Now Playing!
- Alecto, Issue #1 (Jan 22–Feb 20, Fri-Sat at 8 pm)
- Penguins, Episode 2 – “Roll Away the Rock” (LATE NIGHT: Jan 29-Feb 19, Fri-Sat at 11 pm)
- my dear Lewis (OFF-NIGHT: Feb 2-10, Tue-Wed at 8:00 pm)
Coming Soon!
- Peg-Ass-Us (Four Nights Only: February 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th at 8pm)
- Spin The Bottle (LATE NIGHT: Friday, March 5th, 11pm)
Alecto, Issue #1
written by Alexander Harris, directed by Jaime Roberts
Jan 22–Feb 20, Fri-Sat at 8 pm
and Mon Feb 8 at 8pm
$15 gen / $5 stu
A troubled heroine with an incredible power discovers that the popular superhero team she’s joined has questionable notions of good and evil. Alecto, Issue #1 translates the world of comic books to the stage, mixing social satire, physical spectacle, sly comedy, and an imaginary pig.
“Harris demonstrates that he understands comics; Alecto explores shades of morality the way more complex superhero comics—Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and so on—do. And the superpowers seem cool on Annex’s small stage (and no doubt meager budget)… The cast is admirably dedicated to making a spandex wardrobe look like a credible life choice… Alecto is a complex joyride.”
—The Stranger
“Annex brings the comic book world to life in a comedic mix of hero/villain personas, electrifying fight scenes, clever social satire, and crafty stage magic… From the Barbie doll stunt doubles to the mock superhero product endorsements, this play does not take itself too seriously while remaining a quality spoof on our notion of superheroes and the childhood fantasy of becoming one… It’s been a while since I have loved theater this much or laughed that hard.”
—Capitol Hill Seattle BlogCheck out the Team of Heroes on Facebook!
Contains mature themes and language, not suitable for young audiences.
Penguins, Ep. 2
“Roll Away the Rock”
written by Scot Augustson, directed by Bret Fetzer
LATE NIGHT: Jan 29-Feb 19, Fri-Sat at 11 pm
and Sun Feb 7 at 8pm
(no show Friday, Feb 5)
$10 gen / $5 stu
Annex Theatreʼs smash success, Penguins, returns with an all new episode! Featuring blasphemy, heresy, dancing, guns, organ music, puppet sex, and much much more, Penguins will shock and delight Catholics and non-Catholics alike! Written by Scot Augustson (Sgt. Rigsby & His Amazing Silhouettes), directed by Bret Fetzer (director of Small Town by Kelleen Conway Blanchard).
“Now comes Penguins, Episode 2: Roll Away the Rock, which I’m happy and somewhat flabbergasted to report is even filthier than episode one… The strengths of the first installment remain the strengths of the second: As the warring figureheads Father Jones and Sister Bernadette, Chris Dietz and Lisa Viertel bring the central conceit of Penguins (clergy clash rendered as gangster noir) to vibrant, vicious life, and Fetzer’s direction continues to make the most of Annex’s scrappy space and shoestring budget. (The level of violence Penguins achieves via silhouette is remarkable.)… Penguins delivers another dose of actually shocking comedy that is way more fun than not.”
—The Stranger
“Another fresh marshmallow of irreverence and bloodshed, Episode 2 has all the smutty wit of 1… it’s impossible not to love these frocked freaks as they helplessly grope toward salvation by way of any mortal flesh within reach. The cast is marvelously committed, so it’s a pleasure to watch even the cheesiest parts.”
—Seattle WeeklyReviews from the 1st episode:
“Brawny, brogue-brandishing badass Sister Bernadette (Lisa Viertel) demands some basic rights for nuns, which triggers a priest/nun gang war that makes last year’s pitiless Cannes winner Gomorrah look like an afterschool special…We’re talking Doubt on Ecstasy, smack, and aerosol cheese…The hour-long show felt like half that, and I wished Penguins: Episode 2 would have begun immediately after.”
—Seattle Weekly
“Ultra-lowbrow, extreme Catholic camp…[director] Fetzer keeps his cast moving full-tilt…You wouldn’t think there’d be any thrill (perverse or otherwise) left in priest-and-nun exploitation, but [playwright] Augustson mines the veins of altar-boy molestation and convent lesbianism with such fervor, he might win you over.”
—SunBreak
“A bottomless well of depravity…Helping things immensely is the cast, a uniformly excellent crew…Chris Dietz cements the show’s comic tone with his masterful performance as Father Jones…a dark comic marvel.”
—The Stranger
“I thought it was absolutely fucking great…If all late-night theater were like this, it would devour prime-time theater, which would be fantastic.”
