Want more? Here’s everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, and This & That.
The Best Damn Thing
Through Apr 18
My introduction to Avril Lavigne was when my friend received a CD copy of Avril’s seminal 2002 album Let Go at her 12th birthday party. It was the turning of a tide in my angsty tween years, this arrival of a bold new Canadian musician who piled on the dark, smudgy eyeliner and thumbed her nose at the pop industry. I began poring over her interviews in YM magazine and raiding my dad’s closet for neckties. Hanna Kime and Sara Geist’s new meta-musical, The Best Damn Thing, aims to capture this spirit of youthful rebellion, telling the story of gay Midwestern teens Ellie and Rachel, who are determined to spread the gospel of Avril by putting on the best damn pop-punk jukebox musical this town has ever seen. The whimsical company Dacha Theatre will host its West Coast premiere, directed by Kate Drummond. (Dacha Theatre, times vary) JULIANNE BELL
Cameron Esposito
Apr 10
Chances are, you first learned about Cameron Esposito from their 2010s TV show, Take My Wife, with their then-spouse River Butcher. Or perhaps from their podcast, Queery. Or one of my personal favorites, her early stand-up talking about her queer-coded “side-mullet.” But a lot has happened in the last decade. They got divorced, got remarried, found out they had bipolar disorder, got treatment, played Greta Strobe in A Million Little Things, went through pregnancy, and became a parent. As a comedian, they don’t shy away from any of the complexity of those 10 years, and it makes their standup feel richly human. If you haven’t caught them live yet, now’s the time. (Crocodile, 5:30 pm, 21+) HANNAH MURPHY WINTER
Rory Scovel
Apr 10
Rory Scovel’s a middle-aged cis-het white comedian/actor who lives in LA, and, yes, we’ll never have a shortage of those. But this one might be the best. The 45-year-old South Carolina–born comic uses his normcore looks to slyly slip subversive absurdity and absurd subversiveness into his stand-up. His strong material about the most profound and mundane subjects is exponentially boosted by his thespian verve for performing in various characters; training in improv has lent his act a mercurial quality, with a high risk quotient that almost always pays off. Scovel’s commitment to his unconventional bits is serious. For instance, he once did a whole set while standing on an audience member’s seat armrests. Adding to the laugh factor are his hilarious send-ups of stand-up’s tired tropes and meta-commentaries on his act in progress—kind of like Todd Barry, but with the volume turned way up. And if anyone’s told a better road-head joke, I’ve not heard it. (Neptune Theatre, 7 and 9:45 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL
The Orca Show
Apr 16–19
The premise of The Orca Show caught my eye, but not for good reasons. “A perimenopausal comedy cabaret with killer whales,” read the promotional poster. My eyes rolled. My blood curdled. As with many women in their mid-40s, my social media algorithm has devolved into an endless stream of lymphatic drainage tips and bad comedy by women making perimenopause their entire personality. (Despite my best efforts to only like, share, and interact with brain-massaging pressurewashing videos and dog memes! What gives?!) That said, it sounds like The Orca Show may be a salve to my overinundated, aging brain. It’s written and performed by Aysan Celik, who is a member of Obie Award-winning companies, co-created and directed by KJ Sanchez, and recommended for fans of “Fleabag, Everything Everywhere All at Once, My Octopus Teacher, and Hannah Gadsby.” Consider my curiosity sufficiently piqued. Besides, what’s there to lose other than $37 for a ticket and a night of doomscrolling through an algorithm that doesn’t understand me anyway? But if there’s one single mention of the “health benefits” of a vibration plate, I’m leaving.(Erickson Theatre, times vary, 21+) MEGAN SELING
