Stage

Can Can’s This Is Halloween One of the most beloved holiday films, The Nightmare Before Christmas, is the inspiration behind Can Can’s This Is Halloween. Live music from Balkan-inspired brass-and-drum band Orkestar Zirkonium, cabaret, burlesque, and video-projected sets will bring the Tim Burton-produced story of Jack Skellington and crew to life. 

7 p.m. Oct. 29-30, 7:30 & 10:30 p.m. Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The Triple Door, 216 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $20-$40 Saturday, November 1 – Monday, November 3, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Monday, November 3, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Monday, November 3, 2014

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Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Monday, November 3, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Monday, November 3, 2014

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In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Monday, November 3, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Monday, November 3, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Monday, November 3, 2014

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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Monday, November 3, 2014

Or, the Whale A call-center employee shares Moby-Dick over the phone in this extrapolation of Melville. Opens Oct. 23. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3. Ends Nov. 15. Stage One Theater, North Seattle College, 9600 College Way N. $16 Monday, November 3, 2014, 8pm

Pagliacci Comedy Night Local and national comics, every first Monday. Beer and wine will be available with ID. 8 p.m., first Monday of every month. Pagliacci Pizza, 426 Broadway Ave. E., Seattle, WA 98102 Free Monday, November 3, 2014, 8pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. See comedywomb.com for complete schedule. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Tuesday, November 4, 2014

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Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Tuesday, November 4, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Tuesday, November 4, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Tuesday, November 4, 2014

The Lives of the Great Russian Composers Celebrating the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, and Shakespeare in music and prose. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $10-$15 Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 7pm

The Tiger Lillies Music and black humor combine to make “anarchic Brechtian street opera.” 7:30 p.m. Tues., Nov. 4-Wed., Nov. 5. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $32-$42 Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 7:30pm

Horse Girls Did you go through a horse phase growing up? The ladies in Jenny Rachel Weiner’s play did. Opens Oct. 28. 8 p.m. Tues.-Wed. Ends Nov. 19. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$10 Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 8pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. See comedywomb.com for complete schedule. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Wednesday, November 5, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Wednesday, November 5, 2014

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In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Wednesday, November 5, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The Tiger Lillies Music and black humor combine to make “anarchic Brechtian street opera.” 7:30 p.m. Tues., Nov. 4-Wed., Nov. 5. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $32-$42 Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 7:30pm

Horse Girls Did you go through a horse phase growing up? The ladies in Jenny Rachel Weiner’s play did. Opens Oct. 28. 8 p.m. Tues.-Wed. Ends Nov. 19. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$10 Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 8pm

Duo Comedy Showcase Unexpected Productions presents comedians two at a time, 8:30 p.m. Wed. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $5 Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 8:30pm

5 By Beckett Act Without Words I and II, Rough for Theatre I and II, and Catastrophe, presented by Sound Theatre Company as part of the Seattle Beckett Festival. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 9. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $15-$25 Thursday, November 6, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Thursday, November 6, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Thursday, November 6, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Thursday, November 6, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Thursday, November 6, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Thursday, November 6, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Thursday, November 6, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Thursday, November 6, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Thursday, November 6, 2014

The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi Friendship and cooperation are the messages in this adaptation of a classic Kipling tale. Runs Thurs.-Sun.; see sct.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 9. Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Center $15-$36 Thursday, November 6, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Thursday, November 6, 2014

Hamlet Mary Ewald plays the Danish prince in New City’s intimate production. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Nov. 8. New City Theater, 1404 18th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $15-$20 Thursday, November 6, 2014, 7:30pm

Blood Countess Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s play about Elizabeth Bathory and her unorthodox beauty regimen. Opens Oct. 24. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 22. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$20 Thursday, November 6, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Thursday, November 6, 2014, 8pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Thursday, November 6, 2014, 8pm

Or, the Whale A call-center employee shares Moby-Dick over the phone in this extrapolation of Melville. Opens Oct. 23. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3. Ends Nov. 15. Stage One Theater, North Seattle College, 9600 College Way N. $16 Thursday, November 6, 2014, 8pm

5 By Beckett Act Without Words I and II, Rough for Theatre I and II, and Catastrophe, presented by Sound Theatre Company as part of the Seattle Beckett Festival. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 9. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $15-$25 Friday, November 7, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Friday, November 7, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Friday, November 7, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Friday, November 7, 2014

