
The Underneath Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s horror-movie sendup is set in a seaside town. Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St., annextheatre.org. $5–$20. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 4. Ends Nov. 16.
Dance
•
Pacific Northwest Ballet: Kylian + Pite SEE THE PICK LIST, PAGE 29.
Cornish Dance Theater Site-specific choreography by Salthorse. See cornish.edu for venues.1 & 3 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9.
New Age Flamenco Reinterpretations of well-known jazz classics in the style of New Orleans swing and Gypsy jazz. Seattle Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave. 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 10.
Classical, Etc.
•
Enso String Quartet Verdi tossed off his tasty but neglected string quartet as a lark during rehearsals for Aida; the ESQ plays it alongside quartets by Puccini and Strauss. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $10–$25. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 6.
•
Paul Kikuchi This composer’s song cycle Bat of No Bird Island is inspired by (and includes sounds of) his great-grandfather’s collection of 78’s, and is played by an all-star ensemble (Stuart Dempster, Eyvind Kang, and more). Wing Luke Museum, 719 S. King St., paulkikuchi.com. 6 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 7.
Covent Garden: Live in HD I love that more opera houses are beaming their shows into the world’s cinemas—but now we get two Toscas the same week?. Guild 45th, 2115 N. 45th St., 547-2127, landmarktheatres.com, screenvision.com. $15. 7 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 7, 11 a.m. Sun., Nov. 10.
•
Seattle Symphony SEE EAR SUPPLY BELOW.
•
Mateo Messina This Seattle-born film composer annually packs the house for his homecoming fundraiser concert for Children’s Hospital. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., thesymphonyguild.org. $42–$200. 8 p.m. Fri., Nov. 8.
•
The Met: Live in HD Patricia Racette and Roberto Alagna play the doomed lovers in Puccini’s Tosca. See metopera.org for participating theaters. 10 a.m. Sat., Nov. 9, 6:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 13.
Robbin Gordon-Cartier From this harpist, music from opera to gospel. Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Ave. S., 684-4757, langstoninstitute.org. $5–$10. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9.
Peter and Zoltan Katona The Seattle Classic Guitar Society presents this duo, who’ll play Spanish music and Bach. And Queen. Benaroya Recital Hall, Third Ave. and Union St., 297-8788. $28–$38. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9.
Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers Stephen Rogers Radcliffe guest-conducts Brahms and Mendelssohn. First Free Methodist Church, 3200 Third Ave. W., 800-838-3006, osscs.org. $10–$25. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9.
•
Morton Subotnick This electronic-music pioneer (he was doing it back in the days of punch cards and reel-to-reel tape-splicing) performs with video artist Lillevan. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $15–$20. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9.
•
Seattle Symphony A “Beyond the Score” multimedia look at Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., 215-4747, seattlesymphony.org. $19–$84. 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 10.
Mostly Vienna Vocal and chamber music by Farrenc, Schubert, and others. Gift of Grace Church, 2102 N. 40th St., 547-2816. Donation. 2:30 p.m. Sun., Nov. 10.
Sine Nomine Renaissance Choir Anne Lyman conducts Gesualdo’s weirdly, even luridly, chromatic madrigals. Trinity Episcopal Church, 609 Eighth Ave., earlymusicguild.org. Donation. 3 p.m. Sun., Nov. 10.
•
Octava Chamber Orchestra Equally devoted to music of the 18th and 21st centuries, they’ll play Bach and a new clarinet concerto by SW’s Gavin Borchert. Maple Park Church, 17620 60th Ave. W., Lynnwood, octavachamberorchestra.com. $5–$15. 6 p.m. Sun., Nov. 10.
•
Music of Remembrance Branching into dance as Betty Olivero’s suite for the 1920 silent film The Golem is choreographed by Pat Hon. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., 365-7770, musicofremembrance.org. $40. 7 p.m. Sun., Nov. 10.
Matthew Bengtson Bach and Scriabin from this pianist. Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music, UW campus, 685-8384, music.washington.edu. $15. 7:30 p.m. Tues., Nov. 12.
•
Haskell Small This pianist plays Federico Mompou’s contemplative 28-movement suite Musica callada. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 15 Roy St. Free. 7:30 p.m. Tues., Nov. 12.
•
Composer Spotlight A presentation by composer/cellist Derek M. Johnson: “One’s soul, for lack of a better term, must lay naked and vulnerable for all to react to and do with as they please throughout. And when a performance does not meet such goals, then what? The debilitating feeling of devastation can be overwhelming.” Jack Straw Studios, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., jackstraw.org., Free. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Nov. 13.
