Digital matchmaking algorithms grow exhausting and disheartening, so it’s no wonder many hopeless romantics flock to tales of the ‘Ton with their lavish balls, promenades through the parks, and swoon-worthy, witty banter. 

The matriarch of such tales, Jane Austen, turns 250 years old this year. In celebration, Dacha Theatre is hosting a theatrical bash with a presentation of Emma, a contemporary, feminist take on Austen’s novel, written by Kate Hamill. 

There's nothing more titillating than the forbidden. Tacoma Cabaret, partnered with YouWen Production Company, knows this and flawlessly executed a Prohibition-themed show called “Velvet Rope.”

Christine Deavel’s Blue to Blue follows Beryl, a grieving daughter (played by Cecelia Frye) who can’t seem to stop getting packages of her recently deceased mother’s things delivered to her door. Beryl is accompanied by a pair of ghostly psychopomps who help her evaluate what to do when it feels like there’s no way forward.

Equipoise, defined as a balance of forces, is a name well suited for the debut Seattle dance company created by Heather Smith and Samantha Weissbach. The company, which set upon their first performance at the Yaw Theater on Friday, February 28, offered audiences a blended style of movement, tapping into the grounded athleticism and aesthetics of modern dance and the emotionally driven, raw beauty of contemporary dance.

On February 28, Seattle band Deep Sea Diver released their fourth album, Billboard Heart, their first release on the Sub Pop label. As part of their promotion of the record, the band performed songs from the album on release night at Easy Street Records in West Seattle and hosted a record signing event for fans after the show.

Writer and dance director Carol Levin published her poetry collection Confident Music Would Fly Us to Paradise in 2014. As a patron for all distinct art forms, Levin dedicates her collection to the Seattle Opera. The collection offers a deep dive into many intricate facets of a colossal opera production. 

3 weeks, 12 venues, 100+ performances. The San Francisco Sketch Festival (SF SketchFest) is renowned as the largest festival dedicated to stand-up, improv, sketch, and all comedic art forms. The 2025 world-class lineup includes Bill Murray, Kathryn Hahn, Tim Curry, the casts of Futurama and Children’s Hospital, and an anniversary staged reading of Airplane!

Barboza in Capitol Hill is a long, rectangular underground bar. Seventies ballads are playing while pink and blue lines of light beam down from industrial rafters to the dance floor below. People sit tucked away at cozy circular booths lit by flickering red candles while others gather near the stage. In the crowd, I see the opening band milling about and chatting with audience members. This is the band waltzerr, and they are about to perform their opening set before a performance from Kellan, followed by the night’s headliner, Ayo Dot & the Uppercuts. 

Ani DiFranco, folk singer and founder of Righteous Babe Records, is returning to Seattle, February 1, 2025, to the Moore Theater. In the spirit of her visit, I wanted to select a poem from her poetry collection Verses, published in 2007, which tackles “the tough issues at hand” while “her personal-is-political viewpoint is more relevant than ever”. The collection looks at the importance of art and poetry and how they can be powerful tools in rhetoric when entering political spheres.

Staged in Capitol Hill’s Annex Theatre, Marcus Gorman’s Gold: A True-ish Jewish Story is one part coming-of-age road trip and one part psychedelic music video. Directed by Jasmine Joshua and starring Rebekah Nachman and Megan Huynh, Gold follows two friends as they take a trip across America and time to uncover the raunchiest details of the Gold family’s patriarch’s secret love life. Learning about a deceased grandparent’s adulterous past might not be the fun vacation college students Frankie and Mona believe it to be.

Finally! Another Seattle drag queen becomes an official RuGirl!

Arrietty, a local Seattle drag queen, is one of the fortunate queens to make it to the newest season of RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 17). Having premiered on January 3, 2025, this season is sure to be a refuge in a time when queer people need it the most.

It began like many myths do: in darkness. Thin beams of light panned over the space from the back of the house, curious and searching. Nishimura and Kohl descended upon the stage with headlamps strapped to their brows, exploring the space with a playful curiosity. Once they arrived, lighting by Jessica Trundy illuminated the set and established the world of the performance. Transparent projection screens stretched across three points of the set, two of which concealed platforms the performers utilized throughout the performance.

Roller derby is a sport built on grit, strength, and feminism. These qualities distinguish it from most mainstream sports, which are dominated by men athletes and administrators. Even where women’s leagues exist, the structures that support them are often still dictated by men-dominated decision-making. Roller derby stands out because its foundation has been shaped by women. It is one of the few sports where women aren’t just participants, but are the driving force behind every aspect of the game.

All Hallows may have come and gone, but some ghosts still come haunting. It is a tradition of the holiday season after all—spirits haunting the arrogant wealthy. And as Charles Dickens said in A Christmas Carol, “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” 

This year marks the second annual performance of what director Valerie Curtis-Newton calls “a re-imagined version” of the show, which was interrupted in 2020 when COVID caused what was to be the almost two-year mandated closure of all theatres and live performances. Curtis-Newton’s mission is to “bring community back to our lives” and find hope in the face of the devastating effects of the pandemic, which, according to the CDC, continue to include mental and emotional health as well as compromised abilities for how we interact socially with each other.

Producer, podcast host, stand-up, improviser, writer, influencer. These are hardly enough words to describe the mega-talent that is Molina Molina. With just three years in the Seattle comedy scene at the age of 23, she has taken the city by storm. I caught up with her to chat comedy, harnessing your voice, and much more as she gears up to perform for her second consecutive year at the San Francisco Sketch Festival (the US’s largest sketch festival), featuring talent like the cast of Futurama and Bill Murray in January 2025

After seeingScott Shoemaker’s War on Christmas!, I can say confidently that this is a show you absolutely cannot miss. With a wicked sense of humor, fantastic musical parodies, and costumes that are equal parts stunning and hilarious, War on Christmas! has it all. Even this writer, a known Christmas naysayer, found the holiday spirit while watching this spectacular production, and it will no-doubt melt even the Grinchiest of hearts. This annual Christmas show, brought to us by Shoes and Pants Productions and Theatre Off Jackson, makes a wonderful introduction to the holiday season and will fill you with Xmas joy.

Teatro ZinZanni’s “Sizzle” is not just a show, but an entire experience. With a dress code of “fancy-shmancy” cocktail attire required, I went to SANCA & Emerald CIty Trapeze in SODO, already in a good mood because my outfit worked out exactly as I’d planned in my head (a big win). 

Keen-eyed (read Chronically Online) Seattle Artists know that something has been up lately at 18th & Union, the beloved Central District arts space.

I sat down with marketing director, Jazz Flora, for an exclusive inside scoop:

In early November, On the Boards unveiled a briefly-run but awe-inspiring performance: Indian School by ritualist Timothy White Eagle (he/him) and co-created with Hatlo (they/them) White Eagle. White Eagle is quick to confirm that Indian School is a collaborative effort, and not a solo show.