On Seattle stages: Family affairs and relationship drama

The most gripping family drama taking place on the Seattle stage this month is happening on the highest floor of a downtown skyscraper. Brought to you by the peregrine falcon cam at the top of the 1201 Third Avenue building, this is a real-world story that’s also must-see TV. 

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Peregrines have chosen to nest on this ledge since 1994, so building management partnered with the Urban Raptor Conservancy to make the spring fledgling process viewable from a safe distance. (There’s a second falcon cam at the AGC building in South Lake Union, though its view isn’t quite so up-close and personal.)

High stakes family dynamics are at play, as the peregrine parents raise two fluffy chicks (called “eyasses,” as I learned in my Seattle Field Guide) and teach them to fly by diving off a 55-story building. It’s a tale that touches on conservation, species adaptation and sheer survival in the city. And it exerts a surprisingly emotional pull — especially when both parents exit the aerie in search of food, leaving the (currently flightless) eyasses to huddle together next to a sibling egg that failed to hatch. 

Content warning: The “live feed” takes on new meaning when one of the parents swoops in with sustenance, so you might not want to watch over lunch. In past years I’ve seen rats on the menu, or rather disturbingly, other small birds. But that’s just how these once-endangered falcons roll, making vital decisions — tough and tender — for their family.

Soar over to Union Arts Center and you’ll find more bird drama, in the form of The Aves (through May 3), directed by Seattle theater veteran Sheila Daniels. Here, the birds come courtesy of puppeteers, who bring them to life at the park bench that serves as the play’s central setting.

I haven’t seen The Aves yet, and reviews of productions in other cities say it’s best to go in without knowing too much. But it’s not a spoiler to say the play is about an elderly couple who makes a surreal and somewhat sci-fi decision — one with huge implications for their relationship and themselves. Written by Jiehae Park, the play uses spare and abstract dialogue to pose questions about partnerships, identity, forgiveness and the passage of time. 

The family drama continues with The Fainting Spells (April 23-26 at Erickson Theatre; 21+), featuring fresh adaptations of three classic short plays by Anton Chekhov. It’s a collaboration between Intiman Theatre and Seattle’s longrunning Seagull Project (more birds!), the latter of which is dedicated to producing work by the Russian playwright and searing chronicler of human foibles. The bill includes Swan Song, The Proposal and The Harmful Effects of Tobacco — all comedies adapted by stellar local playwrights (Keiko Green, Allison Gregory and Wayne Rawley). 

And continuing the theme is Appropriate, at Seattle Rep (through May 10), a Tony-award winning play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Set in a sprawling plantation home in Arkansas, the plot follows estranged siblings who have reunited to sort through their late father’s effects. In the process, a disturbing photo album comes to light, and the reactions it sparks in various family members propels the drama forward as the characters grapple — sometimes literally — over the big questions: love, morality, forgiveness and legacy. 

More cool ways to augment your April…

< Longrunning Connecticut-based performance company Momix is bringing its new show Alice to Meany Center (April 24-25). The unforgettable characters in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland serve as rich fodder for this inventive acrobatic dance troupe, so expect wild takes on the White Rabbit, Queen of Hearts, Caterpillar and Alice herself, big and small. 

< Seattle Independent Bookstore Day is happening this weekend (April 25), for those of us eager for any excuse to buy a new book. As always, the point is to support your local bookstore — and perhaps a few shops that are new to you as well. For hardcore bookworms, the event’s Passport Challenge encourages you to get stamped at all 33 (!) participating bookstores. Thankfully you have through May 4 to complete this extra-credit crusade.

< It’s time once again for Silent Movie Mondays at the Paramount Theatre, this month featuring the hugely influential film Faust (April 27 at 7 p.m.). Created 100 years ago by F.W. Murnau, this cinematic masterwork of German expressionism is based in part on Goethe’s classic play. Featuring demons, an archangel, an elderly alchemist and impressive special effects, the tale shows the horrors of what happens when you make a deal with the devil. Bonus: Live music accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

< And at Seattle Symphony, recently minted music director Xian Zhang conducts three works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, plus Rossini’s Overture to the Italian Girl in Algiers (April 30 - May 3). If you still haven’t seen Xian in action, this would be an excellent occasion to do so. She’s super fun to watch. My notes from the last time I saw her in action say, “clicks her heels together like Dorothy, except on tiptoe” and “so much movement exploding from the core… must be Pilates?”