Puget Sound “Gets CRUSHED” this October with ARTS CRUSH

Massive Kick-Off Event October 3^rd at Fisher Pavillion: 11:00-2:00

Free Nights: Every Thursday in October*^{see details below}

Family Day: Every Saturday in October

Date Nights: 2-for-1 admission or discount ticket offers every Tuesday and Friday in October

Seattle,WA –Engage your senses this October with ARTS CRUSH. All month long Theatre Puget Sound (TPS) challenges residents and visitors around Puget Sound to “GET CRUSHED” with hundreds and hundreds of special one-time arts events, discounts and free activities. Currently over 150 arts organizations from all arts disciplines have signed up to participate in a variety of ways, and more groups are expected to join in the coming weeks.

2010 marks the inaugural year of ARTS CRUSH, a festival that grew out of TPS’s highly successful Live Theatre Week (LTW) program. Given that the ARTS CRUSH festival is rooted in the theatre community, the majority of participants do come from the regional theaters. However, TPS has received hundreds of entries from the literary, film, dance, music and visual arts communities. Museums, galleries, public art spaces, clubs, public transportation stations, shopping malls, parks, community centers, movie houses and even restaurants and bookstores have all signed on to host events. ARTS CRUSH will be everywhere!

While the vast majority of arts organizations come from the Seattle area, there are over dozens of groups from theEastside, at least 40 groups from Tacoma and Pierce County, and more than 50 other groups stretching from the South near Olympia to the North past Edmonds and west toward the Islands and Olympic Peninsula.

Spotlighting a different arts discipline each week, the festival features opportunities to participate in:

The Visual Arts (week 1) Music & Books (week 2)Theatre (week 3) Dance (week 4)

* Free Special Events Include: open rehearsals, open houses, guided tours, public parties, participatory workshops, meet-the-artist events.
* Through Site-Specific Work ARTS CRUSH will stimulate organic collaboration among creative disciplines and the business community - bringing music to galleries, theatre to cafes, art to vacant spaces, dance to the streets.
* With Public Art Works Arts Crush reawakens the senses and invites people to participate in the act of making art through large community driven events that culminate in the creation of a new work or performance.

A complete list of participating organizations and events for ARTS CRUSH 2010 will appear on www.artscrush.org over Labor Day Weekend. The printed guide of activities will appear in the Sept 29 edition of the Seattle Weekly.

ARTS CRUSH reaches people in unique ways; through hands-on participation, once-a-year glimpses behind the scenes, and surprise arts experiences in unexpected places. In addition, ARTS CRUSH extends an open invitation to sample the abundance of arts and culture in our region by adopting creative pay-what-you will or discounted fee structures for traditional arts experiences.

A Tiny Taste of the Hundreds of Special FREE Arts Events in the Works:

DANCE + MUSIC

10/3: 5pm - Samba Olywa Open Rehearsal

The Loft on Cherry – Olympia

Join in the drumming and dancing of Samba Olywa, long time participants in the Procession of the Species. Join us as we learn and share the moves and grooves inspired by Brazilian carnival. No experience necessary. Come ready to move, with sensible shoes and your own water. Ear plugs, and some instruments are provided.

10/30: 4pm - DASSdance: Brella dance-a-thon

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (outdoor parking lot) - 104 17th Ave. S. – Seattle

A dance-filled evening with a live salsa band, latin dance lessons, and a sneak preview of DASSdance's upcoming 10th anniversary production, Innovation of Affection with choreographer Selfick Ng Simancas

BOOKS

10/11-10/16: 10am – 10pm - The Novel: Live! By Seattle7Writers

Richard Hugo House – Seattle

36 Authors. 6 Days. 1 Blockbuster Novel. The Novel: Live! is a fun, exciting, and dramatic performance art piece in which a full-length novel will be written before your very eyes!

