Limited Perspective

The Salem Witch Orgasms gave me a feeling.  I felt like it was the early 90s and I was at the Re-Bar watching one of Dan Savage’s Greek Active Theatre shows.  There was lots of zany romping, a big, funny, fast-paced show, and it took place, pretty much in a bar.  SWO is the first show I’ve seen in the new Copious space (formerly known as the Ballard Underground) and it works really well.  It has an underground (I guess because it is) cabaret vibe that was perfect for this show.  I recommend both the venue and the show. Photo by me of the set. 

I am trying to think of another play that is meant to be scary in the way that a ghost story is, in the way that many movies try to be.   From Poltergeist to Halloween to Rear Window, there are movies that intend to leave you frightened, anxious, and at just the right moment, to make you startle and shout.   The Woman in Black at the Seattle Rep goes after all of those things.   It was so fun!   The audience – me included -- would shriek and then laugh at themselves for being so swept up.   I can’t recall off the top of my head having that kind of theatrical experience before.   Sure, ghosts accost Hamlet and Macbeth and Scrooge but it’s just not the same.   Those ghosts are not meant to do the same kind of work.   They do more goading than menacing and they don’t really sustain things over time.   They’re more schticky than spooky. The Woman in Black uses many theatrical storytelling tools to draw you and then grab you.   ...