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Stage
Joe Izenman on May 2nd, 2012
The key to a good murder mystery, comedy or not, is in the web of misdirection, and the handling of the ultimate reveal in a way that is equally surprising and sensible. The key to a great murder mystery is in crafting a tale that remains entertaining, even when the
Stage
Joe Izenman on April 25th, 2012
Footloose seems like a natural candidate for adaptation to a stage musical. It has a cheeseball inspirational plot (big-city kid rolls into rural religious town, learns to fit in while teaching them the joy of not banning dancing). The story is centered entirely around the prospect of dance numbers. It
Stage
Joe Izenman on April 19th, 2012
Mother. Daughter. Killer. Lover. Angel. Demon. Bette Midler. Assemblage Theater's debut presentation pulls away the walls that separate these disparate images, leaving behind the revelation that is Terminus.
Mark O'Rowe knows there is darkness in the best of us, and profound decency in the worst. In his Terminus we bear witness
We Recommend
Joe Izenman on April 16th, 2012
David Domkowski knows that, quality notwithstanding, there are some shows that the Big Three of Tacoma area community theater companies just can't do. So the longtime Tacoma director made up his own, that can.
Mark O'Rowe's Terminus is a play like that. "The moment I read the play I
We Recommend
Joe Izenman on March 21st, 2012
The concept of The Color Purple as a stage musical seems to evoke the same reaction in virtually everyone - at least everyone I know.
And that reaction is, "Huh?"
Alice Walker's Pulitzer-winning novel follows Celie, a young black woman in 1930s Georgia, from a childhood of rape by her father,
Stage
Joe Izenman on March 21st, 2012
The concept of The Color Purple as a stage musical seems to evoke the same reaction in virtually everyone - at least everyone I know.
And that reaction is, "Huh?"
Alice Walker's Pulitzer-winning novel follows Celie, a young black woman in 1930s Georgia, from a childhood of rape by her father, into
Stage
Joe Izenman on March 14th, 2012
How do you cope with a pain most people can't even conceive? How do you mourn the death of your young son? And when you know it was a senseless accident that took his life, and when there's no target for blame, where does your anger go?
David Lindsay-Abaire won a
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Joe Izenman on March 6th, 2012
I've been following the work of Aaron Sorkin since the days of the short-lived TV show Sports Night. I've observed that there are a few things Sorkin clearly loves more than anything else: space travel, talking while walking, stealing his own lines and Philo T. Farnsworth.
I've also
Stage
Joe Izenman on March 6th, 2012
I've been following the work of Aaron Sorkin since the days of the short-lived TV show Sports Night. I've observed that there are a few things Sorkin clearly loves more than anything else: space travel, talking while walking, stealing his own lines and Philo T. Farnsworth.
I've also known John Munn
We Recommend
Joe Izenman on January 31st, 2012
My wife was thoroughly unexcited about seeing Play It Again, Sam at Lakewood Playhouse. She's insisted for quite some time - or at least any time we look at comedies to rent or talk about seeing Midnight In Paris - that she hates Woody Allen movies. What's more, she'd
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Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on April 12th, 2012
WELCOME TO THE SCENE ASSEMBLAGE THEATRE >>>
David Domkowski knows that, quality notwithstanding, there are some shows that the Big Three of Tacoma area community theater companies just can't do. So the longtime Tacoma director made up his own, that can.
Mark O'Rowe's Terminus is a play like that. "The moment I
Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on March 14th, 2012
APPLAUSE >>>
Coming off a good season with favorable reviews for its productions of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, A Christmas Carol and California Suite, Tacoma Little Theatre has announced its 2012-2013 season. Let's take a look. ...
Sylvia
Sept. 7-30Just what Tacoma theater needs: more plays featuring people playing dogs.
Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on February 22nd, 2012
APPLAUSE >>>
Hot off the news of John Munn's promotion from interim managing artistic director to managing artistic director, Lakewood Playhouse has seen fit to announce its 2012-2013 season.
Sherlock's Last Case by Charles Marowitz
If I recall correctly (and I frequently do), Sherlock's Last Case was the first show I ever saw
Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on February 5th, 2012
WE SCENE IT >>>
Tacoma's Goldfinch is working on a new album, and it is going to be very, very good. One of my fine Volcano colleagues will pop up one of these days and tell you all about the band's Spaceworks Tacoma residency at 1310 MLK, and the process behind
Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on September 6th, 2011
AH, MEMORIES >>>
I love Bumbershoot for a lot of things, but mostly I love it for its memories. The singular moments that pop up every year and stick with you forever.
In 2005 I high-fived Iggy Pop as he ran through the photo trough. I stood in Memorial Stadium and watched
Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on September 5th, 2011
Convention is for suckers.
Convention at Bumbershoot is to wander from stage to stage taking in a dozen different kinds of pop music, from around the world and across the pop-genre spectrum - country, folk, blues, electronic, rock, punk and hip-hop.
But sometimes convention doesn't do the trick, and doesn't give you
Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on September 4th, 2011
NOTES FROM THE GRASS >>>
Day one of Bumbershoot 2011 has me thinking about scale in music. As far as I can tell there are no small music stages at the festival this year. In the past the Northwest Court stage provided a quiet, out-of-the-way venue for acts that
Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on September 3rd, 2011
MASSIVE MUSIC FEST KICKS OFF IN SEATTLE >>>
The usual disclaimer: I go to Bumbershoot for the bands I don't know, not the ones I do. So my daily previews are always a little thin on knowledge. But regardless, here are a few places where your trusty Weekly
Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on June 17th, 2011
YOUR SOURCE FOR SOUTH SOUND THEATER COVERAGE >>>
David Auburn's Proof is built on relationships: a damaged girl and her broken father; the sibling rivalry of two sisters on very different paths; the uncertainty of young love. Each tie between two characters helps illuminate another.
Nominally, the play is about brilliance and
Walkie Talkie Blog
Joe Izenman on June 11th, 2011
YOUR SOURCE FOR SOUTH SOUND THEATER >>>
Is it wrong that I secretly wished Lakewood Playhouse's production of Sweeney Todd would be a little bit more like a GWAR concert? My instincts say yes, but my heart says no.
Not that I wanted a horde of spastic metalheads kicking me in the
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Joe Izenman on March 9th, 2010
When do you give up on what you want to do, and turn to what is profitable and popular? At what point are dreams of art and integrity laid to rest at the altar of commercial whoredom? That is the question posed in the new film Bestsellers, by Tacoma
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