Culture Fiend

Nerd Alert: The MLA Convention is Coming to Seattle

And we wouldn’t miss it.

Posted by: Allie Oosta on Jan 04, 2012 at 09:45AM 0 Comments

Warning: Participants of the MLA Convention may be geeky.

Typically, any mention of the MLA drums up bad memories of high school and college research papers, but this weekend’s Modern Language Association Convention features less work, more play (especially if you’re a nerd like me). Each year, hundreds thousands of participants flock to the chosen city to attend seminars on literature, music, poetry, and education trends; it’s the Comic-Con of academia. Let me set the scene for this weekend: Grad students, professors, scholars, and well-read citizens will surge through the doors of the Washington State Convention Center. They’ll whip through their program books, furiously highlighting, circling, starring, and grinning over panels that they just can’t wait to attend. These are three of our favorites:

How Seattle Changed Comics 8:30–9:45am

The Seattle Sound: A look at Nirvana, Sleater-Kinney, Hendrix, and More 1:45–3pm

Pinter in Seattle: A Creative Conversation with Frank Corrado and Harry Burton 3:30–4:45pm

Unfortunately, you can’t just pop in. But if you’re as curious as I am about the 750-plus panels this year, buy a weekend pass (the only way tickets are available). If not, stay tuned for my summaries, reactions, and more, coming next week.

UPDATE 1/6/12. Just found out about a free event at Town Hall tied to the MLA Convention: 60 alternative writers (many who are in town for the conference) will read three-minute snippets of their work, this Saturday 7:30–9pm. Writers on the docket include: Johanna Drucker, Rachel DuPlessis, Junte Huang, Susan McCabe, Laura Moriarty, Aldon Nielsen, Evie Shockley, Vanessa Place, Rebecca Brown, and Joe Milutis. —Laura Dannen

Modern Language Association Convention
Washington State Convention Center, Jan 5–8, $205–$265, 646-576-5167, mla.org

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Tags: Poetry, Comics, Convention Center, Nirvana

Five Things You Didn’t Know about Joshua Bell

The famed violinist is playing here next week. And he’s jealous of the Seahawks.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Jan 03, 2012 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

We demand a Tiger Beat cover.

Photo by Marc Holm

Let’s start with what you probably already know: Joshua Bell is one of the world’s foremost violin soloists. He’ll bring his furious bow strokes, 1713 Stradivarius, and signature floppy haircut to the Seattle Symphony on January 10, where conductor Ludovic Morlot will lead him in Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1.

But here’s what you probably don’t know about classical music’s hottest pinup (just look at him!):

•He’s a YouTube star. In 2007, a Washington Post writer asked Bell to busk in a D.C. Metro station to see if anyone recognized him. Almost no one did (and he made only $32.17). The writer won a Pulitzer for his article, the video received 2.5 million hits, and Bell hasn’t lived it down. “What surprised me is how it got sent around virally,” Bell told us in a recent interview. “Every country I go to, I’m asked about that story.”

•It takes him a year of “dabbling” to learn a new piece. That’s with four to six hours a day of practice; Bell plays each concerto for about a month before returning it to his repertoire. As for the Bruch he’ll play here, it was dropped from his rotation for five years, but it’s still the piece he’s performed the most in his life. “When I came back to it, I completely fell in love with it again,” he said.

•He doesn’t like gimmicks. To get the youth audience to attend classical concerts, Bell says, it’s more about quality and timing than tunes you can hum. “Even if you’re doing midnight concert, I don’t think you have to mess up the music," he said. “You don’t have to put in the Star Wars theme.”

•January 10 is a big day for him. Not only will Bell be performing with the Seattle Symphony, but he’ll release two albums that day. One is a collection of French works, and the other a soundtrack to the upcoming Christian Bale flick, Flowers of War. For the latter, Bell pays homage to the Chinese violin style: “There’s use of vibrato that’s wide and quite distinctive, and sliding between notes,” he said. It’s similar to how he plays bluegrass: “I allow their style to creep into my style, but when it becomes copying [the pros], I can’t compete with them.”

