Miss Nelson is Missing, the first in-house production from the Admiral Theatre’s Theatre for Young Audiences program, is a humorous and entertaining show suitable for the whole family, aimed at younger audiences, but designed and performed in a way so that it can be appreciated and enjoyed by older folks as well. Cast with actors and vocalists familiar to Kitsap County audiences, Miss Nelson shows us what can be accomplished when a team comes together in a historic venue to produce a fun and entertaining piece of musical theatre. I, for one, would love to see the Admiral make a habit out of this.

Alice By Heart is a lesser known derivative of the Alice in Wonderland canon, but with catchy songs and an emotional and human story, it’s one that when it’s seen it’s not soon forgotten. The latest production of Alice By Heart just closed at South Kitsap High School, but to consider it a high school production doesn’t give it nearly enough credit. The overall quality of the production, from the scenic design to the lighting and sound, music and choreography, are all on par with anything that is on community theatre stages in the region, while the performances from this cast, and especially leads Shelby Skinner and Tyson Wolfe, have a quality and a maturity well beyond their years. And while the production has closed, keep an eye out for more from this group, both at the high school and community levels in the next few years, and down the line on much larger stages.

Covenant is a multi-layered story that asks us to consider what we really know about each other, the secrets that folks keep versus those that we think they’re keeping, and the mistakes we make between that two that lead to gossip and innuendo, and inform our attitudes toward them. The play also asks us to consider our faith, and how we can reconcile that with the behavior of others amid those preconceived notions based on the secrets we assume they are keeping. The ArtsWest production is a beautifully designed and produced piece of theatre from a creative team and cast under the direction of Nicholas Japaul Bernard that immerses the audience in the hard life of 1930s Georgia where this folksy, gothic, and suspenseful tale takes place that mixes secrecy, superstition, gossip, and heartbreak.

Second Samuel is a play that presents a time that has passed and yet it feels so current as we, once again, deal with racial injustice while at the same time witness entire groups of people struggling to deal with a changing world, judging people on their physical characteristics and not their character. Perhaps the world would be a better place if we all took a lesson from the play’s character B Flat, and looked at life, and people, a little more simply. And while a play like this stands pretty well on its own, this particular production, under the direction of Keith Dahlgren, and featuring a stellar performance from Ian Wight and a phenomenal ensemble, soars.

With Constellations, Theatre33 proves that sometimes the best theatre can be found in the smallest places. Magnificently designed, soulfully acted, and just superbly put together, Constellations, a story of love and perseverance, asks us to consider the choices we make, or don’t make, and what impact each have on our lives, and how with an infinite number of outcomes that our lives and relationships could have, that the path and time on which we find ourselves is precisely the one we need to be on.

The Centerstage Theatre production of Miss Holmes is the tale of two shows. On the one hand, it’s a well performed Sherlock Holmes origin story, with an undercurrent of female empowerment, told by a superb cast that handles their roles with pace and suspense, presenting the right amount of twists and turns that keep the audience engaged and guessing right up until the end. On the other hand, the play is the victim of a choppy script that stops that flow right in its tracks by requiring too many scene and set changes, and causes Miss Holmes to run long and feel longer. When looking at whether Miss Holmes is something worth seeing despite the length of it, though, I’ll stand by my opinion that yes, getting through those gaps in momentum is well worth what is waiting in between them.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I came into Harlequin Production’s Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson: Apt 2B, having seen other Holmes mysteries with female versions of the lead characters, but this is something different, something more, and something very unique. The play is a smartly written, irreverent, murder mystery, quickly paced, and extremely funny, presented by a cast of four actors who know how not just to make an audience laugh, but to deliver a mystery that twists and turns its way through a serpentine of obstacles that keep the group, and the audience, guessing until the very end, resulting in what can only be described as the most fun theatre has to offer.

Lewis and Tolkien, a play about an imaginary meeting between two of the great fantasy authors and good friends, after a long separation, is one of friendship, reconciliation, and hope. It’s a wonderfully crafted piece from playwright Dean Batali and presented marvelously by a cast led by two leads who embody the scribes expertly. And while the production design seems simple enough, there is a level of detail in all of its aspects, especially in the actors’ presentations that show the amount of attention Director Karen Lund and her team has put into making each audience member feel like they are in the same room with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, making this a truly captivating play.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is known for a few things, notably it’s account of a neurodivergent teenager living with his single father and learning how to break out of his shell, building his confidence to realize that, contrary to what he’s come to believe, he can do or be anything. The play is also known for its unique, avant garde storytelling, which includes a creative scenic design and the use of lights, sound, and projections to present this play within a play. Tacoma Little Theatre, always up for presenting shows in unique ways, has taken what is good about The Curious Incident, and made it even better, with a design that takes full advantage of the tools at TLT’s disposal, and a cast that understands the emotional energy that the show requires, and has the talent to deliver it. The result of this combination is first-rate version of The Curious Incident, with an emotional tide that ebbs and flows, but leaves the audience feeling that, at the end of the day, it could really be true that anything is possible. And these days, that’s a good thing to hear.

It’s rare that a theatre can put up a show and successfully present it as the formula for producing in a particular genre, but that’s exactly what Director Adam Immerwahr and Village Theatre have done with their version of the Hitchcock classic Dial “M” for Murder. It’s a textbook suspenseful thriller, with all of the ingredients, from a strong story with it’s fair share of twists and turns, quick pacing, and enough tension to keep its audiences sitting on the edge of their seats and guessing until the very end. Adam’s talented creative team supports an exceptional cast in the telling of this whodunit that needs to be on everyone’s theatre calendar this season.

Macbeth, the dark and sometimes gruesome tragedy from Shakespeare, is a play that has the potential to be larger than life. The Saltfire Theatre production of this classic is a good one, and with a scenic design that captures the intended tone and mood of the piece, and a cast that is strong, energetic, and emotional, it is limited only by the space in which it’s being presented . I’d love to see this group present this play in a more traditional space, where they’d have the elbow room to spread out a bit and create more flow, but given the alternative, it would be a shame to think that there would be anything preventing anyone from seeing this version of Macbeth.

A View From the Bridge is a hard hitting emotional drama filled with tension and turmoil, a story that seems strangely applicable to our current political and social climate. The play tackles a lot of issues that we all can do well to contemplate, and thanks to spectacular performances from Morgan Peeler and Adam Nyhoff, audiences will leave with plenty to think about, and plenty to enjoy along the way. It’s not an easy play to watch, but some of the best art is at times difficult and challenging, and this production from Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts is indeed some of the best art currently on stage in the area.

Curtain Up! is the story of five women with distinctly different personalities thrown together in an unlikely situation, one forcing them to work together in order to save a theatre recently willed to them in equal shares. It’s funny and farcical, but it’s also emotional and heartfelt, running the emotional gamut from anger and sadness to love and forgiveness, with the humor and heart perfectly balanced. Directed by Trina Williamson and with a cast led by Sarah Conte-Bacolini in a breakout performance, Curtain Up! is easily Jewel Box’s best show of the season.

Where is Here?, the co-production from Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble and Seattle Public Theatre, feels like the right story for our country’s current political climate. Playwright Naghmeh Samini presents the immigrant experience in an empathetic way, one that provides insight into the challenges immigrants face in finding their identity, living between two worlds, second-guessing what they left behind and uncertain of the road ahead. With a short run time, and an option between seeing the show in English or Persian (or both!), Where is Here? is a play that will make you consider the immigrant issue in a wholly human way, a perspective we all need right about now.

The work of Rajiv Joseph has started to make its way on to Seattle stages more and more recently, and we as theatre patrons are better off for it. The latest of his work to hit area theaters, and one with an amazing name if I do say so, Gruesome Playground Injuries, is being presented by SecondStory Rep and is a play about human connection and relationships, about lost opportunity and the hope for reconciliation. It’s a truly human story, a dark comedy about two people, performed by two talented actors in very good performances, that asks us to look at our own lives, to see if what we have is what we need, and demands that we don’t take anything for granted, especially those that we love and care about.

Don’t Limit Women, the January offering from Drunken Owl Theatre, is a special combination of music, poetry, and theatre, threaded together with the common themes of experience, enablement, and empowerment, created by and performed by some of Seattle’s most talented creative artists. The formula is unique among theatre companies in the area, the Jules Maes Saloon is the perfect venue for this type of production, and if this is what Drunken Owl Theatre brings to its monthly revues, it’s something every theatre lover in Seattle needs to see at least once.

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a fun and nostalgic musical that is entertaining for the whole family. Ovation Performing Arts NW’s winter musical is full of catchy songs performed wonderfully by a cast of adults and kids along with vignettes and scenes that are sure to take anyone back to the days of the Peanuts TV specials and Charles Schultz’ daily comic strips. Ovation’s first show in its new home at the Buxton Center at Bainbridge Performing Arts is a good one and is a lighthearted and good way to start off the second half of the 2024-25 theatre season.

When a play has been around as long as A Midsummer Night’s Dream has, the number of adaptations that have been made of it are bound to be as varied as they are numerous. Few adaptations hit all of their marks the way that The Original Theatre Black Dog production of A Midwinter Night’s Dream does. Led by Holly Madland in her directorial debut, and performed by a youthful, energetic, and masterful cast, this wintery holiday version of Shakespeare’s classic tale just happens to be the most enchanting and entertaining adaptation that I’ve seen, proving that once again, the best theatre isn’t always in the largest houses, sometimes it exists just beyond them, or even right there, hidden in the large shadows that they cast just waiting to be discovered.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians isn’t the kind of holiday show that will rekindle your Christmas spirit, or make you rediscover your sense of hope, community, love, and forgiveness. There are plenty of other shows out there for that. What Santa Claus Conquers the Martians will do is make you laugh, laugh hard, and laugh a lot. It’s a cheesy, campy, irreverent, science fiction comedy that is like watching a B-movie on stage with all of its flaws and is presented by a cast that has such a quality about them as to not take the play nor themselves seriously at all, and to deliver a production that can only be described as perfectly imperfect.

The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, this year’s holiday production at SecondStory Rep, the companion piece to their offering last year, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, and Lauren Gunderson’s sequel work to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, is a look at the other side of the social hierarchy in which the Darcys, Wickhams, and Bennets reside, the lower level of the estate and the servants quarters. Combining some familiar characters along with some new ones, the story is complementary to “Miss Bennet” and has all of the humor and heart of that story as well as that of Austen’s original work. With a director and three cast members returning, it feels like SecondStory hasn’t lost a step from “Miss Bennet”, and “The Wickhams” is just continuing the wonderful story that was last year’s production. “The Wickhams” is a wonderful holiday escape, to a different time, but a time when people faced the same challenges we still do today, socioeconomic conflicts and relationship challenges, and find support in the same places, in family, love, forgiveness, and hope. With an exquisite design and a cast that is both so talented and fun to watch, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley is full of all of the things that make the holidays feel magical.