We’ve rounded up the best of opera, theatre, dance, and music for October 2022 in the San Francisco Bay Area. For all events check out our full calendar.
Best Events in the Bay Area This October
Author: Ciara Caya
Best Events in Seattle in October 2022
Here’s the best of theatre, music, dance and more that’s coming to the Seattle area in October. Be sure to check out the full list of events on our calendar.
A.C.T.’s Geary Theater Has a New Name
The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has renamed their historic Geary Theater to Toni Rembe Theater. The change comes after the San Francisco organization received a $35 million donation from an anonymous donor in honor of Toni Rembe.
This donation is the largest single gift that A.C.T. has ever received. To celebrate this unprecedented contribution, American Conservatory Theater has decided to dedicate the former Geary Theater to Toni Rembe, a San Francisco Bay Area arts philanthropist. Rembe currently serves on the Board of Trustees of American Conservatory Theater and is a past President and Chair. Rembe has also served on many other boards for social justice and the arts. She is president of the van Lӧben Sels/Rembe Rock Foundation, a private foundation specializing in the promotion of social justice through legal services and advocacy
“We are deeply grateful to the generous donor for this extraordinary gift,” said Executive Director Jennifer Bielstein. “The funds provided are transformational for the future of American Conservatory Theater and the impact of our programming throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Toni is a role model, and we are honored to recognize her in such a deserving and significant way. The Toni Rembe Theater will forever serve as a reminder of Toni’s decades-long contributions to the arts community.”
The $35 million donation will help protect A.C.T. for future generations. This money is especially critical during a time when supporters and audience members are still slowly returning to the theater after ongoing times of uncertainty and hardship. The gift will also be used for improvements to A.C.T.’s theater venues and an increase in accessibility to performances and programming.
Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon added, “Toni Rembe has been central to the health and well-being of the Bay Area theater scene. Her wide-ranging artistic taste and appreciation of artists and the special act of audiences coming together for a story make her a true theater lover. Her generosity and commitment to Bay Area culture and artmaking is unparalleled. Toni’s involvement with A.C.T. has been historic and long-reaching. She has served as a member of A.C.T.’s Board of Trustees for over 20 years, including stints as Board President and Chair. She was also on the search committee that brought me to A.C.T. I am profoundly grateful for her stewardship and love of theater in her chosen city of San Francisco.”
You can view American Conservatory Theater’s current season on our website.
The Performing Arts Guide Is Here!
We are thrilled to announce that the second annual Encore Performing Arts Guide hits mailboxes today!
Due to its rousing success last year, we are proud to bring back the comprehensive Performing Arts Guide to Greater Seattle Area readers.
The Performing Arts Guide, in collaboration with ArtsFund, will provide arts patrons with information on upcoming events in the area for the entire 2022/23 season. The Guide also includes ticketing information, venue locations and more, all in one convenient place. The beautifully curated Guide highlights the best of dance, theatre, music, and more.
Along with our Museum Guide, the Performing Arts Guide is our latest endeavor in providing the public with a valuable service, while also supporting our local arts organizations. These additional resources play a small role in the larger effort to move forward after the pandemic and the difficult past two years—all in the service of connecting arts, culture, and community.
You can view the digital version of the 2022/23 Performing Arts Guide here. Be sure to peruse and use the Guide to find the perfect show for your next night out!
Village Theatre’s “Little Shop of Horrors” Cast and Creative Team Is Announced
Far from horrible, the cast and creative team of Village Theatre’s upcoming Little Shop of Horrors is filled with familiar faces and outstanding talent.
The musical comedy-horror will be directed by Brandon Ivie, the associate artistic director of new works at Village Theatre. Aaron M. Davis Norman and Tim Symons will provide music direction. And choreography will be provided by Randy Ford. The rest of the production team is as follows:
Associate Music Director: Aimee Hong
Associate Choreographer: Robbi Moore
Scenic Designer: Tim Mackabee
Costume Designer: Sarafina Bush
Lighting Designer: Robert Aguilar
Wig & Hair Designer: Kaleena Jordan
Sound Designer: Kurt Conway
Stage Manager: Shay Trusty*
Assistant Stage Manager: Stefania Giron Zuluaga
Dramaturg: Jeanette Sanchez-Izenman
Starring in the production is Kyle Nicholas Anderson as Seymour and Shanelle Nicole Leonard as Audrey. Anderson has previously been seen at Village Theatre in Guys and Dolls, Les Misérables and Stunt Girl. Leonard will be familiar to local audiences from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at The 5th Avenue Theatre; she has also been seen Off-Broadway in Confederates. The full cast is as follows:
Chiffon, Audrey Understudy: Ania Briggs
Crystal: Belle Shippy
Ronnette: Brandi Birdsong
Mushnik: Eric Polani Jensen*
Audrey: Shanelle Nicole Leonard*
Seymour: Kyle Nicholas Anderson*
Orin Scrivello D.D.S et all: Nick Watson
The Voice of Audrey II: Kennedy Salters*
Audrey II Puppeteer: John David Scott*
Chiffon/Crystal Understudy: Elsa Miller
Ronnette/The Voice of Audrey II Understudy: Jadyn Muralt
Mushnik Understudy: Josh Krupke
Seymour Understudy: Brad Lo Walker
Orin Scrivello D.D.S/Audrey II Puppeteer Understudy: Vincent Milay
Little Shop of Horrors will play at Village Theatre’s Francis J. Gaudette Theatre September 14–October 22, 2022. The show will then move to Everett Performing Arts Center October 28–November 26, 2022. Tickets are available online.
