Seattle Blog Theater

How do we take care of our world if we know its future is sealed? ArtsWest’s timely and poignant production of Walden by Amy Berryman asks nuanced questions such as this within a relatable and smartly-crafted family dynamic.

In an ecologically desperate future, Walden follows ex-scientist Stella (Porscha Shaw) and her crunchy fiancé, Bryan (Josh Kenji Langager), at their forested cabin, when Stella’s astronaut twin sister Cassie (Marena Kleinpeter) returns from a prominent space habitation mission. Old tensions flare up and spark between sisters, and both must decide how to reconcile the past and deal with the future. Relatable questions are asked within the story: can we love people with different political views? What is our duty to society? The play puts it forth to the audience to answer those questions. Walden achieves what most great plays do; it leaves you thinking and wanting more.Marena Kleinpeter and Porscha Shaw in Walden at ArtsWest. Photo by John McLellan.

A hidden gem lies at the heart of Centerstage Theatre. Disguised as a patron (wearing a wig if you wish), come with your ticket in hand and bring your best poker face!

The 39 Steps is a slapstick comedy take on Hitchcock’s classic spy thriller. Filled with thick accents, a sprinkle of murder, and well-timed suspense, even the most hardened stoics will be forced to break. Played by a cast of four, the 150 characters will make you laugh, cry (from the hysterics), and then laugh once more for good measure. This rendition by Centerstage embraces a bare-bones set to cultivate plenty of hilarious moments, underscored by a sense of hospitality that makes every event-goer feel seen. 

It is a powerful thing when a production can elicit frequent bouts of laughter, moments of quiet introspection, and tearful post-show hugs with family and friends, all within a 90-minute runtime. the aves accomplishes just this, transforming what appears to be a simple story of an elderly couple on a park bench observing the world around them into a wonderfully complex tale of aging, memory, sacrifice, and relationships. 

It is challenging to explain the magic of the aves without spoiling “the exchange”, that is so central to the plot, as it is not revealed explicitly until the end of the show. The plot features sci-fi-esque themes, which positively contradicted the assumption I had going into the show, that it would be a typical and realistic tale. the aves skillfully shows, rather than tells, the audience what is happening, which creates an engaging experience as the audience pieces together the puzzle of the plot for themselves. As these pieces finally fall into place and details are revealed, several gasps can be heard from the audience. Varinique "V" Davis and Jerik Fernandez in the aves at Union Arts Center. Photo by Giao Nguyen.

In 2002, Avril Lavigne spoke her truth: being ordinary is as good as being dead. The Best Damn Thing runs with that message, making its West Coast premiere at 12th Ave Arts just last month. Directed by Kate Drummond, the show follows Missouri teenager Ellie, who has written what she believes is the greatest Avril Lavigne jukebox musical ever conceived. But, she needs her former best friend Rachel to bring it to their school stage. The two-person cast and visually inventive set, designed by Jeremy Hollis, bring an electrifying energy that hooks the audience immediately. From the opening moment, the audience is drawn into Ellie’s room, a cluttered, almost overwhelming space where each object offers a glimpse into her life. However, in the show's attempt to be hyper-meta and its density of ideas, it ends up resembling its protagonist: overwhelmed by ideas, and ultimately unclear.

Before the show even begins, a friendly Dacha staff member hands out a set-themed I-Spy sheet, making it clear that The Best Damn Thing wants the audience to feel involved. The theater itself is tiny, with bleacher-style seating that puts you close enough to feel the anxiety radiating off Ellie. From the moment she steps onstage, Shannon Johnson brings a nervous, rapid-fire energy that captures Ellie’s desperate hopefulness. Moxxy Rogers plays Rachel with sharp contrast: dismissive and poised. When the two explode at each other in an emotional confrontation, both actors tap into something genuine. However, the script doesn’t measure up to the moment. The dialogue leans so heavily on profanity that the scene loses its edge; by mistaking noise for intensity, the cursing fails to convey the rawness of teenage anger.Moxxy Rogers and Shannon Johnson in Dacha Theatre's The Best Damn Thing. Photo by Brett Love.

Lisa Shriver’s production of Grease at Village Theater is nothing short of a spectacular remake of everybody's favorite classic that will leave you humming catchy hits for days to come. The musical is immersive, entertaining, and comedic, celebrating the high school experience of the 1950s whilst exposing the cruelties of teen culture. 