BOOKS + THEATRE

10/12: 7pm - How to Suffer for a Story with Brendan Kiley

826 Seattle - 8414 Greenwood Ave N

During his years at the Stranger, Brendan Kiley has done and suffered some unpleasant things. He has killed and butchered rabbits in his bathtub, been doused with pepper spray at the Republican National Convention (after showing his press credentials to police), gotten lost in the woods at night with a pack of wild coyotes, and turned his bare ass over to a professional dominatrix. In this one-night-only class, Brendan will discuss turning pain into prose.

DANCE + VISUAL ART

10/29 & 10/30: 7pm - Christy Fisher Dance: BEAM: A Movement Installation

Tashiro Kaplan Artist Lofts Community Room - 115 Prefontaine Place South, Seattle

Accompanied by Garrett Fisher 's ethereal score and 1 beam of light, 3 dancers will explore dichotomies of dark/light; seen/unseen. What parts of ourselves do we reveal or expose? What parts do we hide? The public is invited to enter into the meditative, reflective space at any point during the 2 hour performance.

DANCE

10/30: 6:30 pm - "Reading Dance" Lecture with Eva Stone

Black Box Theater, Edmonds Community College – Edmonds

This engaging lecture/demonstration format includes dancers from The Stone Dance Collective and Artistic Director Eva Stone. The lecture demystifies and reveals the creative process of how contemporary dance is made. Audience members will discover the type of movement language contemporary dance uses, learn how a dance piece is formed, participate in interactive dance activities and be able to ask questions of the choreographer and dancers.

10/8: 12:15 & 1pm - Merce Cunningham minEvent Gallery Performance

Cornish College of the Arts Main Gallery, 1000 Lenora St - Seattle

Cornish Dance Theater performs a minEvent by choreographer Merce Cunningham , with music by John Cage performed live by the Cornish Music Indeterminacy Ensemble. The performances are in conjunction with the visual art exhibit " Cunningham in the Northwest", featuring archival materials and contemporary work by Seattle artists Trimpin and Barbara Robertson.

10/28: 8pm - The Dybbuk: An Open Rehearsal

Spectrum Dance Theater - 800 Lake Washington Blvd.

A glimpse into the creative process behind Music of Remembrance and Spectrum Dance Theater’s artistic collaboration. Based on S. Ansky's play of the same name, Artistic Director Donald Byrd will set a new dance theater piece to the original 1922 incidental music. The night includes an informal Q&A with Donald Byrd and Spectrum dancers.

VISUAL ART

10/8: 12pm – 2010 Soil Auction Preview

Seattle Design Center - 5701 6th Avenue South #366

A preview of more than 50 works donated from local artists for the 2010 Soil Auction. SOIL is an experimental venue for artists and curators to exhibit, develop, and advance innovative art of diverse media and content.

THEATRE

10/23: 2pm – Cause It’s Art “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves”

Location TBA

A two woman show, presenting the inspiring life stories of eight African American women: Ida B. Wells , Fannie Lou Hammer , Bessie Coleman, Josephine Baker , Mae Jemison , Mamie Till , Madam C.J. Walker and Zora Neale Hurston . This show is meticulously researched and blends historical accuracy with theatrical flair.

10/21: 7pm – “A Midsummer Night's Dream” Open Rehearsal

The Ballard Underground/Ghost Light Theatricals - 2220 NW Market Street, Seattle

A rehearsal of William Shakespeare’s classic tale of confusion, love, fantasy and transformation. Directed by Rob Bergquist with productions running from November 5-21, 2010.

10/23: 2pm - Leadership Under Fire - Workshop

Wing-it Productions - 5510 University Way NE, Seattle

Learn the skills of improvisation, and how to use those skills of teamwork, communication and creativity to adapt and change.

MUSIC

10/25: 7:30pm - Cascade Symphony Orchestra: Open Rehearsal

Mountlake Terrace High School: 21801 44th Ave. W. - Mountlake Terrace

In preparation for their November 1 concert at Edmonds Center for the Arts.

