Originally published Friday, June 19, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print
Share
Summer theater: 'Orange Flower Water,' 'Vrooommm!,' 'Sixties Chicks'
Theater roundup: Opening this week on Seattle stages are "Orange Flower Water," by New Century Theatre Company at ACT, "Vrooommm!" by Live Girls! and "Sixties Chicks," from Harlequin Theatre.
Seattle Times theater critic
A sophomore effort by a venturesome new theater company, a revved-up comedy about female race-car drivers and a musical tribute to "sixties chicks" are on the boards soon, as summer fare by local theaters.
"Orange Flower Water"
New Century Theatre Company
Last year the fledgling professional troupe New Century Theatre Company made a splash with its first production: a sharply stylized rendition of a classic expressionist play, Elmer Rice's prescient "The Adding Machine."
Now the group, composed of seasoned theater artists who toil individually at many local theaters, is tackling the Seattle debut of a contemporary work.
"Orange Flower Water" is a study of the shattering effects of adultery on a pair of two youngish Minnesota couples who have been close friends. You may not know the play, which the Chicago Tribune called "a brutally honest drama about marriage and infidelity."
But some other scripts by author Craig Wright may ring some bells. Wright's TV credits include director/producer stints on "Six Feet Under," "Lost" and "Brothers and Sisters." He also created the shorter-lived but critically praised series "Dirty Sexy Money."
Wright continues to write for the theater, and "Orange Flower Water" has been recently staged in Chicago, New York and other cities. The New Century's version will star accomplished thesps Hans Altwies, Betsy Schwartz, Ray Gonzalez and Jennifer Lee Taylor, under Allison Narver's direction.
"Orange Flower Water" previews Wednesday, opens Thursday and runs Wednesdays-Sundays through July 19, with a special final performance on Monday, July 20, ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle; $20-$25 (206-292-7676 or www.acttheatrecompany.org).
"Vrooommm!"
Live Girls!
Live Girls! may be one of Seattle's smallest resident theaters, but it's one that stays current.
![]()
Their new show is ripped from the sports-page headlines about Danica Patrick, a race-car driver (and swimsuit model) who last month won third place in the Indy 500.
That's good timing for the Seattle premiere of "Vrooommm!," a "NASComedy," by Minneapolis playwrights Janet Allard and Michael Bigelow Dixon, about speed-lovin' gals breaking through in the male-dominated sport of stock-car racing.
An all-female cast directed by Shawn Belyea will take to the imaginary track. And the Ballard-based playhouse is promising a show rife with "crazed fans, daredevil drivers, suspicious sponsors and more mustaches, beer and karaoke bars than you can imagine."
"Vrooommm!" opens tonight and runs various dates through July 11, at Live Girls!, 2220 N.W. Market St., Seattle; $5-$18 (800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com; information, www.livegirlstheater.org).
"Sixties Chicks"
Harlequin Theatre
Down in Olympia, Harlequin Theatre is plucking a ripe concept for a jukebox musical.
"Sixties Chicks" honors some of the top female pop stars of the 1960s. The revue brings back the sounds of girl groups like The Shirelles, proto-feminist popsters like Lesley Gore ("It's My Party"), and such brilliant troubadours as Joni Mitchell and Carole King.
One hopes this summer-fun homage can do them justice. And if you want to learn more about the tenor of the times and the lives of the music makers, we refer you to rock writer Sheila Weller's juicy, behind-the-scenes book, "Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon — And the Journey of a Generation."
"Sixties Chicks" plays tonight through July 18 at the State Theater, 202 Fourth Ave., Olympia; $24-$33 (360-786-0151 or www.harlequinproductions.org).
Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
NEW - 7:00 PM
Get a kick out of Cole Porter? Marvin Hamlisch and Seattle Symphony have the program for you
Spectrum Dance Theater explores Africa in Donald Byrd's 'The Mother of Us All'
Performers sing for their supper, and to help a friend, at Lake Union Café
Shelf Talk | Medical Lectures + medical info: at your public library!
NEW - 7:04 PM
Toy-maker shifts gears into sculpting career

nwautos
(Honda) First fits The first of the all-electric 2013 Honda Fit EVs have been delivered to Google, Stanford University and the city of Torrance, Calif...
Post a comment
- Powell's story: cruelty, abuse from an early age
- Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
- Boeing worker caught under 787 wheel has legs amputated
- Jeffrey Zaslow, 'Last Lecture' author, dies in car crash at 53
- Santorum to visit on day gay marriage expected to be signed into law
- Two boys' funeral is about their lives, not their deaths
- State budget writers get good news with $200M windfall
- Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson fights to keep Kings from moving to Seattle
- Empty, foreclosed houses burden cities, neighborhoods
- Seattle couple's car towed into a twilight zone | Danny Westneat | Danny Westneat
- AP Source: Obama to change birth control rule
604 - It's time for Seattle to forgive David Stern
238 - Truth Needle | Gay-marriage wave of lawsuits claim mostly false
189 - Santorum to visit on day gay marriage expected to be signed into law
188 - Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson fights to keep Kings from moving to Seattle
140 - Empty, foreclosed houses burden cities, neighborhoods
116 - Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
109 - Seattle couple's car towed into a twilight zone | Danny Westneat
87 - American family decline: It's about money, not morals
63 - Pac-12 picks ... including the UW game
39
- Seattle's Sage Bionetworks seeks a drug-discovery revolution
- Empty, foreclosed houses burden cities, neighborhoods
- Art critic, 90, can't complain about this show — it's hers
- Boeing worker caught under 787 wheel has legs amputated
- How to travel between Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver, B.C.
- The GOP's indefensible rhetoric on national security | George Will / Syndicated columnist
- Lots of options for getting students into computing programming
- The role of faith in health-care delivery | Guest columnist
- 'Writing out' a 787 flight plan never so much fun for Boeing pilots
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color











