This fall, Seattle’s stages are packed with productions that reflect the urgency of our moment, as well as the escapism we sometimes crave. Independent theaters continue to tackle political and social issues head-on, while larger companies are bringing ambitious regional debuts and classics reimagined for today. It’s a season that makes clear how central theater remains to civic life here.

Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play

Presented by Theatre Off Jackson, Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play brings audiences into the world of 14-year-old Ami, who wants nothing more than a normal American adolescence. Everything changes when a Japanese exchange student arrives at her school, and soon after, she discovers that her grandmother invented MSG. These revelations send her on a time-traveling adventure written by Keiko Green, one of the hottest young playwrights working today. (Her show, Hells Canyon, is opening the same week at Washington Ensemble Theatre.) “Keiko wrote Exotic Deadly during the pandemic when she didn’t know if theater, as we know it, would ever exist again, so she went full out and created this wild metaphysical ride of reality crashing into fantasy that is absolutely glorious!” says Kathy Hsieh, co-executive producer with SIS Productions, which is mounting the show in collaboration with Pork Filled Productions. “The pandemic was also a time when there was a lot of anti-Asian sentiment, as many in our country blamed Asian people for the start of COVID. I love how Keiko has created such a fantastically fun play that doesn’t shy away from the dark reality of what Asian Americans have always endured.”

Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play, Now–September 20, Theatre Off Jackson.

SUFFS

Coming directly from Broadway, the Tony Award-winning musical SUFFS is kicking off its North American tour at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Developed by Shaina Taub, the first woman to ever independently win Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score in the same season, this heartwarming production looks at the American women who put it all on the line and bravely fought for the right to vote.

SUFFS, September 13–27, 5th Avenue Theatre.

The Importance of Being Earnest

This fall, Oscar Wilde’s classic will come to life at Taproot Theatre under the guidance of associate artistic director Bretteney Beverly. A delicious and comical British romp—and one of Wilde’s most popular plays—the story follows two young men in a tangled web of affairs as they both attempt to skirt their social duties and woo the women they love. “The Importance of Being Earnest is a play about love and snacks,” says Beverly. “It’s a classic script that is brimming with comic mishaps and romantic misunderstandings, but by the end of the story, all the chaos resolves into a community of celebration. I want the audiences who come see The Importance of Being Earnest to step into a world that is fresh, vibrant, and filled with color; a world that invites us to come together, laugh together, and to celebrate our differences together.”

The Importance of Being Earnest, September 17–October 18, Taproot Theatre.

Fancy Dancer

A world premiere from Seattle Rep, Fancy Dancer—written by choreographer and playwright Larissa Fast-Horse—explores a life lived navigating in the “in-between” spaces. Produced in partnership with Seattle Children’s Theatre, the autobiographical coming-of-age story follows half-Lakota and half-white Lara, whose discovery of the story of Osage prima ballerina Maria Tallchief inspires her to pursue dance.

Fancy Dancer, September 18–November 2, Seattle Rep.

Stage of Fools

Known for supporting local creatives and championing experimental work, Seattle Public Theater is premiering the newest play from local author Joy McCullough, titled Stage of Fools. Directed by Seattle-based Amy Poisson, it focuses on a struggling feminist theater company about to fold, when they receive an unexpected endowment offer: a former 80s action movie hunk will load them up with cash, if they produce Shakespeare’s King Lear—and let him play the starring role. The women are convinced they can handle anything to get them through to next season, but will the has-been star push them over the edge?

Stage of Fools, October 3–November 2, Seattle Public Theater.

This story is part of Seattle magazine’s Autumn Arts series, which highlights theater, dance, and visual arts across the city.