ArtsWest will produce Born with Teeth as the third production in their 2023-2024 Season. Written by Liz Duffy Adams and directed by Artistic Director Mathew Wright, this two-hander features Michael Monicatti (Seattle Rep’s Teenage Dick) as Christopher Marlowe and Ricky Spaulding (Village Theatre’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood) as William Shakespeare. Born with Teeth performs at ArtsWest from February 1 through February 25. Tickets are available online at artswest.org or by phone at (206) 938.0963.

An aging authoritarian ruler, a violent police state and a restless, polarized people seething with paranoia: It’s a dangerous time for poets. Two of them — the great Christopher Marlowe and the up-and-comer William Shakespeare — meet in the back room of a pub to collaborate on a history play cycle, navigate the perils of art under a totalitarian regime and flirt like young men with everything to lose. One of them may well be the death of the other in this biting comedy about ambition, ego, and history.

Following ArtsWest’s mission to produce work that uses live theatre as a powerful agent of change, the company has a history of examining classic texts and classic characters through contemporary lenses. Their past productions of Death of a Salesman, Ghosts, and Saint Joan took these canonical works and made them relevant and accessible to today’s audiences. While Born with Teeth is a contemporary play, it shares the spirit of looking at history from a new perspective. “Liz Duffy Adams has written an extraordinary play, dazzling in its language and deeply human in its heart,” says director Mathew Wright. “Ricky and Michael are two of Seattle’s most exciting actors, and watching them have it out with each other as these two mytho-historical figures is nothing short of thrilling. The play is full of brilliant wordplay, intrigue, sharp humor and deeply moving questions about the need for human connection.”

ArtsWest will present Born with Teeth, Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 3 pm.

Cast
Michael Monicatti – Christopher Marlowe
Ricky Spaulding – William Shakespeare

Creative Team
Directed by – Mathew Wright
Stage Manager – Kait Mahoney
Lighting Designer – Chih-Hung Shao
Costume Designer – Jocelyne Flower
Scenic Designer – Jeremy Hollis
Sound Designer – Sandra Huezo-Menjivar

About the Production
Born with Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams and directed by Mathew Wright plays February 1st – 25th, 2024 at ArtsWest (4711 California Ave SW). Tickets (ranging from $15 – $45) may be purchased online at www.artswest.org, by phone at 206.938.0339, or at the Box Office Thurs. – Sat. 2:00 – 7:00 pm, Sundays 11:00 am-3:00 pm.

About ArtsWest
ArtsWest is a vibrant center for both theater and visual arts located in the West Seattle Junction. This 149-seat theatre provides a unique setting for audiences and artists as stories of human emotion unfold in an intimate space. Winner of the American Theatre Wing’s National Theatre Company Award, and winner of multiple Gregory Awards, ArtsWest has produced work by such varied playwrights as Dominique Morisseau, Henrik Ibsen, Annie Baker, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Taylor Mac, and David Henry Huang. ArtsWest produces artistic events that provoke conversation, incite the imagination, and use live theater as a powerful agent of change.