Shows I've Seen | Theatre Reviews
Musicals, Plays, Concerts, Oh My! (and other Performing Arts)
Congrats @shawna281983 on Instagram for winning a ticket from Shows I’ve Seen to the 5th Avenue Theatre’s “Into the Woods” musical! Enjoy! And stay tuned for the next contest ticket giveaway soon.
Leave a comment on my Instagram post (https://www.instagram.com/p/CpR285mOBZ1/) with your favorite musical & I’ll choose a winner 24 hours from now. Bonus points if you’re a student or if I love the musical you mention.
This is a free single ticket worth about $120 to any of the remaining “Into the Woods” performances at 5th Avenue Theatre, which ends this wknd. Depending on the date you choose, you’ll be in Zone 3 (Blue) or 4 (Orange).
Read my review here: https://www.showsiveseen.com/into-the-woods-musical-5th-avenue-theatre/
I was recently invited to be an auxiliary member of Seattle’s only critic/reviewer circle, the Seattle Theater Writers! They ask members to see at least 100 shows per year. The auxiliary supports the selection process for the annual Gypsy Rose Lee Award nominees and winners. See this press release for the 2018 awardees.
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.
While you read the list of winners, which includes the very first Triple Tie the Seattle Theater Writers has ever awarded, consider all the various companies that are named and the variety of productions they reflect. Have you gone to all of them? There are so many to sample and so much theater to get excited about. Here’s to a great 2019!
Congratulations to all the terrific companies who provided excellent entertainment for our audiences throughout 2018.
With 33 categories in two divisions (Large Theaters and Small Theaters). the 8th Annual Gypsy Rose Lee Awards of 2018 go to:
Excellence in Production of a Play:
(Large Theaters):
Two Trains Running – Seattle Repertory Theatre and Arena Stage
(Small Theaters):
TIE Hand to God – Seattle Public Theater
TIE Hir – ArtsWest and Intiman Theatre
Excellence in Production of a Musical:
The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes – Village Theatre
Excellence in Direction of a Play:
(Large Theaters):
Victor Pappas – The Picture of Dorian Gray (Book-It Repertory Theatre)
(Small Theaters):
Kelly Kitchens – Hand to God (Seattle Public Theater)
Excellence in Direction of a Musical:
Brandon Ivie – The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes (Village Theatre)
Excellence in Performance in a Play as a Lead Actor (Male):
(Large Theaters):
Eugene Lee – Two Trains Running (Seattle Repertory Theatre and Arena Stage)
(Small Theaters):
Ben Burris – Hand to God (Seattle Public Theater)
Excellence in Performance in a Musical as a Lead Actor (Male):
Joshua Castille and E.J. Cardona – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (5th Avenue Theatre)
Excellence in Performance in a Play as a Lead Actor (Female):
(Large Theaters):
Amy Thone – Frost/Nixon (Strawberry Theatre Workshop)
(Small Theaters):
TIE Sunam Ellis – Hand to God (Seattle Public Theater)
TIE Tracy Michelle Hughes – Skeleton Crew (ArtsWest)
TIE Gretchen Krich – Hir (Artswest and Intiman Theatre)
Excellence in Performance in a Musical as a Lead Actor (Female):
Cayman Ilika – Kiss Me, Kate (5th Avenue Theatre)
Excellence in Performance of a Play as a Supporting Actor (Male) – any non-lead:
(Large Theaters):
Brandon J. Simmons – The Picture of Dorian Gray (Book-It Repertory Theatre)
(Small Theaters):
Jose Abaoag – An Octoroon (ArtsWest)
Excellence in Performance of a Musical as a Supporting Actor (Male) – any non-lead:
Jeff Steitzer – The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes (Village Theatre)
Excellence in Performance of a Play as a Supporting Actor (Female) – any non-lead:
(Large Theaters):
Sarah Harlett – Frost/Nixon (Strawberry Theatre Workshop)
(Small Theaters):
Gabriella O’Fallon – The Nether (Washington Ensemble Theatre)
Excellence in Performance of a Musical as a Supporting Actor (Female) – any non-lead:
Shaunyce Omar – Hairspray (Village Theatre)
Excellence in Performance as an Ensemble:
(Large Theaters):
The Wolves – ACT Theatre (Cheyenne Barton, Emma Bjornson, Christine Marie Brown, Madilyn Cooper, Meme Garcia, Rachel Guyer-Mafune, Emilie Hanson, Alyssa Norling, Zoe Tziotis Shields, Martha Kathryn Smith)
(Small Theaters):
Hir – Artswest and Intiman Theatre (Gretchen Krich, Charles Leggett, Adrian Kljucec, Evan Barrett)
Excellence in Set Design:
(Large Theaters):
Misha Kachman – Two Trains Running (Seattle Repertory Theatre and Arena Stage)
(Small Theaters):
Burton Yuen – Skeleton Crew (ArtsWest)
Excellence in Costume Design:
(Large Theaters):
Ron Erickson – The Picture of Dorian Gray (Book-It Repertory Theatre)
(Small Theaters):
Sadiqua Iman – Skeleton Crew (ArtsWest)
Excellence in Lighting Design:
(Large Theaters):
Andrew D. Smith – The Picture of Dorian Gray (Book-It Repertory Theatre)
(Small Theaters):
Ryan Dunn – The Nether (Washington Ensemble Theatre)
Excellence in Sound Design:
(Large Theaters):
Rob Witmer and Meghan Roche – Richard III (Seattle Shakespeare Company and upstart crow collective)
(Small Theaters):
D.R. Amromin – Silhouette (Annex Theatre)
Excellence in Musical Direction:
RJ Tancioco – The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes (Village Theatre)
Excellence in Choreography or Movement:
Michele Lynch – Kiss Me, Kate (5th Avenue Theatre)
Excellence in Local Playwriting:
Christopher Dimond – The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes (Village Theatre)
Excellence in Local Composing:
Christopher Dimond and Michael Kooman – The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes (Village Theatre)
Excellence in Video Design:
Ahren Buhmann – Parliament Square (Pony World Theatre)
For more information, go to http://www.facebook.com/SeattleTheaterWriters.
