Culture Fiend

Today’s SIFF Pick: Eden

Seattle director Megan Griffiths adapts a harrowing true story of sex trafficking in America.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 21, 2012 at 11:00AM 3 Comments

Jamie Chung stars as Hyun Jae, nickname Eden.

Given how moody and melancholic a roadside diner could be in Megan Griffiths’s debut feature, The Off Hours, it’s no surprise the Seattle director has a deft hand with even harsher material. In this case, child sex trafficking. In America. And it’s based on a true story. Jamie Chung (The Hangover II) plays a New Mexico teen who’s kidnapped and imprisoned as a sex slave in a sort-of desert brothel—in reality, a storage facility—run by a corrupt federal marshal. (Yes. Awful.) The subject matter will leave you exhausted, but Griffiths doesn’t resort to sexploitation to tell “Eden’s” story. It’s one of the most engrossing, and important, films you’ll see during SIFF.

Screenings: May 21 at 4:30 (SIFF Cinema Uptown), May 29 at 8:30 (Everett Performing Arts Center). Director Megan Griffiths is scheduled to attend both screenings.

Want more SIFF 2012 picks? Read on.

SIFF 2012
Thru June 10, various venues, siff.net

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Tags: SIFF 2012

Spectrum’s Miraculous Mandarin Canceled

For being too sexy?

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 18, 2012 at 05:30PM 0 Comments

Photo courtesy Spectrum.

Just got this press release from Spectrum Dance Theatre announcing the cancellation of its performances of Miraculous Mandarin, a free outdoor show taking place in the windows of the Bush Hotel in the International District. Still need the other side of this story, but if you planned to go this weekend, read on… UPDATED 5/21/12. Matthew Richter of Storefronts Seattle has responded within the comments on Slog. Seems the material was too sexually explicit for a public venue where young kids could be running around. Find his full response here.

Storefronts Seattle Program Director Matthew Richter withdrew program sponsorship of Spectrum Dance Theater’s performances of The Miraculous Mandarin in the Bush Hotel. Richter cited dramatic sexual depictions and implied nudity as the reason for the withdrawal.

Without support from Storefronts Seattle, Spectrum Dance Theater must vacate the Bush Hotel. Performances for the remainder of the run are cancelled until further notice. Spectrum is seeking alternate venues.

The Miraculous Mandarin was to be presented in six performances May 17-19 & May 24-26, free of charge, in the windows of the Bush Hotel overlooking Hing Hay Park in the Chinatown-International District.

People who made seat reservations will be contacted about the cancellations and potential relocation of the performances. The related tour of the historic Freeman Hotel at the Wing Luke Museum on Saturday, May 19, will take place as planned.

Based on the ballet by composer Bela Bartók, which was repeatedly banned throughout the 20th century, The Miraculous Mandarin is a work that is for a mature audience, and is not intended for children. The performances were to take place from 8:30-9:20pm in Hing Hay Park, located in the Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. An audience talkback with artistic director Donald Byrd and the performers was to take place following each performance.

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Tags: Spectrum Dance

Seattle Film Grassroots Picked Up for Distribution

The Stephen Gyllenhaal movie will open June 22.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 18, 2012 at 12:00PM 0 Comments

Photo: Courtesy Hillary Harris.

Budding bromance Biggs (left) and Moore star in Grassroots.

Via Seattle Office of Film and Music and The Hollywood Reporter:

Seattle City Council is about to have its Hollywood moment. Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired the U.S. rights to Stephen Gyllenhaal’s Grassroots, starring Joel David Moore as council hopeful/monorail champion Grant Cogswell and Jason Biggs as his campaign manager Phil Campbell. We enjoyed following the making of Grassroots in Seattle last summer, and look forward to its June 10 world premiere at SIFF. The film’s wide release is slated for June 22.

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Tags: Grassroots, SIFF 2012

Weekend SIFF Picks: Robot and Frank, Sleepwalk With Me

Plus Matthew Lillard’s in town for the opening of his new film.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 18, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Staring contest Frank Langella faces his toughest acting partner yet: a robot.

Robot and Frank

First-time director Jake Schreier proves you don’t need an Apatow, Rogen, or Wiig these days to make a decent buddy comedy. Frank Langella plays a cantankerous retiree showing early signs of dementia, whose children (James Marsden, Liv Tyler) hoist a robot on him to be his caretaker. Langella doesn’t have to work too hard to be a gruff smartass to the robot’s straight man (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard), and the dialogue couldn’t be better. To wit:

Robot: “Hi Frank. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Frank: “How do you know?"

Frank to Robot: “You’re starting to grow on me.”
Robot: “Thank you…. It’s time for your enema.”

Screenings: May 19 at 7 (gala, AMC Pacific Place), May 20 at 6 (Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center)

Runner-up: Sleepwalk With Me

It’s a This American Life love fest. Regular contributor and comedian Mike Birbiglia worked with TAL host Ira Glass, Joe Birbiglia, and Seth Barrish to turn his woe-is-me stand-up into a full-length feature film. As “Matt Pandamiglio” (groan), Mike is a struggling comic who’s so stressed about his career and the ticking biological clock of his girlfriend of eight years, Abby (Lauren Ambrose), he’s developed a dangerous sleepwalking habit. Hilarious, but dangerous. Even if Birbiglia’s Peter Pan syndrome starts to grate, hold out for the La Quinta Inn incident. The things a man will do for comedy.

Screenings: May 19 at 9 (Harvard Exit), May 23 at 9 (SIFF Cinema Uptown)

Celebrity appearance: Actor Matthew Lillard (The Descendants, Scream) makes his directorial debut with Fat Kid Rules the World playing May 18, 19, and 28. More to come on this one next week, but put the May 19 screening at the Egyptian on your calendar; Lillard will be in attendance.

Read on for a primer to this year’s film festival.

SIFF 2012
Thru June 10, various venues, siff.net

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Tags: SIFF 2012

Met Picks: John Irving, Lauren Weedman, SIFF 2012

The top 10 things to see or do this weekend.

Posted by: Seattle Met Staff on May 17, 2012 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Courtesy Whim W’Him 2011.

FILM

May 17–June 10
Seattle International Film Festival
The 38th-annual cinema ­smorgasbord—showing nearly 400 films to over 155,000 attendees—returns with more shorts, docs, features, and celebrity appearances. Various venues.

CONCERTS

May 18
Deep Sea Diver and Ravenna Woods
After spending the past few months touring with her other band (a little group called The Shins), Jessica Dobson returns home to front Deep Sea Diver (whose debut LP was our album of the month for February) and play a show with KEXP favorites Ravenna Woods. Neumos, $10.

DANCE

May 18–20
Whim W’Him: Approaching Ecstasy
Composer Eric Banks and ­choreographer Olivier Wevers weave the stories of ancient Greece into a new “vocal dance creation” based on the poetry of Constantine Cavafy; St. Helens String Quartet and the Esoterics choir accompany, marking the first time singers will perform with Whim W’Him. Intiman Playhouse, $15–$20.

THEATER

May 17–19
Lauren Weedman: SRO-Single Room Occupancy
For her latest debauched monologue, the writer-comedian of Daily Show and Hung fame recalls the time she spent living in a single-room-­occupancy setup in Seattle, and all the sex, noise, and lawn care that came with it. Northwest Film Forum, $12–$15.

May 17–20
Trimpin: The Gurs Zyklus
Seattle kinetic sculptor Trimpin—he of Fire Organ fame—showcases his instruments-as-art in The Gurs Zyklus, a new libretto based on found letters from a Jewish internment camp. On the Boards, $20.

Thru May 20
Million Dollar Quartet
Village Theatre hosted an early version of this Broadway musical about a legendary Sun Studio session with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. The show comes home a Tony winner. Paramount Theatre, $25–$85.

BOOKS & TALKS

May 17
John Irving
The best-selling author and Academy Award winner reads from his latest novel, In One Person, which chronicles the identity struggles of a bisexual man. Town Hall, free.

EAT & DRINK

May 19 & 20
Seattle Cheese Festival
This festival offers educational seminars, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, and fresh mozzarella-making demos. Oh, and cheese eating. Plenty of cheese eating. Pike Place Market, free.

CLASSICAL & MORE

May 17
Bluebeard’s Castle
Sets for the concert staging of Bartók’s opera were designed by Dale Chihuly; his rainbow of blown glass makes the wife-murdering plot go down a little easier. Benaroya Hall, $17–$74.

May 18 & 19
Mozart’s Requiem
The mysteries surrounding Wolfgang’s last composition were so lurid that a Hollywood flick, Amadeus, was made about it; more than a hundred chorale singers will join emeritus conductor Gerard Schwarz for the classic elegy. Benaroya Hall, $17–$110.

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Tags: Met Picks, Weekend

Sound Artist Trimpin Tackles the Holocaust

With the help of the Fire Organ, naturally.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 17, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Anytime Seattle-based sound artist Trimpin unveils new work, we stop to listen. Sometimes it sounds like the chanting of monks, or an eerie duck call—dissonant sounds created by his Bunsen burner–powered Fire Organ. (Watch the video below.) Other times, it’s the mechanized plucking of guitar strings, or the song of tree bark. His kinetic sculptures are the stuff of genius—he is, after all, MacArthur certified—but it’s rare that he dabbles in full-fledged librettos and oratorios, until now.

In collaboration with director and vocalist Rinde Eckert, Trimpin has written The Gurs Zyklus, which he’s calling “a music performance, multimedia installation using sound sculptures and a kinetic set design, along with vocalists and actors.” So…it’s a little hard to describe. At its core is a libretto inspired by found letters from the WWII internment camp Gurs, where the Jews from Trimpin’s childhood home of Efringen-Kirchen, Germany, were sent. The chance discovery of these letters is an amazing story in itself: A man named Victor Rosenberg read a 2006 New Yorker profile of Trimpin and realized that his mother came from the same hometown, and his uncle was interned at the same camp. Rosenberg reached out to Trimpin and sent him a shoebox full of letters from his family during their time at Gurs; the correspondence prompted Trimpin to revisit his own postwar childhood in Germany and the fate of his town’s Jews. He even went so far as to travel by train from Efringen-Kirchen to Gurs, following the same route; photos from that trip accompany the performance.

Trimpin: The Gurs Zyklus
May 17–20, On the Boards, $20

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Tags: Theater, On the Boards, Trimpin

A Fiendish Conversation with Cheryl Waters

We talk tunes with the KEXP DJ and live-in-studio coordinator.

Posted by: Seth Sommerfeld on May 16, 2012 at 03:00PM 1 Comments

KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters is one of the tastemakers defining the Seattle sound. She’s been a fixture at the public radio station for the past 18 years, and though she currently hosts the uber-popular “Midday Show,” her other KEXP gig might be more important. As the on-air events coordinator, she’s responsible for bringing in all the bands who perform live on KEXP (you know, those YouTube videos you blow off work to watch). This Friday KEXP’s Hood-to-Hood celebration hits Ballard with live on-air performances in Bergen Place Park by a great lineup of rock, indie, and alt-country acts curated by Waters: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, The Maldives, My Goodness, Deep Sea Diver, and Ramona Falls.

We chatted with the veteran of the airwaves about what she looks for when bringing in artists to play KEXP and which up-and-coming Seattle bands she thinks could make it big.

What aspects of Hood-to-Hood are you looking forward to?

All the bands this year are local—one from Portland, the rest from Seattle. A number of the bands have new music out right now, so that makes it really interesting and relevant. The Maldives live shows are practically transcendent. You never know how many people will be on stage. There was a joke among my friends when they were starting out back in 2005 or 2006. We’d go to these shows at the Sunset and they could barely all fit on the stage and we’d be like, “It’s just nine really great-looking guys up there playing this great music.”

What do you look for in an act when you set up an on-air performance?

One of the things we like to do is feature up-and-coming bands—bands that resonate with our listeners, bands that we know they’ll get excited about. And they trust us to curate that music for them.

What new local artists excite you?

That’s one of the hardest questions for me to answer. It’s funny, you’ll run into someone—and of course I’m the perfect person to ask this of—but they’ll say, “What are you listening to right now?” And then I become a deer in the headlights. If I worked for a Top 40 radio station I would just say, “Oh, well I played this 100 times this week.” It would be at the top of my mind, but in any given week I’m playing hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of artists.

One of the bands I’m really excited about right now—I think they have so much talent—and I don’t know how huge, if they’re gonna be the next big Death Cab for Cutie, I don’t think so, but Absolute Monarchs is incredible.

What was your favorite live performance you’ve seen in the last year?

I just saw Father John Misty. He’s living in L.A. now, but we still consider him a local artist. I think he’s gonna be huge. I think he’s got the full package: His songs are great, his album’s great, but the live show is incredible. He’s really got some presence.

How are the plans for KEXP’s move to Seattle Center going?

We have signed a lease to be at the Seattle Center, so we’re in a multistage process right now where we’re assessing what our needs are. We are also in the early stages of fundraising. Being a nonprofit, of course, we have to do a capital campaign. So we’re at least a couple years away, but we’re really excited.

KEXP’s Hood-to-Hood 2012: Ballard Day
May 18, 10–6, Bergen Place Park, free

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Tags: KEXP, Outdoor Concert, Fiendish Conversation

First Look: Chihuly Garden and Glass

Sneak a peek at the largest collection of Dale Chihuly’s glasswork in the world. No touching!

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 16, 2012 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

All photos by Laura Dannen.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

All photos by Laura Dannen.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

The money shot—inside the Glasshouse.

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Glass Forest

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Persian Ceiling

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Up close: Persian Ceiling.

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Mille Fiori

View Slideshow » Illustration:

From left: Nijima Floats and Ikebana Boat.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Macchia Forest

View Slideshow » Illustration:

In the Chihuly Garden

Following a class of grammar school children through a building full of (very breakable) glass art was a great way to spend my Wednesday morning. It was just too funny. The teachers were, to put it mildly, terrified; they circled the kids like riot police waiting for the first bottle to be thrown. But credit the students for being on their best behavior. They knew the drill: No touching. No running. No shoving. And the adults weren’t off the hook: No food, drinks, or giant purses for you, ma’am. Just look at the 15-foot Sealife Tower and name the sea creatures in the installation, please.

So went my walkthrough of the new Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center, the multimillion-dollar, 1.5-acre exhibition of Dale Chihuly’s glasswork that officially opens May 21. Not everyone’s pleased that this prime public space went to a private gallery, and truth be told, it’d be easy to breeze through the building in 15 minutes and come out the other side wondering where your $15 bucks went. Seattleites have grown so accustomed to seeing “Chihulys” around town— Macchias on tables in Mercer Island homes, or sets for Bluebeard’s Castle at Benaroya Hall—that we might dismiss what’s familiar.

That’s why I’m glad I tailed the schoolkids. It forced me to take more time in each room and appreciate the attention to detail: how Chihuly figured out a way to thread colors of molten glass like one might weave a basket or blanket, or how swans and dolphins appear subtly in his Chandeliers. Most impressive is his newest (and largest) creation, the 1,400-odd individual Persians that comprise the Glasshouse installation (see above). The airy greenhouse space—with a prime view of the Space Needle—is a bright, welcoming spot that opens onto a plaza and outdoor garden of Mille Fiori. It’s a glass Eden both inside and out.

Despite the nine galleries offering a retrospective of Chihuly’s career, and a theater with short videos on loop showing the artist’s process, I found myself wishing for more—more to read about each piece, or video panels in each room showing the making of the art. I wanted an education in glassblowing; instead, I spent a morning with students in Chihuly 101.

View the slideshow for a preview of the Chihuly Garden and Glass.

Chihuly Garden and Glass
Opens May 21 at Seattle Center
Mon–Thu 11–8, Fri–Sun 10–9, $12–$19

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Tags: exhibit, Seattle Center, Chihuly, First Look, Spring Arts 2012

Special Gallery Night in Pioneer Square on May 17

View new and ongoing exhibits after hours.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 15, 2012 at 01:00PM 2 Comments

Eirik Johnson, Cabin 08, Barrow, Alaska, 2010, archival pigment print, 16 × 20′’, edition of 10.

Several Pioneer Square galleries will stay open late on May 17 to celebrate the opening of new exhibits and to “honor spring springing,” quote Platform Gallery. Enjoy an after-work art walk this Thursday; the following exhibits will be on display 6 to 8pm.

New exhibits:

Loretta Bennett: Quilts
May 17–June 30
Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S

Can’t Get There from Here, featuring Hiroshi Sugimoto, Amanda Manitach, Richard Misrach, Serrah Russell, Isaac Layman, and Britta Johnson
May 17–June 30
Lawrimore Project, 117 S Main St, #101

Ongoing:

Eirik Johnson: Camps and Cabins
Thru May 26
G Gibson Gallery, 300 South Washington St

Helen Frankenthaler
Thru June 30
Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S

Robert Yoder: DILF!
Thru June 16
Platform Gallery, 114 Third Ave S

*We’ll update as more galleries announce that they’re participating.

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Tags: Visual Art, Pioneer Square, Gallery Sale

Giant King Tut Statue Arrives at King Street Station

Make way for the seven-ton god of the afterlife.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 15, 2012 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Photos by me.