TheatreWorks’ 2022/23 Season Will Highlight New Works and Classic Favorites
The 52nd season of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has been announced. The Tony-winning theatre will present six shows beginning in November 2022 and ending in August 2023.
“We invite audiences to lift their voices with us this season,” said Artistic Director Tim Bond. “In celebration that live, in-person theatre has returned; in awe for thrilling moments of joy and theatricality; in unison as we share these diverse stories of global cultures, people, and perspectives. TheatreWorks’ 52nd Season will include six incredible shows, full of the joy and passion you have come to expect from our Tony Award-winning company.”
The season kicks off in November with the fan favorite musical Little Shop of Horrors (November 30–December 24, 2022). The setting of this campy show will be moved to San Francisco’s Chinatown and the production will highlight a multicultural cast. Little Shop of Horrors features a score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the Academy Award-winning duo behind Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
Next comes the West Coast Premiere of In Every Generation (January 18–February 12, 2023). The winner of the National Jewish Playwriting Content, this multi-generational, multi-lingual, multicultural play takes a time-traveling voyage through four millennia of Passover seders past, present, and future. In Every Generation is written by Ali Viterbi and directed by Michael Barakiva.
In March, TheatreWorks will present Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer (March 8–April 2, 2023). Award-winning actor Greta Oglesby, who starred in TheatreWorks’ Gem of the Ocean earlier this year, will return to play Fannie Lou Hamer. Artistic Director Tim Bond will direct this musical which follows the famed civil rights activist in her inspiring gospel journey to justice, from sharecropper to co-founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and becoming an outspoken voice for African American voting rights. The musical is written by Cheryl L. West.
Continuing the season will be the World Premiere of A Distinct Society (April 5–30, 2023). This play from Kareen Fahmy was developed during the 2021 TheatreWorks New Works Festival Online. In this moving play, a quiet library that straddles United States and Canada becomes the battlefield for border control. As an Iranian family separated by the Muslim travel ban seeks refuge within its doors, the library’s occupants grapple with the power of the law versus the powers of the heart. TheatreWorks Artistic Associate and Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli will direct this play that is presented in association with Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Theatre.
Up next is Steel Magnolias (June 7–July 2, 2023), directed by actor and director Elizabeth Carter. Written by Robert Harling, this beloved play follows a tight-knit group of Southern women who flock to Truvy’s beauty parlor, where its occupants dish gossip, do hair, and provide strength and support through life’s joys and tragedies. The comic drama enjoyed high acclaim during its run on Off-Broadway before being adapted into the beloved film.
The season closes with the World Premiere of Alice Bliss (July 12–August 6, 2023). This musical is based on the book by Laura Harrington and was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons and TheatreWorks. Set in upstate New York during the Iraq War, this new musical is an intimate and stunning tale of a family seeking hope in the midst of crisis as headstrong teenager Alice struggles to hold them together.
Season subscriptions are now available online. Single tickets will be available in November 2022.
Village Theatre Has Appointed New Leadership: Adam Immerwahr as Artistic Director and Laura Lee as Managing Director
Laura Lee comes from a 30-year career in nonprofit service and advocacy for the arts. Adam Immerwahr was the artistic director of Theater J in Washington D.C. for the past six and a half years. They will take over for Executive Producer Robb Hunt who leaves Village Theatre after 43 years.
After Village Theatre’s Executive Producer Robb Hunt announced his retirement in 2021, the local theater has led a nationwide search for a new leadership team. Village Theatre’s board of directors and Management Consultants for the Arts (a team of seasoned leaders from the arts and culture world that helps organizations fill positions) have filled the managing director and artistic director roles. This dual leadership will be a change from the single leadership model of Robb Hunt.
