Compiled by Miryam Gordon from press releases.
June is packed with festivals of short plays and the start of theater (and dance) in the parks! Get out yer calendars!
Clyde’s, ArtsWest and The Hansberry Project, 6/6-30/24
Lynn Nottage’s latest Broadway triumph introduces the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of Clyde’s, a truck stop cafe. Even as the shop’s mischievous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staffers are given purpose and permission to dream.
www.artswest.org
Distillery New Works Festival, Seattle Public Theater, already happened
Each play in the festival receives a live reading with a cast of professional actors and a director. The readings conclude with a moderated discussion of the play with the playwright. Funnie by Jessica Moss, Impossible Theories Of Us by John Mabey, Li by Wei He, The Park by Lisa Every and Jenn Ruzumna, Possessed by Gloria Majule, Safe Hands by Alara Magritte and Daniel Rosen, Skin by Anamaria Guerzon.
www.seattlepublictheater.org
Spring Awakening, 5th Avenue Theatre, 6/7-30/24
Spring Awakening is an electrifying journey through the trials and challenges of adolescence, with music by Duncan Sheik. The story explores the mystery of attraction, desire, sex, insecurity, and the highs and lows of navigating the pressures of young adult life. With a score of contemporary rock music that transformed the way Broadway thinks about musicals, Spring Awakening is a poignant and thrilling ride that stings with resonance for today’s youth.
www.5thavenue.org
From The Mississippi Delta, Tacoma Little Theatre, 6/7-23/24
Based on her memoir of the same title, Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland recounts her 20 year journey from humble beginnings in Greenwood, Mississippi, during the Jim Crow era, her civil rights activism, achieving her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota and celebrating her success as a Pulitzer-Prize nominated playwright. Experience a story of triumph in the face of extreme adversity that expertly weaves through the trials and tribulations of Dr. Holland’s life relayed through the bodies and voices of only three actors, all in tribute to one of America’s unsung heroes.
www.tacomalittletheatre.com
Figure Studies, Parley Productions, 6/10-11/24 (at West of Lenin)
Women & Femmes, or Females by Nelle Tankus, half sister by n8 heneghan, Solo Performance for Chicken Suit and Two-Stringed Guitar by Carol Y. Lee.
www.parleyproductions.com
53% OF, Sound Theatre Company, 6/13-30/24 (open 6/15) (at Seattle Center Armory)
Named for the percentage of white women who (according to initial exit polls) voted for Trump in 2016, 53% OF skewers different voter demographics: a conservative Pennsylvania moms’ group, their husbands, an enclave of progressive 20-something New Yorkers planning a march–as long as it doesn’t interfere with their yoga. This election year satire, set during 2016-17 with an all-female-presenting cast, holds an unfiltered mirror while asking us how truly we see ourselves.
www.soundtheatrecompany.org
Strawberry Jam Directors Festival, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, 6/13-29/24 (at 12th Avenue Arts)
Passage by Christopher Chen, The Author’s Voice by Richard Greenberg, Albert’s Bridge by Tom Stoppard, Athena by Gracie Gardner.
www.strawshop.org
Ride the Cyclone, SecondStory Repertory, 6/14/24-7/7/24
In this outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other — the chance to return to life. A funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived!
www.secondstoryrep.org
You Can’t Stop The Drag, Seattle Men’s Chorus, 6/22/24 2PM/7PM, 6/23/24 2PM (at McCaw Hall)
Special guest Nina West will keep you laughing in between iconic performances of drag worthy anthems by the Chorus, like I Will Survive and I Am Who I Am. So, get out those rainbow boas, diamond tiaras, and 6” heels and sashay down to see the Seattle Men’s Chorus in a truly dragalicious concert that would be a crime to miss.
www.seattlechoruses.org
Inspired By: 10-Minute Play Festival, Mirror Stage Company, 6/22-23/24 (at U. Heights)
Six playwrights take inspiration from local changemakers.
- Aviona Creatrix Rodriguez Brown, inspired by Mercedes Sanchez of Cedar River Clinics
- Kelleen Conway-Blanchard, inspired by Paul Getzel of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Seattle
- Stacy D. Flood, inspired by Karen Toering of Black & Tan Hall
- Anamaria Guerzon, inspired by Ashley McGirt of WA Therapy Fund Foundation
- Serin Ngai, inspired by Cynthia Brothers of Vanishing Seattle
- Dr. Lisa Price, inspired by Maria Kolby-Wolfe of Washington Women’s Foundation
Cabaret, Harlequin Productions, 6/28/24-7/28/24
In a time when the world is changing forever, there is one place where everyone can be free. Welcome to the Kit Kat Klub. One of the most famous American musicals of all time — from the creators of Chicago — Cabaret takes us to the seedy underground of 1929 Berlin during the twilight of the Jazz Age.
www.harlequinproductions.org
13th Annual Festival of Shorts, Edmond’s Driftwood Theatre, 6/27-30/24
Finding Mother Courage by Pam Kingsley
The Real Thing by Marjorie Williamson
The World Needs More Trees by Kimberly Shimer
First Impressions by Kurt Olson
The Bench by Romney S. Humphrey
A Much Better Deal by Stephan Feldman
Horseshoe by Sara Freedman
Lemonade by Marjorie Williamson
www.edmondsdriftwoodplayers.org
Starting June: Shakespeare (And Other Shows) In The Park!
Wooden O/Seattle Shakespeare Company presents Two Gentlemen of Verona, starting 6/27/24 www.seattleshakepeare.org, A Midsummer Night’s Dream starts on 6/27/24 by Bainbridge Performing Artswww.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, GreenStage presents Henry VI: Part 1, and Henry VI: Part 2, Twelfth Night, AND short stagings of All’s Well That Ends Well, and Julius Caesar starting 7/12/24 www.greenstage.org, the Seattle Outdoor Theater Festival (the official start of the season) is 7/13 and 7/14/24, Island Shakespeare Festival presents The Lucky Chance and King Lear 7/19/24 www.islandshakespearefest.org, and Fallen Angels is presented by Burien Actors Theatre 7/21/24 www.battheatre.org.
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About the Author: Miryam Gordon
