October has a fair number of spooky shows poking their noses onto our stages. Annex Theatre is resurrected. Zinzanni is back. There has to be at least ONE thing you’ll be dazzled by this month! Get out those calenders!
Calendar Girls, The Phoenix Theatre, 10/6-29/23
When Annie’s husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They manage to persuade four fellow Women’s Institute (WI) members to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar, with a little help from hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. The news of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their newfound fame.
www.tptedmonds.org
Residency at Lotte Hotel, Teatro ZinZanni,10/12/23-3/31/24
The legendary theatrical cirque experience, and Lotte Hotel Seattle, the premiere luxury hotel of downtown Seattle announce a new circus residency. This one-of-a-kind holiday run of performances promises an opulent, world-class extravaganza in the breathtaking setting of the hotel’s largest venue, the Grand Ballroom in The Sanctuary. The Teatro ZinZanni dinner-and-show experience will bring the talents of Kevin Kent, Elena Gatilova and more to tease and tantalize. (Matinee 12PM, Evening 7PM)
www.zinzanni.com/seattle
Goodnight Moon, Seattle Children’s Theatre, 10/12/23-11/5/23
Goodnight Moon has been cherished by generations for over 40 years, and SCT’s lively musical production has been popular all over the country since the world premiere in 2007. Children and families can enjoy the surprise and delight of Bunny’s imaginative detours on the way to dreamland. In this intimate production, everyone will revel with Bunny in the fun of jumping cows, dancing bears, and a room that springs to life! (Ages 3+)
www.sct.org
Miss You Like Hell, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, 10/12/23-11/11/23 (at 12th Ave Arts)
A teenager and her estranged mother—an undocumented Mexican on the verge of deportation—embark on a road trip across the United States to mend their frayed relationship. Combined with the musical talent of Erin McKeown, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes artfully crafts a story of the barriers and the bonds of family, while also addressing the complexities of immigration in today’s America.
www.strawshop.org
Cry It Out, As If Theatre Company, 10/12-29/23
This heart-warming comedy takes a sharp and honest look at the power of female friendship, the dilemma of going back to work after being home with a newborn, and the effect that economic and social class has on parenthood in America.
www.asiftheatre.com
Macbeth: A Rock Musical, Seattle Public Theater and Macha Theatre Works, 10/13/23-11/5/23 (at Bathhouse Theater)
This isn’t your Shakespeare’s Shakespeare… The witches’ prophecy swallows Macbeth whole and a murderous nightmare begins. Can Macbeth upend fate? In this all-femme punk rock telling, MacBeth’s foul greed and hunger for power distorts his actions.
www.seattlepublictheater.org
Battle Crow Radio, Annex Theatre, 10/13-21/23
After a long hiatus, Annex is BACK! An evening of diabolical radio mysteries by Kelleen Conway Blanchard with swoony live music and spine-chilling shocks. Four terrifying tales presented live and streaming to freeze your blood! Join Detectives Palmerston and Jiggles as they follow the trails of murdering fiends, other worldly creatures and spine-chilling evil!
www.annextheatre.org
The Veil, Dacha Theatre, 10/13/23-11/5/23 (at Forestledge Mansion, Burien) (world premiere)
In an old mansion of haunting beauty where the veil between worlds is weak, a group of amateur spiritualists are grappling with a power that they don’t fully understand. It is up to you to help them, if they can still be helped. Audiences will explore an original, expansive world and uncover the truths that lie beyond – or succumb to its dangers and darkness. Séances, summonings, bindings, and other forms of magic will become second nature as you try to save the young occultists who are in way over their heads.
Every Brilliant Thing, Harlequin Productions, 10/13-28/23
The color yellow. Sunsets. Things with stripes. Wearing a cape. Ice cream! There are a million brilliant things. Can you name them all? Eleise Moore stars in this solo show, an immersive storytelling experience blending comedy, improv, and audience interaction to tell the story of an adult growing up in the shadow of mental illness and learning to grapple with their own experiences of love, loss, and a finding a new way forward, one brilliant thing at a time.
www.harlequinproductions.org
Emma, Centerstage, 10/13-29/23
Jane Austen’s fantastic comedy shines in this high-energy adaptation. Emma Woodhouse, the self-titled “matchmaker of Highbury,” is completely uninterested in marriage for herself…but has big plans for everyone else. Flying high from her most recent match, she takes on her latest project: an orphan named Harriet Smith, who quickly discovers that Emma’s confidence is enough to carry most anyone along in its wake. But when secretive visitors and surprise guests appear in Highbury, Emma’s best-laid schemes begin to go off the rails, and she is forced to make adjustments while deftly side-stepping the counter-schemes of her presumptuous neighbor, George Knightley.
www.centerstagetheatre.com
Bloodletting, Pork Filled Productions, 10/19/23-11/4/23 (at Theatre Off Jackson)
A supernatural, psychological thriller. Under the watchful moon, estranged siblings Farrah and Bosley reunite in the Philippines to spread their father’s ashes in Palawan’s treasured underground river. They take shelter from a storm in a local café, where they open old family wounds and encounter an aswang, a Filipino witch, who awakens in Farrah an ancient, terrifying, and innate power. Will she embrace her new-found power? Or let it destroy herself and her brother?
