November 2022 – Shows I've Seen

The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley – Play – Taproot Theatre

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley play at Taproot Theatre rectified an anti-feminist Pride and Prejudice storyline that Jane Austen inadequately resolved for women. Rich English accent from Mr. Darcy. Very Downton Abbey. Good young energetic naiveté from Lydia. Craving tea & shortbread now.

Synopsis from the Theatre: In this all-new Jane Austen-inspired story, we return to the world of the Darcys and Bennets! Lydia’s come for Christmas, the halls are decked, and the aroma of everyone’s favorite orange biscuits fills the air. But downstairs the loyal staff scramble to keep a secret that could upend the festivities. Amid the chaos of Christmas, a little yuletide forgiveness might be the one gift everyone needs.

Reviewed Performance: 11/26 Evening – Opening Weekend

Type: Play

World Premiere: No

Recommendation: See it if you like Pride and Prejudice.

Rating Compared to Other Shows with the Same Production Value:
4.5 Stars (Out of 5 Stars)

Equity Actors: 2 actors out of 7 but they were all very good. I actually assumed more of them were Equity.

Length: 2 hours

Intermission: Yes

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned in Elevator Thoughts

Favorite Line: When the new maid Cassie saw Mr Darcy (her boss) for the first time and said nervously said “Sir! … My lord! … Mr Darcy!” then bowed.

Rant(s)

Single Setting: The entire play was several scenes in the common area where “the help” reside. The story would be more interesting if they showed scenes in different settings like upstairs or in the marketplace.

Other Thought(s)

Accents: I always love hearing different accents in shows especially how they pronounced “leisure” and “privacy” in this play. Most of the accents in this play were familiar from TV but I’ve never heard the accents from the working class characters before.
Working Class Mobility: While the play turned up the feminism a couple notches towards the end, I wish it did the same thing for working class mobility. “The help” was too dependent on Mr Darcy even when one of them was moving up in the world. Baby steps I guess!

Theatre Company : Taproot Theatre

Venue: Taproot Theatre’s Jewell Mainstage

Venue Physical Address: 204 N 85th St, Seattle, WA 98103

Price: Medium

Dates: November 23 to December 30, 2022

Seating: Assigned

Parking: Paid lot or usually-free street parking. I almost always find free street parking on Greenwood Ave just South of the theatre.

Social Media Posts About this Performance from Shows I’ve Seen: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

Cast and Production Team: Under pictures below.

Other Video +/- Pictures: Pictures in video and under video are by Robert Wade Photography.

@showsiveseen “The Wickhams: #Christmas at Pemberley” #play at @taproottheatre rectified an anti-feminist #PrideAndPrejudice storyline that #JaneAusten inadequately resolved for women. Rich #English accent from #MrDarcy. Very @downtonabbeyofficial. Good young energetic naiveté from Lydia. Craving tea & #shortbread d now. Review + Photo Credit: showsiveseen.com/2372 #theatre ♬ Santa Tell Me – Ariana Grande

Gretchen Douma, Kathryn Bogley, and Kelly Karcher in *The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley* at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.

Kelly Karcher and Ian Bond in *The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley* at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.

Ricky Spaulding in *The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley* at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.

Kathryn Bogley, Kelly Karcher, and Annie Yim in *The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley* at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.

Gretchen Douma and Ian Bond in *The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley* at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.

Ricky Spaulding and Katheryn Bogley in *The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley* at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.

Katheryn Bogley and Ricky Spaulding in *The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley* at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.

Katheryn Bogley and Kelly Karcher in *The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley* at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.

Role	Name
Lydia Wickham	Kelly Karcher (Equity)
Elizabeth Darcy	Annie Yim
Fitzwilliam Darcy	Brian Pucheu
Mrs. Reynolds	Gretchen Douma (Equity)
Cassie	Kathryn Bogley
Brian	Ricky Spaulding
George Wickham	Ian Bond
Lydia Wickham/Elizabeth Darcy Understudy	Chloe Michele
Fitzwilliam Darcy/Brian/George Wickham Understudy	Will Eames
Cassie Understudy	Karin Terry
Mrs. Reynolds Understudy	Teri Lee Thomas
—	—
Playwrights	Lauren Gunderson Margot Melcon
Director	Karen Lund (SDC)
Assistant Director	Bretteney Beverly
Scenic Design	Amanda Sweger
Costume Design	Pete Rush
Lighting Design	Tim Wratten
Sound Design	Mark Lund
Fight Choreographer	Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
Stage Manager	Nik Nolen (Equity)
Dramaturg	Sonja Lowe
Dialect Coach	Rowan Gallagher

