Living in a city for a while can get you jaded. I’ve been in Seattle for going on ten years now, so I’ve felt my share of frustrations–but then again, no place is perfect. However, lately I’ve been seeing Seattle with fresh eyes and really appreciating our little burg for what it is. The recent Frank Bruni piece made me realize just how lucky we have it when it comes to amazing locally produced food. The current heatwave over most of the country makes me thankful for a July with temps in the 60s and 70s instead of triple digits. And last weekend made me appreciate the diverse cultural experiences Seattle has to offer. (Block party, this does not mean you.)
STAGEright is a young theatre company, both in the sense that the troupe has only been around a couple years (since November 2009) and that most of the actors are fresh out of college. Working out of the Belltown Freehold Theatre space on a sparse window-filled set, they’re mounting an intimate production of Sarah Ruhl’s The Melancholy Play (through July 31). It’s an early work from the Pulitzer-winning playwright, as evident by some of the script’s broader strokes. Ostensibly, it’s the story of a young woman named Tilly who suffers from severe melancholy that somehow makes her look so lovely everyone she meets instantly falls in love with her: tailor Frank, hair stylist Frances, nurse Jane, and even her therapist Lorenzo—until she suddenly gets happy and everyone finds her insufferable. And while the acting at the beginning was a little shaky, the cast quickly found its stride without a dud in the bunch. Special props to Megan Tyrrell, playing Tilly, who is just as charming and lovable as the part requires, and Mike Jones, who in playing the role of suave indeterminately European Lorenzo, has very little room for error. It is refreshing and exhilarating to find a young company able to pull off the work of a playwright as complicatedly playful as Sarah Ruhl.
Meanwhile, it was just a light rail ride from downtown to a whole new world, i.e., Columbia City. And the more I go to Columbia City Theater, the more I appreciate everything about the venue, from the friendly folks who work there to the openness of the space, and of course, the wide range of acts that grace the stage. This night was no exception, with a lineup of Tony Kevin Jr., Kris Orlowski, and Youth Rescue Mission. (Pro tip: If you’re ever trying to figure out who’s in a band, it’s always the guys wearing hats.) Orlowski does the heartfelt singer-songwriter thing capably, and was also gracious enough to bring up members of Tony Kevin Jr. a few times to serve as backup and provide just a few more harmony vocals. Though Orlowski is relatively new to the scene, he had a big established pack of superfans, at the front of the crowd, singing their hearts out with Kris.
There was also a group of superfans who knew every lyric from Youth Rescue Mission, a high-energy versatile four-piece new to town, improbably hailing from Montana (in that I cannot think of a single other band from Montana) with a great debut (stream or buy at their Bandcamp page). They’re a flexible group, with members switching up instruments and each taking their turn providing lead vocals, and in that way–as well as in the range of song types and structures–they’re reminiscent of Broken Social Scene. And/or they’re The Head and the Heart if THatH actually, consistently, lived up to the hype. (ZING?) All Cameras On was also at the show, so let’s hope a whole bunch of mobile phone video footage gets uploaded and edited for our viewing pleasure real soon. For now, here’s a taste of Youth Rescue Mission playing “Thursday After” in their living room.
Never you fear; you too can have a similar night o’ Seattle culture of your very own. The Melancholy Play is at the Freehold till July 31. Another Sarah Ruhl work, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, opens at ACT on July 29. Kris Orlowski plays Bumbershoot this Labor Day weekend. Youth Rescue Mission plays the Triple Door’s Musiquarium on August 4–and they are also playing Doe Bay Fest. And heads up: another awesome new local act, Pickwick, plays Sound on the Sound’s fifth anniversary show at Columbia City Theater on August 5.