Grease encapsulates dynamics between friendships, relationships, peers, and teachers that make the audience laugh, and music that makes it hard not to sing along. The story follows the rebellious teenaged Pink Ladies—a gum-chewing, hip-swinging, and sarcastic girl gang in matching pink jackets, and their counterparts—the Burger Palace Boys, greasers sporting leather jackets, obsessed with cars, and not afraid to get into trouble. When Sandy Dumbrowski, a new student at Rydell High School, shares a romantic, innocent romance with Daniel Zuko, a tough-acting Burger Palace Boy with a hidden, vulnerable heart, everything changes. As the characters noted how the Pink Ladies and the Burger Palace Boys decided not to show, the actors spoke directly to the audience, establishing a sense of togetherness, community, and shared experiences later developed within the play. By bringing the audience onstage alongside the characters, Grease developed an immersive and nostalgic atmosphere expanded upon by the set design, choreography, and heartfelt themes.Maya McQueen and Daniel Velasquez in Grease at Village Theatre. Photo by Nikki Womac (2026).

On March 4th, I was invited to Youth Theatre Northwest to observe a tech rehearsal for their production of Chicago: Teen Edition. The show was so fun and well-crafted. I was lucky to also interview the director, music director, and six actors about the production. From cast to crew, every person talked with so much love for their craft; love you can see beaming through the production. 

Chicago is part of YTN’s teen conservatory. The process includes a ten-week acting, singing, and choreography intensive, followed by eight weeks of rehearsal, and two weeks of tech. YTN stands out for being an educational theatre, and the entire show is developed to educate the actors and staff. Director Cory Southwell has been teaching at YTN for fourteen years, learning a new role at the theater every year that has elevated his ability to make great theater. Teen actors have similar experiences. When Southwell and his team put together the two alternating casts, their goal was to challenge actors to grow their acting, dancing, and singing while building a successful show.Photo by Cory Southwell.

Fire comes naturally: the hunger, the ferocity, the need to prove oneself to a world that refuses to hand you the lead role. Water must be learned.

When we think of Bruce Lee, we often conceptualize soaring kicks and cracking nunchucks—spectacle, velocity, and force. Others recall his philosophical richness: the insistence on adaptability, on becoming “like water.” Young Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story carefully balances both perceptions—the fire of ambition and the water in transformation.

With 67 seasons under its belt, Edmonds Driftwood Players has earned a reputation as a reliable community theater in the Pacific Northwest. Their funny, well-performed production of The Outsider earns its applause.

As I sat down in the cozy seats of the Wade James Theatre, I was greeted by a surprise: a pre-show sponsor message styled as a political ad. That brief comedic gag set the tone perfectly. The Outsider is a show that knows it is a political satire first and a comedy second, and it delivers that understanding from the opening seconds.

Quick—name the best performance you have ever seen. What made it so memorable? Was it perfectly produced, endlessly rehearsed, or meticulously written? Or, maybe it was memorable because of its spontaneity? 

The most recent play I’ve watched fit the description of the latter—and I’d argue that it was one of the best performances I have seen. 

Some shows win you over slowly. Li at Seattle Public Theater is not one of those shows. This one has you hooked as soon as the protagonist emerges from the wings, looks you straight in the eye, and says, “Let me introduce myself.” That bold opening sets the tone for a production that uses humor and direct audience connection to explore what it means to feel unseen and how healing can take place in unexpected ways. In a venue as small and close as Seattle Public Theater, Li is able to comfortably break the fourth wall and speak to the audience again and again throughout the show in a natural extension of the space’s intimacy. Ultimately, that intimacy is the heart of the show: since Li speaks directly to us, the production turns the audience into an active part of her journey. As a result, this world premiere feels less like a debut, and more like a fully realized story that thrives on the intimacy of the space and the unfiltered way Li lets us into her world.

Even before the play begins, the environment truly sets the tone and primes you for the intimacy that the show thrives on. A buzzing crowd squeezes through a congested hallway just outside the performance space. Instead of feeling isolated from the story in your seat, simply sitting in the room allows everyone to become part of a shared energy, part of the same narrative they are watching unfold. That sense of communal presence becomes essential once Li, a thief from Inner Mongolia, introduces herself. Played enthusiastically by Adele Lim, Li is our narrator, and throughout the show, she continues to joke with us and confide her worries with us. Our laughter and shock become part of the rhythm of the play, creating a pure feedback loop of joy where the actors and the audience feed off of each other.

The lights dim and the story unfolds onto a grey void. Two figures walk out towards each other, meeting in the center. One of them, Marrick Smith, plays an eerily joyous tune on the accordion, and the other, Folami Williams, turns to confront the audience. Behind them, a series of photos flash over the grey screen: Germans in airy summer clothing, enjoying the beach, reveling in leisure activities, all while Williams continues throughout with her chipper narration describing life as a non-Jewish German to the audience.

In a sharp turn of events, the audience is presented with images of children wearing swastikas and hordes of people heiling Hitler, an extreme juxtaposition to the shallow but upbeat mood of the actors. Suddenly, a camera flashes, and the room goes dark. 

