SGN Oct 26, 2018 - Part 2

BOOKS

“She Wants It: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy”

“Transparent” creator Jill Soloway with Hannah Gadsby and special guests brought feminism to Town Hall Seattle

by MK Scott SGN Contributing Writer

Part-book reading, part feminist revival party, “Transparent” creator Jill Soloway was in Seattle this past Tuesday, October 23 at Temple De Hirsch Sinai. The event was co-presented by Town Hall Seattle and Three Dollar Bill Cinema and lasted about 90 minutes.

Soloway wasn’t alone. She was joined by her rumored girlfriend, award-winning Australian comedian, Hannah Gadsby, as well as award-winning author Morgan Parker and Portland-native writer, Nicole J. Georges.

It wouldn’t be a feminist rally, without music, and that was furnished by Soloway’s comedian/musician sister, Faith, on keyboard. Together they explored Soloway’s evolution from straight, married mother of two to identifying as queer and nonbinary. They offered unbridled insight and a rare front seat to the inner workings of the #MeToo movement and its impact. Soloway, Gadsby, and Parker called us together to ruminate on an entire generation’s thoughtful and revolutionary ideas about gender, inclusion, desire, and consent.

First Literary Landmark in state of Washington honors Richard Hugo

United for Libraries, in partnership with the Washington Center for the Book, has designated the first official Literary Landmark in the state of Washington to honor poet Richard Hugo (1923-1982). The Literary Landmark plaque has been installed outside the front doors of the new Hugo House, a writing center for emerging and established writers, at 1634 Eleventh Avenue on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Marcellus Turner, chief librarian at The Seattle Public Library, and Cindy Aden, director of the Washington State Library, unveiled the Literary Landmark on September 17, 2018.

“Hugo House has been at the center of the writing community in Seattle for decades and plays a pivotal role in our literary heritage,” said Turner. “It is fitting that we honor the profound richness of Richard Hugo’s work and the vibrant writing center named for him with this Literary Landmark.”

The Washington Center for the Book is a partnership of The Seattle Public Library and Washington State Library. Coordinators Nono Burling and Linda Johns researched authors who have contributed to the literary landscape of the state and selected Hugo as the first to be honored. They worked with Hugo House staff and friends of the poet for the official plaque, which reads:

POET RICHARD HUGO

Raised in Seattle’s White Center by severe, taciturn grandparents, Richard Hugo (1923-1982) overcame his impoverished childhood to become a nationally beloved poet and teacher. Writing about overlooked people and places, he believed that “humanity will always survive civilization.” Hugo House, founded in 1996 as a

place for writers, honors his legacy.

The Literary Landmark program is administered by United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, a division of the American Library Association. Since the program began in 1986, more than 165 Literary Landmarks across the United States have been dedicated. There are Lit-

erary Landmarks in 34 states and in Washington, D.C. To learn more about Literary Landmarks across the U.S., visit http:// www.ala.org/united/products_services/literarylandmarks.

Courtesy of Seattle Public Library

Planet is set in a small map shop on the oldest street in an American city. Growing increasingly fearful of the outside world, Jody, the shop owner, retreats inside his store and refuses to leave. Jody’s quiet denial is in sharp contrast to his fantastical and extroverted friend Carl, who repeatedly urges Jody to leave the store. Through Carl’s surreal extravagance, the friends are forced to confront their lives and a vanishing community and come to terms with their place in a changing world. “Lonely Planet was born in Seattle and written in Seattle, dedicated to two of Seattle’s finest actors [Laurence Ballard & Michael Winters],” states playwright and director Steven Dietz. “I am delighted to have the chance to bring it back home to Seattle.” www.westoflenin.com

Juan Palmieri, Thriving Artists, 11/118 (at ACT Theatre)

This play is newly translated and directed by Arlene Martínez-Vázquez. The play tells the story of a young revolutionary, Juan Palmieri, through the eyes of his mother, Carmen, during the Tupamaro movement in Uruguay in the 1960s. Following in the footsteps of Che Guevara, the movement protested capitalism and imperialism, and sought to redistribute the wealth of an economy in crisis. In Uruguay – as in many other countries – these protests were met with extreme police violence and government persecution, leading to the incarceration, death, or disappearance of approximately 10,000 people from 1968-1985. www.acttheatre.org

