(OUTview NW) RE-view: Seven divas from 'Rupaul's Drag Race' invade the Moore Theatre; Latrice Royale steals the show!

by MK Scott

Seven divas from 'RuPaul's Drag Race' hit Seattle's Moore Theater on Monday evening with 'A Drag Queen Christmas' and there were great performances; but the Queen of the Night went to Season 4's Latrice Royale who was the one of the queens that the audience stood up to applaud for and who actually had something to say that resonated with the audience.

'No orange man with bad hair is gonna steal my joy,' Royale said to the roaring crowd, after her splendid dancing, flagging and lip sync performance.

The event was hosted by Season 8 star, Thorgy Thor, who came out and kicked a stuffed head to the audience and asked the male receiver to come up on stage to drink a holiday shot.

The biggest upset of the night was a no-show by Season 4's Alyssa Edwards.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Bernadette Peters at Benaroya Hall was truly a night to remember!

by MK Scott

It was a full house at Benaroya Hall this past Saturday, when Broadway diva Bernadette Peters took the stage in a solo performance to demonstrate what an incredible performing artist she truly is.

Accompanied by a 12 piece orchestra, headed by the legendary Marvin Laird, who was the musical director for Peters' starring performances on Broadway in 1999's Annie Get Your Gun and 2003's Gypsy. The band was in top-notch form as Peters came out onto the stage in a long, violet-colored, sequined gown, singing 'Let Me Entertain You.'

Peters talked about her love of Stephen Sondheim, but also sang a few songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein, including South Pacific's 'There is Nothin' Like a Dame.'

(OUTview NW) Re-view: "Peter and the Starcatcher" is only part of the story, but that is A-OK!

Peter not flying yet! (John McLellan)

by MK Scott

Oh, Peter Pan, you know that show with Mary Martin and later Cathy Rigby, you know the story?

How about the Backstory? No, this is not 'Finding Neverland" about author, J.M. Barrie, but more of a prequel called "Peter and the Starcatcher" co-written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, and Adapted  by Rick Elice (“Jersey Boys”) that opened the past weekend at West Seattle's Artswest Playhouse.

Directed by the FAB, Eric Ankrim who helmed last years huge hit, "American Idiot" surely brought the youthful energy to this production.

The cast is 99% men with the exception of the refreshing,  Aly Gutierrez as Molly. Plus Molly's Nanny and Head Mermaid, is played with Pizazz by Nathan Brockett.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Seattle Rep's "King Charles III" is a scandalous look at the Royals in the near future!!

William betrays Charles!  (Michael Doucett)

by MK Scott

With the Drama of Shakespeare to a modern day comedy, it all works in Seattle Rep's (co-produced  by American Conservatory Theatre and The Shakespeare Theatre Company) new lavish production of "King Charles III" by Mike Bartlett.

It is nearing, 2022 and Queen Elizabeth II has died after reigning the UK for 70 Years, and Prince Charles is automatically King (without  ceremony) and that is when it gets complicated with hilarious results.

There are numerous times of when an actor has a long monologue in the style of Shakespeare, but in a tone that most people can understand.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Seattle Opera's As One is a triumph and provides discussion and education about the Transgender community!

by MK Scott

Get this, an opera with only two performers, with no elaborate set or costumes, in a smaller venue in the Central District. The fact that the characters (one male and one female) are two sides of one transgender character (Hannah) makes this a rare treat. Seattle Opera has finally brought this groundbreaking 2014 production to share with their Seattle audience.

As One by Laura Kaminsky is a chamber opera that made its debut in 2014 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of American Opera Projects. What makes this production so unique is the performers are people of color.

We meet 'Hannah-before' (played by baritone Jorell Williams) with 'Hannah-after' (played by mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven) in the shadows as Williams expresses himself and struggles with his gender identity.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Seattle Rep's "A Raisin in the Sun" is Beyond a Classic, It is a Testament in Class!

Walter thinks he is Da Man, Ruth isn't so sure! (Alabastro)

by MK Scott

I confess, I never saw 'Raisin in the Sun' by Lorraine Hansberry, on stage until now. I never saw the 1961 film starring Sidney Poitier, but I did see the stunning 2008 TV film starring Sean Combs and Phylicia Rashad and was somewhat familiar with the story.

In the new production at the Seattle Rep, you see from the get go of why this play is endearing Classic and still holds up today over 55 years later.

