Jay Irwin

Seattle

Contributor at BroadwayWorld

Reviewer, Actor, Director, and all around theater GEEK!

Articles

Review: LIFE OF PI at The Paramount Theatre

1 week ago | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Get Access To Every Broadway StoryUnlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click. Email:Existing user? Just click login. Dear Readers, sometimes we get magic on stage. Whether that’s in the form of a captivating performance or some brilliant tech wizardry or maybe some stunning direction, this magic is what we yearn for when we go to the theater. Lucky for you, all three have come to the Paramount with the gripping “Life of Pi”.
Review: A RAISIN IN THE SUN at Taproot Theatre

4 weeks ago | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Dear Readers, in the past I’ve talked about plays that are essential for your theatrical education, plays that are just good for you. If those fluff plays out there are candy, then these essentials are your vegetables. Once such play is Lorraine Hansberry’s Pulitzer Prize winning classic from 1959, “A Raisin in the Sun”, considered by many to be one of the best plays written.
Review: CARNIVAL OF CURIOSITIES at The Can Can

1 month ago | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Rejoice Dear Readers, as the Carnival is in town. But not your average carnival. No. This is the Can Can and to celebrate their 20th anniversary (yes, they’ve been titillating for 20 years) they’ve brought us a sultry, steamy, magical extravaganza with “Carnival of Curiosities”. We enter the Carnival, of course, with our host Jonathan Betchtel, the sexiest janitor ever. And he’s here to tell us that we missed it. The Carnival was last night.
Review: WAITRESS at The 5th Avenue Theatre

1 month ago | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Dear Readers, when the rights for local theaters to produce hit shows become available, or start to become available, you know every theater will be vying to be the first. One such show currently in this situation is Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson’s huge hit “Waitress”. And once those rights are out there, we get to see what the local houses can do. Are they up to the task or will it just be a pale imitation of the Broadway and touring runs?
Review: MOTHER RUSSIA at The Seattle Rep

1 month ago | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Enter Your Email to Unlock This ArticlePlus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe. Email:Existing user? Just click login. If you’re at all familiar with the plays of Lauren Yee, Dear Readers, then you know of her delightfully odd situations, rich characters and scintillating dialog. People are still talking about last season’s “Cambodian Rock Band” but my favorite was her “King of the Yees”.
Review: LETTERS FROM MAX at Seattle Public Theater

1 month ago | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Dear Readers, I love a good play that can make me feel something. Not just tell me a story but immerse me in the subject. One such play is Sarah Ruhl’s “Letters From Max” currently playing at Seattle Public Theater. And while it certainly got to me, the play itself has some accessibility issues I need to discuss. It’s a simple yet sad premise as we meet Sarah (Marianna de Fazio), the embodiment of the playwright herself, who takes on a student, Max (Alexander Kilian), in her writing class.
Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS from ACT And The 5th Avenue Theatre

2 months ago | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Dear Readers, if you’re not familiar with the Jason Robert Brown love story, “The Last Five Years” currently being offered from ACT and The 5th Avenue Theatre, you could get a bit confused watching it. So be sure to read on to avoid confusion. But for myself, I’ve seen it a few different times. I’ve seen it with a larger cast than just the normal two people, I’ve seen a production that chose to change the intent of the breakup, and, of course, I’ve seen the movie.
Review: BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY at Seattle Rep

2 months ago | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Dear Readers, I’m all for a slice of life play showing the inequities in class, race, gender, etc. in the past and spotlighting how far we have not come. Such a play is Pearl Cleage’s “Blues for an Alabama Sky”, currently playing at the Seattle Rep. It’s not a new play; in fact it’s about 30 years old. But it still packs in some resonance. What it fails to pack in completely is much of an arc or ending for its characters. The story follows some denizens of Harlem in the 1930’s.
Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at The Paramount Theatre

Jan 8, 2025 | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Dear Readers, first off let me wish you a Happy New Year and here’s hoping we’re in for some outstanding theater in 2025. But for now let’s set the not so way back machine to 2021 where I managed to see a new musical in previews Off-Broadway, “Kimberly Akimbo”. And let me say, Readers, it didn’t blow me away. It was cute with some fun songs but didn’t thrill me. Then it went to Broadway, and everyone lost their minds over it, and it won the Tony.
Review: BLITHE SPIRIT at Seattle Rep

Dec 5, 2024 | broadwayworld.com | Jay Irwin

Dear Readers, I do love a good farce. That rollicking romp with oodles of physical comedy and improbable situations. Combine that with a good comedy of manners and it’s gold. What that spells is Noël Coward’s classic “Blithe Spirit” and lucky for us, it’s playing at the Seattle Rep. And while there were a few little hiccups, the show is a laugh riot!In this blissfully ridiculous play we open in the 1940’s in the opulent home of Charles and Ruth (Arlando Smith and Gin Hammond).