The Emerald City is also a major theater city, and the number of plays on stage or in production is off the charts right now. Here’s a list of 5 shows worth your time. Stay tuned for more.
1 'Gidion's Knot'
Johnna Adams’ one-act uses just 75 minutes to dig deeply into what’s ailing modern education, told through an encounter between an angry parent and an evasive teacher. Seattle Times theater critic Misha Berson gives the actors and director of this SPT production “high praise for making this fierce and delicate dance of nerves so engrossing.”
2 'The Importance of Being Earnest'
Through April 13, a Seattle Shakespeare Company production at Center House Theatre, Seattle Center, seattleshakespeare.org
Emily Grogan and Connor Toms in “Earnest.”/John Ulman
Oscar Wilde’s dry wit and unsparing view of the idle class are brought to sparkling life in this Seattle Shakes production, starring SSC favorites Connor Toms, Hana Lass, Emily Grogan and Quinn Franzen. At opening night, it was clear the actors could hardly keep their faces as straight as the script calls for; arch eyebrows and noses in the air were skillfully wielded, though, for maximum laughs.
3 'The Boy at the Edge of Everything'
Through April 6 at Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Center, www.sct.org
The cast of “The Boy at the Edge of Everything.”/Chris Bennion
Here’s one for families: An interplanetary friendship is just the thing for overscheduled Simon, who longs for time to just “sit and be.” But after spending time with his new pal, who is ageless and alone out in space, Simon comes to appreciate the family life he left behind.
4 'Little Shop of Horrors'
Seymour (Joshua Carter) and Audrey II (powered by puppeteer Eric Esteb and the voice of Ekello Harrid Jr.) in “Little Shop of Horrors.”/Tracy Martin
True love, doo-wop and a giant plant all come together at a Skid Row florist shop, thanks to this musical that sprung from a 1960 low-budget film. This “Shop” is a coproduction of ACT and 5th Avenue theaters.
5 'Royal Blood'
Stages near and far are littered with the remains of family dysfunction — a funeral brings everyone together, everyone hates one another, everyone yells, everyone reaches some sort of truce. Sonya Schneider’s “Royal Blood” has some of those elements, but they ring new thanks to “barbed exchanges, mixed emotions and committed acting, under Laurel Pilar Garcia’s direction,” writes Seattle Times theater critic Misha Berson.