Hollywood & Vine, Teatro ZinZanni, 11/1/18-4/28/19 (former Red Hook Brewery, Woodinville) Madame Zinzanni in this iteration is Christine Deaver. Also starring hoop aerialist Arianna Lallone, rock vocalist Jen Ayers, Parisian acrobat Domitil Aillot, and more in this dinner, cabaret extravaganza. https://zinzanni.com/seattle/

The Velveteen Rabbit, Seattle Children’s Theatre, 11/1-12/30

This lovely children’s play focuses on a friendship between an unlikely toy and the child who owns him. Together, the Boy and the Rabbit go on extraordinary adventures and visit the ends of the earth. The contemporary imagining of the beloved classic tells the story of first true love, and of the sweetness and pain of growing up. This adaptation arrives at SCT following four successful runs at the Unicorn Theatre in London – the UK’s leading theatre for young audiences.

www.sct.org

The Liberation, 14/48 Projects and Ghost Light Theatricals, 11/2-17 (world premiere)

Set against the background of terrorist attacks in Paris, The Liberation asks how far women have come from the sexual double standards of the past. After a scandal forces her out of her position as a history professor at a prestigious university, Marianne moves to Paris to reinvent herself. When a bright young assistant and the son of her lover from graduate school each appear, full of hope, on Marianne’s doorstep, she’s forced to wrestle with who she is and how she can move forward. https://ghostlight.strangertickets.com/

REPRESENT! Multicultural Playwrights Festival, Hansberry Project, eSe Teatro: Seattle Latinos Taking Stage, SIS Productions and Pratidhwani, 11/411/9 (at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute)

This annual presentation of short and longer pieces brings four theater companies together to showcase new and developing plays from diverse playwrights as we present both lengthy readings and an evening of excerpts from brand new pieces. This year both of the Hansberry Project’s writers are based here in Seattle. https://www.pratidhwani.org/represent

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, Village Theatre, Issaquah: 11/8-12/30, Everett: 1/4-2/3

Roald Dahl’s beloved magical misfit comes to Village Theatre’s stage. Matilda is the story of an extraordinary girl genius armed with a sharp mind and a vivid imagination who dares to take a stand and change her destiny. With the help of her kindly teacher (and a little magic), this miraculous girl proves that everyone has the power to change their story – and that sometimes, you have to be a little bit naughty. www.villagetheatre.org

Framed, Snowflake Avalanche, 11/925 (at 18th & Union)

An ambitious artist, married to a local crime boss, tangles with a young, natural talent – whose husband, in turn, is desperate to ingratiate himself with the mob. Both marriages are tested on the rocks of respect, intimacy and, of all things, art criticism. Written by nationally-known local playwright Y York. https://framed.brownpapertickets.com/

Jane Eyre – The Musical, ArtsWest, 11/15-12/23

ArtsWest presents a new 10-person chamber version of this classic story. When a spirited young orphan finds an unexpected home with a wealthy family, she also – against all odds and expectations –finds love. But strange voices from the attic and dark secrets from the past spark flames of fate that could consume them all. With sweeping music in a new chamber version of the celebrated musical, Charlotte Brontë’s classic love story soars to life and introduces this trailblazing heroine to a new generation. www.artswest.org

The Twilight Zone: Live!, Theater Schmeater, 11/16-12/15

Four episodes done exactly as written in

the annual outing at Theater Schmeater. It usually sells out. www.schmee.org

Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley, Taproot Theatre, 11/21-12/19

In this witty sequel to Pride and Prejudice, bookish middle-sister Mary pounds her pianoforte alone until a curious visitor drops hints of being her intellectual match. Seizing the opportunity to be the heroine of her own story, Mary pursues her equal. This funny, smart and romantic comedy makes for a most stylish holiday outing, written by nationally-known Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. www.taproottheatre.org

Annie, 5th Avenue Theatre, 11/2312/30 (opens 11/30)

A specially “diverse” version of Annie, directed by Billie Wildrick, will star Timothy McCuen Piggee as Daddy Warbucks and Cynthia Jones as Miss Hannigan. This “Tomorrow”-looking young orphan will capture your heart with her adorable heartstealing dog and have you rooting for all the orphans.

www.5thavenue.org

In the Heights, Seattle Repertory Theatre with Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 11/23-12/30 (tour)