FAMILY + MUSIC

10/16: 1pm – Flash Mob

Location TBA

A cooperative effort with Rainier Youth Choirs, Pacific Ballroom Dance & Rainier Chorale. Spontaneous fun.

FAMILY + VISUAL ART

10/16: 12pm - Beyond Crayons & Finger Painting

B2 Fine Art Gallery / Studio: 711 St. Helens Avenue, Suite 100 – Tacoma

A youth group exhibition and hands-on art community workshop.

10/16: 3pm - Art Exploration - Art on the Ridge

8005 Greenwood Ave N – Seattle

Children will be able to participate in a free class on Art Exploration. Materials and techniques will be explored in a non-stop fun way, while learning about specific classic masters.

10/10: 12:30pm - Edmonds Arts Commission: Creating a Quilted Fence
Artist Marita Dingus leads a community art quilting project out of recycled materials.

FAMILY + VISUAL ART + BOOKS

10/10 – 10/16: - Poetry Clothesline at the Bottom of the Sound

Olympia Ave. near Chestnut Street: Olympia

A week-long interactive art installation for all ages. All are invited to write poems on the available waterproof paper and hang them on clotheslines strung between the trees along the walking trail at the bottom of the sound. The week ends with a poetry reading of all submitted work.

FAMILY + MUSIC + BOOKS

10/4 – 10/9: 12:30pm - Inside the Music: In a Box With a Flashlight

Pilot Books - 219 Broadway E, Seattle

Explore art and classical music with a flashlight! What!?! The only light in the box of art comes from the flashlight you bring with you. Voiceparts and music play in the background. Recommended age 8 and higher.

*How to get the FREE STUFF:

1) Attend the Kick-Off Fair: October 3rd: 11 – 2pm

Meet ARTS CRUSH sponsors and participants. Catch free performances by Caspar Babypants and more. Pick up an event guide. Take advantage of special one-day discount offers from over 60 regional arts groups, and most importantly be first in line to pre-register for “Free Night” tickets before the on-line web registration goes live at 6pm on October 4th!

2) Log on to www.artscrush.org on October 4 at 6pm

That’s when anyone that was not at the kick off event can sign up to receive the remaining free tickets that have been offered.

3) Pick up the Printed Guide in the Seattle Weekly on Sept 29

This complete guide will list everything going during ARTS CRUSH. It will also detail instructions on when and how to receive free passes for non-ticketed or “admission based” venues. Each venue sets its own free offer guidelines. Code words, time constraints, or restricted days may apply depending on the venue. Details are available in the ARTS CRUSH Guide which is also available at coffee shops, community centers and libraries throughout the region or online at www.artscrush.org

Over Live Theatre Week’s five year history it engaged more than 12,000 people in the arts and hosted an average of 90 free events and performances each year. LTW managed an extensive marketing campaign and community outreach initiative. In 2009, the LTW campaign reached more than 2 million people and directly engaged over 4,000 participants at free performances, special events and Family Day. With the massively expanded 2010 ARTS CRUSH scope, TPS expects those numbers to skyrocket.

The ARTS CRUSH goals are to:

• Build awareness of, and new audiences for, our region’s arts organizations and artists.
• Encourage and facilitate the cultivation of community while strengthening neighborhoods.
• Provide access to underserved populations and extend invitations to infrequent arts attendees.
• Celebrate the arts and their presence and impact in our everyday lives.

Almost Sort of Kind of Getting Very Near to…Christmas?

The 5th Avenue celebrates its 30th Anniversary with $30 tickets on July 30th to “A Christmas Story: the Musical!”

SEATTLE, WA –To mark our 30th Anniversary, The 5th Avenue Theatre is giving our audiences a special gift: on Friday, July 30th: for one day only, tickets to select performances of our new holiday production A Christmas Story: The Musical! will be on sale for just $30! It’s a fantastic deal for patrons who like to get their holiday shopping done extra-early and know a great bargain when they see one.

