By MISHA BERSON
Seattle area stage companies have planned their 2024-25 seasons of musical works, dramas, and comedies with the hope of luring more drama lovers back to theater—as the lively Puget Sound cultural scene continues to recover from the shutdowns of the pandemic.
So, what is in store on the boards this autumn at popular local venues for plays and musical theater?
Here is a heads-up on some intriguing productions (several of them brand-new works, others classics) waiting in the wings. But before we get to the attractions, let us consider a few helpful go-do facts:
- Most local theaters have lower prices for senior patrons, and at least one pay-as-you-can performance during a run. Anyone can certainly take advantage of these discounts. However, if you appreciate an arts group and can pay full price for tickets, it is an investment in a cultural institution’s sustainability in a time of reduced government and corporate funding for the arts.
- Most theaters will gladly make accommodations for patrons who need special assistance with seating and entrances, and provide earphones for those hard of hearing. Some offer performances with audio descriptions, aimed at the sight-impaired, and sign language translation. COVID protocols are also available. To find out more, call the theater’s box office or peruse its website before purchasing tickets.
Now on with the show …
My Lord, What a Night: You may not know there is a link between the classical singer Marian Anderson and the renown astrophysicist Albert Einstein. But in Deborah Brevoort’s two-actor drama, these important historical figures come alive in a drama based on real events. In Princetown, NJ, to give a concert, civil rights pioneer Anderson was denied a room in a local inn because she was Black. When Einstein invited her to stay in his own nearby home, the singer took him up on it—and a longtime friendship between the two ensued. Both faced bigotry, fought injustice, and shared a love of music, as the play’s Seattle debut at Taproot Theatre will attest.
Taproot Theatre (Seattle), Sept. 18–Oct. 19
Funny Girl: The musical that launched the career of Barbra Streisand way back when, found a new life in this recent Broadway revival. Based loosely on the career (and love life) of early 20th Century comedy star Fanny Brice, Funny Girl features such standard tunes as “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “People.” After a stint on Broadway, this new production wends its way on tour to the Paramount Theatre in downtown Seattle.
Paramount Theatre, Sept. 24-29
The Park: Two theater companies and two writers join forces to mount the premiere of this tale about two women who meet regularly on the same park bench—lunching on sandwiches and sharing friendship in happy and troubled times over several decades. Created by Lisa Every and Jenn Ruzumna, the play will be introduced at Seattle Public Theatre, which, it so happens, is located in Green Lake Park, where every day people share lunch and chat on nearby benches. Macha Theatre Works, a troupe dedicated to new plays by women, co-produces.
Seattle Public Theatre, Oct. 11–Nov. 3
Camelot: Another enduring favorite from the early 1960s, the classic Lerner and Loewe show will be given an “intimate” staging in Issaquah, and later in Everett, by the Eastside-based Village Theatre. In this musical tale based on T.E. Lawrence’s historical tome, The Once and Future King, beautiful Guinevere meets and marries charming King Arthur, but then falls hard for the gallant Sir Lancelot—causing havoc among the knights of the Round Table. And triggering many memorable songs.
Plays at the Village Theatre in Issaquah, Sept. 10–Oct. 13, then at the Everett Performing Arts Center in Everett, Oct. 19–Nov. 10
Primary Trust: Described as intimate and inventive, this 2024 Pulitzer Prize-honored comedy concerns a lonely, smalltown man who must face new challenges, and find new opportunities for work and human connection, when the bookstore where he has toiled for a long time shuts down. Eboni Booth’s touted play was presented to acclaim Off Broadway; now Seattle Rep unveils its local premiere.
Seattle Rep (Seattle Center), Oct. 24–Nov. 24
Wicked: The smash hit musical spun from the “Wizard of Oz” and the best-selling Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West has been running strong on Broadway for 20 years, and the first of a two-part movie version will be released this November. That hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for this colorful tuner about the rivalry and reconciliation between two young women—a good witch and a green-faced, misunderstood witch. For those who love the show, want to discover what the fuss is all about or know an adolescent longing to take it in, you can enjoy Wicked as it circles back to Seattle’s Paramount Theatre on tour this fall.
Paramount Theatre, Nov. 6–Dec. 1
LUCIDITY: The new chamber opera, with music by Laura Kaminsky and libretto by David Cote, has a timely theme. Seattle Opera is presenting the world premiere of the piece that centers on Lili, an elderly singer and composer with early dementia, and her son Dante, who has given up his career as a pianist to care for her. In tune with recent discoveries in brain science, another musician and a music therapist help Lili find some joy and communion—or as the Seattle Opera puts it, “When memory fails, music remains.”
Tagney Jones Hall, Seattle Opera Center, Nov. 21–24
Misha Berson writes about the arts for crosscut.com and many other media outlets, teaches for the UW Osher program, and is the author of four books, including Something’s Coming, Something Good: West Side Story and the American Imagination (Applause/Hal Leonard).