•He’s a stereotypical dude. When asked how Seattle differs from New York City, Bell doesn’t compare Benaroya Hall to Lincoln Center. His view: “Well, the Seahawks are doing better than the Giants.”

Joshua Bell and the Seattle Symphony perform January 10 at Benaroya Hall.

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Tags: Seattle Symphony, Benaroya Hall, Classical and More

12 Events to Plan for in 2012

A year’s guide to theater, visual art, dance, and more.

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Dec 29, 2011 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Let the games begin…

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Let the games begin…

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In one of the marquee classical performances of the season, world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell joins the Seattle Symphony on January 10 for a program of Weber, Bruch, and Mozart.

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Chewelah, Washington native Allen Stone bears more of a resemblance to Napoleon Dynamite than Raphael Saadiq, but you won’t find a finer new soul act in town. He’s backed by the Seattle Rock Orchestra at the Neptune, January 14 & 15.

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Spend an evening with chefs Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert on February 11 at the Paramount Theatre. You decide which one’s truly evil.

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Pacific Northwest Ballet hosts the U.S. premiere of star Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s Don Quixote, February 3–12.

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Hollywood star Denis Arndt comes home to play abstract expressionist Mark Rothko in Seattle Rep’s production of Red, February 24–March 18.

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Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise, on display from February 9 through April 29 at Seattle Art Museum, traces the rich relationship between the 19th-century artist and his adopted country. The exhibit’s a near-even split: 50 pieces by Gauguin, 60 by Polynesians.

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Fran Lebowitz. Dan Savage. One stage. But is that stage big enough? Find out March 2 at Benaroya Hall.

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Author Sarah Vowell sells out every time she comes to Seattle. Get your tickets early for her March 10 appearance at the Neptune.

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After six years of naked dolls and outside-the-box modern art, Western Bridge gallery. hosts its last exhibit this spring. UPDATED 1/9/12. Western Bridge will now stay open through the fall.

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Coldplay. KeyArena. April 25. That is all.

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Issaquah’s Village Theatre hosted an early version of Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet —about the 1956 rock supergroup Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins and their legendary recording session at Sun Records—in 2007. Levi Kreis (as Lewis) went on to win the Tony for best featured actor in a musical. The show returns to Seattle May 15–20.

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On the Boards hosts a new performance piece by Seattle multi-instrumentalist Trimpin, who’ll play his original kinetic sculptures, including the fire organ, May 17–20.

Get out your calendars—the next few months are going to be busy. Scroll through our slideshow of notable upcoming events, starting with a night at the symphony with one of the greatest living violinists, and a battle of good versus evil when chefs Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert meet onstage at the Paramount Theatre.

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2011 Year in Review: Arts and Culture

It was the year of Picassos and Portlandia, pop-up galleries and cinemas reborn.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Dec 28, 2011 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Hey there Picasso.

The year’s big ticket(s) We turned out by the (hundreds of) thousands to see 150 Picassos, on loan from Paris, at the Seattle Art Museum —the largest exhibit SAM’s hosted since King Tut came through with his entourage in 1978. But that wasn’t even the biggest draw of the year: Muggle lovers flooded Pacific Science Center for nearly five months for Harry Potter: the Exhibition. Never underestimate the lure of a dementor costume or Quaffle-throwing station.

The best new trend (Tie) Unconventional book clubs and pop-up galleries.

Thanks to Bushwick Book Club Seattle, a group of local singer-songwriters who create original music based on a monthly reading assignment, we now know what Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States sounds like as a rock concert. The BBCS even spawned a dance/book club, set to launch next year at Velocity Dance Center.

And for every local art gallery that closed, it felt like three more popped up in its place in the homes of local artists and art enthusiasts. Robert Yoder’s Season gallery took over his living room, while Sierra Stinson’s Vignettes fills her entire Capitol Hill apartment once a month. We loved finding art in unexpected places.

The best new TV show We developed a serious addiction to Portlandia, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s new TV satire of Portland and all its bird-loving, organic-farming, flannel-wearing ways. Funny, that sounds a little like Seattle, too…

Best performance by a Seattle actor Connor Toms as Homer Wells in The Cider House Rules (Parts 1 & 2).

