Just as back-to-school time is perceived to be a new beginning, Fall in the Seattle theater community is a renewed and energized time after usually sleepy-ish summers filled with outdoor performances and a few, hopefully, air-conditioned indoor shows. This fall is no exception. It’s a privilege to help you find a gem or two to discover from these great options..

Fall Musicals:

Seattle loves musicals, and we have great production companies that we can count on for great performances, terrific singers, and a wide variety of topics. September brings an iteration of a rebooted classic musical, Damn Yankees, from Reboot Theatre Company. The company switches genders and challenges stereotypes, and is known for its fun interpretations of shows you might think you know well. Baseball fanatic Joe Boyd trades his soul to the Devil, also known as Mr. Applegate, to lead his favorite team to victory in the pennant race against the New York Yankees. (Theatre Off Jackson, Sep 6-21)

Village Theatre starts its season with two well-known musicals, Camelot (Issaquah: Sep 10-Oct 13; Everett: Oct 19-Nov 10) and Legally Blonde (Issaquah: Nov 12-Dec 22, Everett: Jan 4-26, 2025). Camelot’s intimate new adaptation (read: smaller cast) focuses on the legendary love triangle at its core. An idealistic King Arthur hopes to build his kingdom on a foundation of justice and order, only to find his principles tested by the love between Queen Guenevere and his favorite knight, Sir Lancelot. Based on the movie of the same name, Legally Blonde introduces Valley Girl Elle Woods, who appears to have it all. But when her boyfriend dumps her so he can attend Harvard Law, she’s determined to get him back and somehow gets into Harvard Law, too. Once there, she works hard enough to discover that she actually belongs.

5th Avenue Theatre invites you to immerse yourself in the sultry Jazz Age of the Harlem Renaissance, where the Cotton Club is the place to be! After Midnight is infused with the iconic tunes of Duke Ellington, Dorothy Fields, and Harold Arlen. It includes insistent dance moments and the rhythmic poetry of Langston Hughes in a jubilant production fit to blow the roof off the theater. Swing with songs like “Stormy Weather,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing.”(THIS SHOW HAS MOVED TO SUMMER 2025)

Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical is presented at Seattle Children’s Theatre (Sep 26-Oct 27) where Cat Kid and Molly Pollywog have started a club to teach 21 rambunctious baby frogs how to make their own comics! This musical is based on Dav Pilkey’s irreverent, hilarious book series, so you can read the story with your child, too. (Ages 6+, 60 minutes, no intermission.)

Then, shortly after, Havana Hop (Oct 16–Nov 16) introduces Yeila, who visits her grandmother in Cuba and blends a salsa flavor into her own hip-hop style! Dance along in this dynamic participatory play, where one actress creates three generations of lively women exploring their multi-cultural heritage. (Ages 2+, 60 minutes, no intermission.) Bi-lingual storytelling (English/Spanish) nurtures awareness of the wider world.

Fall Plays:

Also in September is a much-anticipated season opener from ACT Theatre, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive (Sep 7-22). LA comic actor and well-loved former Seattle resident Jillian Armenante directs Selena Fillinger’s comedic story of seven extraordinary women managing the antics of the President of the US. Not exactly a true story, this witty satire offers a tribute to the unsung heroes behind the political curtain.

Later in the season, ACT presents a second edition of their New Works Northwest new play festival (Oct 30-Nov 3) and adds an additional event: Monologue Night. This welcome festival focuses on opportunities for local playwrights and expands to partner with local playwright groups Script Lab and Rain City Projects.

Then, a world premiere of Mrs. Loman is Leaving (Oct 12-27) from local playwright Katie Forgette presents a delightful backstage comedy unfolding on the opening night of the fictional Teacup Theatre’s production of Death of a Salesman. Two actors, returning after years away, confront uncomfortable truths about identity, representation, and the stories theatres choose to tell. Forgette uses her excellent sense of humor to explore the human experience. The annual iterations of both A Christmas Carol and The Dina Martina Show cap off the year.

On the Boards has an exciting list of (typically brief) artistic shows starting with Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World (Sep 12-14). Internationally renowned British- Iranian artist Javaad Alipoor goes on a wild ride down the rabbit hole of Wikipedia and murder mystery podcasts. This interdisciplinary work sorts through the tangle of digital information about the mysterious murder of an Iranian pop icon to reveal the limits of search engines in this post-colonial world.

Next, Indian School (Nov 4-16) returns Seattle-based visual and performance artist Timothy White Eagle to OtB to present a deeply personal performance about displacement and identity, tracing the impact of America's history of cultural genocide. Through it, he confronts trauma, celebrates resilience, and emphasizes the importance of reclaiming Indigenous experiences.

A tiny but mighty company, Filament: A Collab Lab, performs What I Like (Sep 12-15 at Magnuson Park Amphitheater). Local playwright Nathan Brockett adapts the work of Charles Mee into a theatrical game played by six performers in various pairings, personifications, and properties, and celebrates how we follow our impulse to create and where that impulse leads us.

