Stage

Openings & events

Atomic Bombshells This burlesque’s troupe’s homecoming gig after a summer run in Provincetown. Columbia City Theater, 4918 Rainier Ave. S., 800-838-3006, theatomicbombshells.com. $22–$25. 9 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 5–Sat., Sept. 7.

A Burlesque Affair to Remember Burlesque infused with ballroom and Latin dance from a cast of 20. Century Ballroom & Cafe, 915 E. Pine St., burlesqueaffair.com. $25–$35 ($65 includes dinner). 7:15 p.m. Fri., Sept. 6, 6:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 7.

The Edge Bainbridge Island’s own improv troupe. Bainbridge Performing Arts, 200 Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island, 842-4560, theedgeimprov.com. 
$12–$16. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 7.

Free Desiree Amontaine Aurore revisits Seattle’s funky ‘70s. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., 800-838-3006, westof
lenin.com. $15. 8 p.m. Fri., Sept. 6–Sat., Sept. 7.

Les Miserables Balagan’s production replaces Broadway epicness with “intensely intimate and immersive staging.” Erickson Theatre Off Broadway, 1524 Harvard Ave., balagantheatre.org. $5–$30. Opens Sept. 6. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 28.

Secondhand Lions The premiere of a musical based on the Michael Caine/Robert Duvall fantasy/adventure film. 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., 625-1900. $29 and up. Previews Sept. 7–25, opens Sept. 26. Runs Tues.–Sun.; see 5thavenue.org for exact schedule. Ends Oct. 6.

Spin the Bottle Annex Theatre’s variety show includes “uncanny ululations,” “suburban sexy dance cinema,” and much more. Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St., 728-0933, annextheatre.org. $5–$10. 11 p.m. Fri., Sept. 6.

Where No Man Has Gone Before/NERDprov One is a Star Trek parody troupe; the other’s a geek-culture improv group. What will happen when they collaborate? JewelBox/Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., 800-838-3006, seattleexperimentaltheater.com. $16–$20. 
8 p.m., Sat., Sept. 7.

Current Runs

Break-Up Songs Unexpected Productions takes your tales of romantic trauma and turns them into theater. Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 800-838-3006, unexpectedproductions.org. $12–$15. 8:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Sept. 21.

Falling Upward SANCA’s ‘30s-themed staff show promises “acrobatics, trick-roping, tight-wire, juggling, Chinese pole, hand balancing, aerial acts, and more.” School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA), 674 S. Orcas St., 800-838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $13–$20. 7 p.m. Fri.–Mon. Ends Sept. 8.

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Lysistrata Setting Aristophanes’ salacious tale—about a coalition of Athenian and Spartan women who unite in a sex strike against their warrior husbands to end the Peloponnesian War—as a play within a play, performed at a U.S. camp in Afghanistan, makes more urgent the heroines’ crusade to kill the war. This topical Lysistrata, directed by Sheila Daniels, is a forcible reminder of bloody wars still being fought on the other side of the globe. When warfare breaks the suspension of disbelief, it really breaks it. Would an antiwar play like Lysistrata even be allowed on an Army base? MARGARET FRIEDMAN Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 726-5190. $20–$50. See intiman.org for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 12.

Men of Action Jet City’s improv takeoff of adventure movies and their intrepid heroes. Wing-It Productions, 5510 University Way N.E., 781-3879, jetcityimprov.com. $12–$15. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Fri. Ends Sept. 20.

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Middletown As if to honor the Seattle Freeze—which maintains we all be near-acquaintances, or sort-of strangers, no matter the temperature—ACT is staging one of the heralded works of Will Eno. With his penchant for bursts of dialogue and low-impact despair, the Boston playwright is something like Aaron Sorkin if you replaced the bravado with ennui. An absurdist take on Thornton Wilder’s classic Our Town, Middletown tells the story of two neighbors, newcomer Mary (Alex Tavares) and long-time resident John (Eric Reidmann), and their attempts to connect. Of course, true connection is never truly achieved. (Is it ever?) The premise is a downer, and Eno isn’t shy about reminding you. “I never thought I’d have a lonely life,” says John. “I do, it turns out. Like, medically lonely. Like I’ve got sad genes.” If, like me, you think that sounds like a jolly good night of entertainment, Eno is for you. Yet his succinct, poetic dialogue—also exchanged among umpteen other village folk—does manage to find some hope and humor in between, and even within, the Sisyphean task of getting to know your neighbor. John Langs directs. MARK BAUMGARTEN ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676, acttheatre.org. $41 and up. Runs 
8 p.m. Tues.–Sun. Ends Sept. 29.

The Raft Rock Paper Theater’s debut stars comics Ryan Sanders and Mike Mathieu as two men lost at sea and coping as best they can. TPS Theatre 4, Seattle Center, rockpapertheater.com. $10. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Sept. 14.

The Realm of Whispering Ghosts Subtitled “If Truman Met Einstein,” Arne Zaslove’s Noh-inspired new play explores the legacy of the Hiroshima bombing. Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 W. Green Lake Ave. N., 800-838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $15–$27. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 15.

Stu for Silverton This new musical, part of Intiman’s summer season, tells the absolutely true story of a small Oregon town and its transgender mayor. Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 726-5190. $20–$50. See 
intiman.org for schedule. Ends Sept. 15.

Teatro ZinZanni: Lucky in Love The spiegeltent becomes Casino ZinZanni in their new Vegas-themed show. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $106 and up. Runs Thurs.–Sun.; see dreams.zinzanni.org for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 8.

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Trouble in Mind Alice Childress’ 1955 Obie winner catalogs the charades and compromises (i.e., sellings-out) demanded of “negro” stage professionals trying to make it on Broadway. Wiletta Mayer (Tracy Michelle Hughes) arrives for her first day of Broadway rehearsal, where she and other black cast members are confounded by the destructively narrow vision of producer/director Al Manners (Tim Gouran). In a play about a lynching, he wants Southern dialect and old stereotypes; his performers are uncomfortable, but they also want the job. Intiman’s splendid rendering marries beautiful acting to the powerful architecture of a laser-sharp script that ricochets between hope and heartache. MARGARET FRIEDMAN Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 726-5190. $20–$50. See intiman.org for schedule. Ends Sept. 15.

We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! Dario Fo’s 1974 farce about life in an exploitive, inflationary economy is an intelligently ridiculous examination of whether looting is justified under a corrupt regime—timely in our era of unprecedented income inequality. Director Jane Nichols deftly articulates the quick beats that can be so easily muddled in farce. MARGARET FRIEDMAN Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 726-5190. $20–$50. See intiman.org for schedule. Ends Sept. 14.

Words, Sounds, Silence Unexpected Productions’ new improv show: “This edgy show illuminates three things present in a single moment. We often only hear the words, but it is the sounds that accompany the words that give us a chance at understanding the meaning behind what was said. It is in the silence that we truly see the impact of the message conveyed between the lines of verbal language.” Unexpected Productions Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, 800-838-3006, unexpected
productions.org. $7. 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Ends Sept. 26.

Dance

A Celebration of Chinese Culture Traditional and modern songs and folk dances in celebration of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Seattle Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., 386-4636, spl.org. Free. 2 p.m. Sat., Sept. 7.

Classical, Etc.

Composer spotlight Thomas Makucevich discusses his electronic music and explorations in computer-music languages. Jack Straw Studios, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., jackstraw.org. Free. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Sept. 11.