Actor Ethan Sandler, a 1991 Mercer Island High School grad (and former “flag dude” at MIHS), has written a play with old college chum Adrian Wenner called “Epitaph,” that will be performed at Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse on May 27.
The play is about losing the perfect person you’ve never met.
“We know that everyone shares in their lives a person that they loved who was perfect: Witty, beautiful, intelligent, who lights up a room when they enter it. The only problem is, that love is usually unrequited,” said Sandler. “So we created that perfect woman, and then killed her.”
The play opens at the perfect woman’s funeral, and proceeds with two men, one who went to college with her and one who worked with her after college, who struggle with her loss.
“It’s an exploration of where love meets addiction and obsession,” said Sandler.
“Epitaph” has already garnered the Best Sketch Award at the 2004 HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., and was the first production to be nominated for both the Perrier (Best Comedy) and Stage Award (Excellence in Acting) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Britain.
Sandler and Shana Bestock, the artistic director of the Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, have been friends since their school days on Mercer Island performing at Youth Theater Northwest. Bestock asked Sandler to bring his comedy to Seattle for three weeks.
“The good thing about this play is that it’s never done. . . we’re always tweaking it, so there’s something new every night,” said Sandler. “Together, we play 30 characters, or about four characters a scene. Hopefully, it’s an hour of funny stuff.”
For more information about the show, contact the box office at 206-524-1300 or visit www.seattlepublictheater.org . Tickets are $12-20.
Pike Place Seafood line expands
After a successful year of partnership with the world famous Pike Place Market fishmongers creating “Our Market Naturals,” sauces for fish, Island resident John Lettengarver decided to expand the line to include new sauces, spice blends and grilling planks.
“We started with five products and now we have 30,” said Lettengarver. “What we’re trying to do is build a franchise at the seafood counter, so that at the store you can buy some salmon, take the grilling plank, mix the salmon seasoning with tartar or horseradish sauce and it adds a great flavor to the salmon during and after cooking.”
The new sauces include Alder Smoked Walla Walla Onion tartar sauce and horseradish sauce. The new spice blends are Northwest Seafood Seasoning, Clam and Mussel Boil, Salmon Basting Sauce and Pike Place Fish Markets “Own Rub.” The new grilling planks are available in various sizes and include Red Cedar, Alder and Maple Wood. All Puget Sound Food products are all-natural, preservative-free and shelf stable.
Lettengarver, who has lived on Mercer Island for 15 years, said that he’s going to continue to grow his three-year company with new products in the second half of this year.
For further information, contact Puget Sound Foods at 206-622-6650 or via its web sites at www.pugetsoundfoods.com , or www.marketnaturals.com
