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Stage Can Can Cabarets Seattle’s center for neo-burlesque presents shows and/or live

Published 11:12 pm Monday, September 29, 2014

Stage

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, September 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 Monday, September 29, 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Monday, September 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 Monday, September 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 Monday, September 29, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Monday, September 29, 2014

The Bunner Sisters The Athena Theatre Project’s inaugural show is this Edith Wharton adaptation. Preview Sept. 18, opens Sept. 19. 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus Mon., Sept. 29, 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5. Theater Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 $15-$22 Monday, September 29, 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, September 30, 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, September 30, 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, Tuesdays at 7 & 9 p.m. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $5 Tuesday, September 30, 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Tuesday, September 30, 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, September 30, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Burlesco DiVino: Wine in Rome It’s hard to imagine an over-the-top version of Federico Fellini, but burlesque artist Lily Verlaine has managed to channel La Dolce Vita in this fantastical combination of 1960s Italian indulgence and classic “sword and sandal” epic films. With her producing partner Jasper McCann, Verlaine’s work is an homage to vintage burlesque, a combination of irony and sweetness. SANDRA KURTZ 7:30 p.m. Wed., Oct. 1-Thurs., Oct. 2; 7 & 10:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 3-Sat., Oct. 4. (Early shows 17 and over, late shows 21 and over.) The Triple Door, 216 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $32-$47 Wednesday, October 1, 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, October 1, 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, October 1, 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, October 1, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Wednesday, October 1, 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Wednesday, October 1, 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, October 1, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Wednesday, October 1, 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The Mountaintop Katori Hall’s 2009 dramedy takes us down an imaginative rabbit hole behind the door of Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968, the last night of Martin Luther King’s days on Earth. Burton Yuen’s whimsical pink curtains and bedspreads suggest fairy tale as much as newsreel in a play that seeks to uncover the regular man behind the icon-the stinky feet, smoker’s breath, and roving eye of the dreamer. Reginald Andre Jackson brings a demeanor of intelligence, strength and road-weary fatigue to this MLK. The revelation of both this play and this production is Camae, the earthy chambermaid who brings “Preacher King” his room-service coffee and recommended daily requirement of smart-mouth. Brianna Hill’s magical performance carries the uninterrupted 90-minute piece when the script’s devices wear thin (like King’s insatiable lust for cigarettes, which she reliably provides from her brassiere-King’s excuse to keep her in the room). Director Valerie Curtis-Newton’s delicate touch lightens the inevitable telegraphing of a death foretold and neutralizes an irritating phone-call sequence that could ruin the play-it’s a writer’s device of Hall’s that Hill helps save. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) MARGARET FRIEDMAN (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954735-129/opening-nights-the-mountaintop” target=”_blank”>See Margaret’s full review.</a>) ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Wednesday, October 1, 2014

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, October 1, 2014, 8:30pm

Burlesco DiVino: Wine in Rome It’s hard to imagine an over-the-top version of Federico Fellini, but burlesque artist Lily Verlaine has managed to channel La Dolce Vita in this fantastical combination of 1960s Italian indulgence and classic “sword and sandal” epic films. With her producing partner Jasper McCann, Verlaine’s work is an homage to vintage burlesque, a combination of irony and sweetness. SANDRA KURTZ 7:30 p.m. Wed., Oct. 1-Thurs., Oct. 2; 7 & 10:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 3-Sat., Oct. 4. (Early shows 17 and over, late shows 21 and over.) The Triple Door, 216 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $32-$47 Thursday, October 2, 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, October 2, 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, October 2, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Thursday, October 2, 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Thursday, October 2, 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, October 2, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Thursday, October 2, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Thursday, October 2, 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Thursday, October 2, 2014

The Bunner Sisters The Athena Theatre Project’s inaugural show is this Edith Wharton adaptation. 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus Mon., Sept. 29, 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5. Theater Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 $15-$22 Thursday, October 2, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Thursday, October 2, 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, October 2, 2014

The Mountaintop Katori Hall’s 2009 dramedy takes us down an imaginative rabbit hole behind the door of Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968, the last night of Martin Luther King’s days on Earth. Burton Yuen’s whimsical pink curtains and bedspreads suggest fairy tale as much as newsreel in a play that seeks to uncover the regular man behind the icon-the stinky feet, smoker’s breath, and roving eye of the dreamer. Reginald Andre Jackson brings a demeanor of intelligence, strength and road-weary fatigue to this MLK. The revelation of both this play and this production is Camae, the earthy chambermaid who brings “Preacher King” his room-service coffee and recommended daily requirement of smart-mouth. Brianna Hill’s magical performance carries the uninterrupted 90-minute piece when the script’s devices wear thin (like King’s insatiable lust for cigarettes, which she reliably provides from her brassiere-King’s excuse to keep her in the room). Director Valerie Curtis-Newton’s delicate touch lightens the inevitable telegraphing of a death foretold and neutralizes an irritating phone-call sequence that could ruin the play-it’s a writer’s device of Hall’s that Hill helps save. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) MARGARET FRIEDMAN (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954735-129/opening-nights-the-mountaintop” target=”_blank”>See Margaret’s full review.</a>) ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Thursday, October 2, 2014

