Seattle’s Intiman Theatre continues its 32nd season with the world premiere of “Singing Forest,” an ambitious new play by Craig Lucas that opens tonight.
The play is a multigenerational look at one family that spans seven decades and moves back and forth in time, from Vienna in the late 1930s and Paris immediately after World War II to New York City in the year 2000, where the play is primarily set.
Lucas has written a richly textured story of people and events of the 20th century, connecting the past and the present through the eyes of a woman named Loe, a Holocaust survivor who, in her childhood, was a patient of Sigmund Freud.
Loe’s memories lead the audience back to Europe’s darkest hour, when her family and the world she knew were destroyed by Hitler’s war against Jews, homosexuals and other “undesirables.”
Among the themes explored in “Singing Forest” are family relationships, secrets from the past as well as broader issues such as psychotherapy and our culture’s infatuation with celebrity.
Lucas, who is Intiman Theatre’s associate artistic director, has written often for the theater, including the book for last year’s new musical “The Light in the Piazza.” His screenwriting credits include “The Dying Gual,” “The Secret Lives of Dentists,” “Longtime Companion” and adaptations of his plays “Prelude to a Kiss,” “Reckless” and “Blue Window.”
Bartlett Sher, Intiman artistic director, directs “Singing Forest,” which includes a cast of nine actors playing multiple roles. Among them are Seattle actors Laurence Ballard, Kristin Flanders, Malte Frid-Nielsen, Jeanne Paulsen and John Procaccino.
“Singing Forest” runs through Aug. 21 at Intiman Playhouse in Seattle.
“Singing Forest”
An Intiman Theatre production tonight through Aug. 21 at Intiman Playhouse, 201 Mercer St., at Seattle Center. Tickets, $27-$46, 206-269-1900, www.intiman.org.
“Singing Forest”
An Intiman Theatre production tonight through Aug. 21 at Intiman Playhouse, 201 Mercer St., at Seattle Center. Tickets, $27-$46, 206-269-1900, www.intiman.org.
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