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Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Friday, November 7, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Friday, November 7, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Friday, November 7, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Friday, November 7, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Friday, November 7, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Friday, November 7, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, November 7, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Friday, November 7, 2014

The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi Friendship and cooperation are the messages in this adaptation of a classic Kipling tale. Runs Thurs.-Sun.; see sct.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 9. Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Center $15-$36 Friday, November 7, 2014

Three Sisters To accompany Christopher Durang’s comic take on Chekhov now running at ACT, here’s the original. Opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus 2 p.m. Nov. 2 & 8. Ends Nov. 8. Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $5-$17 Friday, November 7, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Friday, November 7, 2014

PROK Open Mike Sign up for this generally zany and enjoyable evening, when professionals are also known to drop by.  The People’s Republic Kafe, 1718 12th Ave., Seattle Free Friday, November 7, 2014, 7pm

Hamlet Mary Ewald plays the Danish prince in New City’s intimate production. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Nov. 8. New City Theater, 1404 18th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $15-$20 Friday, November 7, 2014, 7:30pm

Supraliminal Seattle Immersive Theatre’s interactive tale about the paranormal, both set in and staged at the Georgetown Steam Plant. Meet at South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W., and you’ll be bused there. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. EXTENDED through Nov. 15. South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. $50 Friday, November 7, 2014, 7:30pm

Blood Countess Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s play about Elizabeth Bathory and her unorthodox beauty regimen. Opens Oct. 24. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 22. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$20 Friday, November 7, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Friday, November 7, 2014, 8pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Friday, November 7, 2014, 8pm

Or, the Whale A call-center employee shares Moby-Dick over the phone in this extrapolation of Melville. Opens Oct. 23. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3. Ends Nov. 15. Stage One Theater, North Seattle College, 9600 College Way N. $16 Friday, November 7, 2014, 8pm

Afterlife An improv look at The Big Question. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 22. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Friday, November 7, 2014, 8:30pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Friday, November 7, 2014, 10:30pm

Spin the Bottle Annex Theatre’s late-night variety show. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$10 Friday, November 7, 2014, 11pm

5 By Beckett Act Without Words I and II, Rough for Theatre I and II, and Catastrophe, presented by Sound Theatre Company as part of the Seattle Beckett Festival. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 9. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $15-$25 Saturday, November 8, 2014

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Judith Viorst herself wrote the book and lyrics for this musical adaptation of her popular kids’ book. Opens Nov. 1. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Nov. 23. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $10 Saturday, November 8, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Saturday, November 8, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Saturday, November 8, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Saturday, November 8, 2014

• 

Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Saturday, November 8, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Saturday, November 8, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Saturday, November 8, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Saturday, November 8, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Saturday, November 8, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Saturday, November 8, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Saturday, November 8, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Saturday, November 8, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Saturday, November 8, 2014

The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi Friendship and cooperation are the messages in this adaptation of a classic Kipling tale. Runs Thurs.-Sun.; see sct.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 9. Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Center $15-$36 Saturday, November 8, 2014

Three Sisters To accompany Christopher Durang’s comic take on Chekhov now running at ACT, here’s the original. Opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus 2 p.m. Nov. 2 & 8. Ends Nov. 8. Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Seattle Center $5-$17 Saturday, November 8, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Saturday, November 8, 2014

Split Second Improv Second Story’s improv competition. Two shows each Sat.: 7 p.m. for families, 8 p.m. could get naughtier. Ends Dec. 13. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $20 Saturday, November 8, 2014, 7pm

Hamlet Mary Ewald plays the Danish prince in New City’s intimate production. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Nov. 8. New City Theater, 1404 18th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $15-$20 Saturday, November 8, 2014, 7:30pm

Supraliminal Seattle Immersive Theatre’s interactive tale about the paranormal, both set in and staged at the Georgetown Steam Plant. Meet at South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W., and you’ll be bused there. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. EXTENDED through Nov. 15. South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. $50 Saturday, November 8, 2014, 7:30pm

Blood Countess Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s play about Elizabeth Bathory and her unorthodox beauty regimen. Opens Oct. 24. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 22. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$20 Saturday, November 8, 2014, 8pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Saturday, November 8, 2014, 8pm