Best performance by a Seattle actress Renata Friedman in The K of D.

The top traveling show Brian Yorkey’s Next to Normal, a Tony-winning rock musical about a bipolar mother wreaking havoc on her family, at 5th Avenue Theatre. It sparked a citywide conversation about mental illness throughout the month of February—and reminded us that great theater can make a difference.

Biggest A&E news story The fall (and rise?) of Intiman Theatre.

It was also the year classical music became hip, thanks to the arrival of Ludovic Morlot, Seattle Symphony’s fresh-faced new music director and conductor, and an influx of orchestras manned by twentysomethings, from Seattle Modern Orchestra to Seattle Rock Orchestra.

…the year of resurrection… Historic Uptown and Neptune cinemas were reborn, and Columbia City Cinema could be on its way.

…the year we said farewell to the Merce Cunningham Dance Company …

And the year that ‘90s bands mattered again. Happy 20th to Pearl Jam and Nirvana’s Nevermind, and a happy new year to all.

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Tags: The Best of 2011 in Art and Culture

Six Movie Theaters Serving Booze

Because sometimes you need a cocktail to make that romantic comedy go down smoother.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Dec 27, 2011 at 11:00AM 6 Comments

Let the man pour you a drink.

Originally published August 18, 2011. We understand the concerns: For some, booze and films don’t mix. No one wants to sit in front of a loud drunk who thinks he’s auditioning for Mystery Science Theater 3000. And then there’s the risk of finishing your second beer and promptly falling asleep during an $11-a-ticket screening. But we’re all adults here, and sometimes, a glass of wine is the perfect warmup to a Woody Allen flick. In order to compete with the coziness of your home theater—where the drinks are free and you can eat pad thai without getting dirty looks—several area cinemas are offering a high-end movie-going experience, including full meals, seat-side service, and craft cocktails. Even the popcorn is classy.

AMC Pacific Place
Location: Downtown Seattle
The deal: On the second level of the cineplex, a bartender pours wine and local beers in a roped off area for the 21-and-over crowd. It’s just opposite the concession stand, so you can almost make a meal out of it, if you don’t mind a dinner of hot dogs and Dreyer’s Dibs.
Now showing: Everything…

Big Picture
Locations: Belltown, Redmond
The deal: Tucked away beneath El Gaucho, Big Picture maintains a bit of the decadence of the swank upstairs, with plush armchairs, sofas, and dim lighting giving it a lounge feel—like someone pimped out your living room. The theater itself is tiny, but bartenders bring drinks to your seat; we highly recommend the sangria and Champagne popcorn.
Now showing: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, My Week with Marilyn

Central Cinema
Location: Central District
The deal: One of the the first in the area to add drinking and dining to movie-going, Central Cinema does “dinner theater” properly with tables at your seat and waitstaff taking your order. They also encourage a little rowdiness with frequent sing-along screenings. Cafe Noir lounge is open 6-10 nightly.
Now showing: E.T., The Room, Grease

Cinebarre
Location: Mountlake Terrace (6009 244th St. SW)
The deal: Regal Entertainment recently launched a line of theaters to compete with iPic Theaters (see below), where servers come to your seat and take your beer, wine, and dessert order. The menu’s slim but satisfying: Mac and Jack’s and Manny’s, nearly a dozen wines by the glass, bottles of Moet and Chandon, apple pie and milkshakes. Let me repeat: milkshakes. The breakfast menu’s even better.
Now showing (as of 12/23): We Bought a Zoo, The Adventures of Tintin, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, New Year’s Eve, The Descendants, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1, War Horse (starting 12/25)

iPic Theaters (formerly Gold Class Cinema)
Location: Redmond
The deal: Let’s start with the fright factor: Tickets cost anywhere from $18.50–$27. For a movie. But that allows you to choose your seat online, recline in comfy oversized leather chairs, and sample from a menu of chef-prepared meals, plus beer and wine. Premium seats include a pillow and a blanket.
Now showing (as of 12/23): The Adventures of Tintin, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, New Year’s Eve, Hugo (3D)

Northwest Film Forum
Location: Capitol Hill
The deal: We rejoiced when the Cap Hill staple got its liquor license in March; now they can serve beer and wine with the best of them. A heady brew complements the heady selection of foreign, arthouse, and indie films.
Coming soon (12/30): Summer Pasture

Any that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.

