Holding the Mirror Up to Russia
A spate of new productions and adaptations explore the geopolitical and theatrical legacies of an empire in decline.
Stories by Misha Berson
Joan Holden: Disarmingly Funny, Fiercely Political
The longtime playwright for San Francisco Mime Troupe delivered keen, freewheeling, up-to-the-minute satire as progressive as it was populist.
Can a Theatre Critic Be a Good Dad?
Priscilla Gilman’s memoir portrays her father, Richard Gilman, as a passionate, difficult figure who bequeathed her life lessons, many unwittingly.
Seattle Rep Names Dámaso Rodríguez Its New Artistic Director
The former leader of Portland, Ore.’s Artists Repertory Theatre, he takes the reins of the theatre, and its already booked next season, from Braden Abraham.
Book-It’s Abrupt Ending, and Why Seattle Is Poorer for It
After 3 decades staging literature in innovative and increasingly ambitious ways, the company closed suddenly last month, leaving a bewildering loss.
Justin Huertas, Theatrical Superhero
The disarming myth-making musical ‘Lizard Boy,’ about to make its NYC debut, is just one of the trails being blazed by this Seattle-based auteur.
Braden Abraham Leaves Seattle Rep to Lead Chicago’s Writers Theatre
A Washington state native who advanced from intern to Seattle Rep’s leader over 2 decades, he will lead a prestigious Chicago theatre almost half the size of the Rep.
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
Composer Mary Rodgers’s unsparing new memoir, equal parts hilarious and harrowing, tells of an eventful life in which musical theatre wasn’t the only source of drama.
A Cultural Patriot, Curious About Theatre Everywhere—That Was Jim O’Quinn
Though he ran a magazine based in New York City, he tirelessly—and uniquely—spread the love around the entire national theatre scene.
‘The Detention Lottery,’ Where You Do Have to Live Like a Refugee
A Seattle-based production gives participants a stark look at the jarring, often dehumanizing reality inside U.S. immigration courts.
