OPENING THIS WEEK
HOSPITALITY SUITE · Union Garage
KISS ME, KATE · The 5th Ave Theatre
PAT GRANEY DANCE: LIVE AT THE MOORE! · The Moore Theatre
LOVE IS STRANGE · Theatre Babylon
READ A PLAY WITH DAVE · Seattle Shakespeare Company
STORMY WEATHER · On the Boards
THEATRE ON THE ROCKS · Union Garage
THE WITCHES OF MACBETH · Familiar Theatre
THE WRESTLING SEASON · Seattle Children's Theatre
ONE WEEK ONLY
THE EIGHTEENTH MITZVAH · Freehold
NATIONAL ACROBATS OF TAIWAN · UW World Series
VAGANZA · lowcrawlershighflying
WILD OATS · Kirkland Performance Center
CLOSING THIS WEEK
14/48 · Consolidated Works
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF · Paramount Theatre
OPENING AND CURRENT RUNS
* 14/48
Two weekends of speedy theatrics. Every night features seven brand-new, 10-minute plays. Featuring the return of Lauren Weedman, now seen on The Daily Show. Consolidated Works, 500 Boren Ave N, 325-6500. $14.48. Fri-Sat at 8 pm and 10:30 pm, through Jan 12.
THE EIGHTEENTH MITZVAH
A staged reading of a new play by local playwright Mary Lathrop; the script, based on Jewish legend, won the 1999 new play contest at Richard Hugo House. Freehold, 1525 10th Ave, 323-7499. $7 suggested donation. Thurs-Fri at 7:30 pm, Sun at 2 pm. This weekend only.
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Theodor Bikel has played Tevye over 1,600 times. That's a lot of "daidle deedle daidle deedle daidle dum." Paramount Theatre, Ninth and Pine, 292-2787. $20-$56. Tues-Sat at 8 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm, Sun at 7:30 pm. Through Jan 13.
HOSPITALITY SUITE
My favorite PR quote of the year so far: This play is "set in the cutthroat world of industrial lubricant sales." Nosidam Productions/Moonlight Theatre Company at the Union Garage, 1418 10th Ave, 325-6500. $12 ($5 at the Jan 10 preview). Thurs-Sat at 8 pm, through Feb 2.
KISS ME, KATE
Cole Porter's backstage musical, about a production of Taming of the Shrew. The 5th Ave Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave, 292-ARTS. $18-$58. Tues-Sat at 8 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm, Sun at 7:30 pm. Through Jan 27.
LOVE IS STRANGE
Two one-acts: Amy Freed's Claustrophilia, about Edgar Allan Poe and his child bride, and Marcy Rodenborn's All Acts of Love and Pleasure, about a Christian lad trying to convert a pagan babe. Theatre Babylon at the Union Garage, 1418 10th Ave, 720-1492. $12 (Thurs is pay-what-you-can). Thurs-Sat at 8 pm; added pay-what-you-can show on Monday, Jan 28, at 8 pm. Through Feb 2.
READ A PLAY WITH DAVE
The idea here is that you will pay to read Richard II out loud, one third at a time. The only thing different from doing this in your livingroom is the coaching of David Quicksall. He'd better have something to say.... Seattle Shakespeare Company at the Performance Studio in the Seattle Center House, 1st floor, 733-8228 ex. 212. $10. Mon at 7 pm, through Jan 28.
STORMY WEATHER
Two one-acts about natural disasters, by Stranger Theater Editor Bret Fetzer and Juliet Waller, under the name Poisonous Toy Theater. Featuring many fuzzy hats. On the Boards, 100 W Roy St, 217-9888. $12. Thurs-Sun at 7:30 pm, through Jan 20.
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
The definition of glorious excess. Featuring many glamorous wigs. The Empty Space at the Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway, 547-7500. $22-$30. Tues-Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat at 8 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm, Sun at 7 pm. Through Feb 9.
THE WITCHES OF MACBETH
Three actors perform a stripped-down version (90 minutes!) of Macbeth from the Witches' point of view. Familiar Theatre at Theatre 4, Seattle Center, 4th floor, 931-4229. $10. Thurs-Sat at 8 pm. Through Jan 19.
THE WRESTLING SEASON
A play about teen boys grappling with rumors that they're gay. Featuring many buff actors in singlets. Seattle Children's Theatre, Seattle Center, 201 Thomas St, 441-3322. $21.50-$22.50 adults, $14.50-$15.50 senior/student/child. Fri at 7 pm, Sat-Sun at 2 pm and 5:30 pm. Through Feb 16.
THE ZOO STORY
Playwright Edward Albee's first big splash, about an encounter between two men in a park, accompanied by fragments of other Albee works. Insight America Touring Theater at Northwest Actors Studio, 1100 E Pike, 325-6500. $14 general, $12 students. Fri-Sat at 8 pm, through Jan 19.
DANCE
* NATIONAL ACROBATS OF TAIWAN
See Stranger Suggests. Juggling, plate-balancing, tumbling, table-spinning, unicycle-riding--you name it, these guys do it. UW World Series at Meany Hall, UW campus, 543-4880. $18-$28. Fri-Sat at 8 pm, this weekend only.
* THE PAT GRANEY COMPANY: LIVE AT THE MOORE!
See Stranger Suggests. It's a sad day when a nationally renowned local choreographer has to resort to an exclamation point. The Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave, 292-ARTS. $25.50-$36. Fri-Sat at 8 pm, through Jan 19.
VAGANZA
Butoh-inflected dance, music, and visual art, featuring Haruko Nishimura and Kristin Hapke. lowcrawlershighflying at Lelavision, 701 34th Ave, 723-5518. $10. Fri at 8 pm, this weekend only.
LATE NIGHT
THEATRE ON THE ROCKS
Drunken sketch comedy, accompanied by the sounds of San Pedro Circus. Union Garage, 1418 10th Ave. $5. Fri-Sat at 11 pm, through Jan 19.