The Feast (formerly known as The Williams Project) presents The Adding Machine: A Cyborg Morality Play, in a co-production with Intiman Theatre (Sep 12-Oct 6, at The Lee Center, Seattle University). This production will incorporate artificial intelligence into its artistry, adapting Elmer Rice’s century-old classic novel for a new generation. Zero loses their job to a machine, so they kill their boss. They are then sent on a hallucinatory journey through internet culture, the legal system, the underworld, and the future as they struggle to understand their value.

Speaking of Intiman, it will debut a new effort it is calling the Intiman Cabaret. Along with full productions in October and November, Intiman will bring a series of short runs starting with Hotel Gatsby (A BeautyBoiz Macabre Creation) to the Erickson Theatre (Oct 31-Nov 22). You can check in anytime, they say, but baby, you can never leave. Brace yourself for a blend of soul-disturbing ballads and electrifying, high-energy dance and drag performances that will leave your heart pounding and your spine tingling. At Hotel Gatsby, the extraordinary awaits—and it's dying to meet you. Sounds like great programming.

Then, Triple Fire Sign: Justin Huertas in Concert (Nov 4-5) gives one of our brilliant local creators, fresh off his Lizard Boy run at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a concert event created exclusively for the Intiman Cabaret. Justin shares a fi ery playlist of acoustic bops and bangers to boil the blood—including tunes from his next world premiere musical! Joining him is his honey-voiced honey Tyler Roger, and other special guests.

And, Tennessee Rising: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams (Nov 8-10) is written and performed by Jacob Storms. Storms sheds light on the unexplored early years of young Tennessee Williams, one of the great American playwrights. The world is on the brink of World War II, and a young gay writer named Tom has fi nally escaped his family home but still has to cope with the harsh realities of life. He creates a new character for himself to play, Tennessee Williams, and we meet the people in his life who will go on to inspire his most iconic characters. If you thought you knew Tennessee Williams, think again.

A co-production from ArtsWest with Pratidhwani brings Guards At The Taj (Sep 12-Oct 6) If you were able to see two Rajiv Joseph plays this year from ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani, here’s a chance to see a third in one year! In 1648 India, two Imperial Guards watch from their post as the sun rises for the fi rst time on the newly-completed Taj Mahal—an event that shakes their respective worlds. When they are ordered to perform an unthinkable task, the aftermath forces them to question the concepts of friendship, beauty, and duty, and changes them forever.

Taproot Theatre presents a play based on the real-life friendship between famed contralto Marian Anderson and physicist Albert Einstein. My Lord, What a Night (Sep 18-Oct 19) introduces Marian Anderson as she is denied lodging after a sold-out Princeton University performance. Albert Einstein, a longtime fan, invites her to stay in his home. Over time, they grapple with their responsibilities as an artist and scientist in a world plagued by racial segregation and a looming world war.

Seattle Rep opens its season with The Skin of Our Teeth (Sep 26-Oct 20). Imagine you’ve been married for 5,000 years, raised a couple of kids, and survived multiple catastrophic disasters. Join the Antrobus family on a time-bending romp from the age of the dinosaurs to our 21st-century election year, to what might just be the end of the world as we know it. Featuring an epic-sized cast and dozens of community guest stars, Thornton Wilder’s action-packed comedy is a love letter to human endurance.

In October and November, Seattle Rep will perform Primary Trust (Oct 24-Nov 24). Kenneth has lived his entire life in the same small town. Every day he works at the bookstore, then shares happy hour Mai Tais with his best friend. So what if his best friend is imaginary? Every day is the same, just the way Kenneth likes it—until he is laid off , his world is turned upside down, and suddenly things must change. This intimate and off beat new comedy by Eboni Booth tells a surprising story about one man’s leap of faith and the friends he makes along the way.

The Mouthwater Disabled Arts Festival (Oct 1-13 at 12th Avenue Arts) is being produced through Velocity Dance Center’s Made in Seattle new dance development program. Co-founded by Saira Barbaric, NEVE, and Vanessa Hernández Cruz, the festival blends performance art, dance, and music by disabled creatives. Disabled artists from all over the country will gather in town to share their work, develop their practice, and foster cross-disability solidarity and community understanding.

If you missed the Seattle Rep’s production last season of What the Constitution Means to Me, Harlequin Productions in Olympia can make up for it (Oct 18-Nov 3). Playwright and Seattle “alum” Heidi Schreck’s boundary- breaking autobiographical play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-yearold Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. Narrating as her teenage self, she describes four generations of women and the founding document that shaped them all. (Local high school debate teams are recruited to participate in the show.)

As many productions as are listed here, there will still be more than double that number of productions to choose from. Hopefully, you’ll find some to experience, for a new adventure.