Campfire Improv scenes based on spooky ghost stories. Opens Oct. 2. 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Ends Oct. 30. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $10 Thursday, October 2, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. Opens Oct. 2. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Thursday, October 2, 2014, 8pm

Mary’s Wedding Staged by New Century Theatre Company, Stephen Massicotte’s 2002 love story is also an antiwar tale related partly as a dream sequence. Mary (Maya Sugarman), a transplant from England, meets farmer Charlie (Conner Neddersen) right before he departs overseas to fight for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in World War I. This cliched boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl setup then bends space and time via flashbacks and letters, blurring reality with contrived conversations. Yet, under the astute direction of John Langs, this exacting, thrifty production approaches the material as stealthily as a gold-medal curling team. Most notably, Brian Sidney Bembridge’s stunning scenic and lighting design prove theatrically versatile and visually exquisite. Despite the script’s flaws, Sugarman and Neddersen invoke empathy while infusing intensity in the material. Mary’s final monologue will touch anyone who’s lost someone they loved-whether in war or peace. That said, you can rent better tearjerkers, like Love Story or Terms of Endearment. Or, for a Canadian alternative, perhaps a particularly dramatic episode of Degrassi will be on the air. (8 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. plus Mon., Oct. 6. Ends Oct. 11.) ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954734-129/opening-nights-marys-wedding” target=”_blank”>See Alyssa’s full review.</a>) West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$30 Thursday, October 2, 2014, 8pm

Seascape Two couples-one of them lizards-discuss “humanity, evolution, and the concept of time” in Albee’s play. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 11. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave. $18-$25 Thursday, October 2, 2014, 8pm

The Pillowman An author’s short stories contain creepy resemblances to a series of child murders in this edgy drama. Preview Oct. 2, opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 18. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $27 Thursday, October 2, 2014, 8pm

Burlesco DiVino: Wine in Rome It’s hard to imagine an over-the-top version of Federico Fellini, but burlesque artist Lily Verlaine has managed to channel La Dolce Vita in this fantastical combination of 1960s Italian indulgence and classic “sword and sandal” epic films. With her producing partner Jasper McCann, Verlaine’s work is an homage to vintage burlesque, a combination of irony and sweetness. SANDRA KURTZ 7:30 p.m. Wed., Oct. 1-Thurs., Oct. 2; 7 & 10:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 3-Sat., Oct. 4. (Early shows 17 and over, late shows 21 and over.) The Triple Door, 216 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $32-$47 Friday, October 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 Friday, October 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 Friday, October 3, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Friday, October 3, 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Friday, October 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 Friday, October 3, 2014

Out of Sterno No, it’s not about a camping cookout mishap; Sterno is the mythical place the heroine escapes from in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s absurdist fairy tale. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 19. Burien Actors Theatre, 14501 Fourth Ave. S.W., Burien $7-$20 Friday, October 3, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, October 3, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Friday, October 3, 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Friday, October 3, 2014

The Bunner Sisters The Athena Theatre Project’s inaugural show is this Edith Wharton adaptation. 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus Mon., Sept. 29, 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5. Theater Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 $15-$22 Friday, October 3, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Friday, October 3, 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, October 3, 2014

The Mountaintop Katori Hall’s 2009 dramedy takes us down an imaginative rabbit hole behind the door of Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968, the last night of Martin Luther King’s days on Earth. Burton Yuen’s whimsical pink curtains and bedspreads suggest fairy tale as much as newsreel in a play that seeks to uncover the regular man behind the icon-the stinky feet, smoker’s breath, and roving eye of the dreamer. Reginald Andre Jackson brings a demeanor of intelligence, strength and road-weary fatigue to this MLK. The revelation of both this play and this production is Camae, the earthy chambermaid who brings “Preacher King” his room-service coffee and recommended daily requirement of smart-mouth. Brianna Hill’s magical performance carries the uninterrupted 90-minute piece when the script’s devices wear thin (like King’s insatiable lust for cigarettes, which she reliably provides from her brassiere-King’s excuse to keep her in the room). Director Valerie Curtis-Newton’s delicate touch lightens the inevitable telegraphing of a death foretold and neutralizes an irritating phone-call sequence that could ruin the play-it’s a writer’s device of Hall’s that Hill helps save. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) MARGARET FRIEDMAN (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954735-129/opening-nights-the-mountaintop” target=”_blank”>See Margaret’s full review.</a>) ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Friday, October 3, 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, October 3, 2014, 7pm

