Stage Openings & Events Das Barbec U A concert performance of

By By Gavin Borchert • August 6, 2013 3:15 pm

Stage

Openings & Events

Das Barbec

U A concert performance of Scott Warrender and Jim Luigs’ rollicking translation of Wagner’s Ring to Texas is billed as “1/4 of the epic for 1/40th the price!” West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., 800-838-3006, westoflenin.com. $20. 7:30 p.m. Mon., Aug. 12–Wed., Aug. 14.

Manos: The Hands of Felt A puppet-musical reimagining of one of the worst films ever made. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., 800-838-3006, puppetmanos.com. $15–$24. Opens Aug. 9. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Aug. 17.

Proteges Present: Going Platinum! ECTA’s advanced students perform. Emerald City Trapeze Arts, 2702 Sixth Ave. S., 800-838-3006, emeraldcitytrapeze.com. $12–$15. 7 p.m. Fri., Aug. 9.

Shrek the Musical The big green guy sings. Youth Theatre Northwest, 8805 S.E. 40th St., Mercer Island, 232-4145 x109, youththeatre.org. $13–$15. Opens Aug. 8. 2 p.m. Wed.–Thurs. & Sat.–Sun.; 7 p.m. Fri.–Sat.; plus 2 p.m. Tues., Aug. 20. Ends Aug. 24.

Tartuffe Moliere’s skewering of hypocrisy will never not be timely. Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., 524-1300, seattlepublictheater.org. Donation. 10 p.m. Fri., Aug. 9, 2 p.m. Sat., Aug. 10, 7 p.m. Sun., Aug. 11.

30 Hours: Don’t grow up, it’s a trap Blood Ensemble is giving itself just (yes) 30 hours to come up with a new show on the title theme. Stone Soup Theatre, 4035 Stone Way N.E., 800-838-3006, bloodensemble.org. $5–$8. 7:30 & 8:30 p.m. Wed., Aug. 7.

Trans* Experience Double Feature Solo shows about the transgender experience from Jessica Lynn Johnson (Ze) and Scott Turner Schofield (Debutante Balls). JewelBox/Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave. $15–$18. 7 p.m. Fri., Aug. 9–Sat., Aug. 10.

The Wild Party Andrew Lippa’s Roaring 20s-set musical. Center House Theatre, Seattle Center, 800-838-3006, soundtheatrecompany.org. $15–$25. Opens Aug. 8. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Aug. 25.

You Can’t Take It With You Seattle Public Theater’s Youth Ensemble brings those wacky Sycamores back to life. Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., 524-1300, seattlepublictheater.org. Donation. Opens Aug. 9. 7 p.m. Fri.–Sat., also 2 p.m. Sun., Aug 11 & Sat., Aug. 17. Ends Aug. 17.

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.

Camp Death Blood Squad’s horror-improv show sends up the summer-camp-slasher genre. Balagan Theatre, 1117 E. Pike St., 800-838-3006, balagantheatre.org. $10. 11 p.m. Sat. Ends Aug. 17.

Game Show Jeffrey Finn & Bob Walton’s dark look at the genre—and you can win actual prizes! Theater Schmeater, 1500 Summit Ave., 324-5801, schmeater.org. $18–$23. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Aug. 17.

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. through Aug. 18; see greenstage.org for complete date and venue info.

Gruesome Playground Injuries SEE REVIEW, PAGE 101.

Guys and Dolls Frank Loesser’s classic musical pits a gambler against a missionary. Presented by Twelfth Night Productions. West Seattle High School Theater, 3000 California Ave. S.W., 800-838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $16–$19. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. plus 2 p.m. Sun., Aug. 11 & 18. Ends Aug. 18.

Illyria What’s best about Illyria (by some distance) is Pete Mills’ book, a nimble distillation of Shakespeare’s dreamy love-triangle farce Twelfth Night. If occasionally a bit glib, the lyrics are enviably clever. The cast of Taproot’s production, directed by Karen Lund, provides a bit of this magic too: Mark Tyler Miller as Orsino brings out the romance in his adorably clueless narcissism, and Daniel Stoltenberg adds some pathos to the put-upon Malvolio, deftly played midway between Sheldon Cooper and Niles Crane. What almost never does is Mills’ lite-pop score; there are mere hints of it in the opening number and in “Patience,” a moody Act 1 song for Viola (Helen Harvester). I get the impression, from Illyria (first produced in 2002) and a few other recent shows, that writing a musical anymore is seen as a matter of first mastering a very specific and rigidly limited musical idiom, taking care to scrub it clean of personal idiosyncrasy, and then applying it to any project that comes along. GAVIN BORCHERT Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., 781-9707, taproottheatre.org. $20–$40. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat. EXTENDED through Aug. 17.

