Spring Arts: Theater

Five excellent reasons not to miss these spring performances

By Brangien Davis and Dana Standish February 8, 2011

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Our picks for this season’s can’t-miss theater events

3/18–4/17
Arthur Miller Visits the Central District
The popularity of All My Sons—which earned Arthur Miller both a Tony Award and an appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee—means you’re probably familiar with the play, but this version of the family drama (directed by The Hansberry Project’s Valerie Curtis-Newton) boasts two important distinctions: It is set in Seattle’s Central District (circa 1947) and stars Tony Award–winning actor Chuck Cooper as the troubled Joe Keller. Times and prices vary. Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer St.; 206.269.1900; intiman.org

4/4–10/24
Harold Pinter Returns
ACT Theatre’s popular Pinter Fortnightly program is back, bringing works by the Nobel Prize–winning English playwright to the Bullitt Cabaret stage. Beloved local actors give readings of Pinter plays (think The Birthday Party, The Homecoming and The French Lieutenant’s Woman), which audiences debate hotly in post-performance discussions. (Mondays, fortnightly.) 7 p.m. Prices vary. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St.; 206.292.7676; acttheatre.org

4/22–5/22
Mike Daisey Takes On Steve Jobs
Seattle’s master monologist Mike Daisey brings his trademark hilarity and insight to The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, his paean and plea to Apple’s head honcho. With a bare-bones performance style—a single desk, low lighting—Daisey dissects some of the most complex issues in modern American culture. In this case, he asks: “How did one obsessive man change the world to his liking—and at what cost?” Times and prices vary. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St.; 206.443.2222; seattlerep.org

5/11–7/3
Brian Yorkey Directs
Issaquah native Brian Yorkey is on a roll, having recently earned 11 Tony Award nominations (winning three) and one Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his rock musical Next to Normal. He returns to the Eastside to direct Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Whether you’ve never seen it or know it by heart, go see this version of the 1971 classic, led by a guy who clearly knows how to rock a musical. Times and prices vary. Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N; 425.392.2202; villagetheatre.org

4/13–5/14
A Dead Goat Dreams
Since its 2008 debut, Seattle’s New Century Theatre Company has proven itself unafraid in the face of risky plays—a strategy that’s proven well worth it. It should perhaps be no surprise, then, that the troupe’s next work, O Lovely Glowworm, relays the active imagination of a stuffed dead goat standing atop a pile of garbage in 1918 Ireland. Trust us when we say we can’t wait. Times and prices vary. Erickson Theatre, 1524 Harvard Ave.; 206.587.5400 newcenturytheatrecompany.org

 

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