It’s officially fall in Seattle, and I need some official entertainment. It’s cold, I’m grumpy and I defy the person who tries to make me giggle under such conditions. So why, you may ask, do I put on my crankypants and thither to the theater? To see some Shakespeare? Because this stuff is awesome.
From November 4th – 27th, Stone Soup Theater and Sound Theater Company present “The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged),” an evening expertly designed to make you crack up, taunt the actors and jump out of your seat screaming “Get thee to a nunnery!” Seriously. This is Shakespeare, in all its passionate, tragic and vaudevillian glory.
Bringing the Bard to 21st-century Seattle is Sound Theater Company’s director/co-producer Teresa Thuman and actors Matthew Gilbert, Patrick Lennon and Luke S. Walker. This team of wacky, brilliant artists with an obvious command of their craft transform the most beloved and obscure works of Shakespeare into one solid performance of energy and intrigue. Built on the solid foundation of familiarity and irreverence that catapulted Shakespeare’s works into public favor, the “Compleat Works” attempts to cover the plots of EACH of his plays into two hours. The actors sweat, they argue, and they occasionally punch each other in the face in the process–but they do it. Very, very well.
In Shakespeare’s day, his plays were attended by common folk, royalty, petty thieves and naked children, who crowded around a single stage to hear the tales that we still treasure. This November, snuggle up with your fellow Seattleites in a cozy little theater and bask in the famous woes of Romeo and Juliet, the puzzling and oft-ignored trials of Troilus and Cressida and thirtysomething other plays. You may want to leave the naked children at home–the show clocks in at a little over 2 hours, and it is Shakespeare, so there is blood, gore, raunch and tight black pants. Just how we common folk like it–in 1590 and in 2011.
- Where: Stone Soup Theater, 4029 Stone Way North
- When: November 4th-27th
- General Admission: $22
Seniors: $18
Under 30: $13 (All adult shows only)
Matinees: $20
Thanks for the info, this sounds terrific! I’ll get myself there! Another theater offering along similar yet different lines is the Seatte Children’s Theater presentation of “Robin Hood”. I attended this past week with a class of 3rd graders (and full house of other students and adults) and EVERYONE was immensely pleased with the production. It has a definite Monty Python influence, five actors playing multiple roles with minimal props and simple yet effective staging. Check this out as well!
sounds interesting. i am curious of the pay rate. Why do seniors pay mor ethan under 30? Who decided who makes how much money?
I am a senior with little work.. why do I pay more than a newly grad 27 year old with a job at Microsoft?
OOPs, oh, I dont have to go.
A truly fair ticket rate would be based on income not on an arbitrary age cutoff.
Cata, almost every theatre in town has a “30 and under” or “25 and under” rate that is significantly cheaper than their senior rate. It has nothing to do with income. It’s all about encouraging young people to come to the theatre.
Why don’t you call Stone Soup and ask if they have other options? Many theatres offer pay-what-you-can performances (I’m pretty sure Stone Soup does), discounted previews, volunteer opportunities where you can stay to see the performance for free, or other ways to get discounted tickets. I’m pretty sure Stone Soup also puts some tickets on Goldstar.com for half price.
Thank you Mantini,
I worked for ACT in the box office for 2 years and in that time did not have that offer. In the past couple years when I have checked prices for the Ballet and Moore Theater there was no price breakdown like this.
I did answer a volunteer ad from them last year. Their deal was a 50.00 honorarium for ‘working’ all shows of a run as a volunteer manager.
There are options in what we do- finding affordable ones is each person’s path or responsibility.
Maybe you or another may decide to make a current list of holiday very low cost entertainment offerings in the community.
Thursdays at Stone Soup are “pay what you will”. And it’s a great show!
Re: “the ‘Compleat Works’ attempts to cover the plots of EACH of his plays into two hours”. Don’t you mean ALL the plays? Doing *each* in two hours wouldn’t be that hard, would it?