Cinderella – Pantomime – Centerstage Theatre

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Cinderella pantomime at Centerstage Theatre. 1st time seeing a British panto & was pleasantly surprised there was singing w/ a band. Even included #drag. Awesome Cinderella and Button actresses. Witty jokes. Feel-good family-friendly experience. #campy

Synopsis from the Theatre: Celebrate the most magical time of year with the most magical fairy tale of them all – Cinderella! For fifteen years Centerstage has enchanted audiences with its traditional holiday pantomime (the Panto). Young and old enjoy the sparkle, glitter, and chaos of this family-friendly laugh-a-minute traditional British treat. Audience participation is encouraged and enhances the cleverly choreographed mayhem. The Fairy Godmother, Cinderella, Prince Charming and, of course, the Wicked Stepsisters deliver holiday joy to everyone–from age 5 to 95!

Reviewed Performance: 11/26 Afternoon – Opening Day

Type: Pantomime

World Premiere: Yes? I think this theatre produces their yearly pantomimes new in-house. Please let me know in my social media post if you have information.

Live Band/Orchestra: Yes

Recommendation: See it if 1) you’ve never attended a pantomime, 2) you like pantomime, 3) or you want to take kids to a show.

Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now?: Yes if it was an Equity production

Rating Compared to Other Shows with the Same Production Value:
4.25 Stars (Out of 5 Stars)

Equity Actors: 1 actor out of 20-ish. The non-Equity main characters were very good.

Length: 2.75 hours – I’m surprised the kids in the audience were okay this long!

Intermission: Yes

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned in Elevator Thoughts

Cleaver Quips: I smiled and laughed a lot during this show. Maybe it was the funny jokes. Maybe it was the novelty of panto.
High Kicks: Dandini (Jasmine Wright) performed impressive kicks!
Songlist: Included songs from musicals (like The Wiz, Hairspray, & Les Misérables) and pop culture.

Rant(s)

Time to Cure: This production could use more time to solidify and tighten up the performance. However, I attended the opening day and this problem will certainly improve as they continue to perform this show.
Microphones: They need to increase the volume of the minor characters and reduce the crackles from various microphones.

Other Thought(s)

Pantomime: This was my first time seeing a British “panto.” I’m very curious how this novel experience compares to pantos performed in the UK. It was interesting how they frequently broke the 4th wall and encouraged the audience to yell things out. I know the kids certainly loved that.
Dress Transformation: This was the first time I’ve seen a costume transformation like how this production turned Cinderella’s rags to a gown. It was definitely more cost-effective than what I’m used to seeing. However, it was still effective since the kids sitting behind me were trying to figure out how the trick was done. I won’t spoil the stage magic for you though!
Wardrobe Malfunction: Someone’s pants fell during a song and I don’t think it was intentional. Fortunately, they weren’t the focus during the scene. Oh, the magic of live theatre!
Kid Performers: I’m usually not a fan of seeing kids on-stage especially if they’re not in a professional Equity production. That being said, it was refreshing to see this production mix amateur kids with older more experienced actors. I’d like to think that it’s a good mentoring experience for the child performers and a better experience for the kids in the audience.

Theatre Company : Centerstage Theatre

Venue: Dumas Bay Centre

Venue Physical Address: 3200 SW Dash Point Rd, Federal Way, WA 98023

Price: Cheap

Dates: November 26 to December 18, 2022

Seating: Assigned

Parking: Free and plentiful lot parking.

Social Media Posts About this Performance from Shows I’ve Seen: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

Cast and Production Team: See under the multimedia below.

Other Video +/- Pictures: Pictures in video and under video are by Michelle Smith-Lewis.