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Tags: Film

5 Movies We’re Dying to See

What’s in our film critic’s DVD queue this holiday week?

Posted by: Matthew Halverson on Dec 23, 2011 at 11:30AM 0 Comments

The Tree of Life envisions the beginning of the universe. Does that mean God made Brad Pitt on day 8?

For a lot of people, Christmas means catching up with friends and family and, I don’t know, making gingerbread houses or something. For me, it means catching up on all the movies I missed in the theater because I couldn’t find a babysitter. So this year my holiday vacation will consist of ducking my parental responsibilities, holing up in the basement, and watching these five flicks on On Demand.

Warrior Did you see the new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises this week? Those glimpses of Tom Hardy as Bane, the bald, beefed-up badass who puts a beating on Batman, made me want to queue up this drama, in which Hardy plays another beefed-up badass. But this time he’s a mixed-martial arts fighter who puts a beating on his own brother. What are the holidays without a little sibling rivalry?

Senna Formula One racing is one step up from NASCAR on the Sports Requiring a Case of Beer to Enjoy list for me. Thankfully, this documentary about legendary Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna focuses on the drama that surrounded his meteoric rise to the top of the F1 world…and his tragic fall.

Moneyball Michael Lewis’s book about the underdog Oakland Athletics’ 2002 season was so sharply detailed that I don’t really feel like I need to see the movie version. But Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the script for The Social Network (my favorite film of 2010), penned this one, too, and I can’t wait to see how he brought the A’s stats-obsessed general manager, Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt), to life.

The Devil’s Double Just look at the poster for this one—about Saddam Hussein’s son Uday and the man hired to impersonate him in public—and tell me it’s not a tongue-in-cheek reference to the solid gold toilet that Saddam supposedly owned. The dude is sitting on a gold throne. Get it? But that’s beside the point: I want to see how anyone can adopt the personality traits of a genocidal maniac and still look himself in the mirror.

The Tree of Life Not gonna lie: I’ve got a little crush on Brad Pitt. So even though a lot of people thought Terence Malick’s tone poem about the meaning of life was flat out insufferable, I’ll give it a whirl to see Pitt as the patriarch of a family in 1950s Texas. Plus, c’mon, it has dinosaurs and trippy images of the universe’s beginning. It’s like 2001 meets Jurassic Park. (But probably not.)

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Tags: Film

The Ultimate New Year’s Eve Guide

From concerts and comedy shows to aerial acts and underground tours—the list keeps growing.

Posted by: Allie Oosta on Dec 22, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

May 2012 have fireworks aplenty.

Whenever New Year’s Eve approaches, I imagine spending it in a glittery venue full of well-heeled people, where we all count down to midnight in blissful, ABC Family-style unison. In reality, I end up at a lame house party, watching the ball drop from a saggy couch.

But we have more options! Consult our annual NYE list of concerts and events that aren’t as high-pressure as caviar and champagne, but are a serious upgrade from Ryan Seacrest.

CONCERTS
Benaroya Hall
Maestro Gerard Schwarz returns for Seattle Symphony’s annual performance of Beethoven’s Ninth with its triumphant “Ode to Joy,” sung by the Seattle Symphony Chorale. Stick around for postconcert dancing in the Grand Lobby and a countdown to midnight. 9pm. $94–$150.

The Crocodile
Portland electronic act Starf*cker joins rising local hip-hop duo Champagne Champagne for a funky NYE bash (plus “special guests!”). 9pm. $20–$25.

Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
Grammy-winning king of the congas Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band play two NYE shows, complete with dinner and dessert. First show starts at 8:45 and includes a four-course meal ($105.50). Second show starts at 11 and includes dessert and party favors ($80.50). All-evening package: $155.50. Just first show: $52.50. Must purchase tickets in advance.

