Category: Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): The Taming play at Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts. A lesbian republican, Miss #America, and a liberal social justice warrior are trapped together in a hotel room to debate USA politics/history. Pleasantly surprised that Girl Scouts sold cookies in the lobby. How American! #theatre

Synopsis from the Theatre: In this hilarious, raucous, all-female “power-play,” Miss America contestant Katherine has political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions. All she needs to revolutionize the American government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator’s aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough, and one bleeding-heart liberal blogger who will do anything for her cause. Well, that and a semi-historically-accurate ether trip. Here’s lookin’ at you, America.

Reviewed Performance: 3/3/23 Evening – Opening Night

Type: Play

World Premiere: No

Several or Few Scenes: Few – Only 3

Defined Plot/Storyline: No

Recommendation: See it if either 1) you like supporting community theatre 2) you’re into American politics/history 3) you reveled in the educational parts of Hamilton 4) or if you enjoyed What the Constitution Means to Me

Was This the First Time I Attended a Production of this Show: Yes

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

Equity Actors: 0

Total Number of Actors: 3

Length (Including Any Intermission): 2 hours

Intermission: Yes

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned in Elevator Thoughts

• Curtain Call: I liked that they let the stagehands take a bow. The stage crew is one of the many undercelebrated essential elements in live theatre.

Rant(s)

• Lip Sync Segment: Needs to be removed or shortened. Lip synching on-stage is one of my pet peeves.
• Scene Changes: The props and set furniture movement was distracting between scenes. However, I acknowledge the budget constraints of community theatre.

Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)

• Comedic Props: The codpiece was a funny addition, but I was originally under the impression those were more popular in England during an earlier time period. I wonder if the codpiece and the shake weight were part of the script or if they were added by the theatre company.
• Controlled Chaos: Props were falling and rolling everywhere! There were lots of over-the-top reactions and fight choreography.

Theatre Company: Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts

Venue: Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts

Venue Physical Address: 9315 State Ave #J, Marysville, WA 98270

Price: Cheap

Dates: March 3 to 19, 2023

Seating: General Admission

Parking: Free lot parking in the strip mall where this theatre is located.

Like/Comment/Share my Social Media Posts About this Performance:
Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

• https://redcurtainfoundation.org/now-playing

Other Video +/- Pictures: See pictures under video by Kenny Randall

Cast and Production Team: See after pictures and video below

@showsiveseen "The Taming" #play at @redcurtainarts by #LaurenGunderson. A lesbian ultra conservative, #MissAmerica, & a liberal social justice warrior are trapped together in a hotel room to debate #USA #politics/#history. How #American that Girl Scouts sold cookies in the lobby! Review: showsiveseen.com/4146. #theatre ♬ original sound – Shows I've Seen

Role	Name
Katherine	Katie Wallace
Patricia	Britta Grass
Bianca	Grace Helmcke
—	—
Director	Scott B. Randall
Playwright	Lauren Gunderson
Stage Manager	Davine Sholdez
Fight Choreographer	Rowan Gallagher
Dramaturg	Jeryn Pasha
Props & Set Dressing	Courtney Calkins
Costumes/Dresser	Laura Klein
Set Design	Scott B Randall
Set Construction Lead	Werner “Randy” Randall
Set Construction	Scott Randall, Mike Pieckiel, Aiden Pieckiel, Spencer Greer
Lighting Design	Scott Randall
Lighting Technician	Layton Gaskins
Light Board Operator	Aiden Pieckiel
Sound Design	Daniel Hanlon
Sound Board Operator	Mike Pieckiel
Spotlight Operators	Paula Van Dalen, Sarah Tallman
Stage Crew	Andy Wallington, Krista Patt, Layton Gaskins, Krishan Aggarwal, Paul Grass
Promotional Photos	Kenny Randall
Marketing & Publicity	Beckye Randall
Bar Manager	Michele Beito
Concessions Manager	Kim Shumway