This is the story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood-a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams, and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind. The first hit for Lin-Manuel Miranda! www.seattlerep.org

My Ántonia, Book-It Repertory Theatre, 11/29-12/30

Adapted and directed by Annie Lareau, this play premiered at Book-It in 2008. The childhood memories of narrator Jim Burden in Blackhawk, Nebraska are woven together with the struggles of his beloved neighbor, a newly-arrived immigrant girl from Bohemia, Ántonia Shimerda. The story of their friendship outlines the determination, hardship, and resilience of Great Plains life at the turn of the 20th century in this enchanting American classic that is a tribute to the human spirit.

www.book-it.org

Our Great Tchaikovsky, Seattle Repertory Theatre, 11/29-12/16

Hershey Felder does Pyotr Tchaikovsky as he revisits Seattle with his talent and his solo performing magic. Brilliant composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky springs to life exploring the mystery surrounding some of the greatest music ever written. From the unforgettable ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, this musical tribute travels to Czarist times to ponder the inevitable enigma of genius. www.seattlerep.org

Veils, Macha Theatre Works, 11/3012/16 (at West of Lenin)

Intisar, a veiled African-American Muslim student, thought she might finally fit in when she enrolled for a year abroad at the American Egyptian University in Cairo. Samar, her non-veiled Egyptian Muslim roommate, enlists Intisar’s help in creating an Internet blog about the practice of wearing veils (or not), in hopes of challenging Western assumptions of Muslim culture and bridging the gap between the West and the Middle East. As Egypt hurtles toward revolution, Intisar and Samar are surprised to find themselves on opposite sides of a bitter cultural divide.

www.machatheatreworks.com

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Seattle Musical Theatre, 11/30-12/16

In the biblical land of Caanan, Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, is blessed with vivid dreams that foretell the future. Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, Joseph endures a series of adventures, including befriending a hilariously Elvis-like Pharaoh before ultimately confronting and revealing himself to his brothers. From the powerhouse team that brought us Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

www.seattlemusicaltheatre.org

GREGORY AWARDS

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of local theatre practitioners, and to raise the visibility of the theatre in our region.

The Gregory Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in the Seattle area, and are now recognized as the most significant theatre awards in the northwestern United States, akin to the Ovation Awards in Los Angeles and the Jeff Awards in Chicago.

The Gregory Awards began with a single category, the Gregory A. Falls Sustained Achievement Award, in 1998. Since then, it has grown to encompass 18 categories, incorporating musical theatre categories, new work, technical awards, and the Melissa Hines Backstage Award to honor volunteers, board members, and administrators.

The show started with host and Broadway star, Don Daryl Rivera (Aladdin) performing the opening number, “You will be found” from the Tony Award winning, Dear Evan Hanson with a Special Awards Youth Choir backing him up. Throughout the night, we were treated with special 10th Anniversary greetings from Broadways stars from the Lion King, Aladdin, Once Upon This Island as well as Seattle’s own, Jerick Hoffer (aka Jinkx Monsoon), Gilbert Gottfried and more.

Following are the 2018 Gregory Award categories and nominees with winners *** and in bold:

Theatre of the Year

ACT Theatre

ArtsWest Playhouse & Gallery

***Seattle Public Theater

Seattle Repertory Theatre

Village Theatre

Production (Play)

Frost/Nixon (Strawberry Theatre Workshop)

***Hand to God (Seattle Public Theater)

Ironbound (Seattle Public Theater)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Two Trains Running (Seattle Repertory Theatre)

Production (Musical)

***Dragon Lady (Intiman Theatre)

Hairspray (Village Theatre)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery)

Ragtime (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

New Play

Family Matters – by Rachel Atkins (ReAct Theatre)

Ibsen in Chicago – by David Grimm (Seattle Repertory Theatre)

Nite Skool – by Max Kirchner & The Libertinis (Annex Theatre)

The Secret and Impossible League of the Noosphere in the Baltimore Plot – by Darian Lindle (Live Girls! Theater)

***Silhouette – by Scotto Moore (Annex Theatre)

Actor (Play)

***Ben Burris – Hand To God (Seattle Public Theater)

Tim Gouran – Burn This (Theatre22)

Richard Gray – The Nance (ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery)