More
Heather Kravas: RoCoCoCoCo Through Apr 4, 12th Avenue Arts, times vary, all ages
Mother Nature: The Farewell Tour Through Apr 5, Erickson Theatre, times vary, 21+
Moisture Festival 2026 Through Apr 12, Broadway Performance Hall, times vary
Hurricane Diane Through Apr 12, Seattle Public Theater, times vary
Mary Jane Through Apr 19, Leo K. Theater, times vary
Ain’t Misbehavin’ Through Apr 25, Taproot Theatre, times vary, 16+
Gabriel Rutledge Apr 2–4, Emerald City Comedy Club, times vary, 21+
Springshot 2026: Bloom Apr 2–18, Seattle Open Arts Place, times vary
Man of La Mancha Apr 3–18, Theatre Off Jackson, times vary
Lashes Cabaret: Ladie Chablis, Londyn Bradshaw, Miss Texas 1988, Amora Namor, LüChi Apr 3 (every Friday), Unicorn, 7:30 pm, 21+, free
The Stranger Presents: The 2026 Undisputable Champions of Comedy Apr 4, Washington Hall,
7:30 pm, 21+
Les Misérables Apr 7–19, Paramount Theatre, times vary
Joketellers Union Apr 8, Clock-Out Lounge, 8 pm, 21+
Alyssa Edwards Apr 9, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, 18+
Hotel Gatsby Apr 9–12, Erickson Theatre, times vary, 21+
Walden Apr 9–May 3, ArtsWest, times vary
Appropriate Apr 9–May 10, Bagley Wright Theater, times vary
Pacific Northwest Ballet Presents: Giselle Apr 10–19, McCaw Hall, times vary, all ages
Jim Jefferies Apr 11, Moore Theatre, 7 pm, all ages
Steven Ho Apr 12, Neptune Theatre, 7 pm, ages 12+ recommended
Tush with Pupusa, Dante Vanity, Pussy Willow, and Betty Wetter Apr 12, Clock-Out Lounge, 8 pm, 21+
Leche: Hosted by Queen Andrew Scott Apr 15 (every third Wednesday), Unicorn, 7 pm, 21+
Meow Meow Apr 15–16, Triple Door, 7:30 pm, all ages
As Many Weirdos as Possible with John Roderick, Sheryl Wiser, Steve Manning, Susan Silver, Dejha Colantuono, and more Apr 17, Town Hall Seattle,
7:30 pm, all ages
Zarna Garg Apr 18, Neptune Theatre, 4 and 7 pm, all ages
The Aves Apr 18–May 3, Union Arts Center, times vary
Jet City Improv at ArtsWest: An Improvised Musical Apr 19, ArtsWest, 7:30 pm
Margaret Cho Apr 19, Moore Theatre, 7 pm, all ages
Mae Martin Apr 23, Neptune Theatre, 7 and 9:45 pm, all ages
Jonathan Van Ness Apr 24, Moore Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Ben Schwartz & Friends Apr 25, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
To the Root: A Solo Show Apr 25, Kerry Hall, 7 pm
Dina Martina: Mature Plantings Apr 29–May 3, Triple Door, times vary (See preview, pg. 37)
Orlando: A Literary Burlesque May 1–9, Theatre Off Jackson, times vary
Seattle Opera: Carmen May 2–17, McCaw Hall, times vary
Jesus Christ Superstar May 2–17, 5th Avenue Theatre, times vary
Early Warnings
Neil deGrasse Tyson May 5–6, Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages
Feat: Velocity Bash 2026 May 6, Washington Hall, 6 pm
Fauxnique: How Do I Look? May 7–9, On the Boards, 8 pm
Barefoot in the Park May 13–June 20, Taproot Theatre, times vary
Aviatrix May 15–June 7, Seattle Public Theater, times vary
Corey O’Brien May 18, Emerald City Comedy Club, 7:30 pm, 21+
The Insidious Trilogy May 20–24, On the Boards, times vary
Pacific Northwest Ballet Presents: All Lang May 29–June 7, McCaw Hall, times vary
My Straight Friends May 27, Emerald City Comedy Club, 7:30 pm, 21+
NW New Works 2026 June 4–6, On the Boards, 7 pm
Disappearance at the Rocky Mountain Leatherdyke Snowpicnic June 5–20, Annex Theatre, times vary
Frida… A Self-Portrait June 5–28, Union Arts Center, times vary
The Play That Goes Wrong June 11–28, Bagley Wright Theater, times vary
Leslie Jones July 10–12 Emerald City Comedy Club, times vary, 21+
Find all these listings and more on our sister site, EverOut Seattle!
