All Of Seattle’s A Stage: Solo Acts, Drag Kings, Canadian “Trout” and “Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” All Trod The Boards This Week!

If SGS seems a little theater crazed, well, it’s because we ARE a little theater crazed and think you should be, too. Seattle is blessed with dozens of venues offering everything from Shakespeare to Burlesque; Ibsen to Lloyd-Webber; Tennessee Williams to Drag Queens parodying tv shows and old movies. There’s something for everyone, at all price levels and degrees of competency, so it’s foolish and wasteful to pass on all this bounty. And, our bounty this week starts with tonight’s opening of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean at at Richard Hugo House. The story of a James Dean fan club reuniting in a small Texas town near the filming location of Dean’s final film Giant, it provides its actresses juicy roles in a story teeming with humor and dramatic confrontation. Tonight’s performance is a fundraiser for Gilda’s House and you can get tickets/info here for the show that runs through March 14th. (I’m attending the show tonight and should have a review up this weekend…)

Opening next week is a BIG, theatrical event that runs for a month, the 4th Annual Solo Performance Festival at the Theatre Off Jackson in the International District. Subtitled, “Can You Get My Back” the festival features a series of solo performances from many local and national performers including Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt (performing separately obviously) from Dos Fallopia, beloved Re-bar star and hostess of The Stay-Up Late Show, Rebecca M Davis; Can Can Cabaret vixen Ben DeLaCreme; Von Foxies co-founder Anna Allen, aka “Ernie Von Schmaltz”; Stranger curmudgeon/man about town/Showgirls commentator David Schmader and many, many others begin performances March 3rd in a rotating repertory schedule that will conclude April 3rd. For more information on this mega-event, including a full list of shows, performance dates, and ticket purchases, go to the Theatre Off Jackson website. Seattle Gay Scene is planning on checking out as many of the shows as they can, with special interest in The Best of Shorts series which features several short performances in one night, and for the longer shows we are especially intrigued by Mike Harris’s full length piece, Traveling Panties, (“an angry cross dresser tells tales of I-90, thongs and beyond!”) which opens March 6th, and the late night Monologue Slams hosted by Teatro Zinzanni’s Queen Diva the wondrous Kevin Kent on 3/13 and 3/27 at 10pm. Oh, and if you’ve never gone to the Theatre Off Jackson or you’re not a frequent visitor to the International District, please be advised you should allow plenty of time for parking…it can either be difficult to find and/or pricey so plan accordingly. Best bet is to get there early and have a meal/nosh in a nearby restaurant before going to the theater.

Seattle is a Cabaret/Burlesque loving city with zillions of performers and venues showcasing their nubile/frisky charms and the clever bawds are grouping together for a West Coast tour of a show they like to call Sin On Wheels, a show best described as:

Part drag, part burlesque, part cabaret, “SIN ON HEELS” takes a daring playful approach by delving into the full array of human sexuality, sensuality and gender. The show brings to life a variety show of arousing humor, natural beauty, and challenges of gender differences while celebrating the universal pleasures of eroticism.

The production will be featured in theaters all over the west coast from Seattle to Los Angeles, beginning March 5th at the Olympia Capitol Theater, then moving south towards its final destination at the Avalon Theater on March 14th. Cast members include Miss Indigo Blue, Sydni Deveraux, Fuchsia Foxxx, Waxie Moon, Inga Ingenue, Jenny Penny, Ernie Von Schmaltz and host Armitage Shanks.

And, the tour kicks off with a fundraiser at 8pm, Wednesday, March 3rd at Re-bar with proceeds to benefit the non-profit that is mounting the show. For more info/tickets go their site. (And, I’m LOVING that poster; beautiful graphic design!)

For all lovers of drag whether it be Queen/King/Twin or Hag, then Homosensual (I’m loving that name, by the way) a Monday night show at The Funhouse, 206 5th Ave N in Belltown, (not a bar I normally associate with drag entertainment, by the way, but good for them!) featuring all the varieties of drag with performances by Girls Like Boys, Phoebe Fondue, Jackie Hell and Dominick de la Cruz among others and live music by Jade Jericho. The drag starts at 8.30/the music at 10 and it’s a steal of a deal at $5. Check it out; looks like a hoot.

FINALLY, a quick reminder to go see Trout Stanley at The Balagan on Capitol Hill. I saw it last night and it’s a great, great show; it’s been getting brilliant reviews (mine will be up shortly), and it’s a must see show from one of Seattle’s strongest, small theater companies. Go support them and have a great time.

Wrapping this up so I can do my Trout review AND a movie posting…(oh, and devote at least part of the day to my job-job:)-Michael Strangeways