Kaleidoscope of performers give tribute to the psychedelic era with House of Thee UnHoly #4

70’s “Rock-lesque” Spectacular returns to The Triple Door September 23 -25

SEATTLE — Let music be your master as thirteen dancers, three singers and five musicians rock you all night long in an epic psychedelic 70’s trip down memory lane of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.

This collaborative production, brought to The Triple Door by producer The Swedish Housewife Presents, brings audiences an electric event that draws from a kaleidoscope of artists from virtuoso actors, Broadway-caliber singers, accomplished musicians, talented modern and ballet dancers and the best-of-the-best burlesque performers. Now in its fourth year, House of Thee UnHoly brings artists together to collaborate on this epic “Rock-lesque” (rock-meets-burlesque) extravaganza. Billed as "Broadway Level Burlesque" bySeattle Weekly, this production features three performances for the 17+ crowd and two for 21+ audiences. Tickets are $25 in advance, $28 day of show.

Seattle audiences will recognize many of the performers in House of Thee UnHoly from their appearances on stage in straight and musical theatre, live band performances, professional burlesque, dance and the Seattle Erotic Art Festival.

The three founders of Dance Belt, a pop-culture movement group, take the stage again this year in House of Thee UnHoly. The trio, Waxie Moon, Inga Ingénue and Lou Henry Hoover met through the second production of House of Thee UnHoly and have since gained recognition through The Stranger’s HUMP! Film festival, area classes and on Q 13 Fox. Dance Belt classes won the 2010 Seattle Weekly Best of Award of “Best Way to Unleash Your Inner Diva.”

Waxie Moon, currently shooting his second film, Fallen Jewel, is a gender-blending queer “boylesque” performance art-solo stripping sensation. He is the lead Choreographer of The House of Thee UnHoly and designed the show using a technique called Viewpoints to build the show in a collaborative effort. His first film, Waxie Moon: The Documentary, has been an International smash-hit in the festival circuit. Waxie has performed at The Triple Door, On The Boards, Seattle Erotic Art Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and ACT – A Contemporary Theatre. He is on the Faculty of The Academy of Burlesque.

Inga Ingénue, "The Little Blonde Bomb," infuses her bubbly personality with traditional bump 'n' grind, resulting in an adorable mix of sexy blonde ambition and innocent "ingenuity." Since joining the Seattle burlesque community in 2005, Inga has become an international burlesque star. She is also an instructor at The Academy of Burlesque.

Lou Henry Hoover is the character creation of Ricki Mason. Lou Henry has appeared in Dance Belt, The Cherdonna & Lou Show and beyond at The Triple Door, The Pink Door and Century Ballroom. Ricki Mason directs LAUNCH Dance Theatre and performs with KT Niehoff’s Lingo Dance Theatre. Ricki teaches ballet and modern at Velocity Dance Center, embodied movement at The Academy of Burlesque and social dances at Century Ballroom. Ricki will be choreographing The Swedish Housewife Presents: Wham! Bam! Glitter! Glam! Debuting March 3rd, 2011 at The Triple Door. As a choreographer, Ricki is the recipient of funding from 4Culture, ArtistTrust, The Bossak Heilbron Charitable Grant Foundation and beyond.

House of Thee UnHoly also features burlesque star, Lily Verlaine. Billed as “the living, breathing work of art,” Lily performs with internationally with The Atomic Bombshells. Aclassical ballet dancer (trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet, The School of San Francisco Ballet, Chicago Ballet among others), Miss Verlaine choreographed and co-produced the popular productions of Land of The Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker and Through The Looking Glass: The Burlesque Alice in Wonderland.

Other dancers include Miss Indigo Blue (Founder of The Academy of Burlesque and star of documentary film A Wink and a Smile), Heidi Von Haught, Polly Wood (Sinner Saint Burlesque), Leroi The Girl Boi (New York City), Gerard Delacroix, Douglas Ridings,prima ballerina Paris Original, Lydia Mclane our Living Loving Maid and The Swedish Housewife. As both Miss Indigo Blue and Leroi The Girl Boi, have acts done to “Lemon Song,” The Swedish Housewife has invited them to a “Dueling Lemon Act” in this incarnation of House of The UnHoly.