“Adam and Laura were chosen from an extensive list of qualified candidates and as a team bring a unique energy, experience, and vision to Village Theatre and are positioned to steer the organization soundly into the future,” Board President Jill Klinge said. “We are excited for our community of artists and patrons to meet our new ‘dream team!’”
Laura Lee has most recently filled the managing director position at ArtsWest, a Seattle theater and gallery, for the past nine years. In addition to arts administration, Lee’s experience extends to finance, marketing, PR and fundraising.
“As a passionate lover of musical theater, a believer that theater needs new works to stay relevant, and as a mom and theater administrator who knows the power of arts education, I am so honored to be joining this organization,” Lee shared.
Joining Village Theater from the East Coast, Adam Immerwahr’s most recent position was the artistic director of Theater J, the nation’s premier Jewish theater. He served as the associate artistic director at McCarter Theatre and as resident director of Passage Theatre, both in New Jersey.
“I am humbled and honored to be the next Artistic Director at Village Theatre,” Immerwahr said. “Musical theater was how I fell in love with theater as an art form, and I’m thrilled to be returning to it. Over the past four decades, Village Theatre has become a leader in arts education, in the development of new musical theater, and in creating productions that delight and enthrall its audiences; I know we will continue to build upon that incredible legacy.”
Laura Lee and Adam Immerwahr will both begin their new positions this month.
Watch “Reunite With the Arts” and Get Inspired Again
A new video created by ArtsFund shares the impact of the arts in times of upheaval and challenges in order to inspire all.
ArtsFund—a local nonprofit that supports the arts through leadership, advocacy, and grant making—is furthering its mission of building a healthy, equitable and creative Washington by producing Reunite With the Arts. This video shares the stories of Washington’s arts and cultural community members throughout the difficulties of the past two years.
“Over the past two years, our communities have been disconnected,” said Michael Greer, ArtsFund President and CEO. “And as we begin to reconnect with our friends and family, we’re using arts and culture in order to do that. Arts and culture are incredibly excited to play that role within our communities.”
The video chronicles the trials, obstacles, and accomplishments that the arts sector has experienced during the pandemic, painting an inspiring picture of how individuals have come together in their time of most need. During the pandemic the arts and cultural sectors have been hit extremely hard, impacting everyone from artists to arts administrators, from the highest level of leadership to the ushers.
Now that we are beginning to see a glimpse of light at the end of this dark tunnel, with the community defying all obstacles and bouncing back, ArtsFund provides this video as a rallying call for all to get involved and participate in new ways. It reminds us of the power and possibility that the arts provide us while we look towards the future.
Learn more at ArtsFund’s website.
Taproot Theatre Announces Three Shows for Their 2022 Season
Taproot Theatre Company has announced they will be bringing three shows to their stage for the 2022 season. The season will feature the comedy The Nerd, Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee, and a new cabaret by the Russell family.
The Nerd
Three’s already a crowd in Willum’s house, but it’s as tight as a game of sardines when Rick unexpectedly arrives. He’s as interesting as quality control at a chalk factory, until his antics jeopardize Willum’s career. Sure, Rick once saved Willum’s life, but now he’s ruining it! Pass the deviled eggs, this party’s about to become a saucer-smashing good time!
Black Coffee
The formula for a secret weapon has been stolen, and that isn’t the only mystery in the Amory house! When Sir Claude discovers the theft, he locks his family in the library. Moments later there’s a dead body, a room full of suspects, and a Belgian sleuth at the door. Witness the famous Hercule Poirot untangle a jumble of deceptions to discover whodunit.
A Night with the Russells: The Legacy of Us
An evening of laughter, love, and unrelenting joy! Seattle’s own Sarah, Be, and Faith Bennett Russell carry on their family’s legacy as storytellers, while celebrating their individual journeys as Black female artists. From their roots in Jamaica to their home in Seattle, this cabaret is filled with songs both new and old. Bring your tissues and party-poppers and prepare to leave with a song in your heart.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Releases Teaser Video for “Sense and Sensibility”
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will present Sense and Sensibility March 9–April 1, 2022 at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto. Based on Jane Austen’s classic novel, with book, music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, this beloved story follows the Dashwood sisters as they navigate love, romance and heartbreak.
This musical adaptation will have its regional premiere this spring at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Created by the team that delighted audiences with Pride and Prejudice and Emma this musical is “impossible to resist!” (San Diego Union Tribune). Check out the teaser trailer for Sense and Sensibility below and don’t forget to get your tickets to this enchanting musical that brings a classic and beloved novel to life in a new way.