REPRESENT Staged readings of new works by playwrights of color. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 3-Sat., Oct. 4, 2 p.m. Sun., Oct. 5. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 Pay what you will Friday, October 3, 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. Opens Oct. 3. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 1. South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. $50 Friday, October 3, 2014, 7:30pm

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Friday, October 3, 2014, 7:30pm

Campfire Improv scenes based on spooky ghost stories. Opens Oct. 2. 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Ends Oct. 30. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $10 Friday, October 3, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. Opens Oct. 2. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Friday, October 3, 2014, 8pm

Mary’s Wedding Staged by New Century Theatre Company, Stephen Massicotte’s 2002 love story is also an antiwar tale related partly as a dream sequence. Mary (Maya Sugarman), a transplant from England, meets farmer Charlie (Conner Neddersen) right before he departs overseas to fight for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in World War I. This cliched boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl setup then bends space and time via flashbacks and letters, blurring reality with contrived conversations. Yet, under the astute direction of John Langs, this exacting, thrifty production approaches the material as stealthily as a gold-medal curling team. Most notably, Brian Sidney Bembridge’s stunning scenic and lighting design prove theatrically versatile and visually exquisite. Despite the script’s flaws, Sugarman and Neddersen invoke empathy while infusing intensity in the material. Mary’s final monologue will touch anyone who’s lost someone they loved-whether in war or peace. That said, you can rent better tearjerkers, like Love Story or Terms of Endearment. Or, for a Canadian alternative, perhaps a particularly dramatic episode of Degrassi will be on the air. (8 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. plus Mon., Oct. 6. Ends Oct. 11.) ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954734-129/opening-nights-marys-wedding” target=”_blank”>See Alyssa’s full review.</a>) West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$30 Friday, October 3, 2014, 8pm

Seascape Two couples-one of them lizards-discuss “humanity, evolution, and the concept of time” in Albee’s play. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 11. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave. $18-$25 Friday, October 3, 2014, 8pm

The Pillowman An author’s short stories contain creepy resemblances to a series of child murders in this edgy drama. Preview Oct. 2, opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 18. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $27 Friday, October 3, 2014, 8pm

The Wolf and the Witch Classic fairy tales are mashed up with details (painful, we hope) from your life in this improv show. Opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Fri-Sat. plus 2 p.m. Sun., Oct. 12. Ends Oct. 12. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $12-$15 Friday, October 3, 2014, 8pm

House of Ink In this improvised murder mystery, authors get bumped off one by one. 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Oct. 4. $5-$7 Friday, October 3, 2014, 10pm

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, October 3, 2014, 10:30pm

Spin the Bottle The October edition of Annex Theatre’s late-night variety show includes “undulating torsos,” “merry tunefulness,” “a fusion of innocence and the macabre,” and much more. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$10 Friday, October 3, 2014, 11pm

Burlesco DiVino: Wine in Rome It’s hard to imagine an over-the-top version of Federico Fellini, but burlesque artist Lily Verlaine has managed to channel La Dolce Vita in this fantastical combination of 1960s Italian indulgence and classic “sword and sandal” epic films. With her producing partner Jasper McCann, Verlaine’s work is an homage to vintage burlesque, a combination of irony and sweetness. SANDRA KURTZ 7:30 p.m. Wed., Oct. 1-Thurs., Oct. 2; 7 & 10:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 3-Sat., Oct. 4. (Early shows 17 and over, late shows 21 and over.) The Triple Door, 216 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $32-$47 Saturday, October 4, 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, October 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 Saturday, October 4, 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, October 4, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Saturday, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Saturday, October 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 Saturday, October 4, 2014

Out of Sterno No, it’s not about a camping cookout mishap; Sterno is the mythical place the heroine escapes from in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s absurdist fairy tale. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 19. Burien Actors Theatre, 14501 Fourth Ave. S.W., Burien $7-$20 Saturday, October 4, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Saturday, October 4, 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, October 4, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Saturday, October 4, 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Saturday, October 4, 2014

The Bunner Sisters The Athena Theatre Project’s inaugural show is this Edith Wharton adaptation. 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus Mon., Sept. 29, 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5. Theater Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 $15-$22 Saturday, October 4, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Saturday, October 4, 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, October 4, 2014