Lamar Legend – An Octoroon (ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery)

Brandon J. Simmons – The Picture of Dorian Gray (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Actor (Musical)

Nicholas Japaul Bernard – Hedwig and the Angry Inch (ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery)

***E.J. Cardona & Joshua Castille –The Hunchback of Notre Dame (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Nick Desantis – Hairspray (Village Theatre)

Douglas Lyons – Ragtime (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Connor Russell – Ride The Cyclone (ACT Theatre/5th Avenue Theatre)

Actress (Play)

Sylvie Davidson – The Crucible (ACT Theatre)

Khanh Doanh – King of the Yees (ACT Theatre)

***Aishé Keita – I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Alexandra Tavares – Ironbound (Seattle Public Theater)

Amy Thone – Frost/Nixon (Strawberry Theatre Workshop)

Actress (Musical)

Kendra Kassebaum – Ragtime (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Felicia Loud – Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery)

***Sara Porkalob – Dragon Lady (Intiman Theatre)

Callie Williams – Hairspray (Village Theatre)

Dan’yelle Williamson – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Supporting Actor (Play)

***Reginald André Jackson – Two Trains Running (Seattle Repertory Theatre)

Martyn G. Krouse – Hand To God (Seattle Public Theater)

Ryan Schlecht (ASL) – Midsummer Night’s Dream (Sound Theatre Company)

Ray Tagavilla – King of the Yees (ACT Theatre)

Rajeev Varma – Pride and Prejudice (ACT Theatre)

Supporting Actor (Musical)

Peter Crook – Hairspray (Village Theatre)

***Lamar Legend – Howl’s Moving Castle (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Vincent Milay – Little Shop of Horrors (Reboot Theatre Company)

Brandon O’Neill – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Kevin Vortmann – Into The Woods (Village Theatre)

Supporting Actress (Play)

Emily Chisholm – Pride and Prejudice (Seattle Repertory Theatre)

***Sunam Ellis – Hand To God (Seattle Public Theater)

Sarah Harlett – Frost/Nixon (Strawberry Theatre Workshop)

Jonelle Jordan – The Government Inspector (Seattle Shakespeare Company)

Kate Witt – Coriolanus: Fight Like a Bitch (Rebel Kat Productions)

Supporting Actress (Musical)

Andi Alhadeff – Ragtime (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Lisa Estridge – Mamma Mia! (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Robyn Hurder – Kiss Me, Kate (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

***Shaunyce Omar – Hairspray (Village Theatre)

Allison Standley – Into The Woods (Village Theatre)

Ensemble

Frost/Nixon (Strawberry Theatre Workshop)

Hairspray (Village Theatre)

***Hand to God (Seattle Public Theater)

King of the Yees (ACT Theatre)

The Wolves (ACT Theatre)

Choreography

Michele Lynch – Kiss Me, Kate (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Crystal Dawn Munkers – Hairspray (Village Theatre)

***Katy Tabb – Disney’s Newsies (Village Theatre)

Director

***Kelly Kitchens – Hand To God (Seattle Public Theater)

John Langs – The Crucible (ACT Theatre)

Malike Oyetimein – I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Victor Pappas – The Picture of Dorian Gray (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Timothy McCuen Piggee & Steve Tomkins – Hairspray (Village Theatre)

Lighting

Michael Gilliam – Hairspray (Village Theatre)

Thorn Michaels – Ironbound (Seattle Public Theater)

***Tristan Roberson –Teh Internet Is Serious Business (Washington Ensemble Theatre)

Duane Schuler – Ragtime (The 5th Avenue Theatre)

Andrew D, Smith – The Picture of Dorian Gray (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Scenic Design

***Catherine Cornell – Mac Beth (Seattle Repertory Theatre)

Robin Macartney – You Can’t Take It With You (Sound Theatre Company)

LONELY PLANET

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Andre Jackson. Lonely Planet runs October 24 - November 18. Having premiered at ACT Theatre in 1993, Lonely Planet went on to be produced numerous times across the country, including three Off-Broadway engagements.

An intimate portrait of two friends at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Lonely Planet is set in a small map shop on the oldest street in an American city. Growing increasingly fearful of the outside world, Jody, the shop owner, retreats inside his store and refuses to leave. Jody’s quiet denial is in sharp contrast to his fantastical and extroverted friend Carl, who repeatedly urges Jody to leave the store. Through Carl’s surreal extravagance, the friends are forced to confront their lives and a vanishing community and come to terms with their place in a changing world.

