Stage
Openings & Events
Balagan’s New Works Summer Series Readings of new shows—this week, the Prohibition-set musical The Roaring 21st. Balagan Theatre, 1117 E. Pike St., 800-838-3006, balagantheatre.org/new works.html. Donation. 8 p.m. Mon., July 15.
Bobby D and Peggy Lee: Together Again! Bob De Dea and Lindsey Larson star as Bobby Darin and Peggy Lee in this hit-filled revue. Meydenbauer Center, 11100 N.E. Sixth St., Bellevue, 425-235-5087, bellevue civic.org. $30. Opens July 12. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends July 20.
The Clockwork Professor The Pork Filled Players premiere Maggie Lee’s “action-packed adventure of fantastical science fiction with a steampunk twist.” Theater Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S., 800-838-3006, porkfilled.com. $12–$15. Opens July 12. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends Aug. 3.
Doubt Theatre 9/12 presents John Patrick Shanley’s Catholic-school-set drama. Trinity Episcopal Church, 609 Eighth Ave., 332-7908, theatre912.com. Pay what you can. Opens July 12. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Aug. 4.
ECTA’s Summer Student Show See the aerial stars of tomorrow. Emerald City Trapeze Arts, 2702 Sixth Ave. S., 906-9442, emeraldcitytrapeze.com. Donation. 7 p.m. Fri., July 12.
Evil Dead: The Musical A theatrical riff on Sam Raimi’s horror trilogy. Choose your seats from the non-splatter zone, the splatter zone, or the X-Treme splatter zone. Balagan Theatre, 1117 E. Pike St., evildeadtour.com. $24–$34. Opens July 11. 8:30 p.m. Thurs., 7 & 10:15 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends July 20.
Family Affair Jennifer Jasper hosts this monthly performance-art cabaret on the theme of family. JewelBox/Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., 441-5823, jewelbox theater.com. $10. 7:30 p.m. Wed., July 17. Ends Aug. 21.
Godspell Stephen Schwartz’s 1971 uplifter. Youth Theatre Northwest, 8805 S.E. 40th St., Mercer Island, 232-4145 x109, youththeatre.org. $13–$15. Opens July 12. 7 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends July 21.
GreenStage
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Lear, plus Twelfth Night and The Merry Wives of Windsor in scaled-down “Backyard Bard” productions, in various outdoor venues, all free. Runs Thurs.–Sun., July 12–Aug. 18; see greenstage.org for complete date and venue info.
Illyria Peter Mills and Cara Reichel’s musical reworking of Twelfth Night. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., 781-9707, taproottheatre.org. $20–$40. Previews July 10–11, opens July 12. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat. Ends Aug. 10.
Rapture, Blister, Burn Gina Gionfriddo’s comedy explores family vs. career and other postfeminist topics. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676. $41 and up. Previews begin July 12, opens July 18. Runs Tues.–Sun.; see acttheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Aug. 11.
Seattle Outdoor Theater Festival 15 performances (mostly Shakespeare) in two venues; see greenstage.org/sotf for exact lineup. Volunteer Park, 1247 15th Ave. E. Free. Noon, 2, 5, & 7 p.m. Sat., July 13; 11 a.m., 2, 5, & 7 p.m. Sun., July 14.
7 Deadly Birthdays Copious Love’s comedy about growing up Catholic and struggling with sin. Washington Hall, 153 14th Ave., 800-838-3006. $12–$15. Opens July 12. Runs Thurs.–Sun.; see copiouslove.org for exact schedule. Ends Aug. 3.
Skid Road Denny, Mercer, Yesler: the hallowed names of Seattle’s founders. Until this revisionist improv show gets through with them. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 800-838-3006, unexpectedproductions.org. Opens July 12. 8:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Aug. 10.
Topia A new collaborative show from the student-actors Paper Walls Theater Company. Bainbridge Performing Arts, 200 Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island, 842-8569, bainbridgeperformingarts.org. Donation. 7:30 p.m. Fri., July 12–Sat., July 13.
