Who is Big Brother watching? New ‘1984’ graphic novel leaves proles, forward-minded fans out

Real Change
The ‘Bruce’ we deserve: Collaboration leads to triumph in new ‘Jaws’ musical

By Leinani Lucas | June 15, 2022

At Seattle Rep through July 3 | Music by Richard Oberacker | Book and lyrics by Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker | Directed and choreographed by Donna Feore | Tickets $23–$99

On Friday, June 10, “Bruce” splashed into the Seattle Repertory’s Bagley Wright Theater. Set in 1974 Hollywood, this new original musical throws the audience into the maw of production chaos surrounding “Jaws.” Based on the book “The Jaws Log” by Carl Gottlieb, “Bruce” manages to inspire and surprise by playing with what’s not there, much in the same way the original film terrified viewers by keeping them always on edge and waiting for the final reveal. ...
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Real Change
How fascism works, and how to stop it: Dehumanizing people is the first and last step in a fascist society

By Dave Gamrath | June 8, 2022

BOOK REVIEW: ‘How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them’ By Jason Stanley | 2018 | Paperback, $17 | Nonfiction, politics | Available at the Seattle Public Library

In “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them,” Yale professor of philosophy Jason Stanley explains the mechanics, strategies and tactics within fascism. In America, labeling a group or a person as “fascist” is typically considered an overreaction. America is the strongest democracy in the world, and fascism could never happen here! Stanley explains otherwise. ...
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Real Change
Caring for a dream: Inclusive collection of essays and interviews challenges assumptions about and barriers to queer health care

By Jed Walsh | June 1, 2022

BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Care We Dream Of: Liberatory & Transformative Approaches to LGBTQ+ Health’ Edited by Zena Sharman | 2021 | Paperback, $20 | Nonfiction, health | Available at the Seattle Public Library

What kinds of health care do trans and queer communities need in order to flourish? What obstacles are in the way? What seeds for life-affirming futures are beginning to sprout? These are just some of the provocative, expansive and open-ended questions that editor Zena Sharman takes up in “The Care We Dream Of: Liberatory and Transformative Approaches to LGBTQ+ Health.” ...
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Real Change
Contemplative nights and honest aches: Pep Borja is decolonizing sexuality one poem at a time

By Leinani Lucas | May 25, 2022

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Dry Nights’ By Pep Borja | 2021 | Paperback, $12 | Poetry, erotica | Available via InterLibrary Loan

Almost 4,000 miles west of Hawai’i, on the other side of the international dateline and situated as the southernmost island of the Mariana Islands, is the United States’ westernmost territory of Guam. Although Guam uses the US Postal service and houses military bases, citizens of Guam have little to no say in the wider American political movement. They have no votes in Presidential elections, and their representatives have no say on the House floor. ...
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Real Change
“Priory” offers epic fantasy, new worlds

By Sarah Goh | May 18, 2022

BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Priory of the Orange Tree’ By Samantha Shannon | 2019 | Paperback, $20 | Fiction, fantasy | Available at the Seattle Public Library

Set in a world of dragons, magic and court rivalries, “The Priory of the Orange Tree” by Samantha Shannon is an unparalleled epic fantasy.

When it comes to world building, fantasy books need to introduce a vast universe while still making us feel at home. There are grand myths and scenic descriptions that give us the ability to imagine and escape. But in order to craft great fantasy, there must be an element of human connection. ...
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Real Change
Selling secrets: ‘Selling Kabul’ at Seattle Rep succeeds by trading in tension

By W. Barnett Marcus | May 11, 2022

PLAY REVIEW: ‘Selling Kabul’ By Sylvia Khoury | Directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton | Seattle Rep. Leo K. through May 22 | Tickets $44–$76

The show opens quietly. Tiptoe quietly. Shared scrutiny between the audience and Taroon (Yousof Sultani) accompanies the simplest of actions as he crosses his sister’s apartment to get milk and to check his email. The audience is in the dark, and the living room is in the light. For now, the lights in the neighboring apartments are off — as long as Taroon is careful. At last, a sound that catches the breath: Somewhere offstage, a baby cries. ...
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Real Change
Up in smoke: Uninformed propaganda film has modern consequences

By Leinani Lucas | April 20, 2022

FILM REVIEW: ‘Reefer Madness’ 1936 | Public domain | Propaganda, melodrama | Streaming through the Seattle Public Library

The first time I watched “Reefer Madness” (1936), I was in high school and a goody-two-shoes, straight-A student. Even then, I knew it was campy and ridiculous. The second time I watched the movie, I was high as a kite and watching for the irony, like every college student. As a bonafide adult, I now see how this movie has its place not only as a cult classic but as a cornerstone of America’s War on Drugs. ...
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Real Change
We’re in this together: ‘Make Bosses Pay’ offers a liberatory, accessible path forward for workers — unions

By Jacob Schear | April 6, 2022

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Make Bosses Pay: Why We Need Unions’ By Eve Livingston | Pluto Books | 2021 | Paperback, $15 | Nonfiction, social justice | Available through Interlibrary Loan

As a new generation of workers finds itself staring down a lifetime of precarious, poorly paid work in the age of a deadly pandemic and limitless corporate power, the idea of unions has emerged as a potential antidote. But what can unions do for today's workers and do we need them? ...
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Real Change
’Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen’ is an expansive but exclusionary examination of Black womanhood

By Leinani Lucas | March 30, 2022

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen: The Emotional Lives of Black Women’ By Inger Burnett-Zeigler | 2021 | Hardcover, $25 | Nonfiction, psychology | Available at the Seattle Public Library

In “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen: The Emotional Lives of Black Women,” Inger Burnett-Zeigler, a licensed clinical psychologist, provides a route through the trials and tribulations of being a Black woman in today’s society. Although Black women in America are often talked about as being strong, dependable and unbreakable, that perception has contributed to their deteriorating mental and physical health. Black women are both the highest-educated demographic in the United States and generally underpaid and undervalued in both the workplace and society at large. ...
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Real Change
Who is Big Brother watching? New ‘1984’ graphic novel leaves proles, forward-minded fans out

By Katherine Luck | March 23, 2022

BOOK REVIEW: ‘1984: The Graphic Novel’ By George Orwell and Fido Nesti | 2021 | Hardcover, $22 | Fiction, dystopia | Available at the Seattle Public Library

In 1949, fresh from the horrors of World War II and the collapse of the totalitarian states of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, British author George Orwell published what is arguably the seminal dystopian novel of the 20th century: “1984.” ...
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Jobs, Journalism, Justice

The ‘Bruce’ we deserve: Collaboration leads to triumph in new ‘Jaws’ musical

How fascism works, and how to stop it: Dehumanizing people is the first and last step in a fascist society

Caring for a dream: Inclusive collection of essays and interviews challenges assumptions about and barriers to queer health care

Contemplative nights and honest aches: Pep Borja is decolonizing sexuality one poem at a time

“Priory” offers epic fantasy, new worlds

Selling secrets: ‘Selling Kabul’ at Seattle Rep succeeds by trading in tension

Up in smoke: Uninformed propaganda film has modern consequences

We’re in this together: ‘Make Bosses Pay’ offers a liberatory, accessible path forward for workers — unions

’Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen’ is an expansive but exclusionary examination of Black womanhood

Who is Big Brother watching? New ‘1984’ graphic novel leaves proles, forward-minded fans out

Aug. 3-9, 2022

Aug. 10-16, 2022

Aug. 10-16, 2022