The Mountaintop Katori Hall’s 2009 dramedy takes us down an imaginative rabbit hole behind the door of Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968, the last night of Martin Luther King’s days on Earth. Burton Yuen’s whimsical pink curtains and bedspreads suggest fairy tale as much as newsreel in a play that seeks to uncover the regular man behind the icon-the stinky feet, smoker’s breath, and roving eye of the dreamer. Reginald Andre Jackson brings a demeanor of intelligence, strength and road-weary fatigue to this MLK. The revelation of both this play and this production is Camae, the earthy chambermaid who brings “Preacher King” his room-service coffee and recommended daily requirement of smart-mouth. Brianna Hill’s magical performance carries the uninterrupted 90-minute piece when the script’s devices wear thin (like King’s insatiable lust for cigarettes, which she reliably provides from her brassiere-King’s excuse to keep her in the room). Director Valerie Curtis-Newton’s delicate touch lightens the inevitable telegraphing of a death foretold and neutralizes an irritating phone-call sequence that could ruin the play-it’s a writer’s device of Hall’s that Hill helps save. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) MARGARET FRIEDMAN (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954735-129/opening-nights-the-mountaintop” target=”_blank”>See Margaret’s full review.</a>) ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Saturday, October 4, 2014

Go, Dog. Go! A musical version of P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Oct. 19. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $5-$10 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 1pm

Go, Dog. Go! A musical version of P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Oct. 19. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $5-$10 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 3pm

REPRESENT Staged readings of new works by playwrights of color. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 3-Sat., Oct. 4, 2 p.m. Sun., Oct. 5. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 Pay what you will Saturday, October 4, 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. Opens Oct. 3. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 1. South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. $50 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 7:30pm

The Edge Bainbridge Island’s own improv troupe.  Bainbridge Performing Arts, 200 Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 $12-$16 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 7:30pm

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 7:30pm

Beast Island A burlesque salute to low-grade horror flicks of yore. 8 p.m. Sat., Oct. 4, 7 p.m. Sun., Oct. 5. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $18-$30 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 8pm

Mary’s Wedding Staged by New Century Theatre Company, Stephen Massicotte’s 2002 love story is also an antiwar tale related partly as a dream sequence. Mary (Maya Sugarman), a transplant from England, meets farmer Charlie (Conner Neddersen) right before he departs overseas to fight for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in World War I. This cliched boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl setup then bends space and time via flashbacks and letters, blurring reality with contrived conversations. Yet, under the astute direction of John Langs, this exacting, thrifty production approaches the material as stealthily as a gold-medal curling team. Most notably, Brian Sidney Bembridge’s stunning scenic and lighting design prove theatrically versatile and visually exquisite. Despite the script’s flaws, Sugarman and Neddersen invoke empathy while infusing intensity in the material. Mary’s final monologue will touch anyone who’s lost someone they loved-whether in war or peace. That said, you can rent better tearjerkers, like Love Story or Terms of Endearment. Or, for a Canadian alternative, perhaps a particularly dramatic episode of Degrassi will be on the air. (8 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. plus Mon., Oct. 6. Ends Oct. 11.) ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954734-129/opening-nights-marys-wedding” target=”_blank”>See Alyssa’s full review.</a>) West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$30 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 8pm

Seascape Two couples-one of them lizards-discuss “humanity, evolution, and the concept of time” in Albee’s play. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 11. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave. $18-$25 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 8pm

The Pillowman An author’s short stories contain creepy resemblances to a series of child murders in this edgy drama. Preview Oct. 2, opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 18. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $27 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 8pm

The Wolf and the Witch Classic fairy tales are mashed up with details (painful, we hope) from your life in this improv show. Opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Fri-Sat. plus 2 p.m. Sun., Oct. 12. Ends Oct. 12. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $12-$15 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 8pm

House of Ink In this improvised murder mystery, authors get bumped off one by one. 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Oct. 4. $5-$7 Saturday, October 4, 2014, 10pm

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, October 4, 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 Sunday, October 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 Sunday, October 5, 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 Sunday, October 5, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Sunday, October 5, 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Sunday, October 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 Sunday, October 5, 2014

Out of Sterno No, it’s not about a camping cookout mishap; Sterno is the mythical place the heroine escapes from in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s absurdist fairy tale. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 19. Burien Actors Theatre, 14501 Fourth Ave. S.W., Burien $7-$20 Sunday, October 5, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Sunday, October 5, 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, October 5, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Sunday, October 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Sunday, October 5, 2014

The Bunner Sisters The Athena Theatre Project’s inaugural show is this Edith Wharton adaptation. 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat. plus Mon., Sept. 29, 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5. Theater Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 $15-$22 Sunday, October 5, 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, October 5, 2014