Or, the Whale A call-center employee shares Moby-Dick over the phone in this extrapolation of Melville. Opens Oct. 23. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3. Ends Nov. 15. Stage One Theater, North Seattle College, 9600 College Way N. $16 Saturday, November 8, 2014, 8pm

Split Second Improv Second Story’s improv competition. Two shows each Sat.: 7 p.m. for families, 8 p.m. could get naughtier. Ends Dec. 13. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $20 Saturday, November 8, 2014, 8pm

Afterlife An improv look at The Big Question. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 22. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Saturday, November 8, 2014, 8:30pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Saturday, November 8, 2014, 10:30pm

5 By Beckett Act Without Words I and II, Rough for Theatre I and II, and Catastrophe, presented by Sound Theatre Company as part of the Seattle Beckett Festival. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 9. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $15-$25 Sunday, November 9, 2014

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Judith Viorst herself wrote the book and lyrics for this musical adaptation of her popular kids’ book. Opens Nov. 1. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Nov. 23. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $10 Sunday, November 9, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Sunday, November 9, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Sunday, November 9, 2014

• 

Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Sunday, November 9, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Sunday, November 9, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Sunday, November 9, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Sunday, November 9, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Sunday, November 9, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Sunday, November 9, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Sunday, November 9, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Sunday, November 9, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Sunday, November 9, 2014

The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi Friendship and cooperation are the messages in this adaptation of a classic Kipling tale. Runs Thurs.-Sun.; see sct.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 9. Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Center $15-$36 Sunday, November 9, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Sunday, November 9, 2014

Mama Mia! This 30-minute ABBA sendup is part of the “Mimosas With Mama” drag brunch. Narwhal, 1118 E. Pike St., Seattle $15-$20 Sunday, November 9, 2014, 1pm

Disaster Movie An improv take on one of Hollywood’s most spoofable genres. Opens Oct. 19. 8:30 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 23. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $7 Sunday, November 9, 2014, 8:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Monday, November 10, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Monday, November 10, 2014

• 

Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Monday, November 10, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Monday, November 10, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Monday, November 10, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Monday, November 10, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Monday, November 10, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Monday, November 10, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Monday, November 10, 2014

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Monday, November 10, 2014, 8pm

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Monday, November 10, 2014, 8pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. See comedywomb.com for complete schedule. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Tuesday, November 11, 2014

• 

Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Tuesday, November 11, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Tuesday, November 11, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Tuesday, November 11, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Horse Girls Did you go through a horse phase growing up? The ladies in Jenny Rachel Weiner’s play did. Opens Oct. 28. 8 p.m. Tues.-Wed. Ends Nov. 19. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$10 Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 8pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. See comedywomb.com for complete schedule. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Wednesday, November 12, 2014

• 

Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Wednesday, November 12, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Wednesday, November 12, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Wednesday, November 12, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Horse Girls Did you go through a horse phase growing up? The ladies in Jenny Rachel Weiner’s play did. Opens Oct. 28. 8 p.m. Tues.-Wed. Ends Nov. 19. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$10 Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 8pm

Duo Comedy Showcase Unexpected Productions presents comedians two at a time, 8:30 p.m. Wed. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $5 Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 8:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Thursday, November 13, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Thursday, November 13, 2014

• 

Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Thursday, November 13, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Thursday, November 13, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Thursday, November 13, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Thursday, November 13, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Thursday, November 13, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Thursday, November 13, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Thursday, November 13, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Thursday, November 13, 2014

Hamlet Mary Ewald plays the Danish prince in New City’s intimate production. Pay-what-you can preview Oct. 15, opens Oct. 16. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Nov. 8. New City Theater, 1404 18th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $15-$20 Thursday, November 13, 2014, 7:30pm

Blood Countess Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s play about Elizabeth Bathory and her unorthodox beauty regimen. Opens Oct. 24. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 22. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$20 Thursday, November 13, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Thursday, November 13, 2014, 8pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Thursday, November 13, 2014, 8pm

Or, the Whale A call-center employee shares Moby-Dick over the phone in this extrapolation of Melville. Opens Oct. 23. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3. Ends Nov. 15. Stage One Theater, North Seattle College, 9600 College Way N. $16 Thursday, November 13, 2014, 8pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Friday, November 14, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Friday, November 14, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Friday, November 14, 2014

• 

Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Friday, November 14, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Friday, November 14, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Friday, November 14, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Friday, November 14, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Friday, November 14, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Friday, November 14, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, November 14, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Friday, November 14, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Friday, November 14, 2014