I was recently invited to be an auxiliary member of Seattle’s only critic/reviewer circle, the Seattle Theater Writers! They ask members to see at least 100 shows per year. The auxiliary supports the selection process for the annual Gypsy Rose Lee Award nominees and winners. See this press release for the 2018 nominees.
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 as much professional theater as we reviewers can attend in a year. Named in honor of the famed theater entrepreneur and Seattle native, Gypsy Rose Lee, and in a nod to the vast numbers or theater practitioners forced to travel the country to earn their living, the Gypsys seek to acknowledge the excellence of the Seattle theater community. (The group’s online presence is at http://www.facebook.com/SeattleTheaterWriters.)
Our aim in developing the awards is to entice the general public to consider seeing excellent theatrical events at myriad venues they may never have thought about before! Try these productions, we suggest, and you might find them excellent!
The winners will be announced February 1, 2019.
And without further ado, arranged in 33 categories in two divisions (Large Theaters and Small Theaters), the 2018 Gypsy Rose Lee Award Nominees are (by category, in alpha order by name):
Excellence in Production of a Play:
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Production of a Musical:
Excellence in Direction of a Play:
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Direction of a Musical:
Excellence in Performance in a Play as a Lead Actor (Male):
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Performance in a Musical as a Lead Actor (Male):
Excellence in Performance in a Play as a Lead Actor (Female):
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Performance in a Musical as a Lead Actor (Female):
Excellence in Performance of a Play as a Supporting Actor (Male) – any non-lead:
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Performance of a Musical as a Supporting Actor (Male) – any non-lead:
Excellence in Performance of a Play as a Supporting Actor (Female) – any non-lead:
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Performance of a Musical as a Supporting Actor (Female) – any non-lead:
Excellence in Performance as an Ensemble:
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Set Design:
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Costume Design:
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Lighting Design:
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Sound Design:
(Large Theaters):
(Small Theaters):
Excellence in Musical Direction:
Excellence in Choreography or Movement:
Excellence in Local Playwriting:
Excellence in Local Composing:
Excellence in Video Design:
About Seattle Theater Writers: Founded in 2010 by Miryam Gordon and comprised of local writers and reviewers, Seattle Theater Writers is a group of critic/reviewers dedicated to raising public awareness of theater practitioners and the work produced by professional theater organizations. Seattle Theater Writers’ hope is that these awards might encourage theater attendance and enjoyment of our rich cultural offerings. Born from this mission are the annual Gypsy Rose Lee Awards, recognizing excellence in Seattle theater across 33 categories.
The participants in this year’s award process were R. Barron (http://www.seattlegayscene.com), Miryam Gordon (Seattle Gay News and http://miryamstheatermusings.blogspot.com), Rosemary Jones (http://www.seattletheateranddance.com), Dusty Somers (freelance critic), and Michael Strangeways (http://www.seattlegayscene.com).
A growing (years long) reality regarding reviewing and reviewers has reduced the number of reliable and credible critics writing today. 2018 saw an editorial change for the Seattle Times that amounted to changing their coverage from reliable to occasional. The Stranger now prints every two weeks and The Weekly has downsized considerably. Long-time reviewers moved away or retired. We wish this were not the reality, but we have little control over this trend.
To support the reviewers’ nominations, STW has established an Auxiliary of theater-going members, some of whom are also theater practitioners and all of whom are ardent fans of theater. All members go to multiple dozens of productions per year, many over 100. The Auxiliary supports our Round Two (of the three “round” process) in the selection process where points are given to the dozens of nominees and individuals select their top five in each category. The Auxiliary points are used to support STW members’ choices as we pick our nominees and winners.
For more information, go to http://www.facebook.com/SeattleTheaterWriters. The Notes section of the Facebook page shows the evolution of the awards.
Closing performance of Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical with Paul, Andres, and Bobby. 4 queens traveled from Seattle to Bainbridge Island to see 3 drag queens travel through the Australian desert! It was no Kinky Boots, but it was still very fun.