The Williams Project – Shows I've Seen

Champagne + Sodomy: The Art & Crime of Oscar Wilde – Play – The Williams Project

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): “Champagne + Sodomy: The Art & Crime of Oscar Wilde” show by The Williams Project at Base: Experimental Arts + Space featuring “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde” play by Moisés Kaufman and “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde. Directed by Ryan Guzzo Purcell & starring Grant Chapman. Photos by Truman Buffett.

Synopsis from the Theatre: At Champagne + Sodomy: The Art and Crime of Oscar Wilde, a new immersive theatrical event, you’ll be thrust from the decadent drawing room to the reactionary courtroom with a champagne flute still in your hand. Pairing Wilde’s beloved comedy The Importance of Being Earnest with the story of his persecution by the state, as told in Moisés Kaufman’s docu-play Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, The Williams Project presents an evening-length, genre-defying performance exploring how our culture is obsessed with queer art but terrified of the queers who make it.

Performance Date: 8/5/23 (Closing Show)

Type: Immersive Theatrical Event/Play

World Premiere: Yes and no – It was a developmental workshop featuring two combined plays. Because of the show’s developmental nature, the theatre company requested no reviews and I did not include any opinion elements in this post.

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

Length (Including Any Intermission): 2.5 hours

Intermission Included: Yes

Theatre Company: The Williams Project

Venue: Base: Experimental Arts + Space

Venue Physical Address: 6520 5th Ave S #122, Seattle, WA 98108

Price: $0-$60

Dates: July 28 to August 5, 2023 – Sorry, for the late post! I attended the closing performance.

Seating: General Admission Seating/Standing

Parking: Free street parking on 5th Ave South in front of the art space entrance.

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

Other Video +/- Pictures: See pictures in video and under video by Truman Buffett Photography.

Cast and Production Team: See after pictures and video below

@showsiveseen "#Champagne + #Sodomy: The Art & Crime of Oscar Wilde" closing show by The Williams Project at Base: Experimental Arts + Space featuring "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde" #play by Moisés Kaufman & "The Importance of Being Earnest" by #OscarWilde. Directed by Ryan Guzzo Purcell & starring Grant Chapman. Photos by Truman Buffett. Post: showsiveseen.com/6318 #theatre #showsiveseen ♬ Dress – Charlotte Sands

Name	Role
Nicholas Japaul Bernard*	Lady Bracknell, Clarke, Lockwood, Narrator 2, and Others
Grant Chapman*	Algernon, Oscar Wilde
Rebecca Gibel*	Jack, Harris, Carson, Gill, Narrator 3, and Others
Ricky Spaulding	Gwendolyn, Lord Alfred Douglass, Parker, Atkins, Narrator 1, and Others
Jomar Tagatac*	Lane, Queensberry, Wood, Mavor, Narrator 4, and Others
—	—
Oscar Wilde for The Importance of Being Earnest Moisés Kaufman for Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde	Playwrights
Ryan Guzzo Purcell	Director
An-lin Dauber†	Production Designer
Nick O’Leary	Video Designer
Robin Macartney	Props Designer
Brandon David Riel	Associate Set and Lighting Designer
Briana Schwartz	Assistant Costume Designer
Tori Thompson*	Stage Manager
Nicola Krause	Assistant Stage Manager
Charlinda Brewster	Graphic Design
Photographer	Truman Buffett

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the USA
†Member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, IATSE

The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window – Play – Intiman Theatre and The William’s Project

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window play at Erickson Theatre w/ Intiman Theatre and The William’s Project. Well-written dialogue & strong acting. Intellectual, artsy, & bohemian in an NYC way.

Synopsis from the Theatre: It’s Greenwich Village in 1964, and Sidney Brustein’s living room is the place to be. The neighborhood bohemians gather here to drink, listen to records, and argue about politics, art, and sex. Soon, Sidney stumbles into owning a local newspaper and the arguments become more heated. With a marriage on the rocks, no money, and friends advocating for different causes, this aging idealist is forced to decide what he truly believes. Brimming with humor and pulling no punches, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window asks us all: how much are you willing to sacrifice to live your ideals?

Reviewed Performance: 2/9/23 on opening night

Type: Play

World Premiere: No

Defined Plot/Storyline: No – It was a lot of talking, which I usually don’t like but I still enjoyed the play because of the good scenes, writing, and acting.

Recommendation: See it if you don’t hate plays with a lot of talking and little action.

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

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

Equity Actors: 6

Total Number of Actors: 7

Length (Including Any Intermission): A whopping 3 hours!

Intermission: Yes

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned in Elevator Thoughts

Scenes: There were countless powerful scenes in this production partly because of brilliant writing and partly because of good execution. Many of the scenes were monologue-like breaks. My favorite was probably Alton’s (Chip Sherman’s) tense commentary about how African Americans have been accepting the scraps from white people for years. Iris’s (Caitlin Duffy’s) description of the actor’s audtion process was also memorable with her strangely vivid storytelling.
Waterfall: There was a neat waterfall at the beginning of the second act that added artistic value to the production.
Costumes: The sparkly dresses that Iris and Gloria wore were stunning.

Rant(s)

Press Ticket/Media: I contacted Intiman Theatre twice for a possible press review ticket and for production photos but I did not receive any response. UPDATE 3/4/23: After I posted this review, the Intiman Instagram account messaged me how to get added to the press list.

Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)

Message: The playwright Lorraine Hansberry left a rich fodder for analysis with quotable lines and powerful scenes. But I couldn’t grasp any cohesive central moral of the play. Was it a nihilistic commentary about the futility of idealism and altruism?
Sign: If the sign was important enough to mention in the play’s title, what did the sign symbolize? Failed idealism?
Cutting Remarks: While I love watching cutting insults on-stage, why was Sidney such a dick to Iris?
Intellectuals: Was it just me or were the characters (Sydney in particular) reminiscent of pretentious highbrow hipsters who only listen to records, only drink single malt whisky, and are blissfully unaware of their privilege?