Twelfth Night My, this play is popular this summer. Here’s SPT’s Youth Program’s version. Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., 524-1300. Donation. Opens July 12. Runs Fri.–Sun.; see seattlepublictheater.org for exact schedule. Ends July 20.
The Ultraviolets The Seattle debut of this black-light burlesque troupe from Maui, who say “Silly is the new sexy.” Can Can, 94 Pike St., 652-0832, ultraviolets burlesque.com. $12–$15. 10 p.m. Thurs., July 11.
The Way Out The Acrobatic Conundrum’s new aerial/acrobatic drama. Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way S.W., facebook.com/acrobatic.conundrum. $20–$25. Opens July 11. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends July 27.
Wedding Horror Stories Seattle Experimental Theater makes improv theater out of your nuptial nightmares. Wing-It Productions, 5510 University Way N.E., 800-838-3006, seattleexperimentaltheater.com. $12. Opens July 11. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Fri. Ends July 19.
Wooden O The Seattle Shakespeare Company presents Henry V and The Tempest in various parks all over greater Seattle, all free. Runs Wed.–Sun., July 11–Aug. 11; see seattleshakespeare.org for complete date and venue info.
Current Runs
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Chicago If you were casting a Carol Burnett biopic, it’s unlikely you could do better than Desiree Davar, who looks a lot like her and belts tunes in that same dusky alto. Not so much the CBS Saturday-night Burnett, that is, but the late-career, been-around-the-block Sondheim-interpreter Burnett—which makes Davar excellent in the role of Velma Kelly, one of the two bombshells in Kander and Ebb’s Chicago. She leads Village Theatre’s fine cast: As Roxie Hart, Taryn Darr balances trashy and adorable as adroitly as she handles Kristin Holland’s razzmatazz choreography; Timothy McCuen Piggee has plenty of serpentine moves to match his portrayal of snake-in-the-grass lawyer Billy Flynn; and Shaunyce Omar brings a dazzling vocal versatility to Mama Morton, from puma-in-heat growls to a full-on Jennifer Hudson. Still startlingly cynical after all these years (and an Oscar-sweeping movie), Chicago believes in nothing—not motherhood, patriotism, or religion—except showbiz, so appropriately this production seems to have poured the most money into Karen Ann Ledger’s lavish, scrumptious costumes. GAVIN BORCHERT Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., Everett, 425-257-8600. $24–$63. Runs Tues.–Sun.; see village theatre.org for exact schedule. Ends July 28.
Homebody Usually performed as the two-act Homebody/Kabul, Tony Kushner’s play is an hour-long monologue whose putative subject is Afghan history, as told by an unnamed and very confiding London housewife. History is the text, and her unfulfilled personal life is the subtext constantly seeping in. Homebody (Mary Ewald) has just returned from a shopping trip, and she wants to tell us all about it. Pausing for sips of tea, referring periodically to what she knows is an obsolete history text, she attempts to summarize 3,000 years of invasion, war, and religious conflict. A few familiar names pop out (the Taliban, Tony Blair, etc.), but we’re soon immersed in her very subjective, stream-of-consciousness history chat. Homebody is off her meds, she admits, and she’s also popping her husband’s pills. Her tale is scattered and digressive, with one red-lit hallucination that even sends her to Kabul. Directed by John Kazanjian in NCT’s kitchen-sized space, Ewald is fully in command of the text. In her affecting performance, she makes this loony autodidact lonely and sad, though not quite pathetic. Her tale is a challenge to our compassion, but it’s never a chore to watch. BRIAN MILLER New City Theater, 1404 18th Ave., 800-838-3006, newcitytheater@comcast.net. $15–$20. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends July 20.
Intiman Theatre Festival Four shows in repertory, including Stu for Silverton, a new musical about a small Oregon town’s transgender mayor. Intiman Theatre, Seattle Center. $70–$250. See intiman.org for full lineup and schedule details. Ends Sept. 15.