A Christmas Story: The Musical! is adapted from the 1983 holiday classic that has edged out It’s a Wonderful Life to become the most popular Christmas film shown on TV. Inspired by the stories of legendary radio humorist Jean Shepherd, this hilarious musical takes you back to the 1940s and follows the adventures of young Ralphie Parker on his desperate quest to receive the most desirable and forbidden of all Christmas presents: “An Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle.” Dodging potential catastrophes that include terrifying bullies, frozen flagpole, an annoying little brother and an all too fragile leg lamp, young Ralphie learns some important lessons in a story that balances sharply-observed satire with an unexpectedly warm heart.

Featuring an original score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Edges, Johnny and the Sprites), A Christmas Story: The Musical! is certain to become a new Seattle holiday tradition for all ages.

The special pricing is available online at 5thavenue.org, in person at the box office at 1308 5th Avenue, downtown Seattle, or over the phone at 206-625-1900. The sale runs on-line from 9:30 am Friday July 30 until 9:30 am Saturday, July 31, with the box office open for phone and walk-up sales from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm on Friday. Tickets are good for performances from November 26 to December 8.. This price does not include $3.00 facility fee per ticket. Service fees apply to all web and phone orders. Limit of nine tickets total. No refunds or exchanges. All sales are final.

Broadway’s next generation showcased in New Voices 9 concert presented August 2 at ACT Theatre

Seattle, WA—Now in it’s ninth incarnation, the New Voices has become a Seattle tradition. New Voices is a concert series showcasing the best of today’s most promising young musical theatre composers. An exciting blend of Sondheim and pop/rock, this next generation of composers is turning Broadway on its ear with musicals about grunge bands, electroshock therapy, road trips, and Ritalin. Performed by some of Seattle’s hottest talent, join us for a break from the holidays for an evening of brand new musical theatre songs. The latest installment will perform August 2 at ACT Theatre in association with the Central Heating Lab program.

The showcase features an exciting mix of up-and-coming local talent as well as more established Seattle artists. Leading the concert will be Stranger Genius Award winner Sarah Rudinoff (5th Avenue’s On the Town, Footlight Award winner Billie Wildrick (5th Avenue’s Sunday in the Park with George, Candide), and Gregory Award winner Don Darryl Rivera (Taproot’s current Man of La Mancha, INTIMAN’s upcoming A Doctor in Spite Of Himself), among others. The music director for the evening is R.J. Tancioco (Joseph… at 5th Ave, Gypsy King at Village) and the host/curator is Contemporary Classics artistic director Brandon Ivie (The Yellow Wood, Zanna, Don’t!).

Going from a small concert in a basement theatre with just piano, NEW VOICES now features a cast of over 20, a full band (including piano, bass, drums, guitar and cello) and backup singers. This edition features songs about unrequited love (“Blow Me (A Kiss From Across The Room)”), deranged prom queens (“The Ballad of Sara Berry”), frustrated housewives (“Almost There”) eavesdropping (“Wall Lovin”).

“I’m so pleased with our collaboration with ACT Theatre and the Central Heating Lab,” artistic director Brandon Ivie says. “The venue is perfect for an evening of music like this, and their commitment to showcasing new work is a natural fit for this concert.” Many of these songs are being performed on the West coast for the first time, and these composers are thrilled that their work is being heard outside of New York. There will even be a world premiere!” Some shows have already had a prominent life in New York and regionally. Of most note, Brian Yorkey’s Next to Normal, wich received the Pulitzer Prize, was showcased in an early edition of NV4. Ordinary Days, which ran Off-Broadway last season at Roundabout Theatre Company, was previewed in NV5, and writing team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul will have their new musical A Christmas Story, The Musical! be premiered at The 5th Avenue Theatre this winter. Contemporary Classics’ current musical, The Yellow Wood, was in the sixth installment of NEW VOICES.