@showsiveseen #Cinderella #pantomime at Centerstage #Theatre. 1st time seeing a British #panto & was pleasantly surprised there was singing w/ a band. Even included #drag. Awesome @jrselleck & Buttons actors. Witty jokes. Feel-good family-friendly experience. Review + Photo Credit: showsiveseen.com/2334 #campy ♬ Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo – From “Cinderella” – Verna Felton

Aimee Coronado, Jonathan Martin, Colleen Bjurnstrom, Kyle Sinclair, Jasmine Wright, Jessie Selleck, Leila Neidlinger, Jamie Martin, Dean Marshall

Leila Neidlinger, Brad Cerenzia, Bob DeDea

Jasmine Wright, Dale Bowers, Maghan Ames

Role	Name
Cinderella	Jessie Selleck
Prince	Kyle Sinclair
Stepsister Kourtney	Brad Cerenzia
Stepsister Khloe	Bob Dedea (Equity Actor)
Fairy Godmother	Carrie Sleeper-Bowers
Buttons	Meghan Ames
Dandini	Jasmine Wright
Baron Hardup	Dale Bowers
Featured Ensemble	Leila Niedlinger (Dance Captain) Dean Marshall Colleen Michelle
Ensemble	Aimee Coronado Keith Ordonez Maddie Carlson Will Johnson
Juvenile Ensemble	Matiya Searing (Young Cinderella) Jonathan Martin Jamie Martin
Juvenile Ensemble Understudy	Miriam Clark
Keyboard	Deborah Armstrong
Drums	Tai Taitano
Guitar	Cameron Schneider
Bass	Darren Olson
—	—
Director & Playwright	Vince Brady
Assistant Director	Helen Marion-Rowe
Stage Manager	Samuel Osborn
Assistant Stage Manager	Madeline Hiller
Choreographer	Cassie Jo Fastabend
Music Director	Deborah Armstrong
Arranger	Sam Peters
Scenic Designer	Niclas Olson
Costume Designers	Morgan Morgans Trista Duval
Sound Designer	Benjamin Symons
Props Designer	Henry Behrens
Scenic Artists	Tori Dewar Jasmine Johnson
Set Construction	Niclas Olson Will Johnson

Blue Man Group – Performance Art Show – Paramount Theatre

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Blue Man Group w/ Seattle Theatre Group at the Paramount Theatre. Mime-like wordless skits w/ catchy percussion & a spectacular visual feast. Similar to Cirque du Soleil w/o the acrobatics. Lots of audience participation. The alien-like blue man even walked through my leg room space to drag a “lucky” audience member on-stage! #drums #blueMan #blueManGroup

Synopsis from the Theatre: More than 35 million people around the world have experienced the smash hit phenomenon that is BLUE MAN GROUP and now it’s your turn! BLUE MAN GROUP returns to Seattle for a limited engagement on their new North American tour. It’s everything you know and love about BLUE MAN GROUP—signature drumming, colorful moments of creativity and quirky comedy—the men are still blue but the rest is all new! Featuring pulsing, original music, custom-made instruments, surprise audience interaction and hilarious absurdity, join the Blue Men in a joyful experience that unites audiences of all ages.

Reviewed Performance: 11/25 Evening – Opening Night

Type: Performance Art Show

World Premiere: No

Live Band/Orchestra: Yes

Recommendation: See it especially if you like percussion, visual special effects, performance art, or audience members dragged on stage. This show is also kid friendly. Throughout the performance, I could hear kids calling out things like “Pick me!”

Rating Compared to Other Shows with the Same Production Value:
4.75 Stars (Out of 5 Stars)

Equity Actors: The program didn’t specify any Equity information. Maybe they didn’t mention this because the show wasn’t a play or musical. However, the show’s caliber felt just like other touring Equity musical productions that perform at the Paramount Theatre.

Length: 75 minutes

Intermission: No

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned in Elevator Thoughts

Instruments: They designed several unique looking/sounding instruments. My favorites were the adjustable-pitch PVC pipe drum and the giant dulcimer-looking xylophonic percussion instrument.
Gumball Trick: I was impressed how one of the blue men caught several gumballs in his mouth. I’m still wondering what stage magic allowed him to fit them all in there.