The Play isn't just about racism in 1960's Chicago, but more about Class-ism and working your butt off to get somewhere in life.

For the Younger family, waiting for their payday comes in the form of the late-patriarch's $10,000 life insurance payout and ideas of how to spend it. Walter Lee (Played by the Fab, Richard Prioleau) is tired of working as a chauffeur and wants to invest the money in a get rich quick scheme. His Mother, the old and wise, Lena (the incredible,  Denise Burse) wants to buy a house away from the ghetto to show that they have accomplished the American Dream. Walter's Wife, Ruth (Mia Ellis), supports that idea, especially learning she is pregnant. Walter's Free-spirited sister, Beneatha (Claudine Mboligikpelani Nako) is a Med student, her Nigerian classmate Joseph Assangai proposes to her, wanting to take her to Africa with him after they finish school, but she is unsure what to do.

(OUTview NW) Theater RE-view: Artswest's "GHOSTS" is Classic Ibsen Plus a Whole Lot of AMAZING!

No 'GHOSTS' but a whole-lotta Drama! (Artswest)

by MK Scott

When I think of Ibsen, I recall doing a scene from A Doll's House in College and being told by the instructor that I was no longer the shy kid that she met 2 years earlier I was an actor and I never forgot that.

So when I saw that our friends at Artswest was doing an Ibsen ONE Act play called Ghosts, I knew I would enjoy it and I certainly did.

It turns out that Henrik Ibsen originally called it Gengangere, back in 1881 and according to Wikipedia, totally disliked  English translator William Archer's use of the word "Ghosts" as the play's title, as the Norwegian Gengangere would be more accurately translated as "The Revenants", which literally means "The Ones who Return".

The subjects were quite controversial during its time which includes religion, venereal disease, incest and euthanasia, etc.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: an International Scandal turns into an AMAZING threesome in Bad Apples at ACT!

Chadwick, Taylor and Hagreen shine! (Jeff Carpenter)

by MK Scott

Back in 2004, America was stunned at the actions of the guards of Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, and it was clear that this wasn't your grand-daddies war.

The images of the prisoners in shocking poses along with images of the 3 guards tells one story. In the new rock-musical, Bad Apples,  by Jim Leonard and music and lyrics by Beth Thornley and Rob Cairns,  currently at ACT Theatre (co-presented by Circle X in LA and our very own Artswest in West Seattle} is something different and very reminiscent from last fall's "American Idiot" at Artswest.

(OUTview NW) CONCERT RE-view: It was all about the legendary Nile Rodgers at the Chic/Duran Duran double play in Everett!

MKS

by MK Scott

The number one concert on my bucket list was finally realized when Duran Duran played the Xfinity Arena in Everett on Thursday, September 1st.

Ever since I was 14 years old, I wanted to be Simon Le Bon. Some would say the same about bass guitarist, John Taylor (the cutest), or keyboardist, Nick Rhodes (super-androgynous). But with Simon, he had great hair, clothes and voice.

Even today, Le Bon, 57, is gorgeous, and a little rugged with facial hair. Taylor, 56, is looking kind of burned out, in a Keith Richards (the Rolling Stone's lead-guitarist) kind-of-way. Rhodes, 54, announced in June that he was taking time off toward the end of the summer tour; and during the concert said who else would fill Rhodes' makeup and high-heels but Amanda Warner - yes, a woman.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Olivia Newton-John at Snoqualmie was simply a magical 'Twist of Fate'!

(Snoqualmie)

by MK Scott

Olivia Newton-John is an icon and is clearly a pioneer as a crossover artist and I realized just how much like Taylor Swift she was when I learned of Olivia's journey as a crossover artist from country to Pop in the mid-70's to being a cultural icon from Grease to Xanadu to, of course, the 'Physical' phenomenon in the '80s and once again re-inventing herself in the '90s and beyond.

In my interview published in the SGN August 19 she was ecstatic to be back in Seattle and that the Aug 25th concert would at Snoqualmie Casino's Outdoor amphitheater. The show started only 15 minutes late with no opening act. Olivia, wearing a black suit with a gorgeous white jacket brought back the 'Magic' and 'Xanadu.' Then 'Suddenly,' with one of her back-up singers, she took on the Cliff Richard part.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: SOUND Theater's Amazing "Ensemble" Season continues with the Sensational 'One Man and Two Guvnors'!