New Voices 8 brings together young, fresh writers who combine modern pop/rock music with a contemporary musical theatre style. Their sound is distinct and their lyrics deal with issues facing people today. It’s an opportunity to witness the next generation of composers getting scrappy and strutting their stuff with an irreverent attitude. Composers in this edition include Seattle composer/lyricists Richard Gray and Christian Duhamel as well as writers from around the country like Ryan Scott Oliver, Andrew Lippa, Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, Joe Iconis, Sam Carner & Derek Gregor,Steven Jamail, Ryann Ferguson & Aimee Postell, among others. The young composers featured in New Voices have won such prestigious awards as the Jonathan Larson Foundation Award, the Richard Rodgers Award, Fred Ebb Award, Ed Kleban Award and have had readings, workshops, productions and concerts of the work at Ars Nova, Joe’s Pub, The York Theatre, TheatreWorks, Second Stage, National Alliance of Musical Theatre and locally at Village Originals.

The Hansberry Project Hosts Award-Winning Playwright Keith Josef Adkins

First new play commission in debut reading at Theater Off Jackson

The Final Days of NegroVille

by Keith Josef Adkins

Saturday, July 24 at 7:30 PM

First public reading with playwright in attendance,

followed by post-performance discussion.

Tickets

FREE!

Where:

Theater Off Jackson

409 7^th Avenue South

RSVP: valviv@hansberryproject.org

Seattle, WA – July 20, 2010 – The Hansberry Project, with support from ACT - A Contemporary Theatre, announces its first new play commission. Keith Josef Adkins, a New York-based playwright, was awarded the commission, underwritten by Gian-Carlo and Eulalie Scanduzzi as the sixth play commissioned by ACT through the New Works for the American Stage program. The play, with a working title The Final Days of NegroVille (a comedy that turns tragic), will have its first public reading on July 24 at 7:30 p.m. in collaboration with and at Theatre Off Jackson. Adkins will be in attendance and a post-reading discussion will follow.

The Final Days of NegroVille is set in a small town close to a large city. Built largely on the success of its Black middle class inhabitants (doctors, lawyers, school administrators), the town is fraught with dysfunction – loneliness, infidelity, and a loss of history. Over the course of a single day, the town’s well-educated African-American mayor, the play’s central character, is caught in a series of events that challenge the truth about the town’s history and forever change the future for this set of middle class African-Americans.

A cast of veteran Seattle performers are featured in this first public reading, including: Timothy Piggee as Mayor Cornell Gates, Tracy Michelle Hughes, Monique Robinson, Reginald A. Jackson, Jose Rufino, Kibibi Monie, and Shanga Parker.

When Adkins arrives in Seattle, he will work with Hansberry Project Artistic Director Valerie Curtis-Newton to prepare for an evening of firsts! The Final Days of NegroVille marks the first time in more than a decade in the Seattle area that an African-American play has been commissioned by a regional theatre interest under the leadership of African-Americans. It connects the Hansberry Project to a national revival of support for the work of Black playwrights. At the end of June, Adkins along with Jocelyn Prince, the artistic associate at New York’s Public Theater, and fellow playwright J. Holtham (Welcome to New Jersey) announced their co-leadership in development of the New Black Fest, a festival showcasing innovative work by and about Black people from around the world. They recently won support from Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Lynn Nottage.

Keith Josef Adkins is a playwright, screenwriter, and blogger. His plays include Safe House, Farewell Miss Cotton, The Patron Saint of Plants, Pitbulls, Salt on Sugarhill, Hollis Mugley’s Only Wish, On the Hills of Black America, Wilberforce, The Global Warming Plays, Cobra Neck, andSweet Home, among others. He has received commissions from the Goodman Theatre New Stages Series, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, and The Joseph Papp Public Theater and New York City Council on the Arts. Awards include 2009 New Professional Theater Playwright Award, Richard Sherwood Distinguished Emerging Theater Artist Award, Robert S. Duncanson Artist Fellowship Residency, Cleveland Public Theater Best Play of the Festival Awards, and a 2008 Kesselring Prize nomination, among numerous other honors. For three seasons Keith also worked on the CW hit comedy series Girlfriends. His screenplay, The Disappearing, commissioned by Starburst Films is slated for production later this year. He blogs regularly on art and culture at TheRoot.com and makes appearances on NPR’s All Things Considered.