PROK Open Mike Sign up for this generally zany and enjoyable evening, when professionals are also known to drop by.  The People’s Republic Kafe, 1718 12th Ave., Seattle Free Friday, November 14, 2014, 7pm

Hamlet Mary Ewald plays the Danish prince in New City’s intimate production. Pay-what-you can preview Oct. 15, opens Oct. 16. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Nov. 8. New City Theater, 1404 18th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $15-$20 Friday, November 14, 2014, 7:30pm

Seattle International Comedy Competition The touring competition, which visits 17 venues around Puget Sound, stops in Auburn. Auburn Avenue Theater, 10 Auburn Ave. Auburn, WA 98002 $18-$20 Friday, November 14, 2014, 7:30 – 9:30pm

Supraliminal Seattle Immersive Theatre’s interactive tale about the paranormal, both set in and staged at the Georgetown Steam Plant. Meet at South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W., and you’ll be bused there. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. EXTENDED through Nov. 15. South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. $50 Friday, November 14, 2014, 7:30pm

Blood Countess Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s play about Elizabeth Bathory and her unorthodox beauty regimen. Opens Oct. 24. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 22. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$20 Friday, November 14, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Friday, November 14, 2014, 8pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Friday, November 14, 2014, 8pm

Or, the Whale A call-center employee shares Moby-Dick over the phone in this extrapolation of Melville. Opens Oct. 23. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3. Ends Nov. 15. Stage One Theater, North Seattle College, 9600 College Way N. $16 Friday, November 14, 2014, 8pm

Afterlife An improv look at The Big Question. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 22. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Friday, November 14, 2014, 8:30pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Friday, November 14, 2014, 10:30pm

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Judith Viorst herself wrote the book and lyrics for this musical adaptation of her popular kids’ book. Opens Nov. 1. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Nov. 23. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $10 Saturday, November 15, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Saturday, November 15, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Saturday, November 15, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Saturday, November 15, 2014

• 

Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Saturday, November 15, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Saturday, November 15, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Saturday, November 15, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Saturday, November 15, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Saturday, November 15, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Saturday, November 15, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Saturday, November 15, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Saturday, November 15, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Saturday, November 15, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Saturday, November 15, 2014

Split Second Improv Second Story’s improv competition. Two shows each Sat.: 7 p.m. for families, 8 p.m. could get naughtier. Ends Dec. 13. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $20 Saturday, November 15, 2014, 7pm

Hamlet Mary Ewald plays the Danish prince in New City’s intimate production. Pay-what-you can preview Oct. 15, opens Oct. 16. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Nov. 8. New City Theater, 1404 18th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $15-$20 Saturday, November 15, 2014, 7:30pm

Supraliminal Seattle Immersive Theatre’s interactive tale about the paranormal, both set in and staged at the Georgetown Steam Plant. Meet at South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W., and you’ll be bused there. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. EXTENDED through Nov. 15. South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. $50 Saturday, November 15, 2014, 7:30pm

Blood Countess Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s play about Elizabeth Bathory and her unorthodox beauty regimen. Opens Oct. 24. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 22. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$20 Saturday, November 15, 2014, 8pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Saturday, November 15, 2014, 8pm

Or, the Whale A call-center employee shares Moby-Dick over the phone in this extrapolation of Melville. Opens Oct. 23. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3. Ends Nov. 15. Stage One Theater, North Seattle College, 9600 College Way N. $16 Saturday, November 15, 2014, 8pm

Split Second Improv Second Story’s improv competition. Two shows each Sat.: 7 p.m. for families, 8 p.m. could get naughtier. Ends Dec. 13. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $20 Saturday, November 15, 2014, 8pm

Afterlife An improv look at The Big Question. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 22. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Saturday, November 15, 2014, 8:30pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Saturday, November 15, 2014, 10:30pm

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Judith Viorst herself wrote the book and lyrics for this musical adaptation of her popular kids’ book. Opens Nov. 1. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Nov. 23. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $10 Sunday, November 16, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Sunday, November 16, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Sunday, November 16, 2014

• 

Director’s Choice Pacific Northwest Ballet’s November production is usually designed as a contrast to the family-friendly sweetness of its Nutcracker, which comes right after, and this program fits that need. David Dawson’s neoclassical powerhouse A Million Kisses to My Skin, Nacho Duato’s Haitian-inspired Rassemblement, and a new-to-us duet by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa join a world premiere by rising star Justin Peck, recently named the resident choreographer at New York City Ballet. There’s not a sugarplum among them. (See pnb.org for schedule; ends Nov. 16.) SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $28 and up Sunday, November 16, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Sunday, November 16, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Sunday, November 16, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Sunday, November 16, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Sunday, November 16, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Sunday, November 16, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Sunday, November 16, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Sunday, November 16, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Sunday, November 16, 2014

• 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Chekhov and comedy don’t really go together. You’ll find a thread of wry, sometimes rueful humor in his plays, but nothing aimed for belly laughs on the order of this 2012 farce by Christopher Durang. He essentially takes a Chekhovian situation-a pair of thwarted siblings still living in their dead parents’ house-and gooses it. Vanya (R. Hamilton Wright) and Sonia (Marianne Owen) are the shut-ins whose routine is disrupted by the arriaval of sister Masha (Pamela Reed), an egotistical actress. Her trade allows Durang to send up both Chekhov and Hollywood. And to explain the names: The siblings’ parents were theater nerds; but Spike (William Poole), boyfriend to Masha, is the outlier. Durang laces the comedy with many lifts and themes from Chekhov (there are cherry trees, if not quite an orchard), and he playfully considers the Russian playwright’s relevance to modern-day neurotics like these. Says one, “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.” BRIAN MILLER ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $55 and up Sunday, November 16, 2014

Mama Mia! This 30-minute ABBA sendup is part of the “Mimosas With Mama” drag brunch. Narwhal, 1118 E. Pike St., Seattle $15-$20 Sunday, November 16, 2014, 1pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Sunday, November 16, 2014, 2pm

Disaster Movie An improv take on one of Hollywood’s most spoofable genres. Opens Oct. 19. 8:30 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 23. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $7 Sunday, November 16, 2014, 8:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Monday, November 17, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Monday, November 17, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Monday, November 17, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Monday, November 17, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Monday, November 17, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Monday, November 17, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Monday, November 17, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. See comedywomb.com for complete schedule. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Tuesday, November 18, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Tuesday, November 18, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Horse Girls Did you go through a horse phase growing up? The ladies in Jenny Rachel Weiner’s play did. Opens Oct. 28. 8 p.m. Tues.-Wed. Ends Nov. 19. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$10 Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 8pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. See comedywomb.com for complete schedule. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Wednesday, November 19, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Wednesday, November 19, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Family Affair Jennifer Jasper’s “sick, hilarious, and ultimately relatable” monthly cabaret on the theme of family. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $10 Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 7:30pm

Horse Girls Did you go through a horse phase growing up? The ladies in Jenny Rachel Weiner’s play did. Opens Oct. 28. 8 p.m. Tues.-Wed. Ends Nov. 19. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$10 Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 8pm

Duo Comedy Showcase Unexpected Productions presents comedians two at a time, 8:30 p.m. Wed. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $5 Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 8:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Thursday, November 20, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Thursday, November 20, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Thursday, November 20, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Thursday, November 20, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Thursday, November 20, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Thursday, November 20, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Thursday, November 20, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Thursday, November 20, 2014

Blood Countess Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s play about Elizabeth Bathory and her unorthodox beauty regimen. Opens Oct. 24. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 22. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$20 Thursday, November 20, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Thursday, November 20, 2014, 8pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Thursday, November 20, 2014, 8pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Friday, November 21, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Friday, November 21, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Friday, November 21, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Friday, November 21, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Friday, November 21, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Friday, November 21, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Friday, November 21, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Friday, November 21, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, November 21, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Friday, November 21, 2014

PROK Open Mike Sign up for this generally zany and enjoyable evening, when professionals are also known to drop by.  The People’s Republic Kafe, 1718 12th Ave., Seattle Free Friday, November 21, 2014, 7pm

Blood Countess Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s play about Elizabeth Bathory and her unorthodox beauty regimen. Opens Oct. 24. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 22. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$20 Friday, November 21, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Friday, November 21, 2014, 8pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Friday, November 21, 2014, 8pm

Afterlife An improv look at The Big Question. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 22. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Friday, November 21, 2014, 8:30pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Friday, November 21, 2014, 10:30pm

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Judith Viorst herself wrote the book and lyrics for this musical adaptation of her popular kids’ book. Opens Nov. 1. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Nov. 23. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $10 Saturday, November 22, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Saturday, November 22, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Saturday, November 22, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Saturday, November 22, 2014

• 

Dogfight Where were you in ‘91? Nancy Savoca was then a rising indie filmmaker who gathered two bright young stars, River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, for a sad, lovely period drama filmed right here in Seattle. Dogfight follows a pack of young Marines bound for the Vietnam War in 1963, when Rose and Eddie become a couple-if only for one tender night-because of a cruel bet made among Eddie and his pals. (Essentially: Find the ugliest girl you can, a dog, for a fake date bound to end in humiliation.) Now this is not the most likely Hollywood property for a stage show, yet Peter Duchan and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a musical adaptation that debuted off-Broadway two years ago. The show received decent reviews (an “intimate, carefully tended new musical,” quoth The New York Times), and it’s here making its Northwest premiere despite the sudden collapse of Balagan Theatre, which was originally set to co-produce the show. Local audiences will remember the Pasek/Paul team from their A Christmas Story, The Musical at the 5th Avenue four years back. What they’ve done, cleverly, to evoke the late-JFK era is to have Eddie and the boys harmonize like the Four Seasons, while the more progressive-minded Rose is already looking ahead to Dylan and Joan Baez. The show’s nominally set in San Francisco, and she’s a flower child in the making. Kody Bringman and Devon Busswood star as the central couple, leading a local cast directed by Mathew Wright. (See artswest.org for schedule.) BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $5-$37 Saturday, November 22, 2014

Endgame/NDGM Beckett’s theater-of-the-absurd classic is paired with Blood Ensemble’s reimagining of Beckett’s themes. Opens Oct. 31. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 3 & Thurs., Nov. 13 & 20; also 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 9. Ends Nov. 22. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $18-$20 Saturday, November 22, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Saturday, November 22, 2014

• 

In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Saturday, November 22, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Saturday, November 22, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Saturday, November 22, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Saturday, November 22, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Saturday, November 22, 2014

• 

Shaprece CD REVIEW: Shaprece, Molting EP (out now, self-released via Noisetrade, shaprece.com) One listen to this album makes it clear that Shaprece is one of the most innovative artists in Seattle. Negotiating the boundaries between trip hop and chamber pop, each of its six tracks (five new songs, one remix by Blue Sky Black Death) is a world unto itself, with atmospheric electronics, orchestral strings, deep bass, and layers of vocals. Amid it all, Shaprece’s voice-restrained and intimate, with a quiet power-weaves a tale of unrequited love and loss. “Her Song” stands out for its straightforward storytelling, lush orchestration, and beautifully harmonized chorus: “Stop sabotaging her song for you/Why won’t you let it play?/Such a beautiful melody interrupted by the rain.” MFB McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 Varies, see ticket link Saturday, November 22, 2014, 9am

Split Second Improv Second Story’s improv competition. Two shows each Sat.: 7 p.m. for families, 8 p.m. could get naughtier. Ends Dec. 13. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $20 Saturday, November 22, 2014, 7pm

Blood Countess Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s play about Elizabeth Bathory and her unorthodox beauty regimen. Opens Oct. 24. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. plus Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 22. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$20 Saturday, November 22, 2014, 8pm

Fast Company “Meet the Kwans: a Chinese-American family of expert con artists” in Carla Ching’s comic crime caper. Opens Nov. 1. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10 and 2 p.m. Sun., Nov. 16. Ends Nov. 22. Theatre Off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave. S. $12-$18 Saturday, November 22, 2014, 8pm

Split Second Improv Second Story’s improv competition. Two shows each Sat.: 7 p.m. for families, 8 p.m. could get naughtier. Ends Dec. 13. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $20 Saturday, November 22, 2014, 8pm

Afterlife An improv look at The Big Question. 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 22. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $12-$15 Saturday, November 22, 2014, 8:30pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Saturday, November 22, 2014, 10:30pm

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Judith Viorst herself wrote the book and lyrics for this musical adaptation of her popular kids’ book. Opens Nov. 1. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Nov. 23. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $10 Sunday, November 23, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Sunday, November 23, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Sunday, November 23, 2014