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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 by soldiers for fellow soldiers 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. The conclave of women convoked by Lysistrata (intelligently played by Shontina Vernon) clings to their sensuality and personal expression. But their sexual privation pales next to that of the bellicose men. When warfare breaks the suspension of disbelief, it really breaks it. The music and pure comedy are quickly forgotten, and the tenor shifts to the macabre. A political chorus, rendered zombie-style at the end, seems a bit heavy-handed. Would an antiwar play like Lysistrata even be allowed on an Army base? Maybe it’s better not to approach this powerful, provocative piece too literally; just let it hit you. MARGARET FRIEDMAN Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 726-5190. $20–$50. See intiman.org for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 15.

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.

Owl & Pussycat theater simple mashes up Edward Lear with Shakespeare, vaudeville, and more. See theater
simple.org for venue. Donation. 1 p.m. Sun., Aug. 11.

Poisoning Pigeons in the Park Arne Zaslove directed this revue of the satirical songs of Tom Lehrer. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., 800-838-3006, westoflenin.com. $20–$25. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Aug. 11.

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. plus Mon., Aug. 12. Ends Aug. 31.

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Rapture, Blister, Burn Catherine (Kristen Potter), the 42-year-old uber-intellectual protagonist of Gina Gionfriddo’s idea play, returns home following her mother’s heart attack, which makes her rethink her feminist life choices: Former grad-school roommate Gwen (Kathryn Van Meter) chose the path of homemaking and motherhood with her husband Don (Jeffrey Frace), Catherine’s old boyfriend. The script betrays Gionfriddo’s background in TV writing, where storycrafting economy trumps plausibility as long as it’s funny enough. Anita Montgomery directs. MARGARET FRIEDMAN ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676. $41 and up. Runs Tues.–Sun.; see acttheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Aug. 11.

Skid Road A new improv show rewrites the legends of Seattle’s founding. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 800-838-3006, unexpected
productions.org. $15. 8:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Aug. 10.

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. SEE ARTICLE, PAGE 98.

The Tempest The BPA Shakespeare Society performs in IslandWood’s Creaky Tree Meadow. Islandwood, 4450 Blakely Ave. N.E., Bainbridge Island, 842-8469, bainbridge
performingarts.org. $15–$20. 7 p.m. Aug. 7–8.

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Trouble in Mind Director Valerie Curtis-Newton is determined to redress the relative obscurity of Alice Childress (1916–1994) and her 1955 Obie winner. Skillfully, movingly, entertainingly, shatteringly, Trouble 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.

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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. Two housewives stagger in the door dripping with groceries that one of them, Antonia (the delightful Tracy Michelle Hughes) “donated” to herself during a customer-declared free-for-all at the supermarket. Antonia drags her B-52-haired friend Margherita (Kylee Rouselot) into the coverup plot, which involves concealing the loot in a fake pregnancy. 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. 15.

Wooden O The Seattle Shakespeare Company presents Henry V and The Tempest in various parks all over greater Seattle, all free. Runs Wed.–Sun. through Aug. 11; see seattleshakespeare.org for complete date and venue info.

Dance

Seattle Summer Butoh Festival This dance practice was born from the devastation of WWII and the realization by Japanese artists that they would have to live with a heritage they could not explain, but it has grown into an international style with a deeply eccentric and whimsical thread. SANDRA KURTZ Events through Aug. 10; see daipanbutoh.com for full lineup and venues.

Ailuran: The Bardo to Tewaz Who? The what to where? Aerial dance troupe The Cabiri “explores ancient Neolithic archetypes.” Meydenbauer Center, 11100 N.E. Sixth St., Bellevue, 800-838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $18–$35, 8 p.m. Thurs., Aug. 8–Sat., Aug. 10.

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Wandering and Wondering SEE THE WIRE, PAGE 97.

Classical, Etc.

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Seattle Opera Their quadrennial production of Wagner’s Ring is one of the opera world’s most acclaimed, drawing pilgrims from all over. Cycle 1, Aug. 4–9; Cycle 2, Aug. 12–17; Cycle 3, Aug. 20–25. Also see seattleopera.org for auxiliary events, from scholarly talks to Pacific Science Center’s Aug. 11 “Laser Ring.” McCaw Hall, Seattle Center, 389-7676. $300–$1,460 per cycle.

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Olympic Music Festival Chamber music in a rustic repurposed barn, 2 p.m. Sat.–Sun. through Sept. 1. This weekend, two 70-year-old pieces: William Walton’s Piano Quartet and Lukas Foss’ Capriccio for cello and piano., Olympic Music Festival, Center Road, Quilcene, 360-732-4800, olympicmusicfestival.org. $18–$33.

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Composer Spotlight Amy Denio discusses her work, including her participation in the Immersion Composition Society. Jack Straw Studios, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., jackstraw.org. Free. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Aug. 14.