Rant(s)

VR Skit: There was a section where the Blue Men captured a live video feed around the stage and audience. Later, they took the camera offstage and performed a skit involving virtual reality headsets. I’m assuming the offstage portion was pre-recorded. I’m usually not impressed when live shows display pre-recorded video as a segment of the show. I attended to see a live performance, not something I could find on YouTube. If you think this segment was actually performed live offstage, please leave me a comment in my social media to explain.

Other Thought(s)

Gender Spin: With gender issues on the forefront of the theatre scene (and the political stage), it’s time for a “Blue Woman Group.” Or maybe switch out one of the three men with one woman. Or instead of women, maybe recruit transgender performers. Shake it up a bit!
Audience Plants : Throughout the first half of the show, I assumed the audience members they involved in the show were audience plants. However, the reactions from someone who was dragged on-stage and their friends in my row made me think otherwise. I wonder how they plan for volatile audience members called on-stage who could derail the show’s planned narrative. Like what’s the contingency plan if someone says pro-Nazi rhetoric in the microphone during the telephone skit?
Earplugs and Ponchos: Before the performance, the theatre handed out free earplugs to everybody and ponchos to those on the front couple of rows, which worried me of what was to come. Fortunately, I never needed the earplugs, and it didn’t look like the Blue Men splashed the front row.
Blue Skin Magic: Since one of the blue men was literally in my personal leg room space to drag someone else on stage, I saw his “skin” up close. It made me wonder what stage magic made his skin blue. I’m pretty sure they wear blue gloves instead of painting their hands. Since he had no ears, I’m assuming part of his blue skin was not painted human skin but maybe some painted latex-like covering. However, I couldn’t determine where the latex-like covering and the human skin would have bordered. I was even more puzzled when I saw a shiny sweat-like sheen on him, which could mean there was no latex-like covering! Leave a comment in my social media posts below if you have any ideas what stage magic is involved.

Theatre Company : National Tour brought by Seattle Theatre Group and Broadway Across America

Venue: Paramount Theatre

Venue Physical Address: 911 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101

Price: Medium to Expensive

Dates: November 25 – 27, 2022

Seating: Assigned

Parking: Paid street parking and paid garage parking. The best parking garage is under the convention center w/ the entrance on Pike around the Pike and Terry intersection. Last I checked, this is one of the cheapest, least busy, and closest garages. Alternatively, you can probably find street parking as you get closer to the West Precinct (810 Virginia St, Seattle, WA 98101).

Social Media Posts About this Performance from Shows I’ve Seen: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

Cast and Production Team: See under the multimedia below.

Other Video +/- Pictures: Credit for pictures in video are in picture captions below video.

@showsiveseen @bluemangroup w/ @seattletheatregroup at Paramount Theatre. #Mime-like wordless skits w/ catchy #percussion & a #spectacular visual feast. Similar to @cirquedusoleil w/o the acrobatics. Lots of audience participation. The alien-like #blue man even walked through my leg room space to drag a “lucky” audience member on-stage! Review + Photo Credit: showsiveseen.com/2247 #drums #blueMan #blueManGroup #performanceArt ♬ Blue (Da Ba Dee) (Gabry Ponte Ice Pop Radio) – Eiffel 65

Blue Man Group Paint Drumming, Photo by Lindsey Best

Blue Man New Tour, photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Blue Man Group Portrait, Photo by Lindsey Best

Blue Man Group Toss and Catch, Courtesy of Blue Man Productions

Blue Man Group New Tour, photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Role	Name
Blue Men	MERIDIAN MIKE BROWN JOSH WILLS ADAM ZUICK
Band	CORKY GAINSFORD CHRIS REISS CHRIS SCHULTZ
—	—
Director	MICHAEL DAHLEN
Writers	JONATHAN KNIGHT MICHAEL DAHLEN BLUE MAN GROUP
Set Designer	JASON ARDIZZONE-WEST
Lighting Designer	JEN SCHRIEVER
Costume Designer	PATRICIA MURPHY
Sound Designer	CREST FACTOR
Video Designer	LUCY MACKINNON
Tour Costume Design	EMILIO SOSA
SFX Designer	BILL SWARTZ
Creative Director	JONATHAN KNIGHT
Music Director	BYRON ESTEP
Production Stage Manager	ERIN ALBRECHT
Company Manager	ALANNA SWOVELIN
General Management	GENTRY & ASSOCIATES PEARCE LANDRY-WEGENER
Tour Booking, Marketing and Publicity Direction	BOND THEATRICAL GROUP
Production Management	NETWORKS PRESENTATIONS WALKER WHITE
Line Producer	JENNIE RYAN
Executive Producers	WENDY EDWARDS & SETH WENIG