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Deathtrap play at Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts. Well-written & well-executed (no pun intended). Thrilling fight choreography. Definitely a promising candidate for my top shows of 2023. Thanks, Layton Gaskins, for making my day with the shoutout in your cast bio! #theatre

Synopsis from the Theatre: Comfortably ensconced in his charming Connecticut home, Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers, is struggling to overcome a dry spell which has resulted in a string of failures and a shortage of funds. A possible break in his fortunes occurs when he receives a script from a student in the seminar he has been conducting at a nearby college—a thriller that Sidney recognizes immediately as a potential Broadway smash. Sidney’s plan, devised with his wife’s help, is to offer collaboration to the student for co-credit. Or is it? Deathtrap provides twists and turns of devilish cleverness, and offers hilariously sudden shocks in such abundance that audiences will be spellbound until the very last moment.

Reviewed Performance: 1/22/23 (Opening Weekend) – Sorry for the late review. I was busy with my dad was in town.

Type: Play

World Premiere: No

Awards: Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Play in 1980

Film: Produced into a 1982 movie after the stage premier

Defined Plot/Storyline: While the number of scenes (not to mention the single setting) were probably too few to qualify for a full-fledged epic story, each act had a thrilling climax.

Recommendation: See it! This production is worth the long drive up to Marysville. My dad usually naps a couple minutes during each show I take him to, but he didn’t sleep a wink during this play.

Was This the First Time I Saw a Production of this Show: Yes

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:
5 Stars (Out of 5 Stars)

Equity Actors: None but they were very good

Number of Actors: 5

Length (Including Any Intermission): 2.5 hours

Intermission: Yes

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned in Elevator Thoughts

• Actors: Layton Gaskins seemlessly shifted his character from wide-eyed, nervous, awestruck innocence to cunning confidence. I was also already looking forward to seeing the talented Mary Leedy and Jag on-stage again. I previously saw Jag in 12 Angry Jurors at SecondStory Rep and Dashing Through the Snow at Phoenix Theatre. Mary was the female lead in Ghost-writer at Woodinville Repertory Theatre. Her shaken emotional freakouts contrasted well with Jag’s nonchalant sociopathy.
• Shoutout: I typically don’t read playbill actor bios since there’s usually not enough time before the show. I’m so glad we that arrived early and that I didn’t miss the shoutout from Layton Gaskins. It made my day, and I sent a picture all my friends … and enemies 😛 . Now, I’m wondering if I missed any other mentions in other Puget Sound playbills from this past year!
• Thrilling Twists: While the play started out a little slow/dry/stilted, it quickly progressed to shockingly thrilling with its crosses, double crosses, action, and climaxes. The play kept me wondering “Will they do it? Will they not do it?” several times throughout the show. At the end of the first act, the audience was left with a cliffhanger and I thought “Holy cow, did that just really happen?”
• Fight Scenes: Fight choreography was well-executed and well-designed. The blood took me by surprise and could have landed on us in the audience front row! Side note, I saw some blood unintentionally on one of the actors’ pants in a subsequent scene that took place days later. Get another pair from the Goodwill behind the theatre!
• Wall Art: The walls were decorated with a thoughtful collection of showbiz posters mentioned throughout the play. There was also a wide plethora of weaponry mentioned throughout the show. I wonder where they all came from.

Rant(s)

• Typing: The typewriter typebars kept getting stuck together so it didn’t look like the typist was actually writing a play.

Other Thought(s)

• Foreshadowing: Carol Richmond provided the comedic relief as an old mysterious Ukranian woman with ESP. If I learned anything in theatre, never doubt prophetic foreshadowing!
• LGBT: There were gay themes in the play, but they were too subtle. I actually didn’t even initially recognize them. But I’ll give the play a pass since it was written in the 1970s, which was a different time. I mean, one of the male actors wore groovy bell bottoms.

Theatre Company: Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts

Venue: Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts

Venue Physical Address: 9315 State Ave #J, Marysville, WA 98270

Price: Cheap

Dates: January 20 – February 5, 2023

Seating: General Admission

Parking: Free lot parking in the strip mall where this theatre is located.

