Results tagged “centerhouse”

MONKEYSHINES: We were going to suggest you go see Chris Cornell at the Showbox SoDo, but it's sold out. So instead we'll remind you that you have until May 10 to catch the Curious George-inspired exhibit at the Children's Museum, Let's Get Curious! Is it an egregious example of product placement? Whatever, we just like it, to paraphrase Liz Lemon. Not to overshare, but Curious George was easily the most appealing character we remember coming across in our toddling era. Oh, that monkey!

The horsemen of change are upon us! Yesterday the City Council approved a $567 million master plan to transform Seattle Center into more of an open, public park. That means the Fun Forest is out when their lease ends January 2010.

    

This morning we went on a MOHAI-hosted walking tour of Seattle Center. And we remembered to bring our camera. The Center is hopping this weekend, with KEXP's Concerts at the Mural, and BrasilFest on Sunday, from noon to 8 p.m. All the capoeira and samba you can shake stick at. Then on Monday, the City Council votes on funding for the Century 21 Master Plan that will determine the look and use of the Center the next 20 years or so.

Long spoken of and rarely acted upon, the renovation and remodeling of The Seattle Center was again on the docket for Monday's City Council meeting. Center officials presented a number of new design ideas for the redevelopment of the Center. Central to these are the demolishing of Memorial Stadium and The Fun Forest. Proposed uses for the space include a new outdoor amphitheatre to replace Memorial Stadium, a brand new Center House, and plans to turn the asphalt of the Fun Forest into green space.

Is February Jane Austen month? PBS has turned every Sunday evening into a Jane celebration (see the KCTS Jane Austen blog for the definition of overkill), but if you want to experience Jane Austen the way she meant to be experienced (if you get our drift) and are too lazy to read a book, then Book-It's Persuasion is all you, baby.

Seattle Shakespeare Company's Pericles is awash in contradiction. It's the rarely performed Shakespeare play that Shakespeare may not have written. It's a comedy about a singularly painful life. It's fueled by strong performances -- Reginald André Jackson's Pericles is every minute compelling -- but marred by a directorial misstep that plagues the whole production. We don't recommend it as anyone's first Shakespeare play, but if you have never seen Pericles before, this production is a good reason to go. It runs through November 18 at Seattle Center's Center House; tickets are $20 - $34.

Through July 1 // Seattle Center House // Tickets $28 adults/$22 seniors/$18 students

Apparently, there's some other annual festival this weekend besides Sasquatch. That's right, Memorial Day also hearkens the return of Folklife, Seattle's hippiest fest, held every year at Seattle Center. Local singer-songwriter/friend of Seattlest Ali Marcus will be playing the festival (Sunday, 4pm at Cafe Impromptu in McCaw Hall), so we turned to her for an expert opinion on what's worth your time this weekend, besides hackysack and drum circle. Seattlest Kim's already given you her picks, but if you're looking for a few more options this weekend, Ali's selections are listed below.

Thurs - Sun, through April 8

Various Times // Various Places // Various Prices

READINGS: Jonathan Raban continues his all-out assault on the bookstores of Seattle with a reading tonight at the University Bookstore in support of Surveillance. How many times can we say it: Go.

BOOKS: Like mysteries? The 17th Annual Western Mystery Fan convention continues through the 4th. For a group focused on clues and figuring things out, they spell things out incredibly well on their website. Where's the fun in that?

That's how Mayor Ole Hanson described the beginning of the general strike that was held in Seattle February 1919, one of the few general strikes ever attempted in the U.S. The Bolsheviks had just won their revolution in Russia two years earlier and the Red Scare was coming into play in our country. Add 35,000 striking shipyard workers. Subtract the city's more moderate labor officials - They were in Chicago for a vote. Those left behind broached the subject of a general strike with other unions and the city was shut down on February, 6, while rumors of poisoned water, blasted dams and union heavies en route from Chicago kept everyone else either locked in their homes or fleeing for the country. In an effort to keep the peace, or kick a lot of union ass anyway if the peace got queered, the mayor brought in soldiers from Fort Lewis and deputized 2,400 frat guys and student organization members whom he armed with clubs and guns. The city teetered towards open war in the streets.

