Spring Awakening is a coming of age story set in a time and place that on one hand seems so long ago, and yet at the same time resembles certain corners of the world today. It’s about challenging the status quo, about breaking free from an oppression in which messaging and movement is controlled, to the extent that we’re not allowed to exhibit our own humanity. Ricky Spaulding leads a cast under the direction of Jay Santos, with a performance that is raw, vulnerable, and classically magnificent in all aspects. It’s a production that clicks from top to bottom, and while Spring Awakening may not be the feel-good show of the year, it’s replete with excellence.

Lynn Nottage’s Tony nominated play Clyde’s shows how in a world of oppression and hate, where past mistakes can be used against a person, hope, positivity, and community can give them a fighting chance to break away and strive toward a life free of looking back. Valerie Curtis-Newton directs a wonderful cast, led by the versatile and entertaining Reginald André Jackson, in a production that excels creatively to tell this story in a way that makes us all think about our judgements of others and their pasts, and our acceptance of those that have paid a price for their mistakes.

Arsenic and Old Lace is a dark and farcical comedy that, despite what happens in the story, is a filled with laughs from beginning to end. And despite what I would consider an “off” performance on Saturday night, the BCT production is an entertaining and funny production that is a solid version of this classic story.

From the Mississippi Delta tells the autobiographical story of Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland, a life of hardship, hope, and perseverance. Holland’s play contains moments that are hard to watch, and others that are joyous, a human story that helps provide depth in our nation’s collective history that is severely lacking. The TLT production, directed by Michelle Blackmon and featuring actors Sonia Alexis, Whitney Crawford, and Canae Machelle Gray, hits all of the emotional marks and shines a powerful light on a woman whose life story has so much to teach us, not just as black or white, but more importantly as human beings.

Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth is comprised of two individual plays that could easily stand on their own and have a degree of importance in the telling of their stories, but when told together, as they were designed, they become a thesis on language, government oppression, and subversion. This is a piece that will sneak up on you. You’ll be challenged intellectually, linguistically, and emotionally, but when the dust settles, you’ll come to realize that what you just witnessed was a smart, important, entertaining, and very well acted evening of theatre.

This production of Macbeth is a clear indication that after centuries of having his plays presented in any variety of ways, Shakespeare isn’t going anywhere. Macbeth at OSF is dark, it’s passionate, it’s thrilling, and it’s the most tragic of tragedies. It’s a play with a vision from Director Evren Odcikin that grabs the audience and doesn’t dare let go. It’s most definitely a cornerstone production for the OSF 2024 season, and if you only had the chance to take in one play while in Ashland, this being it would be very well worth it.

Witness for the Prosecution may not feel like standard Agatha Christie, there’s no Hercule Poirot and there’s no gathering of potential suspects only to have them eliminated one by one until the crime is solved. With this courtroom drama, the author more than makes up for it with her depiction of a trial containing more twists and turns than you’ll see on any of the many such programs on TV. With a solid design, and a cast that excels, led by an emotionally superlative performance by Alyssa Hersey and under the direction of Jeffrey Bassett, the Jewel Box production of Witness for the Prosecution could very well leave you wondering whodunit even after the crime has been solved.

If you’re looking for a happy, feel good night at the theatre that isn’t going to ask a lot of you, it’s clear that The Niceties is not for you. This play demands a lot of its audience. It’ll make you think, not just about the history that you’ve been taught, and why it’s not truly a complete, but also the reason why the particular things you learned were deemed the only important things that transpired in our wide history. I’m not a fan of some of the construction of the story, but I am a fan of the idea of The Niceties, and its vision. In addition to that, I’m a huge fan of this production and more than anything the two actors that put all of themselves into these performances and make The Niceties an impactful piece of theatre.

Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith challenges the audience to contemplate their own experiences in the context of the story of a Muslim-American family of Egyptian immigrants. The story itself may be specific to this family, but its messages are universal. We are all impacted by the prisons we live in, and it’s up to us to determine for ourselves if we are going to be characterized by the pressures we face or if we’re going to break out of them and be true to ourselves. Further, once we answer that, how do we balance between our own truths and those of the people we love? The Centerstage production takes this circus and brings it to the audience in such a way that it feels accessible and relatable, whether we have first hand experience with an immigrant story or not.

Matilda the Musical is fun version of a classic Ronald Dahl story, and the Kitsap Forest Theatre production features a wonderfully talented cast of leads and an ensemble that is enchanting to watch and hear, with voices that fill up the outdoor space where the show is being presented. It’s a show that knows its venue and takes advantage of the space to present a show that is wholly entertaining and enjoyable for the entire family.

The Smell of the Kill may have closed this past weekend at Bremerton Community Theatre, but it’s a good enough production that it is most certainly worthy of getting the word out about it. The cast, under the direction of Eric Wise was excellent in their delivery, confident, natural, and strong. The production design was sound, and put together, my only wish for this production is that it would have had a longer run so more people could see it.

