Results tagged “theatre”

CALL IT GOOF-HOP Kid Koala plays Nectar tonight. The Vancouver-born DJ makes relaxing hiphop/glitch-flavored songs. He’s one of those people whom it seems unfair to call a "DJ" because his records are more than remixes: his music is uniquely, goofily relaxing. His first record, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, sounds like a dance club on Sesame Street. Kid Koala is a rare thing: a DJ who just wants to make you smile. With Adira.

BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN PRACTICING YOUR EDDIE VEDDER FACE: Be uber Seattley and go see Pearl Jam, with Ben Harper and Relentless 7 at Key Arena. Drink lots of coffee and wear plaid. You know you want to.

John Vanderslice is such a nice guy that his niceness sometimes overshadows his skill as a songwriter. Vanderslice tours tirelessly, gives interview time to anyone who wants to talk to him, and promotes fellow musicians with the selfless dedication of a sidekick in a romantic comedy. That level of nice makes it easy to forget that he’s also one of the most interesting songwriters touring today.

"Inadvertently topical" is perhaps the best way to describe The Year of Magical Thinking, at Intiman Theatre through Sept. 20 (tix $40-$55). Joan Didion's own adaptation of her award-winning 2005 memoir of the same title, the one-woman show follows Didion's struggles with grief following the death of her novelist husband John Gregory Dunne in 2003, which coincided with the beginning of the long, catastrophic series of illnesses that eventually claimed her daughter's life the next year. But playing against the backdrop of the ongoing national debate over health care reform, during the show we kept coming back to the--again no doubt inadvertent--lie that is the throughline of the play, and one of the first things Judith Roberts, the marvelous actress who plays Didion, says at the opening: "This will happen to you."

Jessie Smith doesn't fuck around. About two-thirds of the way through Thrashoholic, her endurance piece/spelunking expedition into the psychology of binge drinking, she gives up on interpreting her subject through dance and just pours herself five big shots of Maker's Mark, which she takes in short, painful succession. And lest you think she might be faking, despite breaking the wax seal of the bottle onstage, the smell of what she pukes up (at least the night we saw it, though that outcome seems pretty inevitable) will prove you wrong.

Two weekends ago, Baltimore's Missoula Oblongata rocked our theatrical world with The 50 Greatest Ladies and Gentlemen down at Theatre off Jackson. Taking an extremely creative approach to doing theatre, the company builds compelling shows on a tight budget and tours them all around the country. By bringing all their settings as well as their own lighting and operating it all onstage live, they can perform anywhere, from a classy theatre like ToJ to someone's backyard.

RECOMMENDED The Importance of Being Earnest @ Rendezvous Jewelbox Theatre. "In Earnest, meaning keeps coming into focus then slipping away before you can make heads or tails of it, but it's never boring, never arty and abstract for its own sake. In fact, in the end, Helsinki Syndrome's show comes off as sincere in a way Wilde never managed in his own work." [Read our review/profile] (Fri. 8 p.m. 2322 Second Ave. $12/$10, 21+)

"I think the thing is, we want to alienate people, but at the same time, we don't want to alienate people," said Rachel Hynes, sitting in the courtyard in from of Crawl Space Gallery last weekend. "Like, maybe I'd like to say: 'Come. If you want. We don't, like, care what anybody thinks, and if you don't like it, walk out. That would make me happy.' But then I'm like, 'Oh! That makes me sound so angry!'"

     

This last weekend at Theatre off Jackson, the Missoula Oblongata, out of Baltimore, got us revved up for what's looking to be a killer week of experimental theatre and performance. And yes, yes...we can see the eyes of readers rolling already. More performance art! Well, here's the trick--if there's one thing we took away from Missoula Oblongata's The 50 Greatest Ladies and Gentlemen, it's that, quite the opposite of what you might expect, the off-the-wall stuff is (often) more approachable than the mainstream stuff you'd get at the Rep or Intiman or the like.

RECOMMENDED For these Unclosings @ New City Theatre. Local visual artist phenom Susie J. Lee has taken her studious exploration of the transience of memory out of the art gallery in this collaboration with dancer/choreographer Ying Zhou. Utilizing some impressive technology, Lee has put together a dramatic live performance/art installation/dance piece that builds on her already impressive catalog of achievements. (1404 18th Ave. Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. Tix $15.)

One of the words most frequently associated with Susie J. Lee's work is "ephemeral." Since her MFA work showed at the Henry in 2006, she's become a rising star in the Seattle art world, even scoring notice as an "Artist to Watch" in January's ARTNews, by creating works that capture a moment that's always slipping away into the imperfection of memory. She made a digital rainstorm in the main space of the Lawrimore Project in 2007, created rooms that converse with visitors, and used a variety of digital and non-digital techniques to explore the effect of light on surfaces.

Tonight, the Canoe Social Club is hosting fundraiser and season announcement party for the Satori Group (at Theatre off Jackson, 409 Seventh Ave., doors at 7:30, $5 donation "suggested" at the door). The Satori Group is an experimental theatre company originally based in Ohio that relocated to Seattle in 2008. Back in March of this year, their first production in Seattle, Will Eno's , got some good reviews from us and others. So head down to Canoe tonight to find out what the line-up of their first full season will be, and hobnob with the who's who of Seattle theatre for a while.

Playwright Brendan Healy uses a healthy dose of whimsy and charm to tackle big themes of loss and love in his new play, , which debuted at Annex Theatre last weekend (Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; tix $15/$10). And that's a good way to go about it, because a more serious take on a girl with a shut-in, hypochondriac mother in permanent mourning for her dead husband would probably be tedious as hell.

Back in 1986, Lily Tomlin won a Tony Award appearing in Jane Wagner's solo show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, which was a (mostly) comedic double-take on having lived through the consciousness-raising '70s. Now Balagan Theatre is reviving the show (through August 29; Thurs-Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m.; tickets: $15 online, $20 at the door), with the gifted Terri Weagant as your cracked guide to a cracked universe.

OPENING Catch Me If You Can @ 5th Avenue. A new musical based on the Spielberg film. (1308 Fifth Ave. Fri. 8, Sat. 2 & 8, Sun. 1:30 & 7. Tix $29-$93.) The Maids @ Stone Soup. Jean Genet's troubling one-act takes the true-life story of a pair of murderous maids and transforms it into a meditation on sex and power. (4035 Stone Way N. Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m. Tix $10-$12.)

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the lobby at On the Boards last Friday night, as the audience exiting the 8 p.m. performance of 14/48: The World's Quickest Theatre Festival, clashed with the incoming patrons for the 10:30 show, we found ourselves in the back corner chatting with Seattle director Aimee Bruneau.

RECOMMENDED 14/48: The World's Quickest Theatre Festival @ On the Boards. 14/48 has become a twice-yearly staple of Seattle theatre: dozens of actors, directors, and writers get together to throw together the best 10-minute plays they can pull off in 24 hours. The first weekend opens tonight with two showings of the first seven plays, based on themes divvied out to playwrights last night; tomorrow, there's a whole new set of plays--in total, 14 original plays in 48 hours. The festival runs for two weekends at OtB, with a new set of directors, writers, actors, and musicians next weekend. (100 W. Roy St. Fri. & Sat., 8 & 10:30 p.m. Tix $18-$35.)

RECOMMENDED The Elephant Man @ Strawberry Theatre Workshop. "Not knowing much about the play, we went because we saw the cast included David Pichette, MJ Sieber, and Alexandra Tavares, who consistently bring a snap, crackle, and pop (respectively) to whatever they're in. The show is an hour and forty minutes with no intermission--the audience last night was glued to the stage the whole time." [Read our review.] (Fri. & Sat., 8:30 p.m. 1524 Harvard Ave. $10-$54.36.)

Artattack Theatre Ensemble has been producing work since 2001, but it's only now that they've finally secured a permanent home: the VoxBox, a little 30-seat theatre at 12th & Pike. Officially, their first performance in their new home was , opening this weekend (tix $10-$14; see below), the company returns to their roots with the character-driven, serio-comic story of an agoraphobic struggling with a vindictive ex-husband and a deeply disappointed burglar.

A family emergency affecting one of the stars of the new musical has led 5th Avenue Theatre to cancel the first two previews this Thurs. and Fri. If you have tickets for one of those performances, you can reschedule by calling the box office at (206) 625-1900. The musical, an adaptation of the 2002 Steven Spielberg film of the same title, is debuting here in Seattle.

Writer, monologist, and playwright Mike Daisey, recently profiled by Seattlest, is returning to town next month with a new monologue called .

The wonderful thing about attending even a student production of Steven Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, like the one playing Wednesday-Saturday at ArtsWest in West Seattle (tix), is that you know the singing will be better than in the movie version.

ONE WEEKEND ONLY ARC Dance: Summer Dance at the Center @ Seattle Rep. Stunning contemporary ballet by the best local dance company you've never heard of. (Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. Leo K. Theatre @ Seattle Rep. Tix $15-$25.)

Bad news for lovers of bad musicals--Playbill reports that noted author-composer-librettist Leslie Bricusse has dropped out of the creative team working to bring a musical version of the 1993 Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan vehicle to the stage. Whether this will delay the musical's release is unknown; the original film featured numerous Seattle location shots, including Alki, Lake Union, and a luxury suite at the historic Sorrento Hotel.

Strawberry Theatre Workshop is building a repertoire of person-in-society plays that, recently, have included an intriguing look at filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl; a laugh-out-loud, musical take on the life of Johannes Gutenberg; and now a captivating portrait of Joseph (aka John) Merrick, the Elephant Man. It's like having a live Biography Channel with really eclectic tastes.

RECOMMENDED Pretty Girls @ Seattle Center House/TPS Theatre 4. Despite its low budget and all the attendant challenges faced by small fringe theatres, Marked Women Productions have pulled off a winning show with Pretty Girls. Inspired by the work of Naomi Wolf, the company has produced an ambitious and challenging original script that comes to life onstage on the strength of the company's innovating approach to staging. It features several strong performances, as well, particularly Opal Peachey and local teenage up-and-comer Megan Schutzer. (Fri., Sun. & Mon., 8 p.m. Seattle Center House, Fourth Floor; tix $8-$10.)

Since GreenStage has sent us three--count them, THREE--emails in as many hours, we bow to their online onslaught and report to you that their 21st annual Shakespeare in the Park series starts this Friday. On the docket through August 15th are The Comedy of Errors and King John. Both plays make the rounds to eleven locations in the Seattle area, and all performances are free of charge (though donations are gladly accepted, natch). Performance calendar here. This weekend also marks the Seattle Outdoor Theater Festival in Volunteer Park, featuring Shakespeare and more from several local companies.

Artistic happy dances are going on within the Seattle arts community. News came this week that $1 million in federal funding will be spread out among local art, theatre, music, and literary organizations to help preserve nonprofit arts jobs in jeopardy. Thirteen local arts groups received $25,000 or $50,000 in funding, including: On the Boards, Northwest Folklife, Pilchuck Glass School, Intiman Theatre, and Seattle Theatre Group. Both the City of Seattle and the Cultural Development Authority of King County received $250,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts, which will be allocated--via an application process, due August 10--in a one-time arts stimulus for additional Seattle-based arts nonprofit groups.

ATTENTION! GENERAL AT THE HALL!: Hoo-ah! Former Commanding General of Multi-National Force-Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, now Commander of United States Central Command, is truly entering the lion's den--the peacenik Fortress of Solitude that is Town Hall. El General will talk about the lessons that our Afghanistan-bound troops can take from Iraq; how to prevent Pakistan from falling into a state of anarchy, and counterinsurgency that works. It's all part of the World Affairs Council's Leadership series--Petraeus was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of our 25 Best Leaders--which means that members get in for cheap and the rest of you hoi-polloi types pay full freight. 7-8:30 p.m. // Town Hall, Eighth & Seneca // Tickets: $20 WAC members/$40 general

IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN: Today's the second day of A Drink for the Kids, the 7th annual Vera Project travelling fundraiser running through Saturday's show at Neumo's with Robin Pecknold and Throw Me the Statue. Show your support for the all-ages club by ordering a Stone IPA or the designated A Drink for the Kids cocktail at one of several bars around town. Tonight the venue is Ballard's Hazlewood, a bar we love so much that we wish we could just scoop it on up and move it to the Hill. 6-10 p.m. // Hazlewood // 2311 NW Market St // as much as you drink