—monologist Mike Daisey
my dear Lewis
written and performed by Kyle Loven
OFF-NIGHT: Feb 2-10, Tue-Wed at 8:00 pm
$12 gen / $5 stuObjects, video, and puppets unexpectedly combine in this one-man show. Lewis is at the end of his journey met with the task of looking back over a life lived. What unfolds is a pilgrimage made by his mind and body into the dark and dusty corners of memory.
“Young Seattle newcomer Kyle Loven just might be a burgeoning genius. His poetic, visionary solo puppet show my dear Lewis has all the spun-out imagination of a kid playing make-believe in an attic… His images are mesmerizing and his use of materials and puppets (marionettes, finger puppets, shadow puppets, dolls) constantly surprises… Loven’s aesthetic is a little bit Edward Gorey, a little bit Samuel Beckett, and a little bit Czech surrealism… and has the raw, beautiful confidence of a young star.”
—The StrangerThis project is funded with the generous support of the Jim Henson Foundation.
Peg-Ass-Us
written and performed by Sophie Nimmannit & John Leo
directed by Leslie Strongwater
Four Nights Only: February 14th, 15th*, 16th, 17th at 8pm
$15 gen / $10 stu – *Pay What You CanAfter a month-long run as Artists-in-Residence at Dixon Place in New York City, Pack of Others takes their sex-ed kink comedy Peg-Ass-Us on the road, spending February 2010 – “Creative Romance Month” and “Safer Sex Awareness Month” – on tour in the Pacific Northwest. Annex Theater hosts four performances opening Valentine’s Day. Join us!
John Leo and Sophie Nimmannit, a real-life couple, have crafted perhaps the silliest, most heartfelt romantic comedy about strap-on anal sex ever. Their beginner’s guide to “pegging” (as coined by Savage Love readers) – complete with sing-a-longs, how-to’s, puppets and soul-baring striptease – offers a hilariously penetrating look at queer sex for straight folks. But as the lesson probes deeper, it devolves into a lover’s quarrel that tickles qualms, exposes scruples, liberates desire and comes to a climax where everyone gets off.
Reviews:
“A real audience pleaser; it’s frank, illuminating and theatrical, no matter how you like your bacon.”
–“Stage Notes” by Tom Murrin, PAPERMAG
“Sex-Ed at its Best!”
-Drs. Carol Queen & Robert Lawrence
(featured educators, Bend Over Boyfriend video series)
“This little theatrical workshop on sex, relationships and intimacy was informative, amusing, clever, touching and sexy all in an hour.”
-Ty Stover, Indy.com
“Take the leap and catch this unusual, entertaining, and edifying performance.”
-Martin Denton, nytheatre.comSeattle post-show discussions will feature special local guests, including:
February 14th and 15th: Mistress Matisse, Seattle’s Finest Professional Dominatrix, columnist for The Stranger; and Twisted Monk, Bondage Rope Maker/Male Cortesan and Full Time Unicorn
February 16th: Allena Gabosch, Executive Director of the Center for Sex Positive Culture
February 17th: Audrey McManus, Sex Educator from Babeland
Spin the Bottle!
First Friday of every month, 11pm
$10 gen / $5 stu
Since 1997, audiences of all shapes and sizes have been entertained monthly by Annex Theatre’s late-night variety show, Spin the Bottle! The next chance to see it is March 5th!
Annex Theatre’s Spin the Bottle – featuring theater, music, dance, spoken word, film, and whatever else we can find – has appeared on the first Friday of every month since Sept 12, 1997.
Annex Theatre Announces its 23rd Season!
Annex Theatre is proud to announce the shows we will be producing for our 23rd consecutive year in glorious fringe theatre existence! The 2009-10 season will include:
Oct 23 – Nov 21, 2009
Mainstage: The Believers, written and directed by Jim Bovino
Late Night: Not Pants, curated by Bret Fetzer & Troy MinkJan 22 – Feb 20, 2010
Mainstage: Alecto Issue #1, written by Alex Harris, directed by Jaime Roberts
Late Night: Penguins, Ep. 2, written by Scot Augustson, directed by Bret
FetzerApril 23 – May 22, 2010
Mainstage: When I Come to My Senses, I’m Alive! written by Scotto Moore,
directed by Kristina Sutherland
Late Night: Evenings with Carlotta, improvised and performed by Troy MinkJuly 30 – August 28, 2010
Mainstage: Her Mother was Imagination, created by Elizabeth Heffron,
Ellie McKay, Max Reichlin, and Daniel Worthington
Late Night: Penguins, Ep. 3, written by Scot Augustson, directed by Bret
FetzerStay tuned for more on this exciting new season.
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