The Comedy of Errors is another Shakespeare play featuring mistaken identities. The Seattle Shakespeare Company's production sets the mistakes in Louisiana, with bananas and pirates and a terrific set with so much overgrowth you think Max is about to make an entrance. There's much singing of ballads and sea shanties, and it feels like the patter was punched up by Simpsons writers.

*YouTube: Mama Your Boys Will Find a Home

As it should be, it's quiet this week in Seattle, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to do -- especially the closer we get to New Year's Eve. So without further ado, Seattlest's belated gift to you -- some shows:

KIDS MUSIC: You know you've made it when you can send your affiliates out on tour. The Wiggles have sent Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword, Wags the Dog, and Henry the Octopus to host a Wiggle-tastic dance party. For those of you with kids it might be a great idea, but we'll be playing our own character, General WatchESPNAllDay.

Sports: Depending on your particular personality profile, Monday Night Football is either something hideous to run away from as fast as you can through the snow-clogged streets or something to celebrate with giant fleece Seahawks blankets and flasks disguised as binoculars. Or you're from Wisconsin and you're celebrating and running away at the same time. Tickets for tonight's game can be had by rolling the dice outside the stadium just before kickoff or by getting down with Craigslist, but you might be better off cozying up to your favorite neighborhood bar for the game.

With the Seattle Shakespeare Company's productions, it seems as if they're always hit or miss. Their current season has contained some of each, and the current play, The Winter's Tale, is a mixed bag. In this case, the set design and art direction is plain ol' lovely, while the acting leaves a bit to be desired.

Laugh-out-loud funny, immediate, with stabs of poignancy, the Seattle Shakespeare Company’s production of Much Ado About Nothing (now through June 24, Thursdays - Sundays, at the Seattle Center House) seduced us with a remarkably strong, appealing cast. Thanks to the shrewd direction of the Children’s Theatre’s Rita Giomi, Shakespeare's comedy was dust-free, lucid, and vigorous in its attack on vain displays of male honor.

Sunday afternoon, after watching George Mason ensure that we'd lose our NCAA tournament pool for the 17th straight year, we joined some middle-aged ladies, high school kids, elderly couples, and 20-something drama enthusiasts at the Seattle Shakespeare Company's excellent production of Cyrano de Bergerac.

Ron Sims graces the editorial pages of the Seattle Times today to dangle the carrot of a "re-imagined Seattle Center" in front of us. The Center sucks, he says, and it does. We can do better, he says, and we can. Some things like the Needle and the fountain should stay, but the Center House and the Fun Forest are crap he tells us in colorful metaphor: "Too much of Seattle Center remains like a relic from the '60s: a beloved but worn-out eight-track tape playing a dated, low-fi tune in an iPod world."

Romeo and Juliet is one of those tales everybody knows, whether or not they've read it, seen it performed live, or watched one of the many film adaptations. So Seattlest kinda knew what to expect when we descended deep into the bowels of Center House for the play's opening night performance by the Seattle Shakespeare Company. We got the standard star-crossed lovers stuff, but director John Langs included a few modern updates, some of which we liked, and some...not so much.

There are so many things to love about Turkey: it's juicy and delicious, always reminds us of the holidays, and is a truly versatile meat. What's that you say---there's also a country by that name? We suppose that would be alright too, though probably not as tasty. Yes, today's the beginning of TurkFest 2005, "a cultural festival celebrating all things Turkish." Activities including traditional music and dance, a photography exhibit, and (good God) shadow puppetry will be held at Seattle Center's Center House on Saturday and Sunday, noon-7pm. But tonight and Friday the festivities begin with four films: