Pat Graney’s “Tattoo,” part of the “Faith Triptych” this weekend at On the Boards. (Photo: Tim Summers)
The big, one-weekend-only event this weekend in the big restaging of Pat Graney‘s Faith Triptych at On the Boards (tickets $20). A work in three parts which took over a decade to complete, it’s a testament to an artist who’s not just a fixture of the local community, but part of its bedrock. An entire generation of dance artists came to Seattle for the opportunity to work with choreographers like Graney, including Lingo Dance’s director KT Niehoff, who will be appearing in Faith Triptych reprising a role she helped create. And unlike Mark Morris, another Seattle-based choreographer who came up in the Eighties before decamping for Europe and New York, Graney’s continued working primarily in Seattle to this day.
Anyway, I’m sad to be missing out on it because it should be a stunning (if, at nearly three hours, long) evening as Graney revisits three deeply imaginative works. And anyway, I want to see how a “Judy Jetson sound skirt” works. Brendan Kiley has a nice preview of the show.
In the world of theatre, tonight’s the official opening of our locally grown production of Martin McDonagh’s infamous The Lieutenant of Inishmore at ACT Theatre (tickets $10-$55). A caustic, ultra-violent 90-minute romp worthy of Tarantino, the play centers on a certain “Mad Padraic” (pronounced “Patrick”), a sadistic Irish terrorist too violent for the IRA, or, for that matter, the ultra-violent IRA splinter group he’s a member of. Long story short, about the only thing he cares about is his beloved pet cat, left in the care of his increasingly terrified father back home in Inishmore. Well, the play starts with the cat dead and goes downhill from there as Padraic pretty much goes ape-shit on a bunch of other people, most of whom are trying to kill him.
It’s quite funny in a dark, dark way (I personally love the monologue on the politics of murdering cats) and infamously gory and violent. Tales of the Broadway production, ranging from nearly absurd amounts of fake blood expended per night (I interviewed Wilson Milam, the original London and NYC director, who, true to form, neither confirmed nor denied a figure of 15 gallons), to having the police called on account of the massive amount of gunfire onstage. Plus, the Seattle production features the awesome Sean R. Griffin, MJ Sieber, Tim Hyland, and the lovely Elise Hunt as the nearly equally psychopathic Mairead. So, um, go fucking see it. If there’s one play this fall it would be a total shame to miss, this is it.
Also, there’s a cool sounding show up for one weekend only, put on by the Eclectic Theatre Company in the Odd Duck Studio on Capitol Hill. ECT is a company I always mean to pay more attention to, but, well, we have limited resources. However, artistic director Rik Deskin has done a good job pushing not only standard theatre but a robust line-up of both comedy shows and solo performance. This weekend, ECT reprises David Natale’s Westerbork Serenade, with a one-weekend engagement before Natale’s off on tour with the piece in Europe. So if you’ve never been, give ECT a shot this weekend; tickets are $10-$50, but you could probably still sneak in for free tonight, for the Free Night of Theatre showing. Still, theatre’s not so profitable so I’d encourage you to proffer something to help Mr. Natale cover his tour costs.
Otherwise, there’s a bunch of stuff still playing. I mentioned Wilson Milam, but rather than spending money on the nearly universally panned God of Carnage he directed at the Rep (it’s not his fault–no one can save a Reza play), you can check out Tommy Smith’s sexy, soaking Sextet at the Ensemble (tickets $10-$25), about which there’s been a little tempest in a Seattle theatre-world teacup, but one thing everyone agrees on is that it’s an excellent production.
This also happens to be closing weekend of the Studio Series at Spectrum Dance Theater (tickets $16), which Michael has been gushing about over the past few weeks (here’s one, two, and three articles). The good people of Sapience Dance Collective present duets+ at the Erickson Theatre (tickets $15-$18), while the Cabiri, an aerial dance group, is putting on their annual Halloween-related show, Devil in the Deep Blue Sea, at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (tickets $6-$70) in West Seattle.
Otherwise, you’ve got a Whim W’him fundraiser which promises to be sexy as always (damn lithe and fit ballet people…), the continuing booze-y menu of Cafe Nordo’s Sauced, and no doubt some other stuff I’m forgetting. So check out SeattlePerforms.com, the area’s most complete set of listings, for more info. And voilà, I call that done!
2 things to note –
1) The script is absolutely hilarious. Yes, there’s blood, but the lead up is very funny.
2) The ACT staff has claimed that previous productions have used between 9 and 25 gallons of blood. Seems hard to believe, but there you have it
Yeah. Well, I asked Milam, and his sort of rambling response was that the amount of blood expended grew over time as the show moved from the RSC where it was seven or eight gallons a night, to London and then New York. Overall, I think it’s one of those theatre legends–God only knows how much they really used. But you’re absolutely right: the script is frickin’ hilarious. I don’t think the play’s as good as The Pillowman, but it’s good.
…nearly four hours. Including intermissions, I wasn’t out of Pat Graney Co. until somewhere around 11:30, and it started at 7:30 rather than OtB-standard 8pm. The sound skirts (and many other aspects) were fascinating as advertised, but it’s definitely a lot of dance!