Cabaret – Musical – Cornish College of the Arts

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Cabaret the musical sold out at Cornish College of the Arts. Novel immersive stage. Well-cast Cliff actor. Good ensemble, Emcee, & Sally too. #musical #theatre #Cabaret

Synopsis from the Theatre: In a Berlin nightclub, as the 1920’s draw to a close, a garish Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the Cabaret. With the Emcee’s bawdy songs as wry commentary, Cabaret explores the dark, heady, and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. Cliff, a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin, is immediately taken with English singer Sally Bowles. Meanwhile, Fräulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally’s boarding house, tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered fruit seller who happens to be Jewish. Musical numbers include “Willkommen,” “Cabaret,” “Don’t Tell Mama” and “Two Ladies.”

Type: Musical

World Premiere: No

Live Band/Orchestra: Yes

Recommendation: See it especially if you like to support student actors. Unfortunately, this production already completed its run though. Also, the entire run was sold out at least 2 weeks before opening night. The only possible way to see a performance was through the waitlist.

Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now?: Always. I’ve probably seen 5 separate productions of this show. One of them was the professional tour.

Rating Compared to Other Shows with the Same Production Value:
4.25 Stars (Out of 5 Stars)

Equity Actors: None

Length: 2.5-2.75 hours

Intermission: Yes

Rant(s)

Cell Phone Check-in: I was completely baffled when they asked the audience to check-in their cell phone before entering the performance space. A theatre has never asked me to do that … and I’ve attended more than 360 shows since 2017. It didn’t help that my cell phone case also incidentally included my pen so I was unable my write down more impressions of the performance for my review.
Set Movement: The frequent set movement and audience re-seating was a bit distracting.
Vocal Range: There were 1-2 male performers who couldn’t reach the high notes. Consequently, they sounded a little off-key. Also, there were 1-2 female performers who could barely reach the low notes. Consequently, the audience couldn’t hear them.
Character Age: Drama schools students tend to be young in their twenties, late teens, or even thirties. So, it’s difficult to appropriately cast someone in middle-aged or senior character roles. I suggest drama schools either 1) choose performance pieces that don’t contain major characters older than 40 years old, 2) invest heavily in makeup/wardrobe, 3) or recruit a non-student actor to perform these roles. I personally like option 3 the best. For example, UW School of Drama recruited alumnus Malcolm West in this year’s production of Father Comes Home from the Wars.

Other Thought(s)

Audience Participation: The website said “This production is an immersive experience and will include and encourage audience participation” which made me a little nervous they’d want me to get up and dance. When it comes to theatre, I’d rather sit and (at most) clap. Theatre “pillow princess” here. 😛 In actuality, the actors thankfully didn’t goad the audience to participate much more than a traditional non-immersive performance.
Immersive Theatre: One of the limitations of immersive, 360 degree, or arena theatre is that the audience doesn’t always see everything. There was a scene in the second act where the audience kept looking at a back wall near the entrance where I couldn’t see. Queue the FOMO! Leave me a comment on the social media links below to tell me what I’ve missed.

Theatre Company : Cornish College of the Arts

Venue: Skinner Theatre at Raisbeck Performance Hall

Venue Physical Address: 2015 Boren Ave, Seattle, WA 98121

Price: Cheap

Dates: November 17 to 20, 2022 – I would have prioritized this review earlier if the college gave me a press ticket. But apparently, they don’t encourage reviewers, which baffled me. In my opinion, “there is no such thing as bad publicity!”

Seating: General Admission

Parking: Street parking (sometimes free) usually available within 3 blocks from the theatre. There’s also various paid parking lots in the area. This part of downtown is closer to South Lake Union neighborhood so it’s not that busy.

Social Media Posts About this Performance from Shows I’ve Seen: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

Cast and Production Team: See under the multimedia below.