High Dive
Join singer-songwriter Ian McFeron and the Fortune Dwellers for a night of pop, rock, jazz, and funk. 9pm. $20–$25.

Moore Theatre
Seattle’s own X Factor finalist LeRoy Bell— a singer-songwriter who’s penned tracks for Elton John and performed with B.B. King —plays for the first time locally since his reality show stint. Roots-reggae man Clinton Fearon joins. 9pm. 21+. $33–$48.

Neptune Theatre
Brandi Carlile, the singing-songwriting pride of Ravensdale, Washington, plays a special New Year’s Eve set: just Brandi, her guitar and piano, and a midnight champagne toast for all. 9pm. 21+. $124.

Showbox at the Market
Say hello to 2012 and goodbye to Your Divine Tragedy—it’s the metal band’s farewell show. Also on the bill: Falling Blind, No Ground, and Feeding George. 8pm. 21+. $13–$15.

The Sunset Tavern
“Don’t stop believin’” in cover band The Dudley Manlove Quartet. After 16 years of raucous showmanship and a lead singer who extorted $100k from the group, they’re still covering classic rock with a vengeance. 10pm. 21+. $20.

Tractor Tavern
Twelve-man soul band Eldridge Gravy and the Court Supreme cut their teeth on covers of James Brown and George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. Expect a killer dance party. 9pm. $20–$25.

EVENTS
Hotel Max
The downtown Seattle hotel has thought of everything: champagne, party favors, cab vouchers or valet, a room for the night, and a “recovery package” of Vitamin Waters and energy bars for the morning after. Packages from $259.

Hyatt Olive 8
Count down to 2012 at the Bonza Bash NYE Gala Ball, with an 18-piece big band and KISS 106.1’s DJ Tamm. 8:30pm. 21+. $69 general admission, $225 VIP.

Re-bar
It’s the final night of drag diva Dina Martina’s annual Christmas Show, and your last chance of the year to laugh along with the ‘gargle-voiced, gleefully hopeless chanteuse.’ 8pm. $20–$25.

Seattle’s Underground Tour
Never knew about Seattle’s history of sex, opium, and scandal? Take the Underground Tour on NYE and enjoy a complimentary cocktail and champagne toast at midnight. 10pm, $25.

Space Needle
Go big (a five-course dinner at the SkyCity revolving restaurant, from $250) or join the crowd on the observation deck ($100) for dessert, dancing, a champagne toast, and front-row seats to the blowout fireworks display at midnight. 8pm, reservations required.

FAMILY
Hale’s Palladium
Moisture Festival turns the Fremont brewery into a cabaret, with the swingin’ sounds of the Vic and Nick Trio, aerial performances and acrobatics, and hors d’oeuvres from James Beard award-winning chef Tiberio Simone. 8pm. All ages. $60 adults, $40 kids under 12.

Winterfest 2011
Take the kids for a little late-night ice-skating: the Seattle Center rink stays has extended hours on New Year’s Eve. Closes at 11:30pm. Free–$7.

FILM
Central Cinema
Drift blissfully unaware into 2012 at a double feature. Central Cinema screens E.T. at 6:30 and Grease at 9:30, followed by a Grease-inspired dance party. Time to practice your hand jive. $6–$8.

Something we missed? Please add the event below in the comments section.

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The Columbia City Cinema to Reopen?

Nonprofit SEEDArts is hoping to relaunch the darkened movie house.

Posted by: Stephanie Rubesh on Dec 21, 2011 at 12:30PM 0 Comments

If all goes well, we could be watching The Hobbit: There and Back Again in Columbia City.

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If all goes well, we could be watching The Hobbit: There and Back Again in Columbia City.

There’s still hope for the recently shuttered Columbia City Cinema, thanks to southeast Seattle nonprofit SEEDArts. The art-loving administration just announced plans to revive the much-missed movie house.