The Taproot production of Sherlock Holmes and the Precarious Position is fun, funny, and is an excellent way to spend an evening (or afternoon) out. Quickly paced, this mystery based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters keeps the audiences on their toes until the inevitable happens, when Holmes and Watson “find their man”. It’s the journey that’s the treat here, though. Karen Lund has put together a nice group, led by a cast of four excellent actors, that come together to tell a story that is a nice diversion and an entertaining play. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but it doesn’t need to, it’s wonderful just the way it is.

The Village Theatre production of Once on This Island, the story of how love and the ultimate sacrifice can heal wounds that have been growing for generations, is an immersive, stunningly designed, and beautifully presented piece of musical theatre. Think of this as Romeo and Juliet meets The Little Mermaid, set on a tropical island. The story is told by way of a convergence between design and performance that is first rate, not just musical theatre, but a true visual and auditory experience, one that draws the audience into it and makes them feel that they are part of this wonderful story.

Though it sounds cliche, Unrivaled proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same. What keeps us coming back to stories of relationships and their humanity is that at the end of the day, relationships are the one thing we all have in common. Unrivaled feels like a modern story of trust and insecurity, love and heartbreak, as well as the age old challenges of being a woman in a man’s world told with the backdrop of 11th Century Japan. The co-production between Seattle Public Theatre and SIS Productions is a very well presented story that shows while we may falter apart, together we are Unrivaled.

There’s a saying, “Gold is where you find it”. Sometimes the best art can be found in the most unassuming places, and within Seattle’s arts community there’s no shortage of places that are tucked in corners or even underground. This is why The Underground Theater is so aptly named, and why Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth is the perfect show to have its world premiere with this company and underground at Base Camp Studios. Playwright Cris Eli Blak has created a dystopian world that shines a light on both racial and socioeconomic discrimination as well as climate change and how adaptable, or non adaptable people can be when dealing with all of these issues along with the grief of loss. It’s a complex story, constructed very well, and performed emotionally and passionately by a cast that is bought into their characters and leaves everything on the stage floor.

Letters of Suresh leaves the audience thinking; thinking about how we as a species communicate and interact, and a lot about religion, how we coexist among others who have been raised with a different faith, or even challenging the idea of God. There’s a lot beyond this as well, too much to list out here, but all presented so well within the context of the story. It is such a well written piece, and so expertly performed that if you’re not able to get out to see it, it’s an opportunity missed.

The Savannah Sipping Society is a wonderful story of discovery, friendship, community, and how sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone every once in a while can help heal the pain of loss and make you realize that there’s no limit to what you can do, especially when you have a group of supportive friends at your side. The Edmonds Driftwood production tells this story in such a wonderful way, with a superb quartet of actors and a creative team who present director Joe Goins’ vision with so much detail and quality that you’d think you were actually sitting on a veranda in Savannah yourself, experiencing everything along with these ladies, just without the humidity.

The musical version of The Wedding Singer exists solely because of and in service to the movie of the same name, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Western Washington Center for the Arts has chosen The Wedding Singer, the musical comedy, to close out its residence at the Bay Street location where they have produced shows for so long, and they’ve done a fine job in presenting an entertaining musical experience, despite performing from a book that is generally bland in comparison to the film on which it was based.

At the end of the day, there’s no denying that The Lehman Trilogy is a long show, probably the longest on stage in the region this season, for sure on the professional side of the house. But what John Langs has done in casting this trio of actors, and compiling this creative team, is to take a long, detailed, and dialogue heavy play and create a piece that is paced quickly, flows well, and engages the audience from start to finish. The story of the Lehman brothers is one that underscores what can happen when people have the opportunity to follow the American dream, but what can also happen when the baton of that dream is handed to those who have lost touch with what drove the dream into existence to begin with. It’s a story of family and loyalty, one of hope and heartbreak, and ultimately one about the ups and downs of unchecked capitalism. You’re sure to come out of The Lehman Trilogy with an opinion about this family, our economic system and stature, and our country as a whole. Most likely it’ll be different than your neighbor’s opinion, and it could very well be a changed opinion from what you entered ACT’s Falls Theatre with before sitting down to enjoy The Lehman Trilogy, which you will most definitely do, it’s an excellent telling of an intriguing story.

One would think that Romeo and Juliet has run its course, having premiered in 1957 it has to be one of the most performed Shakespeare plays ever. Any other play by any other author would go the way of the dodo, perhaps resurrected only after a long time spent on the shelf. But what keeps Romeo and Juliet going are productions like this one at Seattle Shakespeare. By far one of the most engaging, accessible, and outright enjoyable versions of this classic that I’ve seen, director Sheila Daniels has captured the true essence of this tragic tale, and with a stellar cast and creative design work, Sheila has reinvigorated my love of Shakespeare. If that sounds extreme, I would challenge you to see it yourself, and you may find that you have the same reaction.