Other Video +/- Pictures:

@showsiveseen #Cabaret the #Musical sold out at #Cornish College of the Arts. Novel #immersive stage. Well-cast Cliff (Elias Capestany). Good ensemble, Emcee (@anteiadelaney), & Sally (Adia Beaulieu) too. Review: showsiveseen.com/2201 #theatre ♬ Perfectly Marvelous – Natasha Richardson & John Benjamin Hickey

Role	Name
Sally Bowles	Adia Beaulieu
Helga/Fight Captain	Allison Renee Heath (u/s Schneider)
Emcee	Anteia DeLaney
Max/Hans/Sailor	Carolyn Scherbinske
Fraulein Fritze Kost	Coco Justino
Cliff Bradshaw	Elias Capestany
Victor/Dance Captain	Elizabeth Blackmun
Herr Schultz	Fisher
Rosie	Genna Dow (u/s Sally)
Frenchie	Gennavieve Smith
Customs Officer/Herman/Sailor	Grace Andresen (u/s Ernst)
Fraulein Schneider	Hayley Martin
Lulu	Madison Neal (u/s Kost)
Texas	Maggie Reichgott (u/s Schultz)
Ensemble	Oliver Munguia (u/s Will, Theo, Carolyn, Gray) Olivia Sheaffer (u/s Genna, Madison, Gennavieve, Allie, Maggie)
Ernst	Tagen Mathews
Sailor	Tony Caraveo (u/s Emcee)
Bobby	Will Ehrlich (u/s Cliff)
—	—
Upright Bass	Jon Butler
Drummer	Enzo Periera
Alto Sax	David Volpini
Pianist	Rich Gray
—	—
Book Author	Joe Masterof (Based on the lay by John Van Druten & stories by Christopher Isherwood)
Composer	John Kander
Lyricist	Fred Ebb
Director	Kathryn Van Meter
Stage Manager	Emily Grierson
Music Directors	Rich Gray & Danny Kam
Choreographer	Nicole Beerman
Sound Designer	Sandra Menjivar
Lighting Designer	Gwen Cubbage
Scenic Designer	Christopher Mumaw
Costume Designer	Isabella L. Price
Assistant Director	Tony Caraveo
Props Manager	Jessica Christensen
Technical Director	Matthew McCarren
Assistant Music Director	David Volpini
Fight Choreographer	Geof Alm
Intimacy Director	Sarah Harlett
Assistant Choreographer	Gennavieve Smith
Dialect/Vocal Coach	Kate Myre
Scenic Designer	Christopher Mumaw
Assistant Stage Manager	Sema Serifsoy-DiFalco
Costume Assistant	Ella Swenson
Assistant Dialect Coach	Elizabeth Blackmun Carolyn Scherbinske
Dramaturg	Maggie Reichgott
Deck Crew	Sam Ingram Olivia Freeman
Followspot Operator	Ella Accacia
Deck Crew	Charlotte Seaver
Visual & Performing Arts Production Manager	Gavin Yehle
Scene Shop Supervisor	Matthew McCarren
Theater Dept. Faculty Chair	Sheila Daniels
Props & Paint Supervisor	Jessica Christensen
Cabaret Faculty Liaison	Robin Lynn Smith
TH 147 Instructor	Amy LaZerte
Costume Shop Supervisor & Practicum Costume Advisor	Carl Bronsdon
Director of CSES	Pinky Estell
TH/PP Department Coordinator	Rachel Brinn
CSES Technical Supervisor	Marc Mixon

Language of Angels – Play – University of Washington School of Drama

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Language of Angels play w/ UW School of Drama about chilling, haunting, mysterious tragedies in small town USA. Professional-quality production. Great acting, projections, sound effects, & set design. Novel use of darkness. Interesting accents. #theatre #karma

Synopsis from the Theatre: “I didn’t get all that when I was little, all that stuff about angels and god in heaven. I thought it was all puffy clouds and angel babies playing harps. I didn’t get the other part, the secret part, like some kinda sign. The language of angels, and how light burns.” Many years after their friend Celie goes missing in the caves near a rural North Carolina town, many of her close-knit friends recall the inexplicable impacts of her loss. As the play unfolds, we see how Celie’s disappearance continues to affect each of them in different ways. Against the echoes of Celie’s ghostly cries, the survivors continue to struggle to unravel the mysteries of that fateful night. In this haunting yet touching play, Iizuka weaves a story on grief, loss, guilt, and karma into a play with elements of Japanese Noh drama set in Appalachia.

