Agatha Christie’s Spider’s Web is right behind Mousetrap as her second most popular play, and it’s clear to see why. It’s funny, engaging, and has all of the earmarks of a classic from The Queen of Crime. Add to this top to bottom excellence in direction, design, and performance, and the result is a whodunit that is extremely entertaining, well paced, and just fun. Centerstage Theatre in Federal Way is, perhaps, a little out of the way (pun intended), but don’t let that stop you. As one of the best Christie adaptations I’ve seen, it’s something should be on everyone’s calendar.

Quixote Nuevo is a creative reimagining of a classic story. Octavio Solis has created a piece that both pays homage to the Don Quixote of Cervantes, while at the same time tilts at some of the windmills of the 21st century. Under the direction of Lisa Portes and told by a cast of actors that are all in on the telling, Quixote Nuevo takes audiences on a journey of memory and introspection that will surely inform our lives and how we treat each other in the process.

Becoming Dr. Ruth does exactly what you’d hope a biographical piece would do. Performed wonderfully by Naomi Jacobson as the infamous sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, this play is educational, enlightening, and certainly thought provoking. Audiences attending this production will learn more about the person Dr. Ruth than they knew coming in, but more than that, they’ll learn what drives her positivity and gratefulness, while at the same time receiving some perspective on their own lives.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore is classic Nora Ephron. The trials of life as a woman in America, and how wardrobe as a common thread through memory and experience, is told with humor, heart, and poignancy. Director Neicie Packer has assembled a wonderful group of storytellers who have come together to take the audience through the female experience, while making the story relatable to both women and men alike. Love, Loss, and What I Wore will make you laugh, cry, gasp, and sigh, but most importantly it will bring you into something more important than all of that, community.

Good Water takes audiences to a dystopian future that isn’t difficult to fathom. Local playwright Jessica Moreland has constructed an excellent story, built out relatable characters who challenge how redeemable humans are in the face of this grim fate, and presented a work of art that will challenge audiences to take an introspective look into their own lives and into society as a whole. It’s a play I can see becoming a more consistent part of the local theatre scene, especially as it continues to mature.

God of Carnage is a healthy mix of humor and levity, serious conversations about a real situation that seem to go sideways when the booze starts to flow, but ones that also shine a light on the walls that we build up in the name of social decorum and what lies beneath them when those walls start to come down. It’s a show that shines when its cast is capable, and the SecondStory Rep production has a cast that is more than up to the task. It’s a show that’ll make you gasp, laugh, and all the while give an introspective look at what you might do in a similar situation.

The Comedy of Errors is, for my money, one of Shakespeare’s most enjoyable plays. By itself, it’s lighthearted, funny, and extremely accessible. Add to this foundation a small but mighty, and extremely talented, cast who, to a person, understand how to deliver the Bard’s humor and you’ve got a well-paced and rollicking good time at the theatre. What some might deem risky, Director Jimmy Shields handles without missing a beat. The Comedy of Errors is a hilarious and unique telling of a classic piece of Shakespeare’s library and is should be on everyone’s list this January.

The BPA production of Beauty and the Beast is a well conceived and produced addition to the history of this classic story. This magical tale of love, family, and redemption under the direction of Adam Othman captures the heart of the Disney film and stage adaptation. Told by an extremely talented cast and creative team, it’s clear why this tale as old as time is not going away anytime soon.

What the Dickens?! is probably not what you think it is. Every aspect of this show is a surprise, and every surprise is a holiday treat. It’s Vaudeville meets Victorian England, it’s Scrooge meets Sherlock, and it’s everything that I’d want out of a feel good Christmas show. A laugh out loud spin on the classic Christmas redemption tale, What the Dickens?! should be at the top of your holiday theatre wish list. It’s anything but a “Humbug”.

The Lakewood Playhouse production of The Seafarer takes the best of what makes up any really good Christmas story and takes it to another level. Performed by a superb cast guided under the direction of Frank Thompson, this mystical story of family, conscience, and redemption set in Ireland stands out among the other seasonal tales currently in the offing and is something you’ll not soon forget.

The Lesser Known Players production of Abigail’s Party is an example of what this troupe does best, selecting shows that are not entirely mainstream, but skew to the abstract and make one think. Abigail’s Party doesn’t end when the curtain drops, you’ll spend some time on the ride home thinking about what you just saw and what it means, but isn’t that what all good art does?

The 5th Avenue production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is not just good, it’s inspiring. It’s the kind of show that is bigger than the sum of its parts, presented by a group of creatives, cast, and crew, that is as good as it gets. White Christmas is a true tour de force, and it won’t just rekindle your holiday spirit, but if you’re anything like me, it’ll reach down into your soul and remind you of every reason why you love musical theatre.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is not ordinarily associated with the Christmas season as much as some other shows, but the Ovation Performing Arts Northwest production, under the direction of Scott Breitbarth, is filled with enough magic to make it feel like the perfect fit. Featuring a stellar cast of actors and vocalists, Cinderella is the perfect show to take in to put you in the spirit of the season.

A Christmas Carol is an hour of Allen Fitzpatrick at his absolute best.  It’s apparent that not only does Allen understand the text, moreover he understands the emotional subtext of it all. He brings the audience into the story, the emotions flow freely from this performance.  His ability to inhabit each of the characters so completely is exactly what makes this work.

The Trail to Oregon brings to life a cultural icon, the Oregon Trail computer game, and does it with humor and irreverence. The Lesser Known Players production is a hilarious and wholly entertaining theatre experience, one that is interactive and never the same twice. Told by an excellent cast of settlers, The Trail to Oregon is not going to change the world, but it’s going to make you laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more. It’s only running for two weekends, and sure you might come away with a fatal case of dysentery, but in all honesty, I can’t think of a better way to go out!

Cry It Out is a rare commodity. It’s enlightening, but not preachy, it’s funny without losing the seriousness of the message, and it’s timeless. It is a show that, while told through the lens of motherhood, is a layered thesis on sex roles, class, societal expectations, judgement, and the hard choices that befall new parents. Presented here by an excellent cast under the direction of Betsy Mugavero, the As If production of Cry It Out serves up that most important of dishes, perspective.

Doubt (A Parable) at Jewel Box is not something you should see because it will make you feel good. Rather, it’s something you should see because it doesn’t. It’s the kind of play that is short (about 90 minutes, including intermission), but will continue after the curtain drops on the ride home or at dinner. It’s a play that is extremely well written and a production that is superbly performed. For me, it’s an early season favorite, and I have no doubt that it will be for anyone who sees it.

This week’s edition of The Sound on Stage highlights everything that is good about live theatre. There’s drama and humor, shows that tackle important and timely topics and some that are just fun. This week we review Last Drive to Dodge (Taproot Theatre), The Thanksgiving Play (Tacoma Arts Live), Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood (Village Theatre), and The Canterville Ghost (Key City Public Theatre), and capture everything else on stage and coming up in the area.

This week’s edition of The Sound on Stage takes us to North Kitsap, and to historic Port Gamble. This tiny town is perhaps best known for having “Washington’s most haunted house”, but it’s also a wonderful destination any time of year. Tucked into this village is the Port Gamble Theatre, located in one of the many historic buildings in and around Port Gamble. Constructed originally in 1906, this quaint building has always been a community center and houses not just the theatre space, but the town’s Post Office. And on the topic of theatre, while many companies are just now opening their seasons, Port Gamble is beginning the wrap up of its calendar-based 2023 season with its penultimate show, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Nile.

I’m constantly amazed not just at the sheer amount of theatre in the Puget Sound region, but by the variety, from professional to all sizes of community theaters, and from well known shows to unique, new, and original pieces. On any given week, there’s bound to be something for everyone. This week’s edition of The Sound on Stage is a great example of that variety, as our coverage includes a touring company from Canada (The 7 Fingers production of Passengers at Seattle Rep), three original plays from Indian women (Pradithwani’s Thrice), a combination concert/history lesson (ACT’s Cambodian Rock Band), and a familiar old favorite (Tacoma Musical Playhouse’s production of Cabaret).