All stories by Dusty Somers on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

‘Come From Away’ remains invigorating and heartening, even in pandemic-weary times by Dusty Somers

Hundreds of performances and a pandemic later, the “Come From Away” national tour is back at the 5th Avenue Theatre, running through Aug. 7.

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Tony Award-winning ‘Hadestown’ comes to Seattle by Dusty Somers

“Hadestown,” winner of eight Tony Awards including best musical, makes its touring debut in Seattle at the Paramount Theatre July 12-17.

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Friday, May 13, 2022

Review: 5th Avenue’s ‘Afterwords’ relentlessly plucks at the same underdeveloped note by Dusty Somers

5th Avenue's "Afterwords" fails to meaningfully grapple with topics like grief and addiction. But a talented cast shines.

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Washington Ensemble Theatre’s ‘Tin Cat Shoes’ takes an appealingly odd look at meaning of work by Dusty Somers

WET's first full-length live production since the pandemic is shiny, sugary and gleefully nonsensical.

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, March 22, 2022

A Shakespearean power struggle gets transplanted to high school hallways at Seattle Rep by Dusty Somers

Mike Lew's “Teenage Dick," a reimagining of Shakespeare's “Richard III," is onstage at Seattle Rep through April 3.

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Thursday, March 10, 2022

Slippery, spooky ‘The Thin Place’ opens soon at ACT Theatre by Dusty Somers

"The Thin Place," opening later this month at ACT Theatre, is by Lucas Hnath, known for his cerebral and formally adventurous plays.

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Review: An icon/assault survivor struggles with a choice in Macha Theatre Works’ ‘The Fifth Wave’ by Dusty Somers

The world premiere of “The Fifth Wave,” presented by Macha Theatre Works, finally makes it to the stage. It runs through Feb. 27 at West of Lenin.

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Review: In ‘Hotter Than Egypt’ at Seattle’s ACT Theatre, dividing lines get fuzzy by Dusty Somers

"Hotter Than Egypt" marks the fifth world premiere staging at ACT Theatre for Seattle playwright Yussef El Guindi. It's a lighter effort than some of his past works.

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Monday, February 7, 2022

Seattle Shakes rotates ‘Hamlet’ and ‘As You Like It,’ performed by artists of color by Dusty Somers

Seattle Shakespeare Company's “Drum and Colours” program, which features a cast made up entirely of people of color, pairs “Hamlet” and “As You Like It,”

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Thursday, February 3, 2022

A common bond is tested in ArtsWest’s ‘Monsters of the American Cinema’ by Dusty Somers

Now on stage at ArtsWest, this world premiere production sketches a vivid characterization of a loving if suddenly tenuous bond between father-figure (Lamar Legend, who also directed) and so…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Thursday, January 27, 2022

Seattle playwright Yussef El Guindi tackles the interpersonal and political in ‘Hotter Than Egypt’ by Dusty Somers

In the plays of Yussef El Guindi, the Egyptian-born Seattle writer, characters from different backgrounds fumble for common ground. His latest, “Hotter Than Egypt,” opens soon at ACT The…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Robb Hunt heads into his last season as executive producer of Village Theatre after 43 years by Dusty Somers

There’s never been a Village Theatre without Robb Hunt. He was part of a group that founded the Issaquah-based institution in 1979 and, at the end of this season, he will step down, follow…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Friday, January 21, 2022

Village Theatre’s ‘Songs for a New World’ provides a balm for these trying times by Dusty Somers

Village Theatre's first full production since reopening from pandemic closures in 2020 is “Songs for a New World,” from composer Jason Robert Brown, a two-time Tony winner for “Parade�…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Monday, December 20, 2021

Director Bartlett Sher on reviving ‘My Fair Lady,’ coming to Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, in the #MeToo era by Dusty Somers

Director Bartlett Sher, onetime artistic director of Seattle's Intiman Theatre, talks about reviving "My Fair Lady" for current times. The touring production runs at the Paramount Theatre De…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Review: ‘We’ve Battled Monsters Before’ at ArtsWest a strong showcase for Seattle playwright Justin Huertas by Dusty Somers

"We've Battled Monsters Before" showcases Justin Huertas' brand of charming fantasy-tinged chamber musical, while also presenting the joys and heartaches of Huertas' Filipino heritage and a …

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Monday, November 29, 2021

Review: ‘Babette’s Feast’ marks Taproot Theatre’s return to live performances by Dusty Somers

Taproot Theatre's first play back from pandemic closures is "Babette's Feast," adapted from Isak Dinesen's 1950 short story, about a refugee from Paris who cooks a lavish feast for a pious f…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Review: Audioplay ‘Zen and the Art of an Android Beatdown’ is a perfect fit for Book-It’s style by Dusty Somers

Book-It Repertory Theatre will begin live performances again early next year, but the company is kicking off this hybrid season with two more recorded audio dramas. The first — "Zen and th…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Friday, October 29, 2021

Simple objects evoke sharp memories in ‘What We Were’ West Coast premiere by Dusty Somers

Seattle's Pony World Theatre presents the West Coast premiere of Blake Hackler’s play, in which three sisters growing up in small-town East Texas take divergent paths to cope with their sh…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Monday, October 25, 2021

Making Waves Fall Arts Festival showcases Seattle artists’ experimental and developmental work by Dusty Somers

Nearly two dozen events, from theater to dance and more, are slated for Sound Theatre Company’s Making Waves Fall Arts Festival. They mark simultaneously a bold reentrance into live perfor…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, September 28, 2021

‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ marks the return of live musical theater to Seattle’s Paramount by Dusty Somers

“Jesus Christ Superstar” is on stage Oct. 5-10 at the Paramount Theatre, the second stop on the revived tour after a run in Portland, and marking the return of the Broadway at the Paramo…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, August 17, 2021

The Williams Project’s ‘Marisol’ is an apocalyptic show for our apocalyptic-feeling times by Dusty Somers

Performed outdoors, through Aug. 29, The Williams Project's 'Marisol,' about a post-apocalyptic apocalypse, feels relevant to our current slate of crises, as its characters repeatedly discov…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Monday, July 19, 2021

Another theater returns to live performance, as Seattle Shakespeare Company readies ‘Comedy of Errors’ by Dusty Somers

From July 23-Aug. 8, Wooden O, the outdoor theater arm of Seattle Shakespeare Company, will stage “The Comedy of Errors.” The silly and slapstick-y farce will be seen in parks around the…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Seattle’s Moore Theatre’s formerly segregated entrance serves as a catalyst for ELEVATE show by Dusty Somers

ELEVATE is a program from Seattle Theatre Group that showcases spoken-word performance from Black and brown artists. Its inaugural show, a filmed performance that will feature poetry and his…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Seattle-area high school students create filmed performance of their experiences during COVID by Dusty Somers

Intiman’s STARFISH Project offers free after-school technical theater training for high school students. This year's project is reaching its culmination with a filmed performance that will…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Seattle and Atlanta theaters team up to connect Black theaters, nurture Black playwrights by Dusty Somers

A new initiative from Seattle's The Hansberry Project and Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre Company aims to co-commission, co-develop and co-premiere new plays by Black writers. A virtual read…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, March 30, 2021

A high schooler and death-row inmate correspond in ACT Theatre’s savvy, visually interesting ‘Wad’ by Dusty Somers

In Keiko Green’s “Wad,” a high schooler begins a pen-pal relationship with a death-row prisoner. ACT Theatre's filmed production, a showcase for three of its core company members, stre…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Monday, March 8, 2021

A Kent theater takes on J.K. Rowling’s comments with ‘Lego Harry Potter and the Transgender Witch’ by Dusty Somers

Kent-based Theatre Battery addresses some of J.K. Rowling's statements last year in what it bills as a queer fanfiction parody stop-motion animation series, "Lego Harry Potter and the Transg…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Thursday, February 11, 2021

Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, anticipating reopening later this year, sets dates for ‘Hamilton,’ other Broadway shows by Dusty Somers

Nearly a year after the Paramount Theatre went dark, Seattle Theatre Group (which operates the Paramount) and Broadway at the Paramount have announced new dates for the 2021-2022 season, inc…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Friday, January 10, 2020

‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ directed by former Intiman head Bartlett Sher, comes to Seattle’s Paramount Theatre by Dusty Somers

Since his time at Intiman, Bartlett Sher has become one of the most sought-after directors on Broadway. His revival of “Fiddler on the Roof,” which ran on Broadway in 2015-2016, comes to…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Seattle Shakespeare Company revisits the 1770s with ‘The Rivals,’ a play of deception and humor by Dusty Somers

Seattle Shakespeare Company’s artistic director George Mount says "The Rivals," running through Feb. 2 at Center Theatre, has “great wit [and] really distinctive comedic characters.”

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Monday, December 16, 2019

‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre stirs up nostalgia. How well does it work as a stage show? by Dusty Somers

The 1993 film “Mrs. Doubtfire,” starring Robin Williams, was a huge hit. Will this new musical, currently receiving its world premiere at the 5th Ave before heading to Broadway, find sim…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards