Take a break from harrowing five-year Iraq war retrospectives and political sex scandals to see the lovely Johanna Kunin and DC's These United States at the Sunset tonight! The first time we went to see Johanna Kunin, we left practically purring with satisfaction. We expect tonight to be no different. Kunin uses dreamy, hypnotic loops and mind-buzzingly beautiful harmonies to lull you into your happy place. These United States' songs are layered and intricate, with......

We're by no means theatre majors, but we do loves to get out for some culture from time to time. Which is why this Thursday we're getting dolled up for the 5th Avenue Theatre's "MAME". A short summary: An eccentric socialite in the Roaring '20s finds her madcap Manhattan lifestyle turned upside down when she is appointed guardian of her orphaned nephew. Auntie Mame takes him on one whirlwind adventure after another, proving that "life......

After a couple disappointments in a row, stuck sitting through bland, unadventurous or just poorly done theatre, we were ecstatic to get to see something like Radiohole's Fluke at On the Boards last night. A hilarious, bold, experimental show, the New York-based performance group delivered the first theatre in months that we can wholeheartedly endorse: Don't miss Fluke (and not just because they're giving out free beer). Ostensibly an adaptation of Moby Dick ("loosely......

Time magazine claims, "You can't swing a dead cat this time of year without hitting a Top 10 List." Never one to waste a perfectly good dead cat, we decided to take a swing and create a Top Random-Number Shows Seattlest Saw This Year. And now, without any further ado, here's how your favorite bloggers broke down the year: According to Dante, everything else pared in comparison to Daft Punk at WaMu Theater 7/29/07. OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!......

In which The Showbox gives the live music-going people of Seattle a belated lump of coal: The Showbox will officially become a Ticketmaster venue on January 1st, 2007. For all shows going on sale in 2007, tickets will be available exclusively through Ticketmaster. Shows that are currently on sale through our previous ticketing agency, TicketsWest, will remain on TicketsWest. To find out which agency is handling ticketing to a show you want to attend, please......

No matter what Dane Cook's myspace page says, the Reverend Dr. Samuel McKinney, narrator of the gospel musical Black Nativity, is the only person you'll see on a Seattle stage this month who went to school with Martin Luther King, Jr. Our favorite part of this consistently entertaining show was watching 80-year-old McKinney--who also once met Langston Hughes, its author--tap his toes, silently sing along, and break into a smile during the solos by the......

Wednesday, October 4 >>>Central Library, 6:30-8:00pm. If you've been meaning to get a better handle on stem cell research, then... Wait, let's try that again. We'll just let this event speak for its sexy self: "Regeneration Gaps: Promises, Problems and Policies in Stem Cell Research" by Charles E. (Chuck) Murry, M.D., Ph.D. His research focuses on repair of the injured heart. See? You get out of the way, the poetry comes. Free, but you're......

We'd never seen the quotable George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House before; all we had to go on was the Intiman's postcard copy, which informed us that it is an "affectionate, Chekhovian portrait of England before the World War I." Anyone can have an opinion, but Chekhov never made us laugh like this. Heartbreak House is outrageous, laugh-out-loud fun with a clan of free-thinking misfits along the lines of The Royal Tenenbaums. Occasional poignant calms......

Intiman's first-ever Richard III opened last Friday. 25 actors pack onto the company's intimate stage for the scheming, slander, and swordplay of Shakespeare's morality play. It runs through July 15. Tickets are $27 - $46, but if you're under 25, prove it and they'll sell you a ticket for $10 for any performance. $20 rush tickets (if any) go on sale 15 minutes before curtain time. [Box Office: 206-269-1900.] The costumes are period, while......

Welcome to Intimania! The Intiman had its annual Gala last Saturday (more on that after the jump). On Sunday, Intiman's leadership, Bartlett Sher and Laura Penn, were in New York to collect Intiman's 2006 Regional Theater Tony. [Seattle Times, Seattle P-I] The Sher-directed Awake and Sing! took the Tony for best play revival. His Richard III opens at the Intiman this Friday. Speaking of Shakespeare, the very funny, poignant Much Ado About Nothing continues at......

Hey--so, are the Sonics really going to move? Team owner Howard Schultz says that if the city doesn't agree to renovate Key Arena, the team will leave after its current lease runs out in 2010. Wait, didn't the city renovate Key Arena already? Yeah, in 1995 they added more seats and a bunch of luxury suites to entice the Sonics to stay. So why do the Sonics want yet another renovation? Because, they say,......

Some minor Washington football tidbits this morning: --Emeka Iweka, our favorite high school basketball player, has decided to devote his 6-6, 290lb. body to football. He verbally committed to the UW football program. Iweka verbally committed to the Oregon State basketball program as a freshman. Apparently some people change priorities from their freshman to junior years of high school. Who knew? The Times says Iweka will be a defensive end, the P-I says he projects......

Tired of sitting around with your friends looking stupid? Of course you are! So get off your ass and check these shows out… Tuesday 14th: -Dr. John’s at Dimitiou’s Jazz Alley Admission: $26.50 to $28.50; 7:30 pm -Varmint: Wayne Horvitz + Robin Holcomb + Tim Young (and featuring Charlie Beck and Joe Fulton from The Tallboys) at Lottie Motts Admission: $5.00; 8:00 pm Wednesday 15th: -“Start a nuclear war! At the gay bar!” -Electric Six......

-Fans and admirers gathered at the grave of Bruce Lee on Sunday to honor what would have been his 65th birthday. There may be four or five residents of Seattle who still aren't aware that Bruce Lee is buried here. Now you know. -Doh! The DOJ approved the "merger" of the Seattle Weekly's owner Village Voice Media with New Times Media. -We think we once heard Rick Steves say that passport ownership in Seattle is......

Seattlest attended SIFF's Screenwriters Salon at Hugo House last night. Seattlest is not a screenwriter, actually, but Lost was a repeat, and we thought perhaps we'd leave our cave for a bit. The talk was hosted by Andy Spletzer (who writes for some local rag the kids all read) and noted local filmmaker Brian McDonald (of Whiteface fame). As the topic was writing for TV, the guest speakers were flown up from the belly of......

Seattlest’s favorite local sculptor Charles Krafft will exhibit more of his trademark Sponeware at Belltown’s finest gallery tonight, along with an installation by concert poster legend Frank Kozik. The Roq la Rue site mentions something about Krafft’s mysterious and intriguing-sounding “Mad Cow Creamers,” which Seattlest doesn’t recall seeing before. Roq la Rue is located at 2316 2nd Avenue in Belltown next to the Rendezvous. Shows are usually from 6-10. Bring your wallet.......

As previously alluded to, Seattlest is unabashed in our love for television. We tend to gravitate toward the good stuff, but we are by no means too highbrow to watch reality TV. Case(s) in point: the gloriously addictive trainwrecks known as Surreal Life 5 and Being Bobby Brown. For us, the viewing of such apocalypse-heralding fare is merely a spectator sport; that is to say, we've got no aspirations to be the castmember who actively......