#3 An Apt Description Of Love at Robot Arms

#3 An Apt Description of Love

A world premiere script developed by Robot Arms, written by David Sinclair Bales, and directed by Joe Mangialardi. It's got some funny moments, some serious moments, bursts of honesty from nearly every character...and it's on an airplane. What usually impresses me most about Robot Arms shows, and this is the same with this show, is the design. For having a theatre in their living room, they manage to always create really unique and specific lighting designs. The sound design, also, is usually impeccable, a tribute to Kyle Thompson. I had a good time. It wasn't perfect, but that's not the point. I think the point of Robot Arms is that you have a good time...and I did.

#2 Pero at Seattle Children's Theatre

After SCT hosted Yaser Khaseb and his performance from Iran, "Mysterious Gifts", I have really been looking forward to seeing "Pero" (also part of the Connecting Stories program which brings theatre from other countries to the US, this one from Holland). "Mysterious Gifts" was incredible, no words, but a mixture of dance & puppetry, and I thought it was really incredible. But it met a lot of controversy, with SCT being a Children's Theatre, what is appropriate in other countries for children is not considered appropriate here. Enter "Pero." The stories are that this show was much sexier in its original incarnation, but being in the U.S. and recommended for young children, the sex was cut out for the SCT production. I had heard A LOT about this show, and none of it was making much sense until I saw it last night.

It is a mixture of puppetry, music, and live action. The music is the best part. It is very much like an operetta for children. A nice mixture of jazz & classical music. The two live piano players (who are also characters, the sun & the moon) are wonderful, scoring the show and giving it pace. The puppets were fine. Not at all what I had imagined, but after about 15 minutes I was won over by them. At first they seem very simple. Eventually, though, you see there is so much going on, and the specificity is impressive.

The script itself was confusing and at times just insulting. It was really something else to see, very different than anything else I have seen. It's another clear example, though, that SCT doesn't just do shows for children, but shows that adults will also enjoy (and probably get another story out of).

#1 Peter Pan at Seattle Children's Theatre

Inspired by others who have done this, I am going to attempt to see a show every week this year. So...without further ado:

Peter Pan at Seattle Children's Theatre.
Definitely enjoyed the show. Made me feel like a child again. David Pichette as Captain Hook was perfect. The designs were great. The flying was really cool, except for being able to see the cords...but what are you gonna do? The acting, with exception to David Pichette, was only alright...but most of the child characters were way too old, and didn't establish childishness enough. Tinkerbell wasn't very exciting. The idea of Tink being a projection was very cool, but I didn't think it was fully realized. I did really enjoy that the Indians were from India. The bollywood dance was great and an appreciated new addition.