Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a classic that most of us, if not all, are familiar with, mostly through the film version. The musical captures all of the magic from the film and the Port Gamble version of this family friendly story from James Bond author Ian Fleming is something that adults and children can and will enjoy together. It’s a magical trip with a special car and an even more special cast that is a great way to spend a summer day out of the hot sun.

With the lion’s share of theaters winding down for the summer, Taproot Theatre has taken up the professional mantle with the production of its summer show, Sister Act. With a design that makes the most of Taproot’s layout in its Jewell Mainstage, to a cast that is funny and extremely talented, all under the superb direction of Bretteney Beverly, Sister Act is exactly what we need this summer, the perfect salve for the heat and and stress of current events. The songs are catchy, the humor laugh-out-loud, the pace of the show quick, and the level of quality from top to bottom is just excellent. It’s everything anyone can ask for in a summer hit.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies. With five intersecting storylines threaded together by a wedding between the Duke of Athens and the Queen of the Amazons, the story includes fairies, a quartet of lovers who get mixed up in a vengeful plot, and a rag tag troupe of actors who bumble their way on to the stage of the Duke. The story is funny and entertaining in its own right, but in the hands of director Elizabeth Allum and the fantastic cast that she has but together, the BPA production of this classic soars, a wonder in the more wondrous setting that is the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island.

The timelessness and unfortunate timeliness of Cabaret is underscored by the sheer number of versions that have appeared on Seattle area stages this year. The latest is on stage in Olympia and is produced by Harlequin Productions. While the design of the show is stunning and grand, it misses some of the key thematic elements that make the Kit Kat Klub and Cabaret feel like the seedy underbelly of pre-war Berlin and it limits the ability of the production to spread its wings, creating a show that feels more choppy than smooth and prevents this cast, led by the wonderfully versatile Karin Terry, from shining as bright as their talent proves they can. It is worth taking in, if only because Cabaret is a show that still has relevance after so many years. The fact that this cast is so good in every aspect of their performances is just icing on the cake, and more than makes up for any shortcomings on the show’s design.

Virgins to Villains (My Journey with Shakespeare’s Women) feels like a perfect fit for this year’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival season. It depicts the influence that theatre, and Shakespeare, can have on a life, and the fulfillment that it can bring. And while the show at times feels academic, Robin Goodrin Nordli is an engaging, funny, and thoughtful storyteller who clearly has a passion for the Bard, is proud of her performances of her work, and is not afraid to let herself be vulnerable in her life’s reflection.

Move Over Mrs. Markham is a farce in every sense of the word. A story in which a faithful married couple’s flat turns into the unlikely arena for a love triangle (or two) is so full of laughs, you’ll be talking about how funny this show and these characters are well after the play ends. Director Eric Lewis has assembled a cast that understands how good comedy works, whether it’s of the physical variety, or by delivering situationally funny dialogue in the most straight and serious way. Move Over Mrs. Markham is a wholly entertaining comedy, and the fact that the show has been extended for an additional week can only mean that more people will get to see it, and that’s a good thing.

Ride the Cyclone is a quirky, funny, and very Canadian piece of musical theatre, and SecondStory Rep’s final production of its 2023-24 season is every bit the carnival ride that you’d expect from this out of this world show. There’s something we can all learn about being better humans from riding the Cyclone, and while the lessons aren’t altogether shrouded in mystery, Director Harry Turpin’s production, which features a stellar cast of versatile and talented actors, shows that regardless of the destination, sometimes the best part is the journey. Head on over to Redmond to Ride the Cyclone, you’ll laugh, tap your feet along with the catchy music, and be wholly entertained for the 90 minutes of its run time. You might actually find that you’ll learn something about yourself along the way.

53% Of takes a satirical look at some pretty timely and challenging topics that underscore the current political divide in America. Though there are a ton of laughs in the play, it presents the dangers of extremism, living in an echo chamber, and not seeing people for who they are, rather than a generalized perception of what they are. Directed by Shermona Mitchell and Teresa Thurman, and presented by a cast of six talented and versatile actors who portray both men and women as well as Americans on either side of the political aisle, Sound Theatre has kicked off its residency on the Center Theatre stage at the Seattle Center Armory with a funny, yet thought provoking, winner of a show.

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.