“Lonely Planet was born in Seattle and written in Seattle, and dedicated to two of Seattle’s finest actors [Laurence Ballard and Michael Winters],” states writer and director Steven Dietz. “I am honored to have seen the play have a rich life these past 25 years – both nationally and internationally – but I’m even more delighted to have the chance to bring it back home to Seattle. My great thanks to AJ Epstein and West of Lenin for making this happen.”

After several years of discussion about ways to honor and celebrate the play’s 25th anniversary, Dietz and Epstein, proprietor of West of Lenin, decided on this intimate production. Michael Winters returns as Jody, the role he originated when Lonely Planet premiered. Also returning are lighting designer Rick Paulsen and co-costume designer Connie Rinchiuso, who both worked on the original Seattle production.

“Lonely Planet is a lovely and powerful play whose script manages light and power with a clever, rare and seemingly effortless

Christopher Mumaw – Hand To God (Seattle Public Theater)

Tristan Roberson – The Nether (Washington Ensemble Theatre)

Paul Thomas – American Buffalo (Seattle Immersive Theatre)

Costume Design

***Alex Jaeger – Hairspray (Village Theatre)

Kelsey Rogers – The Nance (ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery)

Pete Rush – The Government Inspector (Seattle Shakespeare Company)

K.D. Schill – I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Christine Tschirgi – King of the Yees (ACT Theatre)

Sound/Music Design

***Erin Bednarz, Pete Irving, Matt Starritt –Dragon Lady (Village Theatre)

Brendan Patrick Hogan – Frost/Nixon (Strawberry Theatre Workshop)

Evan Mosher & Annastasia Workman – Smoked! (Cafe Nordo)

Sharath Patel – Ibsen In Chicago (Seattle Repertory Theatre)

Robertson Witmer – Hand To God (Seattle Public Theater)

adeptness that’s truly delightful to engage with,” said Epstein. “Most powerfully, though, is the gut punch in the center of this lovely play that’s a reminder that our community has been robbed of so many souls, and that whole communities were devastated by this loss. Lonely Planet isn’t about politicizing this loss; it exists to humanize the impact of this loss, and to serve as a reminder.”

Lonely Planet appears at West of Lenin (203 N 36th St) and plays Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm, with an added performance Monday, November 12 at 8pm

through November 18. Tickets – $35 general admission; $25 for groups of 5 or more; $15 for students, seniors, TPS members and veterans – are on sale now at www.westoflenin. com. Written and directed by Steven Dietz, Lonely Planet is a poignant, funny and deeply personal story of two friends and how they navigate a time of crisis and loss.

About Steven Dietz Steven Dietz is one of America’s most widely produced and published contemporary playwrights. Since 1983, his thirty-

plus plays have been seen at over one hundred regional theatres in the United States, Off-Broadway and in more than 20 countries across the globe. Dietz is a two-time winner of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award for Fiction and Still Life with Iris, as well as a two-time finalist for the Steinberg New Play Award for Last of the Boys and Becky’s New Car He received the PEN USA West Award in Drama for Lonely Planet. Other widely produced plays include Yankee Tavern, Jackie & Me, Shooting Star, Inventing Van Gogh, God’s Country, Private Eyes and The Nina Variations. Dietz teaches parttime for the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas at Austin (recently stepping away from his full-time faculty position) and is a Dramatists Guild “Traveling Master,” offering playwriting workshops and master classes around the country. Dietz and his wife, playwright Allison Gregory, divide their time between Austin and Seattle.

About West of Lenin

A project of AJ Epstein and his production company The Ethereal Mutt, West of Lenin is an 88-seat black box theatre and studio space located a short walk west of the Lenin statue in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. Founded in 2011, West of Lenin was created to offer a venue for Seattle’s artists working in all genres of performance and visual art, as well as to reestablish a permanent, live performance venue in Fremont. In addition to being the home for many theatre and performance art companies, West of Lenin mounts shows with its own production and creative teams. For more information, please visit www. westoflenin.com or www.facebook.com/ westoflenin.

Courtesy of West of Lenin