Celebrating 35 years: Taproot Theatre Company announces 2011 Season

SEATTLE – July 19, 2010 – “35 is a very attractive age,” according to Oscar Wilde, and Taproot Theatre Company agrees. Taproot Theatre Company celebrates its 35^th Anniversary Season in 2011 with a year-long party featuring Wilde and his dandies, a myriad of mythological characters, and countless Taproot Theatre patrons and friends. Taproot Theatre Company’s 2011 Season runs from January through October. The resubscription period is currently underway, with subscriptions opening to the general public on September 28.

“35 years ago a seed was planted, and over the years it took root, sprouted and grew, becoming the Taproot Theatre we know today. Looking back at the journey of the past 35 years—from those beginning days as a touring company to planting our roots in Greenwood with our current playhouse—I’m amazed at the adventures we’ve experienced with our many guest artists, patrons and volunteers. I’m also excited about what the next 35 years will hold,” said producing artistic director Scott Nolte. “Our 2011 Season reflects everything we love about theatre, everything we’ve sought to bring to the stage throughout the years. From the truly theatrical productions that hearken back to our early touring days to stories that make people stop and think—and even the murder mysteries our patrons have loved throughout the years—it’s all here in 2011.”

Encounter mythological monsters, gods and adventurers on the high seas when Taproot Theatre opens its 35^th Anniversary Season with The Odyssey. Adapting Robert Fitzgerald’s translation of Homer’s epic poem, playwright Mary Zimmerman skillfully brings this story to life for modern audiences as she grounds it in the present day before jumping in and guiding Odysseus on his ten-year journey home from the battle of Troy. Zimmerman—a professor of performance studies at Northwest University—is active at Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Company, and also at Goodman Theatre, where The Odyssey was originally produced in September 1999. Known for taking ancient and classic literature and tales and adapting-directing them for the stage, Zimmerman won the Tony Award forMetamorphoses in 2002, received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1998, and has won over two dozen Joseph Jefferson Awards.

From mythological adventures in the ancient world to a riveting true story set in Hitler’s Nazi Germany, The Beams are Creaking will have audiences on the edges of their seats. Telling the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the theologian and pastor who unexpectedly became a resistance fighter during World War II, The Beams are Creaking is a historical drama, love story and thriller, all in one. Written by Douglas Anderson, this story premiered at Case Western Reserve University in October 1978, and won the Marc A. Klein Playwright Award and Wichita State National Playwright Competition that same year.

In the spring, the picturesque and tranquil mountains of George quickly become the backdrop for conflict, tension and comedy in the West Coast premiere of Janece Shaffer’s Brownie Points. When a fierce storm leaves a girls’ scout troop and their chaperones stranded in a remote cabin, the close quarters, diverse backgrounds and differing walks of life collide, spurring conversations about race, religion and parenting. Brownie Points had its world premiere at Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta in February 2010. Shaffer won the 2009 Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwrighting Award for Managing Maxine and serves as director of communications for the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Another dark, stormy night results in a series of oddball deaths in Something’s Afoot, a musical spoofing the murder mystery and detective genres. With characters including a “saucy maid,” a “black sheep nephew” and a “tweedy, elderly amateur detective” known as Miss Tweed—who sings “I Owe It All to Agatha Christie”—fans of the genre will see elements of their favorite mystery novels parodied in this “engaging, funny, refreshing and original musical” (The New York Post). Something’s Afoot features book, music and lyrics by James McDonald, David Vos and Robert Gerlach, with additional music by Ed Linderman. It premiered in 1972 at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, and then was produced at Goodspeed Musicals in 1973. Opening on Broadway at Lyceum Theatre in May 1976, it went on to the West End’s Ambassadors Theatre in 1977.