(Ken Holmes)

by MK Scott

When I attended the opening night performance of Sound Theater's production of One Man and Two Guvnors by Richard Bean, it felt oddly familiar and I knew of the story and then it hit me that this was an adaptation of a play staged by Seattle Rep in 2013 called a Servant of Two Masters, an Italian play that was written in 1753 by Carlo Goldoni.

For Two Guvs (written in 2011) the play is updated to 1963 England with contemporary Songs added that each cast member takes turns performing.

Compared to Two Masters, that featured so much Improv, that got a little too much as I wrote in 2013:

Truffadino is more like the Aladden's Genie with the modern references and slapstick Inprov. By Act 2, the constant Improv, which in the theater, can be misunderstood as Ad-libbing. Sometimes it went on for too long. 

(OUTview NW) Concert RE-view: For the first time in 15 years Culture Club is Back, Mature and really Wowed Chateau Ste. Michelle!

Photo: Drew Lienau

by MK Scott

Another concert on my bucket list was finally fulfilled on Thurs, August 11th, when Culture Club toured the US for the first time in 15 years with a visit at Chateau Ste. Michelle's summer concert series in Woodinville.

With Boy George's muse (and ex-lover), Jon Moss taking center stage at his drum set and followed by Roy Hay and Mikey Craig and finally Boy George, 55, himself belting out Church of the Poison Mind without Helen Terry, but with the key backupsinger mimicking her voice perfectly. Boy George's voice sounded lower (ongoing throat issues) but didn't disappoint.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: After 32 years, 'Weird Al' is Still Ageless and Weird-ly Funny!

MKS

by MK Scott

It was 1984, when I first heard this singer/comedian hit the airwaves with parodies of hit songs from Madonna and Michael Jackson and while those music videos were comic gold, we thought he had disappeared from the spotlight until a few years ago with some you song, but it was eminent that "Weird Al' Yankovic has always been in pop culture and even the punchline in many TV shows and films as evidence on his Seattle stop on July 26th at Woodland Parks' Zoo Tunes.

The concert was family-friendly and started at 6:00 pm on a Tuesday night, and most probably had no idea of 'Weird Al's' iconic status.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: With Sound Theater's 'Judas', Everyone Sees the Light!

Satan Stuns Cunningham!              (Holmes)

by MK Scott

A few years back, I reviewed 2 plays back to back about famous people in the after life, and I would assume,  the Mountaintop (staged by Artswest) and Sleep, Marilyn and Dream (staged by SPT) were most likely inspired by Stephen Adly Guirgis' 2005 Play, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, currently staged by Sound Theater.

Judas (played by the incredible, Jose Abaoag, recently from WET's 99 Ways) is catatonic in Hell, while top Attorney, Cunningham (Played by the always FAB, Caitlyn Francis) is in a pugatory courtroom pleading ex-confederate soldier and judge (Keith Dahlgren) to plead Judas' right for an appeal of betraying Jesus. On the prosecution side, we have the very flamboyant Egyptian, Yusef (the super entertaining, Yusef Mahmoud, recently seen in Artswest's American Idiot) and finally as the trial begins, so do the incredible performances of several of the actors.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Fantastic Z's Psycho Beach Party is Camp, Beefcake and More!

Mommie Issues?                                  (Garland)

by MK Scott

Last year at this time, Fantastic Z (a Seattle LGBTQ theater company) brought us a Trans/Western called Sidewinders (Yes, Really) that I gave a mixed review. What a difference a year makes, their latest, Psycho Beach Party by the genus, Charles Busch, is a Campy HIT. Considering the source of the material, it was going to be a hit, but in this production it is the actors that make the show shine.

As a fan of the film, this was my first viewing of the original play. The play is more about Chicklet and her multiple personalities than the film's major plot of a serial killer on the loose.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Artswest's Season of Substance, ends with the 'Heartbreaking' SALESMAN!

Thankful for no more traveling! (Brunk)

by MK Scott

This was quite an Arthur Miller season, having started at Seattle Rep last fall with a View from the Bridge to Artswest closing its "roller coaster" season  of substance with Miller's American Classic, Death with a Salesman . 

They say that Willy Lohman is one of the best characters that every character actor will play eventually. In this he isn't really sympathetic as well as his 2 sons, only Mrs. Lohman has any rooting value.