The singers (or “Sirens on the Rock”) of this production will be Jen Ayers, Sarah Rudinoffand Nick Garrison. Jen Ayers, front woman of Seattle band Honey Tongue, has opened for Jack Johnson, Tom Petty, and Dave Matthews. Sarah Rudinoff leads the band We are Golden and has appeared at The Triple Door, The Showbox, The Pink Door and Re-Bar. Rudinoff has also appeared on stage at Seattle Repertory Theatre and The 5th Avenue Theatre. She was The Stranger’s 2004 Genius Award Winner in Theatre. Nick Garrison, of Seattle's band, The Love Markets, has appeared at The Triple Door, Re-Bar, The Can-Can, Seattle Repertory Theatre and beyond. Garrison received rave reviews for his performance of the Emcee in The 5th Avenue Theatre’s production of Cabaret.

The band (or “Mighty Arms of Thor”) consists of Darren Loucas and Tim Sharpe on guitar, Charlie Lorme on drums, Ryan Burns on keyboard, and Nick Rhinehart on bass.

Accomplished guitarist, Darren Loucas, has played with The Long Winters, Crooked Fingers and Juke. Among others, Loucas has also played with B.B. award winning alt-blues band The Jellyrollers.

Keyboardist Ryan Burns, a luminary in the Seattle music scene, having worked with award-winning jazz groups Bebop and Destruction, the Tacoma Symphony, Matt Cameron(Pearl Jam, Soundgarden), Peter DiStefano (Porno For Pyros, Jane’s Addiction) and beyond.

Tickets are available now. Order over the phone by calling 206-838-4333, in person at the box office at 216 Union St, Seattle, WA 98101, or online at tripledoor.net

New Plays at Open Circle Theater

Open Circle Theater invites you to join us in our exciting new play reading series, “The Play’s The Thing”! Every 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of the month OCT will be delighting you with wonderful works, the 2^nd week taking on beloved classics and the 4^th week discovering new works by local playwrights.

Under the direction of Todd van der Ark, Open Circle is thrilled to be creating a new venue for local actors, directors, and playwrights to put their art in practice. After each reading we will welcome feedback from our audience about their experience that evening.

Please come and enjoy our opening night celebration, September 8^th at 7pm, where we will be readingDon Juan in Hell by George Bernard Shaw and enjoying delicious treats. As is custom with OCT, beer and wine will be for sale.

Look for our full reading schedule soon.

WHAT: “The Play’s the Thing” Open Circle Theater’s new play reading series

WHEN: Every 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of the month at 7pm

WHERE: Open Circle Theater- 2222 2^nd Ave, Black box theater

PRICE: Pay what you will

TAPROOT THEATRE CONCLUDES 2010 SEASON WITH REGIONAL PREMIERE OF WEDDING BELLES

Comedy opens on September 24

SEATTLE – August 18, 2010 – Pour yourself a glass of lemonade and get married all over again this fall with the regional premiere of Wedding Belles, the final production in Taproot Theatre’s 34^th season.When a bedraggled bride is found stranded at an East Texas bus station in 1942, the determined ladies of the Eufala Springs Garden Club leap into action! Lemonade, wedding cake and a gown are easy enough to come by… but where’s the groom? This side-splitting comedy overflows with love, laughter and Southern hospitality at its best! Wedding Belles was written by Alan Bailey and Ronnie Claire Edwards. Directed byassociate artistic director Karen Lund, Wedding Belles opens on September 24 and runs through October 23, with low-price previews on September 22 and 23, plus a pay-what-you-can performance on September 29.

A delightful story of love, generosity, bickering and forgiving, Wedding Belles introduces audiences to the world of four friends and garden club members each with their own story of love and matrimony, or lack thereof. Glendine’s on husband number 7 or 8, Violet’s a spinster, Laura Lee is widowed and Bobrita is happily married. An ordinary club meeting gets derailed when a helpless young bride stumbles into town and into their meeting. Desperately needing their help planning a wedding—and finding her groom, who’s shipping off to the war—18-year-old Ima Jean surrenders herself to the varying degrees of experience, cynicism, optimism and fastidiousness of the four women who want the bride’swedding day to be nothing short of spectacular.

Creator of the Sanders Family series, including Smoke on the Mountain, Alan Bailey is best known for his musicals, but Wedding Belles presents his non-musical comedic sensibilities. He teamed up with Ronnie Claire Edwards to create this sweet story that was nominated for the American Theatre Critics Association Best Play Award. In addition to writing, Edwards has appeared on stage, film and television for decades, including as Carabeth on The Waltons, and appearances on The Torkelsons, Designing Women,Star Trek: The Next Generation and Murder She Wrote, among others. Wedding Belles premiered in October 2008 by One Thirty Productions in Dallas, in association with the Bath House Cultural Center and the City of Dallas’ Office of Cultural Affairs.

