The Seattle Symphony is presenting five performances of songs from the canon of deep space nerdery. Starting this evening, guest conductor Victor Vanacore will lead the orchestra in music from Star Trek, Star Wars, E.T., Avatar, Ghostbusters, Battlestar Galactica, and more. All hosted by Star Trek: The Next Generation's Jonathan Frakes. more ›

WITH PULP: The Beebo Brinker Chronicles, a collection of five “lesbian pulp fiction” books written between ’57 and ’62, comes to the Re-Bar stage. The adapted play is based on three of the five novels, which relay the dramas of the underground lifestyle in NYC’s Greenwich Village at the dawn of America’s 2nd Revolution. (That was the fun one, of course.) A handful of secret lovers upend their lives, untying ties that bind them and walking the lines of love and lust. Fun and funny without venturing into camp, this production is touching in all the right places. more ›

What's on your calendar for tonight? We've got Bogart, bluesy folk or belly laughs for you to pick from. more ›

What to do on a Wednesday night? The Symphony is playing the hits (of classic video games, that is), meanwhile the Castaways at the Can Can is putting some of their finest, erm, talent on display. Who knew Hump Day could be so wickedly fun? more ›

No fanfare was spared at yesterday's unveiling of "Gerard Schwarz Place" the symbolically renamed stretch of University Ave between 2nd and 3rd in Seattle's downtown core. Arts enthusiast and all-around go-getter Alex Hudson was there to snap a few photos of the new signage. more ›

HEY GOOD LOOKIN': Country-rock group The Handsome Family has had a fruitful career. Formed in '93 by the husband and wife team of Brett and Rennie Sparks, the group's first album came out in '94, and since then we've seen eight more full-lengths and a handful of fine EPs. Traditional American music with just a touch of rock, The Handsome Family plays bluegrass and country as well as the best of em. The lyrics are dark, sometimes menacing, gothic in a way, but always thoughtful and perfectly complementary to the jangling sound of resurrected Americana. With Sean Rowe. more ›

MOUNTAIN HIGH: This film tour originated as a Telluride film festival and then began venturing around the U.S. ten years ago. Movies that range in time from 4 to 60 minutes involve outdoor adventure sports, sustainable living, and cultural exploration. In other words, it's right up our alley. This is a film festival for those of us whose days are filled with thoughts of climbing, surfing, skiing, discovering and appreciating the world as it is -- challenging, powerful, diverse, and entirely worth preserving. All ticket proceeds support the Outdoors for All Foundation, an organization that uses outdoor recreation to enrich the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities. The three day tour features a different guest speaker each night. Tonight's speaker is Ed Viesturs, a UW grad and Washingtonian who is one of only 22 people people (and the only American) to have climbed each of Earth's peaks that are over 8,000 meters tall. more ›

PERFECT STORM: So here we are -- Game 3. Can the Storm sweep their way to the WNBA championship? With scores as tight as they've been over the last three games, it may take some extra effort on the Seattle Storm's part to win against the Atlanta Dream tonight on Atlanta's home court. Fans will want to give it their all as well, and though they can't enjoy the away game at Key Arena, fans can watch the game on the big screen at Center House Stage at the Seattle Center. Which is nearby at least. We can't think of a better way to celebrate the biggest win of the season than with hugs and high fives with perfect strangers. "Stranger" is the wrong word, though. When everyone's in gold and green, glued to the same TV screen, there are no strangers. more ›

TAKING OFF: Tonight is opening night of Shine: A Burlesque Musical. We wondered what a burlesque musical might look and sound like, and after watching this, we got our answer. It looks like a freaking sexy musical, that’s what. Shine is a full-book musical that tells the story of the infamous Aristocrat Theatre and a family of misfits that try to save it from demolition and gentrification. Winner of the Vancouver Ovation Award for “Best New Work,” Shine is also heading to New York’s Fringe in August, but not until its through entertaining Seattle burlesque and/or musical fans through July 18. Tassels and electric guitars, need we say more? 18+, of course. more ›

The Symphony can deactivate this mailbox: MaestroSearch@SeattleSymphony.org. They've named 36-year-old Ludovic Morlot to succeed Gerard Schwarz, who's been music director for the past 25 years. more ›

The signature cuts on Pink Martini's four albums provide a pop-psych shorthand for our changing times. Sympathique (1997) had vocalist China Forbes singing "Je Ne Veux Pas Traviailler" (I don't want to work); Hang On Little Tomato (2004, halfway through the Bush years) had "Hang on, things will be alright." Hey Eugene (2007) asked impatiently "Are You There, Eugene?" And now Splendor in the Grass (2009) relaxes. "Let's...rest our heads upon the grass and listen to it grow." more ›

Mixing infectious enthusiasm with world-weary self-awareness, Pink Martini comes to Seattle Friday (all the way from Portland), on tour for their latest album, Splendor in the Grass (taken from a line in the poem by Wordsworth, Intimations of Immortality). "Nothing can bring back the hour / Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower." Sigh. more ›

HEAD EXPLODING FUN: Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is a 1991 flick from Hong Kong directed by Lam Ngai Kai, based on the Japanese comic book Riki-Oh. The film is best known for its brutal and borderline absurd violence. If Monday doesn't warrant watching some bare handed skull crushing, we don't know what does. more ›

Surprising absolutely no one, Intiman Theatre artistic director Bart Sher announced he's decamping for for New York, and will wrap up his term at the end of this 2010. He's more or less gone as of now, though--he's been in New York for his staging of Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and won't direct Othello this summer. He's sending in a Sher stunt-double to fill out his contract. Meanwhile, the search for a new Seattle Symphony music director (Gerard Schwarz steps down at the close of the 2010-11 season) will be headed up by Nancy Evans, who has a page with husband Dan at HistoryLink.org: "Together they personify the term 'power couple' in Washington state." more ›