So, Artswest delivers this classic, thanks to director, Matthew Wright and including a FAB performance by Seattle legend, David Pichette as Willy, the aging salesman who wastes his life and humiliates himself to pay off his house payments for his family. The guilt and pain is so overwhelming that his family ignores all the signs of his depression.

(OUTview NW) Seattle Rep's "Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem" Brings IT and More!

"Blame the Americans"            (Bennion)

by MK Scott

It has been 3 years, since we first saw R. Hamilton Wright's (and David Pichette) hugely adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles and is poised to create a series of plays based on the Holmes and Watson but not a particular Sir Arthur Conan Doyle book. Wright's (without Pichette) latest is a new and original play with Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem.

This play we actually get to see more of Darragh Kennen's Hysterical Holmes, in Baskerville,  he was mostly MIA in Act 1 and shows up in Act 2 in disguise. Not so in this version and Kennen is quite entertaining as he gets involved in a case with an American Celebrity, Annie Oakley (Christine Marie Brown), herself!

(OUTview NW) RE-view: My Name is Asher Lev is Perfect Testament of the Battle between ART and FAITH!

(Bakketun)

by MK Scott

Last Fall, I reviewed the unforgettable and chilling FESTEN at New Century Theater Company and was intrigued with what they would do with, "My Name is Asher Lev” Based on the best-selling book by Chaim Potok, this adaptation by Aaron Posner and Directed by Sheila Daniels.

The play is about Asher Lev (the always Fab, Conner Neddersen), a Brooklyn bred Hasidic Jewish Painter with Conservative parents and the talent and drive to paint.

His parents are played by Amy Thone and Bradford Farwell, who played the father and mother in FESTEN and this time you have an overbearing, but passionate father and the ultra religious mother horrified at Asher's nude sketches that they drew as a teen.

Then we see Farwell as the supportive Rebbe who refers Asher to Jacob Kahn (also played by Farwell with a Brooklyn accent) to mentor the young Asher to come to terms that Art should be separate from religious morals. In one scene, Thone appears as a Topless model for Asher that helps to create a forbidden piece of his parents that goes against his religious beliefs to a crushing conclusion.

Separate, but Equal.

NCTC's My Name is Asher Lev continues through May 21st at 12th Ave Arts. Click HERE for TIX and INFO.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Theater Schmeater's 'Fatal Footlights' is a "What If" Whodunit, with Great Performances!

Elementary, my dear sis, Gwendolyn! (Hastings)

by MK Scott

Last October I attend my first production ever at Theater Schmeater for our fave, Tom Stewart's performance in 'Welcome to my Secret Lair" and found it to be quite entertaining. So when Stewart stars in a show, you go and be prepared to be mesmerized.

This time around it is a Steampunk murder mystery set in 1885 London called Fatal Footlights by our pal, John Longenbaugh along with Louis Broome with a "What if" scenario that brings George Bernard Shaw (Matthew Middleton), Bram Stoker (John McCenna) Dame Ellen Terry (Niki Visel) and Oscar Wilde (Tadd Morgan) all together to tell this story in a very Phantom of the Opera way with little Sherlock Holmes in the form of the Sexually fluid,  Cyril (Jeremy Adams) aided by his sister, Gwendolyn  (Katherine Grant-Suttie). I realized this was part of a Series of plays, and now I am intrigued for more.

(OUTscene America) RE-view: Zumanity still one of sexiest shows on the Vegas Strip!

by MK Scott

It has been 5 years since we last saw Zumanity in Vegas at New York, New York, From the Creative artists from Cirque du Soleil.


I was thrilled to have a opportunity see this Sexy production and was not disappointed (well, Maybe too many Nude Show Girls and Ariel artists) but this time a around was a mixed bag, cause there wasn't the same balance I saw in 2011. I will get that that later.

Billing itself as "Another side of Cirque du Soleil," this New York-New York Hotel & Casino resident production makes the most of its difference from other Cirque shows. A combination burlesque/cabaret, ZUMANITY, recalls the ribald Rocky Horror Picture Show of years gone by. The flavor of ZUMANITY can best be tasted on its menu of production numbers like Body2Body, Dislocation, 2Men and Midnight Bath and Orgy. Needless to say, ZUMANITY is not a show for the little ones, but it's pure Las Vegas entertainment, with a sharp sexual edge.