Taproot Theatre’s cast features Charissa Adams, Gretchen Douma, Karen Nelson, Kim Morris and Pat Sibley. The production team includes scenic designer Richard Lorig, costume designer Sarah Burch Gordon, lighting designer Monty Taylor and sound designer Mark Lund. Anne L. Hitt serves as stage manager, Nikki Visel as dialect coach and L. Nicol Cabe as dramaturg.

After Wedding Belles, Taproot Theatre presents the world premiere of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol by Seattle playwright John Longenbaugh, opening November 26 and running through December 30, with previews November 19, 20 and 24.

New Cheryl West blues musical workshops at Seattle Rep

Pullman Porter Blues Sept. 18 &19

Seattle, WA — Seattle Repertory Theatre's New Play Program presents the first public performances of Seattle playwright Cheryl L. West's new musical, Pullman Porter Blues. The two workshop presentations will beSept. 18 and 19, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Leo K. Theatre.

Tickets for the workshop are $15 and go on sale August 31 atwww.seattlerep.org or through the Box Office at 206-443-2222 (Toll-free 1-877-900-9285). Seating is general admission.

Set in 1937 on the Panama Limited railroad, Pullman Porter Blues centers on three generations of porters working the sleeping cars the night of the infamous Joe Louis/James Braddock boxing match. As the train chugs from Chicago towards New Orleans, grandfather, father, and son spar; racial tensions flare; and Midwest blues flavors the night.

Cast members include Seattle actors Elise Hunt, Allen Fitzpatrick, and Felicia Loud. Hunt was last seen in Seattle Rep's You Can't Take It With Youand at ACT in The Women. Acclaimed Seattle-based musical theatre performer Fitzpatrick is currently performing on Broadway in Memphis. In addition to many roles on the 5th Avenue stage (and last at the Rep as Elliot in Opus), Fitzpatrick has been on Broadway in Les Miserables (as Thenardier), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Damn Yankees, The Boys From Syracuse, 42nd Street, and The Sweet Smell of Success. Felicia Loud, one of the Northwest's premier soul singers, appeared in Intiman's Native Son, Crowns, and Black Nativity and Book-It Repertory Theatre's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and she received a Seattle Times Footlight Award in 2009 for her performance in Lady Day.

Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks.

Lisa Peterson, who directed An Iliad at Seattle Rep in May, returns to helm the workshop. J. Michael is the music director and composer. Originally from Alabama, Michael is one of the country's leading composers of gospel and spiritual music. Essentially a play with music (as opposed to a traditional musical), Pullman Porter Blues is woven with blues songs, mostly from the 1930s. A band is on stage as part of the show.

In 2008, Seattle Rep commissioned West to write Pullman Porter Blues, and the theatre has worked with the playwright through the development process. There have been two previous readings, but this is the first public performance.

"We have a long history of working with Cheryl, and this is an incredible work that has evolved to a very strong place over the last few years," said Seattle Rep Artistic Director Jerry Manning. "It is our goal to producePullman Porter Blues in the 2011-2012 season, and we're currently looking for co-producers."

Seattle Rep has previously produced four of West's plays: Birdie Blue, Jar the Floor, Play On!, and Holiday Heart, and they commissioned the gospel musical Rejoice!. West has lived in Seattle since 1999. Her work has appeared in theatres across the country, as well as for TV (adaptation ofHoliday Heart) and the web series Diary of a Single Mom.

Tony Award-nominee Daniel Breaker Stars in A Doctor in Spite of Himself, a Ribald New Adaptation of Molière’s Comedy at Intiman Theatre

Commedia master Christopher Bayes directs and co-adapts the play with Steven Epp, who is also featured in the cast of clowns that includes Austin Durant, Renata Friedman, Allen Gilmore, Ashley Marshall, Greg C. Powers, Don Darryl Rivera, Chelsey Rives and Robertson Witmer

Performances: September 3 – October 10 at Intiman Theatre, Seattle Center

SEATTLE— Intiman Theatre continues its 2010 Season with A Doctor in Spite of Himself, a new adaptation of Molière’s comedy starring Tony Award-nominee Daniel Breaker. Adapted by Christopher Bayes, one of the foremost clown and commedia experts in the country, and Steven Epp (and further developed with the company in rehearsal), the production is directed by Bayes, whose previous Intiman credits include directing Molière’sScapin and serving as commedia instructor for Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters.