The Mountaintop Katori Hall’s 2009 dramedy takes us down an imaginative rabbit hole behind the door of Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968, the last night of Martin Luther King’s days on Earth. Burton Yuen’s whimsical pink curtains and bedspreads suggest fairy tale as much as newsreel in a play that seeks to uncover the regular man behind the icon-the stinky feet, smoker’s breath, and roving eye of the dreamer. Reginald Andre Jackson brings a demeanor of intelligence, strength and road-weary fatigue to this MLK. The revelation of both this play and this production is Camae, the earthy chambermaid who brings “Preacher King” his room-service coffee and recommended daily requirement of smart-mouth. Brianna Hill’s magical performance carries the uninterrupted 90-minute piece when the script’s devices wear thin (like King’s insatiable lust for cigarettes, which she reliably provides from her brassiere-King’s excuse to keep her in the room). Director Valerie Curtis-Newton’s delicate touch lightens the inevitable telegraphing of a death foretold and neutralizes an irritating phone-call sequence that could ruin the play-it’s a writer’s device of Hall’s that Hill helps save. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 5.) MARGARET FRIEDMAN (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954735-129/opening-nights-the-mountaintop” target=”_blank”>See Margaret’s full review.</a>) ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $15-$34.50 Sunday, October 5, 2014

Go, Dog. Go! A musical version of P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Oct. 19. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $5-$10 Sunday, October 5, 2014, 1pm

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, October 5, 2014, 1pm

REPRESENT Staged readings of new works by playwrights of color. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 3-Sat., Oct. 4, 2 p.m. Sun., Oct. 5. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 Pay what you will Sunday, October 5, 2014, 2pm

Go, Dog. Go! A musical version of P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Oct. 19. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $5-$10 Sunday, October 5, 2014, 3pm

Beast Island A burlesque salute to low-grade horror flicks of yore. 8 p.m. Sat., Oct. 4, 7 p.m. Sun., Oct. 5. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 $18-$30 Sunday, October 5, 2014, 7pm

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Sunday, October 5, 2014, 7:30pm

Weird and Awesome With Emmett Montgomery “A monthly parade [every first Sunday] of wonder and awkward sharing hosted and curated by mustache wizard Emmett Montgomery. 7:30 p.m. first Sunday of every month. Annex Theatre, 1110 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $5-$10 Sunday, October 5, 2014, 7:30pm

Mary’s Wedding Staged by New Century Theatre Company, Stephen Massicotte’s 2002 love story is also an antiwar tale related partly as a dream sequence. Mary (Maya Sugarman), a transplant from England, meets farmer Charlie (Conner Neddersen) right before he departs overseas to fight for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in World War I. This cliched boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl setup then bends space and time via flashbacks and letters, blurring reality with contrived conversations. Yet, under the astute direction of John Langs, this exacting, thrifty production approaches the material as stealthily as a gold-medal curling team. Most notably, Brian Sidney Bembridge’s stunning scenic and lighting design prove theatrically versatile and visually exquisite. Despite the script’s flaws, Sugarman and Neddersen invoke empathy while infusing intensity in the material. Mary’s final monologue will touch anyone who’s lost someone they loved-whether in war or peace. That said, you can rent better tearjerkers, like Love Story or Terms of Endearment. Or, for a Canadian alternative, perhaps a particularly dramatic episode of Degrassi will be on the air. (8 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. plus Mon., Oct. 6. Ends Oct. 11.) ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954734-129/opening-nights-marys-wedding” target=”_blank”>See Alyssa’s full review.</a>) West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$30 Sunday, October 5, 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 Monday, October 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 Monday, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Monday, October 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 Monday, October 6, 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, October 6, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Monday, October 6, 2014

Waiting in the Wings The Endangered Species Project gives life to plays that seldom get full productions. This month features Noel Coward’s funny and bittersweet story about former stage actresses living in a not-so-fancy retirement home.  ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $12-$15 Monday, October 6, 2014, 7pm

Episode MW: The Cabaret Mathew Wright, ArtsWest’s new artistic director, hosts this fundraiser.  ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116 $100-$250 Monday, October 6, 2014, 7:30pm

Mary’s Wedding New Century Theatre Company presents Stephen Massicotte’s reality-blurring play about a WWI romance. Preview Sept. 18, opens Sept. 19. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. plus Mon., Oct. 6. Ends Oct. 11. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$30 Monday, October 6, 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, October 6, 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, October 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 Tuesday, October 7, 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, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Tuesday, October 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 Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Queer Russia Meet the LGBTQ figures that shaped the country’s culture and destiny.  ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle, WA 98101 $10-$15 Tuesday, October 7, 2014, 7pm

