Staff Picks
Theater is a broad (and getting broader) artistic umbrella, it seems, which means that the art form can contain a creatively scrumptious variety of offerings. This month, Seattle stages have everything from a big-budget Broadway musical by Alicia Keys, some classic Shakespeare in the park, a shadow puppet show with a nudity content warning and much more.
‘Birds of Play’
This “cheeky circus cabaret” from Joy Rides, the performance alter ego of Tanya Gagné, returns to Seattle Public Theater for another summertime engagement. This go-round, Joy is joined by Goldie Hen (a hula-hooping chicken who made a splash on “America’s Got Talent”), aerialist Leila Noone, ballerina Bella Schleiker and boylesque star Manny Manstands. Matinees of this one-act show are designed for all ages while evening shows, incorporating burlesque and adult language, are for audiences 18 and older. But every performance “delivers a joyful celebration of freedom and fearlessness.”
July 9-25; Seattle Public Theater, 7312 W. Green Lake Drive N., Seattle; $10-$100; 206-524-1300, seattlepublictheater.org
‘Seattle Vice’
Good-time theater team Mark Siano and Opal Peachey (creators of “Bohemia”) are bringing back “Seattle Vice,” their musical ode to Seattle’s seedy 1970s underbelly via the true story of our city’s infamous “Stripper King” Frank Colacurcio. Inspired by journalist Rick Anderson’s book of the same name, “Seattle Vice” features original songs and ’70s hits, along with pole dances, burlesque, comedy, acrobatics and the excellent Ray Tagavilla as Colacurcio, all directed and choreographed with Broadway-style flair by local talent Katy Tabb.
July 10-18; Triple Door, 216 Union St, Seattle; $25 general, $35 premium seating; 21 and older; 866-973-9612, thetripledoor.net
Shakespeare in the Park
This year’s GreenStage bill features some of the Bard’s lesser-produced shows, beginning with “The Winter’s Tale,” a profoundly strange but also magical and romantic story of love, jealousy and family. Also on the main stage is the political tragedy “Coriolanus,” in which a Roman general must be stopped from punishing the Roman people because they don’t love him. (Class warfare, baby!) For those with tighter schedules or early bedtimes, the company’s Backyard Bard program, which presents abridged Shakespeares (this year, “The Tempest” and “The Two Noble Kinsmen”), could be just what you need.
July 10-Aug. 15; various locations; free; 206-748-1551; greenstage.org
Shadow Girls Cult presents: ‘UNRAVELING’
This “cinematic shadow puppetry show,” as it’s called by its creators, uses lo-fi theater magic to create high-impact art. Shadow Girls Cult employs creative light techniques with old-school overhead projectors, shadow masks and shadow puppets along with live foley art (sound effects) and music to create live, short animated films. “UNRAVELING” blends sci-fi, film noir, classic horror and surrealism, and asks, according to marketing notes: “Is the world (and by extension, are we) destined to always, always come apart at the seams?” Also, consider yourself content warned: This show is for ages 16 and older and contains both puppet nudity and puppet violence.
July 16-18; Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S., Seattle; $0-$30; theatreoffjackson.org
‘Hell’s Kitchen’
Get ready, Alicia Keys fans, because the soulful, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter’s semi-autobiographical musical “Hell’s Kitchen” lands in Seattle this month. The show, which includes both Keys’ classics and new songs written just for the show, tells the story of 17-year-old Ali, an ambitious kid struggling to find herself in the shadow of an overprotective single mother, until a neighbor introduces her to the piano. The Tony-nominated musical opened on Broadway in 2024 and became a New York Times Critic’s Pick, dubbed “thrilling from beginning to end.”
July 21-26; Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle; tickets start at $67.60; 206-682-1414, stgpresents.org
‘Freak the Mighty’
If you’re in the market for an uplifting, family-friendly musical theater experience, this may be the show for you. It’s adapted by Anthony Drewe (book and lyrics) and Ryan Fielding Garrett (music) from Rodman Philbrick’s 1993 young adult novel of the same name, which is in turn named after the story’s main characters. Maxwell Kane, who lives with a developmental disability, and Kevin “Freak” Avery, who has Morquio syndrome, meet as misfit teens and join forces to become Freak The Mighty, “a duo ready to take on the world.” According to marketing materials, the show “celebrates resilience, friendship and the bonds that shape our lives.” This world premiere, a coproduction with Cleveland Play House, is directed by Michael Barakiva and choreographed by Patrick McCollum.
July 30-Sept. 6; Seattle Rep, 155 Mercer St., Seattle; $39-$131; 206-443-2222, seattlerep.org
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