An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf is an interesting one to try and describe. It’s a tragedy, wrapped in a comedy, sort of about food, but with no food. No matter how you slice it, when you do boil it down (points for trying?), “An Empty Plate”, by playwright Michael Hollinger, will make you laugh, while also asking you to contemplate what you would do if your entire world was falling apart. The Saltfire Theatre production is presented at Vintage in Port Townsend, perhaps the perfect place to take this in, where you can relax with a glass of wine and see a play that is well written and superbly performed.

Holmes and Watson might not be the most descriptive title for this play, but like the story itself, not everything you see is as it appears. This unique twist on the Sherlock Holmes genre takes the audience out of London and into the middle of the ocean after the tragic death of the famous detective, where Dr. Watson comes face to face with three unlikely men who claim to be his late partner. With enough twists and turns to make any Sherlock fan smile, this production under director Chris Nardine’s stewardship, will draw you in and keep you guessing until the very end.

Love’s Labor’s Lost is going to seem awfully familiar to any fan of Shakespeare, like bits and pieces of all of his more popular shows stitched together by a plot that might seem thin and with an ending that is abrupt and arguably unsatisfactory. But the plot is not why you should go and see the Seattle Shakespeare production. It’s the combination of a beautiful design, as well as a hilarious, but heartfelt, set of performances by an unforgettable ensemble that should bring you out to this show. Love’s Labor’s Lost may be one of the last times you can see Seattle Shakespeare in this space as they work toward building their partnership with ACT Contemporary Theatre, so come on out and see this group perform this classic Shakespeare comedy in a space where it feels like home.

Primary Trust shows us how we don’t have to handle our loss, hurt, and trauma on our own if we have love and friendship and aren’t afraid to, yes, trust in our relationships. Leaning on each other, we can get through anything, and when a play is this well written, this creatively designed, and this well acted, it’s sure to be something that we can all take something away from. Directed by Kaytlin McIntyre and featuring Stephen Tyrone Williams in an emotionally complex role that is sure to resonate, Primary Trust is short, sweet, and the kind of light that we all need in our lives right now.

There are any number of plays with something to teach us, some with lessons that are hidden among the complex lines of dialogue or iambic pentameter, while others are right up front with what they’re trying to say. An Inspector Calls is of the latter ilk. Playwright J.B. Priestley’s story of an entitled family with ancillary connections to a suicide victim doesn’t just interrogate the suspects, it also examines capitalism, the hypocrisy of power, and reputation. The Dukesbay production’s design and some of the individual performances prove the potential that this play has, and with a little more time to percolate on the ensemble side, this play might just live up to it.

A Lonely Realization aims to tackle the very difficult, but important and unfortunately timely, topic of sexual abuse and male exploitation of power in a most unique way.  The new play from writers Darby Sherwood and Emily Stone presents a largely metaphorical world that seems at first to veer off in different directions, but eventually comes together in a most heart wrenching and thought provoking way.  It feels at home in the TPS Theatre4 space, its rough and raw design a seemingly apropos way to tackle such a subject in this way.  The humor of the show takes a bit of the edge off of the subject at hand, but not enough to lessen its impact and while I don’t believe that the version on stage currently meets the play’s true potential, or should stand as a finished product, this group is well on their way to getting there.

There is no shortage of productions of Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap.  Being the longest running play in the world doesn’t hurt, but it’s also a classic whodunit by the Queen of Crime, where everyone is a suspect and the audience has no clue how the play will end until it eventually does, after all of its various twists and turns have run their course.  Doing this show well requires all of the suspense and intrigue that is classic Christie, but it also needs a cast that has a chemistry together as an ensemble, and that’s exactly what the Tacoma Little Theatre production of The Mousetrap has and why it works so well.  It’s well designed, it’s extremely well acted, and that all comes together to make The Mousetrap an entertaining and engaging night out at the theatre.

Allen Fitzpatrick’s Great Expectations, his one-actor adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, is a piece that doesn’t just honor the classic novel, it makes it accessible, engaging, and, quite frankly, fun. He tells the story of Philip “Pip” Pirrup, his life with his adoptive family, apprenticeship as a blacksmith, and his coming to terms with becoming a gentleman at the hands of an anonymous benefactor with enthusiasm, precision of dialogue, and an overall production value that is sure to engage any audience that sees it. Whether you are a fan of Dickens, someone who loves good theatre and good acting, or an aspiring actor yourself, there is something here for you, and it is my sincere hope that more audiences get to see this master class in both developing and performing a wonderful piece of theatre art.

We’ve all heard stories of men who are full of promises, without anything to back them up.  Men who use their enthusiasm and larger than life personality to draw us into their world of deceit and lies.  Tartuffe, the classic French story of such a man, a pious man who turns out to be a fraud, has been reimagined by playwright Freyda Thomas into a production that speaks to a more modern audience, proving that the timeless is all too often timely, as Tartuffe, Born Again, is.  Featuring BJ Smyth in a superb performance, along with an extremely talented ensemble, the Phoenix Theatre production of this show gets its point across, and does it in a way that is extremely funny from start to finish.  It retains the heard of Moière’s original story while delivering it into a time when we all need to consider to whom it is we decide to follow blindly.

