Tag: Lisa Viertel

Kittens in a Cage tells Junie’s story, a good girl gone bad, sent to the pen by a buncha rats. From the knife fights in the showers to riots in the prison mess hall, Junie has to toughen up fast. Lucky for Junie, she’s got Vickie. A tough love story about bad broads that can’t get no breaks.

Junie, a juvenile delinquent with a heart of gold, gets thrown into a prison cell with hardened arsonist Vickie.  But as they team up against the predations of prison queen bee Jeanine and her cannibalistic sidekick Barbara, not to mention the deranged scientific schemes of the Prison Matron, Junie finds her heart swelling up over Vickie.  Does Vickie feel the same?  Will Jeanine take vengeance in the shower?  What’s up with those rumors of strange furry babies in the Matron’s secret laboratory?

Kittens in a Cage features an all female cast of Annex favorites, original songs by Rick Miller performed on the ukulele by Francesca Mondelli, and Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s unique voice. Kittens in a Cage is a love story, a story of breaks both good and bad, a story of survival, and an agonizingly funny portrayal of women behind bars.

Kittens in a Cage is directed by Bret Fetzer. Blanchard and Fetzer previously teamed up on Small Town (produced by Annex Theatre in 2007) and Hearts are Monsters (produced by Macha Monkey Productions in 2010).

“‘Kittens in a Cage’ is a f***ing riot. ‘Kittens’ takes on women’s-prison B movies and pulp novels with biting wit—no worries about offending anyone—and a gorgeous splatter of comically short prison uniforms (top buttons undone), smeared red lipstick, bright blue eye shadow, bouffant hairdos, and crazy accents…. This wicked, uproarious show features an all-female cast—not impossibly rare, but not common enough. Bosoms heave, brains leak out of heads, and women make out. Blanchard seems fully aware and in control while she wades into the muck of exploitation entertainment, with a wink and a nod (and a shiv) to its complicated history of empowerment.” –The Stranger

“In a nutshell: Kittens in a Cage is a funny, witty, naughty romp through chicks in prison films, with a spicy dash of horror and all overlaid with a delicious lesbionic sauce of camp and heaving bosoms.” –Seattle Gay Scene

“So what’s not to love about a play starring 7 local powerhouse actresses and written by an equally strong local, female playwright?! Given the dearth of substantive roles for women in theatre and film, it is great to see a show like ‘Kittens in a Cage’ infused with so much estrogen and feminine prowess…. The entire cast does a great job, and it is obvious that they are having a lot of fun in their respective roles; and when I saw the show on opening night, it was obvious that the audience had just as much fun watching them.” — Drama in the Hood

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PRESS

Kelleen Conway Blanchard was the subject of a recent SLOG post.

Reviews of past Bret Fetzer / Kelleen Conway Blanchard collaborations:

Hearts are Monsters
“Hearts Are Monsters, a loose riff on Hamlet, fills the small stage at
Rendezvous with the gallows humor and elegant garishness of a 1970s
exploitation film…Monsters has a style that hovers somewhere between
John Waters, Daniel Waters (Heathers), and Jack Hill (Switchblade
Sisters, Foxy Brown), but Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s world-premiere
script bristles with dense, dirty intelligence, and the jokes come
thick and fast…The cast, directed by Bret Fetzer, never plays the
script for camp, but delivers the craziest lines with a dead-ahead
seriousness that makes the comedy that much sharper.” – The Stranger

Small Town
“[Small Town] is snappy and quick-paced; Fetzer, who has an obvious
knack for comedy, keeps things flowing nicely, and he seems to work
well with actors, drawing from each a solid performance. The staging
is exceptional, especially considering the tight space of CHAC’s
downstairs venue; for instance, by virtue of a ratty couch that flips
back on hinges, Stu Lionel’s underground abattoir is revealed. It’s a
nice touch, as is the split-second conversion of that same couch into
a mammoth dining table. Also noteworthy are the wonderful musical
interludes that punctuate the action: Bud’s uproariously heartfelt
crooning of the Scorpions’ “No One Like You,” or the final number, an
astonishing bluegrass version of Outkast’s hit “Hey Now,” with the
whole cast chanting the chorus in a flat-footed monotone. These
moments stand out not only for their expert execution but also for
their refreshing sense of levity—of good-hearted fun and comic warmth,
for lack of better terms.” –The Seattle Weekly

End times are near in the final episode of Scot Augustsonʼs black-and-white comedy Penguins! The conflict of priests vs. nuns comes to a head, along with exorcisms, conspiracies, lesbian love, historical secrets revealed, and more of the caustic comedy thatʼs brought this late night serial acclaim and dismay! Directed by Bret Fetzer.

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Jan 28-Feb 18, 2011 | Fri-Sat at 11 pm
$10 gen / $5 TPS/senior/student
Industry Night (PWYC) Mon Feb 14, 8 pm
Pay What You Can Feb 11/12

The scandals that rocked the Catholic Church finally come to roost at St. Benedict’s: The diocese has its very own pedophile. Someone’s got to take the fall. As reporters dig into the past, the ever-greedy Father Jones and tyrannical Sister Bernadette fight to control the present—including missing relics, rebellious underlings, incriminating videotape, and a lonely Mormon missionary. Sister Candy and elderly Connie Sullivan face unexpected pregnancies; Sisters Jenny Memphis and Mimi Coco wrestle with inappropriate desires; and young Adam learns some unwelcome news about his parentage. Mix in a couple of dance numbers and some surprising guest stars and you have the latest episode of Annex’s late-night serial comedy, Penguins!

Written by Scot Augustson and directed by Bret Fetzer.

Featuring Daniel Christensen, Chris Dietz, Katie Driscoll, Karen Heaven, Sophie Lowenstein, Jenny Schmidt, Jillian Vashro, Lisa Viertel, and Clayton Weller

“Augustson’s late-night serial comedy Penguins is a breath of fresh, filthy air…its balls-out devotion to depravity is executed by a talented, canny cast.” – The Stranger

“The cast is nearly faultless. Bret Fetzer’s direction is excellent. … I had seen two of the prior installments in the series, so it wasn’t a shock to see a nun acting sinfully, but I still laughed and I wasn’t alone.” – Seattlest

Check out a very different late night mass this summer and enjoy communion libations in our fully stocked bar. You can always confess about it later!

August 7-August 27, 2010 | Fri-Sat at 11 pm
$15 gen

The bloody feud between nuns and priests gets set aside in the face of a greater threat: Other churches! Everyone thinks the Bishop’s illegitimate child can be used to their advantage, so the bastard’s baptism becomes a war zone filled with forbidden love, strange addictions, May/December romance, schizophrenia, radical atheists and musical numbers. Come see the bullets fly in Penguins, Episode III: The Bishop’s Bastard!

Written by Scot Augustson and directed by Bret Fetzer.

Featuring Daniel Christensen, Chris Dietz, Katie Driscoll, Teri Lazzara, Sophie Lowenstein, Jenny Schmidt, Jillian Vashro, Lisa Viertel, and Clayton Weller.

“Augustson’s late-night serial comedy Penguins is a breath of fresh, filthy air…its balls-out devotion to depravity is executed by a talented, canny cast.” — The Stranger

Check out a very different late night mass this summer and enjoy communion libations in our fully stocked bar. You can always confess about it later!

written by Scot Augustson, directed by Bret Fetzer
LATE NIGHT: Jan 29 – Feb 12, 2010, Fri-Sat at 11 pm
(no show Friday, Feb 6)
$10 gen / $5 stu

A gang war twixt nuns and priests!

Episode 2 of Annex’s smash-hit Penguins, about a gang war between nuns and priests in the Catholic church that rocks the dioceses!

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SPECIAL THANKS

Lynn Jepson, Jen Moon, Deb Skorstad and the UW Costume Shop, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and Theater Schmeater.