Have you ever felt transported back in time because of the detailed sets and convincing performances in a play? Directed by Sunam Ellis and starring Becca Q. Co and Seoyoung Park The Heart Sellers takes place in a mid-size city during Thanksgiving 1973. It follows the story of Luna (Co) and Jane (Park) in Luna’s apartment. Over the course of the show, the two become close as they bond over the struggles of being immigrants in an unfamiliar country after the passing of the Hart-Celler Act, a law passed in 1965 that changed U.S. immigration policy and allowed more immigrants from Asia, Africa, and Latin America to enter the country. Also, they discover similarities in each other’s lives as well as their longing to see their families in Korea and in the Philippines. Incorporating themes such as friendship, family, and courage, The Heart Sellers represents the transcending of cultural and linguistic barriers by creating marvelous set design, elaborate costumes, and showcasing fabulous performances by the leading actresses.

To begin with, the audience was transported into 1973 through Luna’s small apartment. Clothes were scattered across the floor and magazines piled in front of the retro 70s television. The outside of the apartment surrounded the central set, making it so the audience felt they had a snapshot into the setting’s inner workings. Throughout the show, the two women talked more about their lives and became friends. It provided the necessary space for the characters to develop and move through the plot. However, I felt my mind starting to drift due to the lack of set variety in each scene, causing me to miss pieces of dialogue or monologues.

It is rare to see the tremors from a passing memory fully reflected on someone's face. Rarer still to watch the memory play out in their mind. With a small but talented cast and a stage that lies amidst the audience in unique intimacy, Taproot Theater’s production of Till We Have Faces provides an opportunity to do both simultaneously.

This play is the premier adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s novel of the same name, which reimagines the myth of Psyche and Cupid. In the original myth, Psyche is sacrificed by her people and rescued by the god Cupid. She becomes his bride but is forbidden to see his face when he visits each night. Her sister, envious of Psyche, convinces Psyche to betray Cupid's trust by looking at him. This causes Psyche to be exiled, forced by Aphrodite to complete tasks in order to be reunited with Cupid. Written by Karen Lund and directed by Marianne Savell, the show not only captures the essence of Lewis’s story, which explores sisterhood, identity, and what it really means to love sacrificially, but also enriches it through visual metaphor and excellent acting. 

Warning: this review contains light spoilers.

Is a story about 9/11 still meaningful to people who weren’t alive when it happened?

No one wants to work for a sleazy boss and have to argue for equal pay, but if I ever do, I'd want the smart, funny women in 9 to 5 as my colleagues. The Village Theatre’s production of 9 to 5 is a comedic, women-led effort to take on workplace inequality. Well known as a film, the musical features a book by Patricia Resnick, with music and lyrics by renowned country singer Dolly Parton. Although the story was first written in 1980, it still resonates today.

Set in 1979, 9 to 5 follows three secretaries—Violet, Doralee, and Judy—as they sing and dance their way through revenge against their sexist, egotistical boss, challenging the cultural norms that limit their professional opportunities. Initially, their workplace life at Consolidated Industries is bleak. For women, there is no hope for a raise or promotion and no sense of camaraderie. But when Violet, Doralee, and Judy realize they have a common enemy in their boss, they unite to improve the workplace.

What could be more perfect to kick off the holiday season than the nostalgic tale of Cinderella at the Wade James Theater? The Edmonds Driftwood Players delivers a delightful performance of the Broadway version of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Cinderella, emphasizing the importance of generosity and coming together despite differences to make a better world. There’s no wrong place or time of year for these messages, but they really resonated at a little community theater around the holidays. The lobby was elaborately decorated with wintery themes, pictures of the cast, and a Cinderella photoshoot. All of the ushers, and many of the younger audience members, were wearing tiaras, showing the production team’s excitement to be putting on this musical.

This more contemporary rendering keeps the classic tale of Cinderella while introducing dragon-slaying, the creation of a representative government, the power of kindness over ridicule, and an array of energetic, catchy songs. In this version, Cinderella meets Prince Topher for the first time after he gets back from a mission to kill a dragon that has been terrorizing the kingdom. Topher, under his advisor Sebastian’s influence, decides to host a ball to find a bride. Meanwhile, a revolutionary named Jean-Michael attempts to convince the citizens that they need reform because the people’s land was unjustly taken, but his message is diminished by the announcement of the prince throwing a ball to find his new bride. Cinderella longs to go to this ball, but her stepmother refuses to let her go, similar to the classic Cinderella story. After they leave, Cinderella comes across Crazy Marie, a vagrant woman who Cinderella has always been kind to. Crazy Marie turns out to be a fairy godmother and she helps get Cinderella to the ball. Once there, in addition to falling in love with the prince, Cinderella begins to tell him about the wrongdoings occurring in the kingdom that he hadn’t noticed, leading to reform and a happy ending all around. These twists on the classic tale offer just a little more magic to make all of Cinderella’s fresh and relatable dreams come true.Tamara C. Ford (Madame), Lydia Salita (Charlotte), Jessica Hamilton (Gabrielle), Miki Murray (Ella). Photo by Dale Sutton.

