Review by Jeanne Kinley Deller:

Early arrival at the ArtsWest theatre provides audiences an opportunity to reminisce in the museum-like staging, filled with an excess of “tchotchkes.” Eccentricity abounds throughout “John,” in tandem with the set which is overrun with dolls, stuffed animals, knick-knacks, and out of season Christmas decorations.

Welcome to the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a bed and breakfast where Paris and Eiffel Towers are prized table decor. When the young couple, Jenny Chung (Mi Kang) and Elias Schreiber-Hoffman (Sean Lally), enter into the picture as weekend guests, they experience their surroundings taking on a life of their own, sometimes bigger than the conflicted couple’s relationship.

In conjunction with Jenny and Elias’ obscure courtship, the bed and breakfast proprietor Mertis Katherine Graven (the gifted Marianne Owen) keeps her guests wondering about her lack of connection with reality. Mertis’ long-time friend Genevieve Marduk (Suzy Hunt, brilliant in her portrayal, as always) eventually arrives on the scene like a breath of fresh air in her surprisingly forthright manner and honesty. The blind Genevieve’s announcement that she “went crazy,” and that her husband John “took possession” of her soul is, at least, a desire to speak her truth in the midst of overwhelming deception and chaos.

You’ll want to catch “John” at ArtsWest to demystify the title, interesting in the fact that no one named John ever surfaces in this three-hour, two-intermission play. Now on stage, “John” plays now through April 7, 2019 at West Seattle’s delightfully intimate theatre. Tickets here.

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Photo by John McLellan

Time Magazine – 10 Best Shows of 2015

Nominated for 6 Drama Desk Awards

Nominated for 5 Lucille Lortel Awards

“Annie Baker’s John is so good on so many levels that it casts a unique and brilliant light.” – The New Yorker

“Baker does not merely tell a scary story. She shows them, piling up like ghosts of amputated limbs from the war wounded, and makes them riveting, unpredictable, altogether human theater.” – Newsday

Those of you who have been to a past #SAMRemix event probably already have your tickets for March 29th at Seattle Art Museum.

For those of you who haven’t been, here are a few reasons why to get your tickets now. There’s a reason this party always sells out. (Seriously, the event page will get flooded with “needing 2 tickets!” comments days before the event from people who waited too long.)

You can dance under the art. The gorgeous, massive, intricate art of “Middle Fork” by John Grade. That’s right – there’s a DJ’ed party under this beast.

#SAMRemix is a great opportunity to see the most current exhibitions at Seattle Art Museum. I’m particularly excited that the “Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer” exhibition is on now. It’s sexy and vibrant from what I can see from photos and I’m ready to get close to it. Video preview of “Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer“:

You can trust the #SAMRemix curators. The programming (live performances, art tours, craft projects, and more) are always fresh and fun, drawing from some of the best talent Seattle has to offer. Grab a cocktail from one of the bars, stroll through the galleries, and participate in a group art-making activity.

Brandon and I are going – see you there? (If you’re looking for me, I’ll be on the dance floor, crafting, or soaking in one of my all-time favorite works of art: “Lessons from the Institute of Empathy.”

– Keridwyn

In their own words:

“SAM Remix returns for creative late-night performances, art making, live music, and tours produced by the region’s best artists and creatives. Now celebrating more than 10 years and taking inspiration from the many exhibitions on view on at SAM, including Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer, this edition of Remix explores how we find commonality through our complex personal identities. Celebrate unifying gestures, symbols, and movements that cross genres, connect people, and strengthen our communities.”

Facebook event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/292060888132964/.

Photos/Images via fb.com/seattleartmuseum

Review by Tony Bohn:

A good old fashioned ghost story is what you are in for at Seattle Repertory Theatre’s current production of The Woman in Black. This is a stage adaption of Susan Hill’s original 1983 novel by the same name. The show is the second longest running play on London’s West End and the story has also been adapted to television, radio, and film.

Set in Britain sometime around the earlier part of the 1900s, the story takes the audience through the spooky events surrounding the death and funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow. Arthur Kipps, a retired solicitor, is sent to the woman’s creepy old house on an island with a causeway (surrounded by marshes) that is covered by the ocean daily when the tide comes in. What happened to Arthur there impacted him so much that he writes a play to get his story out to the public and he hires an actor to help him develop his show and rehearse his play. Arthur and the hired actor play all the roles throughout the play and the ghost story is told as they rehash the events that occurred to Arthur.

The script, costuming and set do a fantastic job of evoking the time period and describing the scene and events that occurred. The house, the marshes, the island, the ocean, the graveyard, the theater, and even the weather all seem like characters in their own right. The acting is solid and the two actors do a brilliant job of playing all the roles in the show and help the audience to be pulled into the creepy and unsettling story as the play progresses. While I wouldn’t call the show full on horror (it’s still family-friendly and there are certainly a lot of comedic moments written into the script), there are plenty of cool visual and sound effects as well as quite a few jump-scares that will have you on the edge of your seat.

The Woman in Black runs now until March 24, 2019 at Seattle Repertory Theatre in Seattle Center. More information and tickets here.

Photo by Roger Mastroianni

Review by Keridwyn Deller

Arsenic and Old Lace plays Taproot Theatre now through March 2. Tickets here.

Photos by Erik Stuhaug

Review by guest blogger Joy Shumaker:

Photo: David Quicksall and Tom Dang. Photo by John McLellan