Secrets, fraud and blackmail, decorum, dandies and diamonds—it’s all there as Taproot Theatre wraps up its 2011 Season with Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband. Taking place in London over the course of 24 hours, Wilde’s smart satire glimmers with fashionable dinner guests with less-than-sparkly secrets. One of the great playwrights of the Victorian era, Wilde’s plays include The Importance of Being Earnest—which premiered the same year as An Ideal Husband, and which Taproot Theatre staged in 2007—Lady Windemere’s Fan and A Woman of No Importance. The Irish-born writer’s bibliography also includes The Picture of Dorian Gray—his only novel—children’s stories, poetry and articles.

Taproot Theatre Company’s 2010 Season:

The Odyssey

By Homer, adapted and originally directed by Mary Zimmerman, adapted from the translation ofThe Odyssey by Robert Fitzgerald

February 4-March 4, previews February 2 & 3

Voyage across land and sea, through the underworld to the top of Mt Olympus. Muses and monsters introduce this epic myth of the brave and courageous Odysseus as he valiantly seeks his homeland and the arms of his wife and child. You’re sure to recognize yourself in this sometimes comic, sometimes harrowing but always thrilling adventure.

The Beams are Creaking

By Douglas Anderson

March 25-April 23, previews March 23 & 24

Germany, 1933: The Nazi party has taken power. In the face of the greatest evil of the 20th century, Dietrich Bonhoeffer battles questions of morality, political allegiance and religious conviction. This true story will keep you on the edge of your seat as a tale of intrigue, conspiracy and high treason unfolds.

Brownie Points – West Coast Premiere

By Janece Shaffer

May 20-June 18, previews May 18 & 19

The girls' club pledge never promised camping would be easy...for the moms. In the late night mayhem of a backwoods campout a storm rages outside, while a squall builds inside the cabin. A touching and often hilarious glimpse into the things that make us who we are and the reasons that they matter.

Something’s Afoot

Book, music & lyrics by James McDonald, David Vos & Robert Gerlach, additional music & musical consultation by Ed Linderman

July 15-August 13, previews July 13 & 14

“The butler didn’t do it!” So starts this murder-mystery musical that has been delighting audiences for decades. When wealthy Lord Rancour is found dead at his lakeside estate, the race to find out whodunnit begins. Filled with booby-traps and belted songs this hilarious spoof hums along as you play armchair detective to a zany cast of characters.

An Ideal Husband

By Oscar Wilde

September 23-October 22, previews September 21 & 22

Dandies and diamonds swirl in and out of this comedic classic. Sir Chiltern appears to be the ideal husband, until a choice from early in his career comes back to haunt him. Can he be restored to his adoring wife or will the truth be everyone’s undoing? This smart satire sparkles with wit and romance.

Ticket and Subscription Information:

Performances take place Wednesday through Saturday evenings, with matinees on Saturdays. Ticket prices range from $20 to $35; plus, we offer a $10 ticket for ages 25 and under, discounts for students and seniors, group rates for parties of eight or more, and one pay-what-you-can performance for each production.

Taproot Theatre is currently in its resubscription period; subscriptions open to the public on September 28, and single tickets go on sale in January 2011.

Subscribers save up to 18% over single ticket prices, plus enjoy great benefits like priority seating, discounts on additional tickets, free ticket exchanges, a subscriber rewards card and more. Subscribers have a number of packages to choose from, including three- and five-play season subscriptions and a Flex Pass subscription, which gives patrons more flexibility when scheduling their tickets.

For more information about subscriptions and single tickets, visit www.taproottheatre.org or contact the box office at 206.781.9707 or box@taproottheatre.org. The box office is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m., and until show time on performance nights.

All performances are held at Taproot Theatre, located at 204 N. 85^th St. in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood. The 226-seat theatre is wheelchair accessible and is equipped with assisted listening devices.