Soft rain echoed through the audience, the noise coming from the stage. On October 12, at 7:30 PM, the empty stage at Leo K. Theater was complete with a ballet barre, window, and glowing exit sign above a door with light streaming through it. It was cozy, if a bit lonely. The theater was set up as a dance studio, but when the performance began, it became clear that the story extended far beyond the aspects of dance. Instead, the world premiere of the play Fancy Dancer feels uniquely like a conversation with a friend, saying, “You are not alone.”

Seattle Rep and Seattle Children’s Theater have collaborated to introduce this autobiographical play, written by Larissa FastHorse and directed by Chay Yew, to a variety of ages. FastHorse and actress Burgandi Trejo Phoenix alternate performances, playing the show’s single role of Lara. Lara grew up in a small town in South Dakota off the Lakota reservation with her adoptive parents. Half Lakota and half white, she spent many of her formative years feeling like she was too much or not enough of both sides of her heritage. This discontent with her identity was mirrored in her body. She struggled with tibial torsion, which made it difficult for her to rotate her legs outward, also known as turnout. Because of this, she was deemed unworthy of dance opportunities again and again, from her second-grade ballet class to her eventual college one. Still, she persevered with her dream and set herself on following the footsteps of Maria Tallchief, a famous prima ballerina, who was also half-Indigenous. This link between identity, emotions, and dance is the core of the production.Larissa FastHorse in Fancy Dancer (2025) at Seattle Rep. Photo by Sayed Alamy.

On Saturday, October 18th members of the TeenTix New Guard went on their first Arts Outing of the year: a visit to Seattle Public Theater for their production of Stage of Fools!

About the show: A scrappy feminist theater company is about to go under when they receive an offer they can't refuse: has-been 80s action movie star Jake Stone will endow them with more money than they've ever dreamed of, if they'll produce King Lear, with him in the titular role. Never mind that he's an entitled, egotistical blowhard. These women can survive anything for the sake of the theater they love...right? (courtesy of Seattle Public Theater)The cast of Stage of Fools. Photo by Colin Madison Photography.

The Roommate at ArtsWest is a beautiful play that will make you laugh, cry, and consider the question, how much can a true friendship change you? Written by Jen Silverman and originally debuting at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in 2015, The Roommate follows two middle-aged women, Sharon and Robyn, and the budding friendship that starts when they become roommates. The two women are as opposite as can be. Sharon is a recently divorced, lonely homebody from a small town, while Robyn is free-spirited, from the Bronx, and in search of a new life. This dynamic leads to an emotionally captivating, comedy-rich play that will keep you both on the edge of your seat and contemplating its themes for weeks.

ArtsWest is a perfect venue for this show. It’s a small Black Box theater. No elevated stage. The actresses are only a few feet away from the front row. The only thing separating the stage from the audience are the small vinyl mats that mark the edges of the set. The set, designed by Devin Petersen, is a small kitchen decorated like a typical house from a Disney Channel sitcom. There are a few plants in the window nook above the sink; a small round table you can imagine a family breakfast around; and a fridge with colorful magnets holding up a few pictures of a young boy who no longer lives there. From the beginning to the end of the play, the set only changes as Robyn’s belongings supplant Sharon’s space. Her plants, weed, and boxes upon boxes don’t drastically change the set, but they make it clear that this isn’t just Sharon’s home anymore. It becomes less a stereotypical family home and more Sharon and Robyn’s home, a mix of Sharon’s more traditional values and Robyn’s careless and sometimes cluttered lifestyle. As we watch this change in the set, we also experience the women beginning to connect. They become entwined in each other's lives just as their things intertwine in their new home. Sharon’s house only becomes their home when Robyn and Sharon start to find home in each other. The Roommate is advertised as a dark comedy, so I expected something much less emotional than what I came away with: a bittersweet story about two completely opposite women finding love for each other and changing each other’s lives for the better.Mari Nelson and Sarah Harlett in The Roommate at ArtsWest. Photo by John McLellan.

Exotic Deadly: One Strange History Lessonby Clara Thorsen

Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play is an absurd comedy, coming-of-age drama, and historical lesson packed into just under two hours. Exotic Deadly made its Northwest debut at Theatre Off Jackson, a cozy venue nestled in the Chinatown-International District. The play follows an Asian-American high school student, Ami (Karis Ho), whose world comes crashing down after discovering her family invented the flavor enhancer MSG.