Like/Comment/Share my Social Media Posts About this Performance:
Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

• https://redcurtainfoundation.org/now-playing

Other Video +/- Pictures: See pictures under video and in video by Kenny Randall.

Cast and Production Team: See below pictures

@showsiveseen #Deathtrap #play at @redcurtainarts. Well-written & well-executed (no pun intended). Thrilling fight choreography. Definitely a promising candidate for my top shows of 2023. Thanks, Layton Gaskins, for making my day with the shoutout in your cast bio! Review + Photo Credit: showsiveseen.com/3539 #theatre ♬ Dangerous – The Red Collective

Name	Role
Jag	Sidney Bruhl
Mary Leedy	Myra Bruhl
Layton Gaskins	Clifford Anderson
Carol Richmond	Helga ten Dorp
Dawn Cornell	Porter Milgrim
—	—
Ira Levin	Playwright
Scott Dittman	Director
Daniel Hanlon	Assistant Director
Haylie Conchelos	Stage Manager
Lee Ann Hittenberger	Fight Choreography
Courtney Calkins	Prop and Set Dressing
Celeste Jackson-Moody	Costumes
Scott B Randall	Set Design
Werner “Randy” Randall	Set Construction Lead
Scott Randall Mike Pieckiel Aiden Pieckiel Spencer Greer	Set Construction
Scott Randall	Lighting Design
Layton Gaskins	Lighting Technician
Andi Leach	Light Board Operator
Daniel Hanlon	Sound Design
Mike Pieckiel	Sound Board Operator
Aiden Pieckiel Paula Van Dalen	Stage Crew
Kenny Randall	Publicity Photos
Beckye Randall	Marketing and Publicity
Michele Beito	Bar Manager
Kim Shumway	Concessions Manager

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Miracle on 34th Street radio-ish-play-within-a-play at Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts. Actors perform a play based on the classic movie over Zoom (set during the height of Covid) live in-person on-stage. Great stage set scenic design. #play #xmas #Christmas #Santa #santaClaus

Synopsis from the Theatre: Do you believe in Santa Claus? Adapted and directed by Red Curtain’s artistic director, Scott B Randall, this “modern radio play” is set in December 2020. When Jessie’s elderly father goes into the hospital with COVID, her theatre friends gather on a video call to cheer her and her daughter, Kara, by doing a sort of readers’ theatre performance over Zoom. Being performers, the story is a mix of the true story (as portrayed in the classic movie), improvised lines, and pop culture references, sure to help bring out the feelings of closeness and joy associated with the season. In this fully-staged production, we’ll see each character in their own “homes,” plus the projected Zoom call high above the stage. This is a unique way to present the classic tale of friendship tinged with holiday magic, perfect for the entire family. Rated G.

Reviewed Performance: 12/4 Afternoon

Type: Play

World Premiere: Yes

Live Band/Orchestra: Sort of … one of the actors (Bill Kusler) provided some instrumental music on certain parts of the show.

Recommendation: See it if you like radio plays or staged readings.

Equity Actors: 0

Length: 2 hours?

Intermission: Yes

Theatre Company : Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts

Venue: Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts:

Venue Physical Address: 9315 State Ave #J, Marysville, WA 98270

Price: Cheap

Dates: November 25 to December 18, 2022

Seating: General Admission

Parking: Free lot parking in the strip mall where this theatre is located.

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

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

• https://redcurtainfoundation.org/now-playing
• https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=137470

Other Video +/- Pictures: Pictures in video and under video are by Layton Gaskins.

@showsiveseen “Miracle on 34th Street” #radioPlay within a #play at @redcurtainarts. Actors perform a play based on the classic movie over #Zoom (set during the height of Covid) live in-person on-stage. Great scenic design. Review + Photo Credit: showsiveseen.com/2627 #play #xmas #Christmas #Santa #santaClaus #theatre ♬ Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town – Mariah Carey