Theatre Company: Intiman Theatre and The William’s Project

Venue: Erickson Theatre

Venue Physical Address: 1524 Harvard Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

Price: Cheap to Medium-Expensive

Ticket Affordability Options: The ticketing website offers honor code discount options for students, military, industry, … or anybody. There are also 20 free rush tickets 1 hour before each performance.

Dates: February 7 to 25, 2023

Seating: Assigned Seating

Parking: It’s Capitol Hill … so good luck. Try to take the bus. The cheapest parking I could find was $10 on Harvard Avenue west of Seattle Central College.

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

Buy a Ticket or Learn More:

Other Video +/- Pictures: See TikTok video below

Cast and Production Team: See after video

@showsiveseen “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” #play at Erickson Theatre w/ #Intiman Theatre & The William’s Project. Well-written dialogue & strong acting. #Intellectual, artsy, & #bohemian in an NYC way. “I just want something to happen in my life.” Review: showsiveseen.com/3891 #theatre ♬ Conspiracy Theory – Cali Rodi

Role	Name
Sidney Brustein	Max Rosenak*
Alton Scales	Chip Sherman
Iris Parodus Brustein	Caitlin Duffy*
Wally O’Hara / Max	Holiday*
Mavis Parodus Bryson	Alexandra Tavares*
David Ragin	Lee Lebreton*
Gloria Parodus	Francesca Root-Dodson*
—	—
Director	Ryan Guzzo Purcell
Playwright	Lorraine Hansberry
Scenic and Costume Designer	An-Iin Dauber
Lighting Designer	Geoff Korf^
Sound Designer	M.L. Dogg ^
Production Stage Manager	Laurel Nichols*
Assistant Stage Manager / Covid-19 Safety Manager	Nik Nolen

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in USA
^Member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, IATSE

The Amen Corner – Play – The Williams Project

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): The Amen Corner play w/ music by The Williams Project & Langston Seattle at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute. Good critique on toxic hypocritical church piety & condemnation. Religious interjections & rich pure black voices were a delight. Love seeing a good unraveling on stage. The audience attended in their Sunday best! #POC #religion #mutiny #BiPOC

Synopsis from the Theatre: In a storefront church in Harlem, Sister Margaret’s fierce piety inspires both devotion and fear in her congregation. But when a figure from her past returns, and her son starts looking for answers outside the church door, Sister Margaret finds her standing in danger. As secrets emerge and loyalties are tested, Sister Margaret must fight for her family, her flock, and ultimately, her faith. Equal parts soaring music, prophetic poetry, and gripping family drama, The Amen Corner asks audiences to face the beautiful and frightening path that leads to liberation. And gives space to, as Baldwin says, “let the church say Amen.”

Reviewed Performance Date: 11/3/22 Evening

Type: Play

World Premiere: No

Live Band: No

Recommendation: See it! Especially if you grew up in a Christian church.

Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now?: Yes

Rating (Out of 5 Stars): 4.75 stars

Equity Actors: 6 out of 9. First professional production of this play in Seattle!

Rant(s)

The bedroom and kitchen was confusing. Where they located in the same building as the church?
I’m not sure if the production budget could afford this or if it was an intentional creative decision but the folding chairs needed to be replaced with real church pews.
The churchgoers somehow needed better stage blocking. I don’t want to see the back of their heads! To be fair, I admit that it’s difficult to avoid this with a church stage.

Other Rave(s)

Sister Boxer (Felicia Loud) has a lovely voice. I could listen to her talk or sing all day.
Powerful stern fierce pastor portrayal by Maiya Reaves
Nice background gospel music before performance and during intermission.
Favorite line was something an old man said to the effect of “no woman has ever touched me.”

Other Thought(s)

Where were my BiPOC brothas and sistas? This is the first time I’ve attended Langston Seattle (albeit only 3 times total) where non-POCs were the majority in the audience. The subject matter was even about a black church! Leave a comment on my social media links below if you have any theories.

Theatre Company : The Williams Project

Venue: Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute

Venue Physical Address: 104 17th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144

Price: Cheap w/ Pay-what-you-can Options

Dates: November 2-20, 2022

Seating: General Admission

Parking and Cost: Free lot parking or free street parking.

Social Media Posts: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Link(s):

https://www.thewilliamsproject.org/amen-corner

Cast and Production Team: Under the video.

Other Video +/- Pictures: Photography in video and under video are by Michael B. Maine.

@showsiveseen “The #Amen Corner” #play w/ music by The Williams Project at Langston Seattle. Good critique on toxic hypocritical #church piety & condemnation. #Religious interjections & rich pure #black voices were a delight. Love seeing a good unraveling on stage. The audience attended in their Sunday best! Review & Photo Credit: showsiveseen.com/1887 #poc #religion #mutiny #BiPOC #theatre ♬ original sound – Shows I've Seen

Role	Name
Brother Boxer	Holiday
Sister Boxer	Felicia Loud
Sister Moore	Anjelica McMillan
Margaret	Maiya Reaves
Odessa	Cathleen Riddley
Luke	Adrian Roberts
Brother Davis	Malcolm J. West
David	Dimitri Woods
Sister Ida Jackson	Amaya Zhané
———-	———-
Playwright	James Baldwin
Director	Reggie D. White
Music Director	Aaron M. Davis Norman
Set and Costume Designer	An-lin Dauber
Props Designer	Robert J. Aguilar
Lighting Designer	Robin Macartney
Stage Manager	P. Alyda Sorm
Production Manager	Kyle Hartmann
Technical Director	Justin Duffiance