Valentine’s Day may be officially off the calendar, but this weekend’s lineup of theatrical offerings on stages in Bellingham, Lynden and Anacortes shows romance is still in the air. However, schmaltzy tales of passion are not on the roster, and happy endings are far from guaranteed.
For example, “Branwen Spikes the Drink” takes an irreverent look at the typically tragic legend of Tristan and Isolde for its final weekend, with showings from Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 17–19 at the Sylvia Center for the Arts in Downtown Bellingham.
Rosalind Reynolds, iDiOM Theater’s Playwright in Residence, has crafted a tale focused more on medieval mayhem than on the untimely demise of a star-crossed couple. Featuring Karianne Nelson-Brannan as the titular character who accidentally slips a love potion to the wrong person — thus causing her bestie Isolde (Siara Lindholm) to fall in love with her husband’s nephew Tristan (Elijah Rakha-Sheketoff) instead of her actual spouse — the retelling sees Branwen and company desperately trying to avoid discovery, dishonor and death. Unpredictably, laughs ensue.
“The opportunity to collaborate with so many talented and hard-working artists, especially in this time of uncertainty and disconnection, has been a gift.” — Rosalind Reynolds, iDiOM Theater’s Playwright in Residence
“Branwen Spikes the Drink” is Reynolds’ final full-length show in her two-year stint as iDiOM’s Playwright in Residence, and as she nears the end of her residency she’s feeling plenty of gratitude for the experience.
“In spite of the craziness of the past two years — global pandemic, theater shutdowns, masks and vaccination cards, small audiences and no audiences — it’s been an unforgettable experience,” Reynolds said in a playwright’s note. “The opportunity to collaborate with so many talented and hard-working artists, especially in this time of uncertainty and disconnection, has been a gift.”
Across town, the Bellingham Circus Guild will be wrapping up its “My Circus Valentine” shows Feb. 18–20 at its expansive Cirque Lab on Harris Avenue in the Fairhaven district. As usual, the event that began as a one-off performance in 2010 is focused on the breadth of human experience, not just what happens when two people fall in love. Hilarity, magic, aerial acts, trapeze dancing and heart-filled performances should be expected.
“I’ve always chosen to feature acts that reflect a well-rounded range of emotions that anyone can relate to,” founder and circus pro Anneka Deacon said in advance of this year’s 12-show run. “Romantic love gets enough of our focus, and the truth is, not everyone gets as much of that kind of love as they might desire. We need each other and we need to feel that we belong. Life is difficult and confusing, and a lot of the time it just doesn’t make sense.”
In Lynden, “The Groom Has Cold Feet” enters its second weekend of shows Feb. 17–20 at the Claire vg Thomas Theatre on Front Street. In this instance, wedded bliss is off the table when the soon-to-be-married Albert Webster turns up dead on the morning of his wedding to local sweetheart Kayla May Blossom.
It turns out Albert was kind of a jerk, and the list of suspects is long. Was the murderer the saloon girl Darleen, who was the last to see Albert and the girl he dumped for his betrothed? Or maybe it was Virgil, the reluctant best man and former boyfriend of the bride. For that matter, it could have been a loner named Harley, or Hazel, the about-to-be-evicted mother of the bride. With the help of audience members and local gossips, Sheriff Tickle and his daughter Sarah eventually solve the animated mystery in this wacky Western.
A killer is not on the loose in “Almost, Maine,” which the Anacortes Community Theatre is showing virtually through Feb. 27, but that doesn’t mean all is well in the romance department. In the 11 short scenes that take place on a chilly winter night in a small town in Maine, viewers will encounter broken hearts, exes who reunite only to discover they truly aren’t meant for each other, existential angst, and a couple who repeatedly fall down when they look at each other. Spoiler alert: One of the couples will have a happy ending, but I’m not about to tell you who they are.