The Magic Pudding Norman Lindsey’s tale of Bunyip Bluegum the koala, Bill Barnacle the sailor, Sam Sawnoff the penguin, and their magic pudding, Albert. Volunteer Park, schmeater.org. Free. 5 p.m. Sat.–Sun. Ends July 28.
Picnic William Inge’s play about a drifter and the small town he upsets. There will be abs. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., 800-838-3006, reacttheatre.org. $12–$16. 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., July 22. Ends Aug. 3.
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–Sat.; see dreams.zinzanni.org for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 8.
The Totally True and Almost Accurate Adventures of Pinocchio A theater troupe wants to stage the classic, but runs into problems. Runs Sat.–Sun; see balagantheatre.org for schedule and venues. Ends Aug. 4.
Dance
Yellow Fish Alice Gosti’s “Epic Durational Performance Festival” includes work by Vanessa DeWolf, Devin McDermott, the Satori Group, and many more. She writes, “What [would it] do to this artistic community to experience . . . performances, actions, or re-actions that last for a minimum of an hour and a maximum of 48 hours, which do not necessarily require the constant attention of an audience and may not require an audience at all?” Hedreen Gallery, 901 12th Ave., 323-9405, facebook.com/TheHedreenGallery. Through July 15.
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Dance This SEE THE WIRE, PAGE 23.
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My Obviously Unsuccessful Lifestyle SEE THE WIRE, PAGE 23.
Classical, Etc.
Metropolitan Opera at the Movies A summer series of encores of favorite broadcasts from past seasons continues July 10, with Renee Fleming as Rossini’s Armida. On July 17, Natalie Dessay sings La traviata’s heroine Violetta. See metopera.org for participating theaters. 6:30 p.m.
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Seattle Chamber Music Society
July 10 7 p.m. recital: Ginastera’s Piano Sonata. 8 p.m. concert: Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and a string quartet by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. July 12 Recital: Bach from pianist Anton Nel. Concert: Music by the Schumanns, Clara and Robert, and piano trios by Smetana and Dvorak. July 15 Recital: a performance by this year’s Monika Meyer Clowes Award winner. Concert: Britten’s marvelously ascetic Cello Sonata, plus Beethoven and Brahms. July 17 At 7 p.m., a free all-Dvorak concert in Volunteer Park. Benaroya Recital Hall, Third Ave. and Union St., 283-8710, seattlechambermusic.org. Single tickets $15–$45. Ends July 26.
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The Pirates of Penzance The 5th’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s swashbuckler. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., 625-1900. $29 and up. Previews begin July 11; opens July 18. Runs Tues.–Sun; see 5thavenue.org for exact schedule.
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Northwest Mahler Festival Each summer, area musicians gather to read through Mahler’s symphonies and similar late-romantic blockbusters. On July 11, Mahler’s exuberant First; July 16 & 18, the Second, subtly subtitled “Resurrection.” 7 p.m each night. See nwmahlerfestival.org to register. Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 1245 Tenth Ave. E. $25.
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El Grupo Arrastre Sonic explorer Jeph Jerman’s new work for seven players, inspired by Tibetan singing bowls, promises “a dense, shimmering wall of singing metal.” Chapel Performance Space, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., chapelspace.blogspot.com. $5–$15. 8 p.m. Fri., July 12.
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Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society Their summer show is The Gondoliers, in which one of the two title brothers seems to be the heir to a throne. Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Center, 800-838-3006. $16–$40. Opens July 12. Runs Fri.–Sun.; see pattersong.org for exact schedule. Ends July 27.
Seattle Symphony “Cirque de la Symphonie” combines aerialists, jugglers, and more with Bartok, Beethoven, and associates. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., 215-4747, seattlesymphony.org. $19–$112. 8 p.m. Fri., July 12–Sat., July 13.
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Olympic Music Festival Chamber music in a rustic repurposed barn, each Saturday and Sunday through Sept. 1. This weekend, an all-Mozart afternoon, including the Clarinet Quintet. Olympic Music Festival, Center Road, Quilcene, 360-732-4800, olympicmusic festival.org. $18–$33. 2 p.m. Sat., July 13–Sun., July 14.