The 39 Steps is the kind of comedy that is silly for silly’s sake, doesn’t have an underlying agenda, and is fun beyond words.  It parodies one of the greatest in Alfred Hitchcock, but does so in a way that respects and honors its namesake 1930s spy thriller.  The As If production is presented by a cast of four, under the direction of Chris Shea, who understands how to deliver comedy in every way, from the physical to the farcical, and together with the kind of timing and characterizations that will keep you laughing not just until the curtain drops, but well after.  In this serious season where it’s getting darker earlier, and the news feels like it’s becoming more and more grim, come and see The 39 Steps and escape all of that, at least for a little while.

Dracula just feels like the perfect show to see this time of year, when it’s getting darker earlier, and the moon hides behind eerie clouds, and as it gets closer to Halloween, it seems even more so.  The Theatre Northwest production hits all of the marks it needs to in order to present an engaging version of this story.  Outside of some issues not related to the cast or creative team, this production of Dracula will send you home looking over your shoulder each night after the sun sets.

Men On Boats is a gender bending retelling of one of the adventures of explorer John Wesley Powell.  It’s a solid story that itself explores the humanity of our extension into the western United States.  The inD Theatre production is led by an extremely talented cast, but what sets this production apart is the imaginative and creative design that director Talena Laine has put together.  It’s an engaging piece of theatre that is perhaps the most distinctive show currently on stage in the region.

Urinetown, the musical that takes aim at capitalism, government corruption, socioeconomic disparity, and so much more, is something that is extremely relatable, and has a serious message to present, but does so in such a fun and funny way that you almost won’t realize what it’s trying to say until it’s already been said.  The Bainbridge Performing Arts production is as complete a show as it gets, and with this incredibly talented cast, under the direction of Jalyn Green, and with a design that is superb, Urinetown is one of the most irreverent, humorous, and enjoyable shows out there.

What is normal? How do we define that, and how do we react when we come across someone who doesn’t fit into our predefined box? That is what Harvey, a human story about a man and his rabbit, and the family to which he is a burden, endeavors to answer. The Centerstage production of Harvey is presented with an ensemble cast that delivers this farce-adjacent story with humor and heart, and a vision from Director Vince Brady that underpins the humanity of this timeless tale.

Caught in the Net is the sequel to Ray Cooney’s Run For Your Wife, and the BCT production most certainly feels like it, though told with a new cast and a different theatre space than its predecessor.  Set 18 years later, Caught in the Net seems to pick up right where Run For Your Wife left off, with respect to energy, humor, pace, and overall entertainment value, and while it doesn’t really break any new ground comedically, it’s still a well written and funny British farce.

The story of John Tornow may not be something I would have thought would make a good musical, it being laced with violence and bloodshed, but I’m happy to admit when I’m wrong, and I couldn’t have been more here.  Wild Man of the Wynoochee, the new musical from Jessica Welsh and Linda Dowdell, takes the tale of a troubled young man at odds with his family and makes it a human story of love family, and forgiveness.  With a musical soundtrack that is full of emotion and melodies that are sure to linger with audiences, and a talented cast led by Casey Raiha in a clear breakout role, Wild Man of the Wynoochee should be required viewing on your 2024-25 theatre schedule.

The Skin of Our Teeth is Thornton Wilder’s take on humanity, its past, present, and future. And much like our species, it isn’t our individuality that should be judged, but rather the whole of us and how we act as a society. In the same way, The Skin of Our Teeth may seem difficult to digest, or understand, at times, but it’s the kind of art that is best enjoyed by letting it wash over you. Doing that, and by appreciating how good the cast and creative team have done at Seattle Rep to produce a very good version of a challenging piece, you’ll come away appreciating both the messaging and the production value of this this Pulitzer Prize winning play.

The legend of King Arthur is something so familiar to us, that we sometimes lose the fact that it is just that, a legend, and that Arthur as we know him in relation to Camelot is not a true historical figure. The story has been told so many times, and musical versions of the tale of Arthur, Guenevere, Lancelot, and the round table have tended to be arduous, complex, long, and just not appetizing. Thankfully, the Village Theatre adaptation of Camelot is none of those things. By paring the story down, the audience gets to its heart, and by casting it with a trio of superb leads and an excellent supporting cast, not to mention a design team comprised of some of Seattle’s best designers, artisans, and craftspeople, Director Adam Immerwahr has produced a version of Camelot that is the most enjoyable that I’ve seen, and I’d be willing to bet a few gold shillings that you’ll feel the same.

You can tell everything you need to know about The Plot, Like Gravy, Thickens, by its name.  It sounds fun and a bit silly.  And if that’s what you think it is, the Jewel Box Theatre production of it should prove that you’ve hit the nail on the head.  In what I consider a perfect example of what community theatre is all about, Director Linda Jensen has produced a deconstructed murder mystery in the best way, with a thoroughly enjoyable cast and a creative vision that is more a satire of the genre than anything, but one that at the same time doesn’t give itself away.  You might not die laughing from The Plot, Like Gravy, Thickens, but you’ll surely come away from it with quite the stitch in your side.