(THEATER) Years before he set foot in Amazon.com, Mike Daisey-the acclaimed monologist behind the Bezos-blasting 21 Dog Years and the ongoing All Stories Are Fiction-traveled to London for intensive training in the dramatic arts. Of course, shit went ridiculously awry, and tonight brings the Seattle premiere of The Ugly American, Daisey’s theatrical wrangling of his mind-blowing time abroad, directed by Jean-Michele Gregory. (ACT Theater, 700 Union St, 292-7676. Shows Tue-Sat at 8 pm, Sun at 4 pm, through June 26, $10-$35.)

David Schmader—former weed columnist and Stranger associate editor—is the author of the solo plays Straight and Letter to Axl, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the US. His latest...