www.porkfilled.com
Islander, Seattle Rep, 10/20/23-11/19/23 (tour)
Musical. Myth and reality collide when the tide washes a mysterious stranger onto the shore of Eilidh’s lonely island, changing her life forever. Join us for a musical showcase of epic storytelling, intimately staged with a contemporary Scottish folk-inspired score. Two actors embody a host of characters while weaving, building, and layering their voices using live looping technology. This internationally acclaimed hit will create an expansive, ethereal soundscape for the ears and imagination as Seattle Rep kicks off the North American Tour.
www.seattlerep.org
Meteor Shower, SecondStory Repertory, 10/20/23-11/12/23
A comedy by Steve Martin. Corky and Norm are excited to host Gerald and Laura at their home in the valley outside Los Angeles to watch a once-in-a-lifetime meteor shower. But as the stars come out and the conversation gets rolling, it becomes clear that Gerald and Laura might not be all that they appear to be. Over the course of a crazy, starlit dinner party, the wildly unexpected occurs. The couples begin to flirt and insanity reigns. A surprising and unforgettably funny new play.
www.secondstoryrep.org
Ripeness is All, Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts, 10/20/23-11/5/23
A world premiere adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, King Lear, told with an all-female cast. When Queen Lear’s attempts to force her youngest daughter to marry is met with unexpected disobedience, the queen’s wrath is unleashed. In the ensuing chaos, Lear’s goddaughter Edelle finds herself caught in a political storm that pits generation against generation and sister against sister.
www.redcurtainfoundation.org
Night of the Living Dead, Olympic Theatre Arts Center, 10/20-31/23
A desperate group seeks shelter in an old house to barricade themselves from a horde of the undead! No one is safe! Not for the faint of heart! Leave your loved ones at home and see if you can survive the zombie apocalypse.
www.olympictheatrearts.org
Misery, Tacoma Little Theatre, 10/20/23-11/5/23
Successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon, is rescued from a car crash by his “Number One Fan,” Annie Wilkes, and wakes up captive in her secluded home. While Paul is convalescing, Annie reads the manuscript to his newest novel and becomes enraged when she discovers the author has killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Annie forces Paul to write a new “Misery” novel, and he quickly realizes Annie has no intention of letting him go anywhere. The irate Annie has Paul writing as if his life depends on it, and it does.
www.tacomalittletheatre.com
The Canterville Ghost, Key City Public Theatre, 10/20-29/23 (world premiere)
A musical version of this chilling and humorous story filled with romance and redemption by Oscar Wilde, 19th century Ireland’s celebrated and scandalized master of biting wit.
www.keycitypublictheatre.org
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Seattle Shakespeare Company, (dates changed to Nov)
www.seattleshakespeare.org
The Return, Dunya Productions, 10/26/23-11/18/23 (at Cherry Street Village, 702 25th Ave)
Two people meet in an auto-body shop in Herzilya, a mid-sized city in Israel. One is Palestinian, one is Israeli (and) Jewish. They might or might not have known each other in the past. By the end of the play, both of their lives will be changed forever by the realities of present-day Israel.
https://dunyaproductions.square.site/upcoming
Measure for Measure, Freehold Engaged Theatre Project, 10/26-30/23 (at West of Lenin)
The Duke and his community are thrown into an imbalance by the pinched intolerance of the city’s cultural climate. The Duke senses the crisis, and his own failure, and sets out to find a way to fix the imbalance. (By Donation)
www.freeholdtheatre.org
New Works Northwest, ACT Theatre, 10/27-29/23
This 3-day festival will feature 5 new plays from local playwrights in an intimate, workshop environment.
Golden, written by Andrew Lee Creech: Amid the Great Recession, Morris Golden fights to save his marriage and keep the bank from foreclosing on his house. And he just might be able to pull it off if only he could get this stubborn magical change machine to work.
Mrs. Loman is Leaving, written by Katie Forgette: It’s opening night of Death of a Salesman at the Teacup Theatre. Two actors returning to the stage after many years have a lot riding on this bare-bone off-Broadway production. But what happens when life imitates art and one of them suffers a break with reality?
History of Theatre Part II: or, The Fruits of Mr. Brown’s Garden, written by Reginald André Jackson: Over 200 years ago, upon noting there was nowhere in New York for Free People of Color to gather and socialize, William Alexander Brown opened his garden to the public. Sister Blacknall returns, bringing her mysterious time portal with her, to tell the story of Mr. Brown and his intrepid theatre troupe.
The Sunless Scar, written by Maggie Lee: In a post-apocalyptic world, regular “sacrifices” to appease the gods are made in the form of young villagers being thrown into a deep crater called the Sunless Scar, from which there is no escape. But instead of certain death, the Scar turns out to contain safety, community, and light in a way that the harsh surface never could.
Vitalman (The Apothecary’s Story), written by Steven Dietz: The Apothecary from Romeo and Juliet has lived into the present day, determined to atone for his part in the death of history’s most famous lovers. Encountering a troubled young woman and a guileless young man, the Apothecary contrives to build a modern romantic love that cannot be destroyed … with dangerously emotional results.
www.acttheatre.org
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About the Author: Miryam Gordon