Anubis will not carry your bags out of the station.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Photos by me.

Anubis will not carry your bags out of the station.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Meet Anubis, a 26-foot-tall, seven-ton, jackal-headed guardian of the afterlife who moonlights as an escort for King Tut. As of 10 this morning, the traveling statue was parked outside King Street Station in downtown Seattle, and heralds the coming of the much-anticipated Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibit, which opens May 24 at Pacific Science Center. Consider this King Tut’s farewell tour: The modern incarnation of the 1970s exhibit (now with twice as many artifacts) will return to Egypt for good after its Seattle stay. Anubis will be in place through August—if you’re lost, head to “King Tut Street Station.” There’s a soon-to-be glowing sign; you can’t miss it.

Read more about the King Tut exhibit in our Spring Arts Preview.

Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs
May 24–Jan 6, Pacific Science Center, $16–$33

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Tags: exhibit, Seattle Center, Pacific Science Center, Spring Arts 2012, King Tut

Four Things to Know Before John Irving Comes to Town

Always be prepared.

Posted by: Brandon L. Bye on May 14, 2012 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

The world according to John.

John Irving’s 13th novel, In One Person, which came out last week, gives us yet another classic Irving outsider—a fatherless boy prone to sexual mishaps—and a timely discussion of intolerance. Here are four things you should know before the author reads from his latest book at Town Hall on Thursday:

— John Irving is one of America’s great contemporary storytellers, and one of the last of his kind. He writes first drafts in longhand. He was in the room with Kurt Vonnegut when that little old “Dresden novel” was in the typewriter. The man is a modern legend.

—His readings, like his character-driven stories, are theatrical. Imagine a reading of A Prayer for Owen Meany. THAT WOULD BE A SIGHT TO BEHOLD. The author grips the lectern. His glasses pinch low on his nose. He locks eyes with the audience, barely glancing at the text as he “reads.” He knows the story so well it seems the book is for appearance’s sake.

—The term “sexual suspect.” It’s an Irvingism first used in The World According to Garp for someone who doesn’t fit neatly into the get-married-have-kids formula for a happy life. In In One Person, bisexual narrator Billy Abbott is another one of Irving’s sexual suspects, walking us through a lifetime of desire and discovery, starting with his early “crushes on the wrong people” (the school wrestling star, the transgender librarian Miss Frost).

—Irving’s book couldn’t come out at a better time. These days, while bullying is a top news topic (ahem, Mitt Romney) and everyone from President Obama to Governor Gregoire is taking a stand in favor of marriage equality, In One Person has become part of an important conversation concerning human rights. Irving’s reading is a chance for you to take part in it.

John Irving
May 17 at 7, Town Hall, free, no tickets required

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Tags: Town Hall, Books & Talks

I Have “Springtime for Hitler” in My Head

Thank you, Village Theatre.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 14, 2012 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

When he’s not playing mild-mannered accountant Leo Bloom in The Producers, young Seattle actor (and Oxford grad) Brian Earp is writing a book on the neuroscience of love. Seriously.

It’s not a bad thing—Mel Brooks wrote a catchy tune. “Springtime for Hitler and Germany. Deutschland is happy and gay!” It’s been lodged in my head since opening night of The Producers at Village Theatre, a big, bawdy, glitzy production—one of the biggest in the theater’s history—that’s my guilty pleasure of the week.

Before The Book of Mormon was the most gleefully offensive musical on Broadway, Brooks and Thomas Meehan’s The Producers was the champion—with a record-setting 12 Tonys to prove it. It starred Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane as scheming producers trying to craft the biggest bomb in theater history (a neo-Nazi musical!), close in one night, and run off with the investors’ cash. (Nowadays, we’d call this “Madoffing with your money.” Ohhh.) The Producers was—is—vintage Brooks satire with ribald T&A gags and a tap-dancing Fuehrer, and Village Theatre hits all the right notes with its production. Credit director Steve Tompkins with putting together a talented ensemble cast of VT regulars—notably Richard Gray as sleazy producer Max Bialystock and Nick DeSantis as a flamboyantly gay Adolf—and newcomers, and knowing the magic of a giant, glittering, swirling swastika.

The Producers
Thru July 1 at Village Theatre (Issaquah), $27–$62
July 6–29, Everett Performing Arts Center

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Tags: musical, Theater, Village Theatre