Gretchen Krich

The votes are in and the nominees have been announced! And now, the worthy recipients of the 2018 Gypsy Rose Lee Awards are finally able to get the recognition they richly deserve.

Seattle's critics' circle announces Nominees of Excellence in Seattle theatrical productions. Spanning dozens of theater companies and productions, from large and prominent to small and humble, the Gypsy Rose Lee Awards honor the excellence found in the myriad of professional theater productions that we reviewers attend in a year.

There seems to be a spate of plays getting a lot of critical acclaim these days that take on societal changes and amp them up to an extreme and absurd level. For example, the recent "Straight White Men" that looked at white male privilege. And now we have the gender conformity examining "Hir" by Taylor Mac, currently playing at ArtsWest. The thing is they keep billing these as comedies and touting them for their daring. Daring, maybe as they tackle subjects that make people uncomfortable, but comedy, no. As was the case with "Straight White Men", "Hir" takes everything to an absurd level, and don't get me wrong I love an absurd comedy, but they do it in such a way that by the end there is not one likable character.

This month, ArtsWest and Intiman join forces to stage Taylor Mac's HIR, a fearless comedy about a household in revolt, from February 28 to March 25, 2018, with Intiman Artistic Director Jennifer Zeyl directing.  

Lerner and Loewe's "My Fair Lady" is one of those enduring classics that when done correctly can amount to a magical evening. But to do it correctly there's a shopping list of elements you must have such as a terrific and upbeat pace, lively and fun choreography, breathtaking costumes and of course a superb cast especially a sweet, strong, and loveable Eliza with the voice that can hit those impossible Julie Andrews notes. Without those elements, really, why bother? Well lucky for us director Brian Yorkey and the folks at Village Theatre seem to have gotten ahold of my shopping list and confidently checked off each item as their current production of the classic amounts in some ways to one of the best I've seen.

Ten Chimneys Foundation has announced Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad will serve as the Master Teacher for the 2015 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, a national program to serve the future of American theatre.

The absolutely stirring performances would have been enough. Even if the script for Seattle Rep's world premiere of "A Great Wilderness" were just so-so the ensemble cast knocking ball after ball out of the park would have been enough to make for an amazing evening. But when you add in the fact that this new script from one of the theater world's up and comers, Samuel D. Hunter, amounts to a subtle and gripping thing of beauty, you have an experience at the theater that you won't soon forget.

It's always a risk when a professional company such as the Rep dusts off an old chestnut such as "Inspecting Carol". I mean, it's kind of become a go to Christmas show for hundreds of regional theaters and might be a little dated. But I can understand why since it was created at the Rep back in 1991 by then Artistic Director Daniel Sullivan and the Seattle Repertory Theatre Resident Company. And while the remount this year definitely had some laughs, overall it felt clunky and filled with holes and didn't deliver the constant barrage of gut busters I was expecting.

A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) have announced their mainstage season productions are now on sale to the general public for individual ticket purchases. The first two major productions of the season are First Date, a new musical co-produced with The 5th Avenue Theatre, followed by The Pitmen Painters, a regional premiere of the acclaimed London and Broadway play.

A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) have announced their mainstage season productions are now on sale to the general public for individual ticket purchases. The first two major productions of the season are First Date, a new musical co-produced with The 5th Avenue Theatre, followed by The Pitmen Painters, a regional premiere of the acclaimed London and Broadway play.

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again since it keeps coming up, I personally cannot stand other people's therapy on stage. And if you must put up some theatrical therapy, at least frame it in an interesting story. And while the Seattle Rep's current production of "Circle Mirror Transformation" isn't necessarily author Annie Baker's therapy, it is the therapy for her five characters and no, they're not that interesting.

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again since it keeps coming up, I personally cannot stand other people's therapy on stage. And if you must put up some theatrical therapy, at least frame it in an interesting story. And while the Seattle Rep's current production of "Circle Mirror Transformation" isn't necessarily author Annie Baker's therapy, it is the therapy for her five characters and no, they're not that interesting.

Aggressively involve and engage your audience. Let THEM decide the content! Starting February 7, 2011, The Central Heating Lab at ACT Theatre launches an exciting theatrical twist on this ever-evolving concept with the first of four provocative Seattle Confidential productions created by Ian Bell.

Aggressively involve and engage your audience. Let THEM decide the content! Starting February 7, 2011, The Central Heating Lab at ACT Theatre launches an exciting theatrical twist on this ever-evolving concept with the first of four provocative Seattle Confidential productions created by Ian Bell.

Aggressively involve and engage your audience. Let THEM decide the content! Starting February 7, 2011, The Central Heating Lab at ACT Theatre launches an exciting theatrical twist on this ever-evolving concept with the first of four provocative Seattle Confidential productions created by Ian Bell.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre celebrates new work in the month of February. This month, ACT's Mainstage play series kicks off with ACT and The 5th Avenue Theatre's production of Vanities: A New Musical, the life-affirming journey of three women, three decades, and one friendship; The Hansberry Project returns to the stage with its overwhelmingly popular You Really Got a Hold on Me, along with a new partner, Danceable Planet with Poetry + Motion; Balagan Theatre's smash hit guest production Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog continues its quest for world domination; and The Central Heating Lab at ACT cooks up art installations, dance theatre, confidential confessions, and culture clashes. SOIL Artist-Run Gallery unveils all-new performance-inspired installation art along 7th Avenue. Cornish Dance Theater presents The Merce Cunningham minEvent Project with a special site-specific performance in ACT's Bullitt Cabaret. In Seattle Confidential, local actors give voice to Seattle's secrets in a tell-all evening of anonymous divulgence hosted by Ian Bell. ACT also welcomes cutting edge new films by RAWSTOCK, plus two new theatre partners: ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani's new play, Mother in Another Language by Taniya Hossain, and eSe Teatro's staged reading of the poignant play Passport by Gustavo Ott.Balagan Theatre:

Aggressively involve and engage your audience. Let THEM decide the content! Starting February 7, 2011. The Central Heating Lab at ACT Theatre launches an exciting theatrical twist on this ever-evolving concept with the first of four provocativeSeattle Confidential productions created by Ian Bell.

Aggressively involve and engage your audience. Let THEM decide the content! Starting February 7, 2011, The Central Heating Lab at ACT Theatre launches an exciting theatrical twist on this ever-evolving concept with the first of four provocative Seattle Confidential productions created by Ian Bell.

The Seattle Rep is currently presenting Brian Friel's Irish familial saga, "Dancing at Lughnasa". And while the show has some lovely moments, the play as a whole seemed sluggish and uneven.

An all-star Seattle cast teams with inventive director Sheila Daniels to revisit Brian Friel's touching Irish family drama Dancing at Lughnasa, playing at Seattle Repertory Theatre Nov. 12-Dec. 5, 2010.