Closed since May, the three-screen cinema went under after the city denied owner Paul Doyle’s request for more time to install fire code-mandated sprinklers. (To be fair, the city said it tried to work with Doyle and discussed options over the course of a year.) SEEDArts, which also owns the Rainier Valley Cultural Center and the Columbia City Gallery, has decided to step in, and is currently working with a community advisory board to raise $60,000 for rent on a one-year lease. That will allow them the time and space to conduct a feasibility study and raise $1.1 million to reopen. The study will take about three months to look at community resources, talk to potential donors, and scope out interest levels in a revived community cinema. Should the results come back positive, the campaigning begins.

If everything goes according to plan, the theater could reopen—fully refurbished with a new sprinkler system—as early as September 2013, said art director Jerri Plumridge. They plan to show first- and second-run films, foreign, and independent films. Given the recent successes of the revived Uptown and Neptune theaters, this could be a very good thing for Columbia City.

Want to help make it happen? Donate at seedseattle.org/donate.

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Tags: Columbia City, Seattle Film News

Downton Abbey Marathon on Christmas Day

It’s time to get hooked on the British TV hit.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Dec 20, 2011 at 12:15PM 0 Comments

If you have to ask about their dry cleaning bill, you can’t afford it.

Forget 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TBS—there’s a new holiday tradition in town. Local PBS channel KCTS 9 is running a marathon of the British TV show Downton Abbey, showing the complete first season (only four 90-minute episodes) starting at 6pm on Christmas Day.

If you’re not familiar with the show—or, gasp, still calling it DownTOWN Abbey, you commoner—here’s a primer: It’s 1912. The Crawley family is the one percent, living in an English manor house the size of a Boeing hangar. They have really excellent clothes. Their servants are a dramatic bunch, spying on their bosses and each other, and having lots of conversations that boil down to “Wow, our strict class system is starting to feel a little unfair, innit?” Downton isn’t quite a soap opera, but it’s not the stuffy drama you’re imagining either.

Highlights include the great Maggie Smith as the Crawley dowager countess (that’s British for “rich old lady”); many remember her as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter flicks, but she’s even better here as a snippy upper cruster, spitting out questions like “What is a weekend?” No, really, she doesn’t know what that is.

The second season of the Emmy Award–winning show finally makes it to American shores on January 8, so this is your chance to get caught up on the British upstairs-downstairs shenanigans. It’s either that or hang out with your family on Christmas Day.

Downton Abbey airs Dec 25 at 6pm on KCTS.

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A Fiendish Conversation with Waxie Moon

In our new Q&A series, we chat with local artists and performers about their craft. Up first: the Rat King from A Burlesque Nutcracker.

Posted by: Allie Oosta on Dec 19, 2011 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Photo: POC Photo

See this energy, and more, in Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker

Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker isn’t your little sister’s Nutcracker. There’s no little Clara, and come to think of it, no nutcracker. But for the past five years, the racy dance, shake, and jiggle of the sugar plum fairies has packed the Triple Door, where the dancers show a lot of skin, and a lot of skill. It’s one of the few “ballets” that features a man en pointe; and the aerial act—with two angels flipping through a hoop dangling from the ceiling—could compete with anything you’d see at Teatro ZinZanni.

Then there’s Waxie Moon, a self-proclaimed “gender-blending-queer-lady-boylesque-performance-art stripping sensation” who steals the show as the Rat King in a Louis XIV-style wig (a towering mess made of four regular wigs). Moon began performing boylesque in 2006—armed with an MFA in acting from the University of Washington and time spent studying ballet and modern dance at Juilliard. He’s polished and professional, and his nonstop charm demands your attention.

For the first in a new series of “Fiendish Conversations,” we chatted with Waxie about his in-season habits, the making of the Rat King, and the sexiest dancers in the country:

What’s your pre-performance routine?
I usually sleep in because I’ve been performing the night before. I watch something silly like Modern Family. An enormous lunch, shower, and shave. Meditate for five minutes. Seven sun salutations. Walk to the theatre. An hour doing makeup, because I like the elaborate makeup. That’s how I find the character, because the mask helps me find it. Warm up. Throw on my costume. Three deep breaths.

