Full disclosure: The Stranger has not yet seen Ms. Pak-Man: Multiple Lives! No one has. But the talent behind this world-premiere theatrical extravaganza makes it eminently suggestible. Scott Shoemaker is a seriously gifted performer who’s made star turns out of Prince impersonations, modern-dance cameos, and a half-dozen amazing performances in Ian Bell’s Brown Derby Series. In Ms. Pak-Man: Multiple Lives!, Shoemaker stars as the voracious eight-bit feminist icon, going full yellowface for a Behind the Music–style musical biographical journey. (Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, 8 pm, $20, 21+, Sept 4–6)

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...