I Never Betrayed the Revolution Christopher Danowski’s play sends up Soviet history. Preview Oct. 30, opens Oct. 31. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Mon., Nov. 10. Ends Nov. 23. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$20 Sunday, November 23, 2014

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In the Heights See Village Theatre’s percolating production of In the Heights and be baffled anew at why this show hasn’t earned the fanatical popularity of Wicked or inspired the critical orgasms of The Book of Mormon. Sixty years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) would have inked a Hollywood deal during intermission of opening night, so solid and surefire is their 2008 story of the changes that beset residents of Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood during two sultry summer days. The show’s challenges are not only emotional-from one scene to the next, it’s a roller-coaster from humor to anger to tragedy to salsa-driven joy-but technical too. In particular, the opening and closing numbers of Act 1 mix dialogue sung, spoken, and rapped in intricate succession with dance and, in the finale, a blacked-out stage. Nobody missed a beat of either kind, even though the show’s packed with incident and necessarily fast-paced. But everything lands; everything works; every song, scene, and bit gets its most impactful tempo and weight as guided by director Eric Ankrim. See villagetheatre.org for schedule. Ends Nov. 23. GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave, Everett $35-$67 Sunday, November 23, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Sunday, November 23, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Sunday, November 23, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Sunday, November 23, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Sunday, November 23, 2014

Mama Mia! This 30-minute ABBA sendup is part of the “Mimosas With Mama” drag brunch. Narwhal, 1118 E. Pike St., Seattle $15-$20 Sunday, November 23, 2014, 1pm

Disaster Movie An improv take on one of Hollywood’s most spoofable genres. Opens Oct. 19. 8:30 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 23. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $7 Sunday, November 23, 2014, 8:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Monday, November 24, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Monday, November 24, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Monday, November 24, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Monday, November 24, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. See comedywomb.com for complete schedule. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Comedy Womb This “female-focused but not female-exclusive” show includes a headliner and an open-mike segment, in the Grotto underneath the Rendezvous. See comedywomb.com for complete schedule. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Jay Hollingsworth’s True Story Hollingsworth asks visiting and local comics to actually explain the stories behind their supposedly true stories. 7:30 p.m., last Wednesday of every month.  The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue see website Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 7:30pm

Duo Comedy Showcase Unexpected Productions presents comedians two at a time, 8:30 p.m. Wed. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $5 Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 8:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Thursday, November 27, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Thursday, November 27, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Thursday, November 27, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Thursday, November 27, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Thursday, November 27, 2014

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Friday, November 28, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Friday, November 28, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Friday, November 28, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Friday, November 28, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, November 28, 2014

Teatro ZinZanni: Beaumount & Caswell in Hacienda Holiday TZ favorites Christine Deaver and Kevin Kent return for a slapstick holiday adventure. Runs Thurs.-Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. [See Gavin Borchert’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954952-129/opening-nights-hacienda-holiday” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Friday, November 28, 2014

PROK Open Mike Sign up for this generally zany and enjoyable evening, when professionals are also known to drop by.  The People’s Republic Kafe, 1718 12th Ave., Seattle Free Friday, November 28, 2014, 7pm

TheatreSports Unexpected Productions’ long-running (since 1983!) improv comedy show, pitting two teams against each other in front of a panel of judges. 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $15 Friday, November 28, 2014, 10:30pm

Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live music nearly every night; see thecancan.com for full details and ticket prices. Can Can, 94 Pike St. Downstairs from Matts & Chez Chea, Seattle see website Saturday, November 29, 2014

Comedy Underground See comedyunderground.com for complete schedule, including their “Monday Madness” open-mike night, 8 p.m. Comedy Underground, 109 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104 $6 Saturday, November 29, 2014

ComedySportz Seattle Comedy Group moves their improv show to the former Empty Space. 8 & 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. Atlas Theater, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $14 Saturday, November 29, 2014

Laughs Stand-up and other comedy. See laughscomedy.com for complete schedule, including open-mike night, 8 p.m. Wed. Laughs Comedy Spot, 12099 124th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98034 $10-$20 Saturday, November 29, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Saturday, November 29, 2014

Pink Door Cabaret Trapeze performances (6:15-8:45 p.m.) by Bridget Gunning (Sun.) and Tanya Brno (Mon.). Saturdays, go “Behind the Pink Door” (11 p.m.,). See thepinkdoor.net for full details.   The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Seattle $20 cover Saturday, November 29, 2014