Type: Play

World Premiere: No

Reviewed Performance: 11/20 Afternoon

Recommendation: See it even if you don’t like to watch student actor performances. This production had many professional quality elements.

Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now?: Yes if it was an Equity production.

Rating (Out of 5 Stars) Compared to Other Shows with the Same Production Value: 4.75

Equity Actors: None

Length: 80 mins

Intermission?: No

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned in Elevator Thoughts

Favorite Line: Something like “I’m starting to look like my mom and she was ugly!”
Parking Lot Scene: Set looked very detailed especially with the leaves, grass, paint lines, and streetlamp. The occasional headlights were a nice touch too.
Darkness: Novel use of darkness … maybe even bordering on too much darkness. The theatre was so dark when I entered that it was difficult to take good pictures! You can see this by the distorted heavily-filtered picture above. A lot of times we focus on spectacular theatre lighting effects but we can’t appreciate the light without knowing the darkness.
Cave Description: Good visceral descriptions of cave experiences. This play took me back to a negative personal caving experience in Enchanted Rock, TX.

Rant(s)

Ending: The ending was so abrupt! I was waiting to see more of the story and to see an explanation of the last 10 seconds! Maybe the sudden ending was intentional to leave the audience at the edge of their seats.
Multiple Stories: There were 5 separate stories and it was a little difficult to piece together each one.

Other Thought(s)

Production Run Dates: This would have been better staged in October for Halloween. Of course, there might have been school-related scheduling constraints. I think schools like to time their plays toward the end of the semester.
Title: Why does the title reference angels? Did angels equal spirits in this story? Leave me a comments in the social media links below if you have any ideas!

Theatre Company : University of Washington School of Drama

Venue: Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse Theatre

Venue Physical Address: 4045 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105

Price: Cheap

Dates: November 17 – December 4, 2022

Seating: General Admission

Parking: Street parking (sometimes free) usually available within 3 blocks from the theatre. There’s also a paid parking lot a block away going North.

My Social Media Posts About this Show: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

https://drama.washington.edu/events/2022-11-17/language-angels

Cast and Production Team: See under the multimedia below.

Other Video +/- Pictures:

@showsiveseen "Language of Angels" #play w/ @uofwa School of Drama about #chilling, #haunting, mysterious tragedies in #smallTown USA. Professional-quality production. Great acting, projections, sound effects, & set design. Novel use of darkness. Interesting accents. Took me back to a scary cave experience in Enchanted Rock, TX. Review: showsiveseen.com/2167 #theatre #karma ♬ Secret – The Pierces

Role	Name
Seth	Ruby O’malley
Celie	Aurelia Ca’zorzi
Kendra	Hailey Henderson
JB	Gabriel Trimbur
Michael/Tommy	Jesimiel Jenkins
Allison	Iveliz Martel
Danielle	Chinelo Okpala
Billy	Nic Morden
—	—
Playwright	Naomi Iizuka
Director	Valerie Curtis-Newton
Stage Manager	Kimberly Le
Assistant Stage Manager	Weiyu Guo
Set Designer	Adair Maccormack
Costume Designer	Candace Frank
Light Designer	Trevor Cushman
Sound Designer	M.L. Dogg
Technical Director, Shop Supervisor, Production Manager:	Alex Danilchik
Master Carpenter	Tres Tracy Ballon
Charge Scenic Artist	Jennifer Law
Master Electrician	Jay McAleer
Costume Shop Manager	Ricky German
Costume Lead	Deborah Skorstad
Costume Specialist	Val Mayse
Prop Master	Andrea Bush
Assistant Scenic Designer	Lukas White
Assistant Lighting Designer	Landon Elder
Assistant Costume Designer	Antonio Torrez Alex Mellor
Light Board Operator	Aurora Asay
Sound Board Operator	Taylor Freeman
Wardrobe Crew	Kalea Levy Brionna Olson Natalie Tassielli
Deck Crew	Noelle Bi Evan Ponyah Eric Wang Logan West