Performances will begin at Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer Street at Seattle Center , on Friday, September 3 and continue through Sunday, October 10. The opening night performance is Sunday, September 12 at 7:30 pm. (Please note the special Sunday opening.) Please see the Fact Sheet at the end of this release for the schedule.

Tickets are available from www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900. Single ticket prices range from $25 to $50 for Wednesday-Sunday performances. All adult tickets on Tuesday nights are $25. Discounts are available for groups and members of the military, and patrons age 25 and under can purchase tickets to any performance for $10. Pending availability, patrons can purchase pay-what-you-can, standing room, standby and rush tickets for every production. The pay-what-you-can performance for A Doctor in Spite of Himself is Wednesday, September 8 at 7:30 pm. Tickets will go on sale that day at noon and may now be purchased over the phone or in person; patrons can pay by credit card with a $10 minimum per ticket.

Playing doctor takes on a whole new meaning in Molière’s bawdy comedy, which reaches increasingly over-the-top levels of comic pandemonium after a marital squabble between husband and wife Sganarelle and Martine escalates. The spirited wife decides to get revenge on her scoundrel of husband by convincing the town that he’s the best doctor around and can cure any ailment, but he turns the tables on her—and everyone else—with his own definition of “in sickness and in health.”

Performed with live carnival-style music, A Doctor in Spite of Himself is the Seattle debut of Daniel Breaker, a Tony nominee for Passing Strange (and a star of Spike Lee’s concert film) and the Donkey in Shrek the Musical in New York. Among his regional theatre credits, he has appeared numerous times with the Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington , D.C. , earning Helen Hayes Award nominations for The Comedy of Errors and The Tempest.

Breaker, who plays Sganarelle, is joined on stage by actors Austin Durant, co-adaptor Steven Epp, Renata Friedman, Allen Gilmore, Ashley Marshall, Don Darryl Rivera and Chelsey Rives, and musicians Greg C. Powersand Robertson Witmer on multiple instruments including trombone, clarinet, drums and accordion. Gilmore and Rives have both appeared many times at Intiman: Gilmore in Cymbeline, Titus Andronicus, Our Town and Richard III, and Rives in A Streetcar Named Desire, Prayer for My Enemy and The Skin of Our Teeth. All of the other members of the company are making their Intiman debuts.

Co-adaptor and co-star Epp was an actor, writer, director and Co-Artistic Director at Theatre de la Jeune Lune in Minneapolis, winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, from 1983-2008. In his 25 years with Jeune Lune, he collaborated in the creation and performance of more than 50 productions.

Co-adaptor and director Bayes began his theatre career with Theatre de la Jeune Lune, where he worked for five years as an actor, director, composer, designer and artistic associate. In 1989 he joined the acting company of The Guthrie Theater where he appeared in more than 20 productions. He created movement and choreography for the Broadway and national touring productions of The 39 Steps and serves as Head of Physical Acting at the Yale School of Drama.

The creative team includes scenic designer Narelle Sissons, costume designer Elizabeth Caitlin Ward and lighting designer Greg Sullivan . The composer and sound designer is Aaron Halva and the stage manager is Stina Lotti.For biographies of the company, visit www.intiman.org.

Art & Audience Events

The audience is invited to stay for Post-Play Conversations after the following performances:

· Tuesdays: September 14 and October 5 at 7:30 pm

· Wednesdays: September 22 at 7:30 pm; September 29 at 2 pm

· Fridays: September 17, September 24 and October 8 at 8 pm

· Saturdays: September 18 and October 2 at 2 pm

Date Night for Parents • Saturday, September 25 | 6 pm Reception | 8 pm Performance

Intiman, Kids Co. and Seattle Children’s Theatre combine forces to provide the entire family with a night out. Accredited by the National After School Association, Kids Co. is conveniently located at John Hay Elementary School in Upper Queen Anne. For pricing and additional information, patrons should contact Kathleen Maki atkathleenm@intiman.org or 206.204.3325.

Wine Wednesday • Wednesday, September 29 | 6:30 pm Reception | 7:30 pm Performance $10 add-on fee

The popular wine-tasting series returns for the second year, presented by Maryhill Winery with light snacks from Ten Mercer.

’Round Six Happy Hour • Friday, October 1 | 6 pm Reception | 8 pm Performance | Free

Intiman hosts a ‘happy hour’ (free with ticket) with light snacks from Seattle Catering, drinks from Hale’s Ales and live music.

Sign-Interpreted Performance • Saturday, October 9 at 8 pm

Intiman’s ASL series is coordinated by Paul Bert with reserved seating for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community.