Stage Review - Curiosity (Mary Annette Productions)

Stage Review - Curiosity
Presented By: Mary Annette Productions - Seattle, WA
Show Run: November 13 - November 23, 2025
Date Reviewed: Saturday, November 15, 2025
Run Time: 90 Minutes (inclusive of a 15-minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Sameer Arshad

Dark musicals are always something I enjoy, on any and every scope. And this one, by Mary Ann Tavi, hits that spot for me. With the help of her remarkable ensemble cast and herself skillfully accompanying them on-stage with an electric piano, a certain kind of magic emerges before us in the form of an anti-capitalist exploration of the tourism industry.

Here we are at “The Curiosity Shoppe”, run by the enigmatic but ruthless Mr. Curiosity (Fisher M-H). He’s had the shop in his family for 152 years, stockpiling generation-after-generation of tchotchkes, knick-knacks, souvenirs, keepsakes and what many characters also refer to as “old junk”. In a delicious series of increasingly surreal musical numbers, we are introduced to the shop, its owner and many of its strange items for sale, explored from the perspective of Mr. Curiosity and his eager-to-please employees (Genna Dow, Jade Sandoval, Olivia Scheaffer, Elizabeth Wynn, Truxton Ivory, Adia Bealieu).

These outlandishly unusual objects for sale end up dazzlingly inhabiting the very elaborately decorated stage, which likely took months of production work to prepare. The eye is drawn to so many interesting details on the shelves, on the walls and held in the hands of the employees. As the plot continues further, we realize that there are people among the curiosities as well, living in the shop, detached from time and space. Each of them demonstrates their wretched existence as we start to wonder if something sinister is at play in this workplace.

Over time, we come to realize the oppressiveness of the hold that Mr. Curiosity has on the shop, its workers and its residents. Through clever metaphors, the lines start to reference the history of the tourism industry, especially in North America, and its disturbing intersections with the wellness industry, especially presented as a spectacle. We are reminded that snake-oil salesmen have always existed, conning us into parting with our hard-earned money, to take away some new-fangled promise of well-being, blurring the line between retail therapy and retail addiction.

At the same time, the play also explores workplace abuse and capitalist violations of labor rights, in a very surprisingly charming way. We start rooting for the employees as they realize they have been conned by Mr. Curiosity, just like how he cons his customers. Their sense of rising agency is well-portrayed and allows even children in audience to follow the events as they transpire. For this reason, I want to recommend the show to whole families, especially if you want to teach your kids about how to avoid a bad workplace and stand up for themselves if they happen to land in one anyway.

Fisher M-H successfully delivers a performance that embodies the slick slimy self-destructive entrepreneur who has no one else’s well-being in mind. Jade Sandoval blesses us with a poignant portrayal of the tragic Miss Ella, who has started to question her place in the shop as she realizes that all the years of service that she has provided to Mr. Curiosity have gotten her nowhere.

I was really impressed by Mary Ann Tavi, doing multiple duties: producer, writer, composer, director, a one-person-live-band and also selling merch. This show is an immense labor of love, which shows in so many dimensions and facets. Everyone should be very proud of what has been accomplished here, a strong debut production of a new theatre company.

My favorite curiosities were the bizarre Shrunken Heads, vibrantly presented, singing to us a hypnotizing ballad played to surrealist perfection. It was the kind of theatre moment that pulls me out of this world and situates me somewhere else entirely, drawing my attention to what the artists are trying to tell me: don’t let these exploitative hyper-capitalist bastards shrink you down.

This is an entrancing, energetic, approachable, enjoyable and socially-relevant new musical for the entire family. Come for the elaborate props and set, stay for the delightfully creepy musical numbers and enjoy the flowing commentary on who in this world is trying to sell you on something you really don’t need.

You will still always need musical theatre though, amirite?

Curiosity, from Mary Annette Productions, runs on stage through November 23 at the Annex Theatre space in Seattle.

Photo credit: Justin Lauer