The multiplier effect can create some rather extraordinary sounds in a musical ensemble--the string section of an orchestra, for example, or a battery of snare drums in a marching band. On Tuesday night at Benaroya Hall, the extraordinary sound was that of four guitars. The acclaimed Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) presented an eclectic program for a nearly packed hall, which included works with orchestra in the first half and three themed sets in the second half (Spanish Renaissance pieces, Brazilian music, and some quintessentially American tunes). more ›

In the spirit of cultural sharing and collaborative willingness, Warren Chang, the Founder and Music Director of the Chinese Arts and Music Association, has created a theme this season of presenting Chinese traditional music at Western-oriented musical institutions in the Puget Sound region. On Friday, January 16th (tomorrow) at 6:00 p.m., in a mixed program of the Eastern and Western repertoire, the Seattle Symphony will be performing the beautiful and lush Butterfly Lovers Concerto, not with a violin soloist as is typical for this piece, but rather with Mr. Chang playing the erhu, a traditional Chinese two-stringed bowed instrument. Then, on January 25th at 3:00 p.m., the US China Music Ensemble, again directed by Mr. Chang, will celebrate the Chinese New Year with a concert at St. Mark’s Cathedral, the vast acoustics of which should provide an expansive aural experience for those who are able to attend. more ›

The P-I reports that Seattle Symphony conductor Gerard Schwarz has announced he'll step down at the end of the 2010-11 season. What is that, 25 years as music director? Like his director-doppelganger Speight Jenkins at Seattle Opera, Schwarz arrived in the mid-'80s and built a good-enough-for-Seattle organization into a nationally noticed one, albeit with more of a brash, East coast management style that's kept the orchestra split into friends-of-Gerry and I-spit-on-your-grave factions. We used to truck Gerry around to donor events when they were building Benaroya Hall, and, man, can that guy work a crowd. (However, he also lost a pen we loaned him, so that's a demerit.) He says he'll hang around town and guest conduct--he's also done some composing which we liked quite a bit. All in all, the future looks pretty rosy for the Schwarzes. more ›

UNDER DA SEA: If, like Seattlest, you are fascinated with underwater life, tonight's your night to revel in the glories of the deep ocean. Seattle Symphony will be playing as a giant screen shows you images from the BBC series The Blue Planet. more ›

G IS FOR GEORGETOWN: There are few parts of Seattle we love more and know less about than gritty and glorious Georgetown. We were smitten from the moment we walked into Jules Maes Saloon three years ago and have never looked back. Adding considerable wonderfulness to the neighborhood is the Georgetown Music Festival—Seattle's most under-appreciated music festival—happening this weekend. If you love local music like we do, you will be spending Friday and Saturday taking in rowdy performances from local bands such as Thee Emergency, Cancer Rising, the Lashes, and the Hands. We'd recommend wearing long pants to save your knees when you fall hard for Georgetown. more ›

At the point that we realized all 24 dancers from the Mark Morris Dance Group were on stage simultaneously, we were struck by two thoughts. First: holy shit 24 dancers on stage at once in a delirious, joyous romp; and second: thank god dance companies can still exist that can put 24 dancers all on stage at once. Morris' company was celebrating the 20th anniversary of his early-career classic L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato at the Paramount Theater this past weekend. Set to a lesser-known pastoral work by Handel, the already overwhelming treat of seeing this work in person was escalated by full accompaniment from the Seattle Symphony and Chorale members directed by maestro Gerard Schwarz. more ›

Once again, SIFF is upon us. Even though there are still three weeks until opening night, with today's press launch, things are gearing up for the 34th Seattle International Film Festival. more ›

Tonight the Seattle Symphony gives you Dvořák's "New World" Symphony, which we love, but then so does everyone else so it's not a remarkable that we do. It's a "locals-only" evening, with Gerard Schwarz at the podium, and the Symphony's ace up its sleeve, horn-slinger John Cerminaro. Cerminaro can make that brass curtsy and serve tea if he wants. Why one time in Oklahoma...but we digress. more ›

Joshua Roman, for those of you more concerned with what's going on at Neumo's than what's happening in Benaroya Hall, is the star cellist in Seattle Symphony. He's also 23, has hair like a young Bob Dylan, and seriously kicks ass. more ›

The Seattle Times tries to put a happy face on the news that the Seattle Symphony is projecting an accumulated $5.5 million deficit by pointing out that ticket sales are up. But the troubling fact remains that over the past three years the deficit has grown from $1 million, to $3.2 million, to $5.5 million. For an annual budget of around $21 million, a deficit of $5.5 million is remarkable. more ›

Last year, at 22, cellist Joshua Roman became the youngest principal player in Seattle Symphony history. What did you accomplish when you were 22? Yeah, we thought so. more ›

Not to kick the TAG people in the teeth while they're down, but that's ridiculous. They're talking about needing $100,000 in operating capital to keep the doors open, and foundations have never been crazy about that kind of in extremis giving. (Sometimes individual major donors will pony up via a foundation.) more ›

One of the endlessly amusing things about arts orgs is how desperate they are all for cash -- big or small, there's no amount of money-grubbing that's beyond them. It's normal. You go to a show, pay $$ for a ticket, and then a little while later you get a letter or a phone call "informing" you that, you know, what you paid was "really" half-price and could you stand to kick in a little, well the other half, no it's okay we take credit cards. more ›

SATURDAY: In addition to talks and tours, you and the kids can see live demonstrations of wood carving, drum-making, and weaving at the Opening Day Celebration for In the Spirit of the Ancestors, the Burke Museum's new exhibit of contemporary Northwest Coast Native art. more ›

Wednesday, January 17 more ›

Wednesday, January 3 more ›