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, October 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 Wednesday, October 8, 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, October 8, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Wednesday, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Wednesday, October 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 Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Wednesday, October 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Wednesday, October 8, 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, October 8, 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, October 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 Thursday, October 9, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Thursday, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Thursday, October 9, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Thursday, October 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 Thursday, October 9, 2014

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

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Thursday, October 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Thursday, October 9, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Thursday, October 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 Thursday, October 9, 2014

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Thursday, October 9, 2014, 7:30pm

Campfire Improv scenes based on spooky ghost stories. Opens Oct. 2. 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Ends Oct. 30. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $10 Thursday, October 9, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. Opens Oct. 2. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Thursday, October 9, 2014, 8pm

Mary’s Wedding Staged by New Century Theatre Company, Stephen Massicotte’s 2002 love story is also an antiwar tale related partly as a dream sequence. Mary (Maya Sugarman), a transplant from England, meets farmer Charlie (Conner Neddersen) right before he departs overseas to fight for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in World War I. This cliched boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl setup then bends space and time via flashbacks and letters, blurring reality with contrived conversations. Yet, under the astute direction of John Langs, this exacting, thrifty production approaches the material as stealthily as a gold-medal curling team. Most notably, Brian Sidney Bembridge’s stunning scenic and lighting design prove theatrically versatile and visually exquisite. Despite the script’s flaws, Sugarman and Neddersen invoke empathy while infusing intensity in the material. Mary’s final monologue will touch anyone who’s lost someone they loved-whether in war or peace. That said, you can rent better tearjerkers, like Love Story or Terms of Endearment. Or, for a Canadian alternative, perhaps a particularly dramatic episode of Degrassi will be on the air. (8 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. plus Mon., Oct. 6. Ends Oct. 11.) ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954734-129/opening-nights-marys-wedding” target=”_blank”>See Alyssa’s full review.</a>) West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$30 Thursday, October 9, 2014, 8pm

Seascape Two couples-one of them lizards-discuss “humanity, evolution, and the concept of time” in Albee’s play. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 11. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave. $18-$25 Thursday, October 9, 2014, 8pm

The Pillowman An author’s short stories contain creepy resemblances to a series of child murders in this edgy drama. Preview Oct. 2, opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 18. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $27 Thursday, October 9, 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, October 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 Friday, October 10, 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, October 10, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Friday, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Friday, October 10, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Friday, October 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 Friday, October 10, 2014

Out of Sterno No, it’s not about a camping cookout mishap; Sterno is the mythical place the heroine escapes from in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s absurdist fairy tale. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 19. Burien Actors Theatre, 14501 Fourth Ave. S.W., Burien $7-$20 Friday, October 10, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, October 10, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Friday, October 10, 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Friday, October 10, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Friday, October 10, 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, October 10, 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, October 10, 2014, 7pm

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. Opens Oct. 3. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 1. South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. $50 Friday, October 10, 2014, 7:30pm

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Friday, October 10, 2014, 7:30pm

Campfire Improv scenes based on spooky ghost stories. Opens Oct. 2. 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Ends Oct. 30. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $10 Friday, October 10, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. Opens Oct. 2. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Friday, October 10, 2014, 8pm

Mary’s Wedding Staged by New Century Theatre Company, Stephen Massicotte’s 2002 love story is also an antiwar tale related partly as a dream sequence. Mary (Maya Sugarman), a transplant from England, meets farmer Charlie (Conner Neddersen) right before he departs overseas to fight for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in World War I. This cliched boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl setup then bends space and time via flashbacks and letters, blurring reality with contrived conversations. Yet, under the astute direction of John Langs, this exacting, thrifty production approaches the material as stealthily as a gold-medal curling team. Most notably, Brian Sidney Bembridge’s stunning scenic and lighting design prove theatrically versatile and visually exquisite. Despite the script’s flaws, Sugarman and Neddersen invoke empathy while infusing intensity in the material. Mary’s final monologue will touch anyone who’s lost someone they loved-whether in war or peace. That said, you can rent better tearjerkers, like Love Story or Terms of Endearment. Or, for a Canadian alternative, perhaps a particularly dramatic episode of Degrassi will be on the air. (8 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. plus Mon., Oct. 6. Ends Oct. 11.) ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954734-129/opening-nights-marys-wedding” target=”_blank”>See Alyssa’s full review.</a>) West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$30 Friday, October 10, 2014, 8pm

Seascape Two couples-one of them lizards-discuss “humanity, evolution, and the concept of time” in Albee’s play. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 11. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave. $18-$25 Friday, October 10, 2014, 8pm

The Pillowman An author’s short stories contain creepy resemblances to a series of child murders in this edgy drama. Preview Oct. 2, opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 18. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $27 Friday, October 10, 2014, 8pm

The Wolf and the Witch Classic fairy tales are mashed up with details (painful, we hope) from your life in this improv show. Opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Fri-Sat. plus 2 p.m. Sun., Oct. 12. Ends Oct. 12. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $12-$15 Friday, October 10, 2014, 8pm

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, October 10, 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, October 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 Saturday, October 11, 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, October 11, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Saturday, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Saturday, October 11, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Saturday, October 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 Saturday, October 11, 2014

Out of Sterno No, it’s not about a camping cookout mishap; Sterno is the mythical place the heroine escapes from in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s absurdist fairy tale. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 19. Burien Actors Theatre, 14501 Fourth Ave. S.W., Burien $7-$20 Saturday, October 11, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Saturday, October 11, 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, October 11, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Saturday, October 11, 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Saturday, October 11, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Saturday, October 11, 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, October 11, 2014

Go, Dog. Go! A musical version of P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Oct. 19. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $5-$10 Saturday, October 11, 2014, 1pm

Go, Dog. Go! A musical version of P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Oct. 19. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $5-$10 Saturday, October 11, 2014, 3pm

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. Opens Oct. 3. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 1. South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. $50 Saturday, October 11, 2014, 7:30pm

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Saturday, October 11, 2014, 7:30pm

Mary’s Wedding Staged by New Century Theatre Company, Stephen Massicotte’s 2002 love story is also an antiwar tale related partly as a dream sequence. Mary (Maya Sugarman), a transplant from England, meets farmer Charlie (Conner Neddersen) right before he departs overseas to fight for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in World War I. This cliched boy-meets-girl/boy-loses-girl setup then bends space and time via flashbacks and letters, blurring reality with contrived conversations. Yet, under the astute direction of John Langs, this exacting, thrifty production approaches the material as stealthily as a gold-medal curling team. Most notably, Brian Sidney Bembridge’s stunning scenic and lighting design prove theatrically versatile and visually exquisite. Despite the script’s flaws, Sugarman and Neddersen invoke empathy while infusing intensity in the material. Mary’s final monologue will touch anyone who’s lost someone they loved-whether in war or peace. That said, you can rent better tearjerkers, like Love Story or Terms of Endearment. Or, for a Canadian alternative, perhaps a particularly dramatic episode of Degrassi will be on the air. (8 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. plus Mon., Oct. 6. Ends Oct. 11.) ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954734-129/opening-nights-marys-wedding” target=”_blank”>See Alyssa’s full review.</a>) West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$30 Saturday, October 11, 2014, 8pm

Seascape Two couples-one of them lizards-discuss “humanity, evolution, and the concept of time” in Albee’s play. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 11. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave. $18-$25 Saturday, October 11, 2014, 8pm

The Pillowman An author’s short stories contain creepy resemblances to a series of child murders in this edgy drama. Preview Oct. 2, opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 18. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $27 Saturday, October 11, 2014, 8pm

The Wolf and the Witch Classic fairy tales are mashed up with details (painful, we hope) from your life in this improv show. Opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Fri-Sat. plus 2 p.m. Sun., Oct. 12. Ends Oct. 12. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $12-$15 Saturday, October 11, 2014, 8pm

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, October 11, 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 Sunday, October 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 Sunday, October 12, 2014

I Am of Ireland Subtitled “A Celebration in Story, Song, and Dance,” Book-It stages tales by Yeats and others. Runs Wed.-Sun.; see book-it.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 12. Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center $25 Sunday, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Sunday, October 12, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Sunday, October 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 Sunday, October 12, 2014

Out of Sterno No, it’s not about a camping cookout mishap; Sterno is the mythical place the heroine escapes from in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s absurdist fairy tale. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 19. Burien Actors Theatre, 14501 Fourth Ave. S.W., Burien $7-$20 Sunday, October 12, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Sunday, October 12, 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, October 12, 2014

Slip/Shot Jacqueline Goldfinger’s drama debuted two years ago in Philadelphia, not long after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. By sheer coincidence, her play concerns the shooting of a young black man by a white cop-only the setting is a half-century earlier, in 1963 Tallahassee. But still: Florida, so everyone viewed the play through the Martin case. Two years later, Slip/Shot has an unhappy new context: the Michael Brown killing in Ferguson, Missouri. The key plot difference here, as compared to those actual news events, is that the shooting is an accident which the white policeman regrets. And at the same time, both the white and black parties in the play are aware how past inequality is shifting. The victim is a star student headed to college, while the cop has barely risen beyond the cotton field. Two Americas are finding a new power dynamic in Goldfinger’s tale, and there is damage on both sides of the equation. Given its historical setting, Slip/Shot is also one of several plays this fall dealing with the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement, including the ongoing The Mountaintop at ArtsWest and the coming All the Way and The Great Society at Seattle Rep. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103 $15-$32 Sunday, October 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Sunday, October 12, 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, October 12, 2014

Go, Dog. Go! A musical version of P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Oct. 19. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $5-$10 Sunday, October 12, 2014, 1pm

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, October 12, 2014, 1pm

The Wolf and the Witch Classic fairy tales are mashed up with details (painful, we hope) from your life in this improv show. Opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Fri-Sat. plus 2 p.m. Sun., Oct. 12. Ends Oct. 12. The Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle $12-$15 Sunday, October 12, 2014, 2pm

Go, Dog. Go! A musical version of P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book. 1 & 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Oct. 19. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $5-$10 Sunday, October 12, 2014, 3pm

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Sunday, October 12, 2014, 7:30pm

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, October 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 Monday, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Monday, October 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 Monday, October 13, 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, October 13, 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, October 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 Tuesday, October 14, 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, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Tuesday, October 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 Tuesday, October 14, 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, October 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 Wednesday, October 15, 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, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Wednesday, October 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 Wednesday, October 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Wednesday, October 15, 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, October 15, 2014, 7:30pm

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Wednesday, October 15, 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, October 15, 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, October 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 Thursday, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Thursday, October 16, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Thursday, October 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 Thursday, October 16, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Thursday, October 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Thursday, October 16, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Thursday, October 16, 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, October 16, 2014

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Thursday, October 16, 2014, 7:30pm

Campfire Improv scenes based on spooky ghost stories. Opens Oct. 2. 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Ends Oct. 30. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $10 Thursday, October 16, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. Opens Oct. 2. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Thursday, October 16, 2014, 8pm

The Pillowman An author’s short stories contain creepy resemblances to a series of child murders in this edgy drama. Preview Oct. 2, opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 18. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $27 Thursday, October 16, 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, October 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 Friday, October 17, 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, October 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. (Runs near daily through Oct. 26; then moves to Everett Oct. 31-Nov. 23. See villagetheatre.org for schedule.) GAVIN BORCHERT (<a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/954732-129/opening-nights-in-the-heights” target=”_blank”>See Gavin’s full review.</a>) Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah $35-$67 Friday, October 17, 2014

Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story (and movie) about a repurposed shoe factory, with a score by Cyndi Lauper. Previews begin Oct. 7, opens Oct. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 26. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $45.25 and up Friday, October 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 Friday, October 17, 2014

Out of Sterno No, it’s not about a camping cookout mishap; Sterno is the mythical place the heroine escapes from in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s absurdist fairy tale. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 19. Burien Actors Theatre, 14501 Fourth Ave. S.W., Burien $7-$20 Friday, October 17, 2014

Parlor Live Comedy Club See parlorlive.com for schedule. The Parlor Collection, 700 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue $15-$30 Friday, October 17, 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. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., Seattle $99 and up Friday, October 17, 2014

The Fabulous Lipitones When one member of a barbershop quartet drops dead (I love it already!), they have to scramble for a replacement in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s comedy with music. Runs Wed.-Sat; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 18. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., Seattle $15-$40 Friday, October 17, 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, October 17, 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, October 17, 2014, 7pm

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. Opens Oct. 3. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends Nov. 1. South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W. $50 Friday, October 17, 2014, 7:30pm

The Vaudevillians Two 1920s musicians, played by Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen, are frozen and thaw out a century later to perform songs by Janis Joplin and Gloria Gaynor. It’s being called a “vintage cabaret with a twist of drag,” and New York and Australia loved it. Previews begin Oct. 3, opens Oct. 8. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun. plus some matinees; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Nov. 2. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), Seattle, WA 98109 $17-$67 Friday, October 17, 2014, 7:30pm

Campfire Improv scenes based on spooky ghost stories. Opens Oct. 2. 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Ends Oct. 30. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle $10 Friday, October 17, 2014, 8pm

Clues Jet City’s board-game-based improvised murder mystery. Opens Oct. 2. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri. Ends Nov. 21. Jet City Improv, 5510 University Way N.E. $12-$15 Friday, October 17, 2014, 8pm

The Pillowman An author’s short stories contain creepy resemblances to a series of child murders in this edgy drama. Preview Oct. 2, opens Oct. 3. 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. Ends Oct. 18. SecondStory Repertory, 16587 N.E. 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052 $27 Friday, October 17, 2014, 8pm

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, October 17, 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, October 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 Saturday, October 18, 2014