How did you approach this season’s Rat King?
At this point, the Rat King is deeply known to me, because I’ve been this character for a while. I can relax and be spontaneous now. And when I put on that Louis XIV wig, I feel fiery and ridiculous.

What’s the highlight of this year’s performance?
The opening act—the snowstorm. It has a touch of Rockettes, a touch of classic Christmas, as well as bump and grind. Plus, it actually snows.

What is the best performance (local or touring) you’ve seen in the last year?
This group of extraordinary boylesque performers from Chicago called the Stage Door Johnnies. There are three of them. Their sense of humor is awesome. Sexy, sexy, sexy. … They reinvigorate me for this form.

What local artist in your field should we watch for?
Inga Ingenue. I have the pleasure of performing with her in the pop dance trio Dance Belt. She’s also a great solo performer. One of the best burlesque performers in the world right now. My father is in love with her.

If you weren’t a performer, what else would you want to do?
Long pause …There’s nothing else.

How/where do you unwind after a show?
In my apartment, with my cat, Charlie.

What do you think about critics?
I really appreciate thoughtful dialogue about any art form—so as long as it’s thoughtful, I welcome it.

Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker is at the Triple Door thru Dec 24. Tickets are $28–$45. The feature film “Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel” will make its regional premiere this October at the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

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Tags: Burlesque, Christmas 2011, Fiendish Conversation

What Galleries to Visit Over the Holidays

While everyone’s decking the halls, consider spending some free time in a more meditative environment.

Posted by: Adriana Grant on Dec 19, 2011 at 12:00PM 0 Comments

Victoria Yee Howe’s Insatiable, at Vignettes on Dec 23.

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Victoria Yee Howe’s Insatiable, at Vignettes on Dec 23.

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Katy Stone, Sunspot 2 , 2011, oil on aluminum, 25 × 26 × 2 in.

What better time to look at art than when the city is dressed in lights, and it feels like the whole of Seattle is on vacation? Many galleries are already closed for the holidays, but there are a few choice exhibits to check out in the weeks before and after Christmas.

Katy Stone at Greg Kucera Gallery
Seattle artist Stone shows a new collection of large-scale, vibrantly colored wall sculptures. In steel and aluminum, the forms are reminiscent of the organic patterns in nubby tree bark and wind-smeared cloud formations. Stone has transitioned from using filmy, plastic Duralar, but the feel of her work remains consistent. The exhibit is open Tuesday–Saturday, 10:30–5:30 until Christmas Eve.

Vignettes: Victoria Yee Howe
This Friday, December 23, Sierra Stinson hosts Vignettes in her Capitol Hill apartment. It’s the one date this month the young up-and-coming curator will open up her home for a three-hour art exhibit and reception (7–10pm). Victoria Yee Howe’s show, Insatiable, is described on vignettes.us as “an edible installation of all-consuming consumption during one night of disintegration.” Sounds like a party to us.

Carolina Silva: Here Forever at Gallery4Culture
One of the strongest exhibits on view right now is Silva’s installation of drawing and sculpture at Gallery4Culture. It features a room full of fat tinsel suspended from the ceiling, drifting in the draft created by wandering visitors. Her strongest piece echoes a work seen at Lawrimore Project a few months ago. A ring of diminutive clay hands reaches upwards from a platform on the floor. Lumpy and imperfect, the hands strain toward an unknown destination. Silva’s show is on view through December 30; Gallery4Culture is open Monday–Friday, 9–5, but is closed on Monday, December 26.

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Tags: Visual Art

The Winner of the Joan Rivers Look-Alike Contest Is…

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Dec 16, 2011 at 10:40AM 0 Comments

No contest Lily Armani wins our first-ever Joan Rivers look-alike contest.

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No contest Lily Armani wins our first-ever Joan Rivers look-alike contest.

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Photo: Courtesy Northwest Associated Arts

The real deal: Madame Joan Rivers.

Lily Armani!

In honor of Joan Rivers’s upcoming show at Benaroya Hall on February 29, we wanted to give away a pair of front-row tickets to the person who most closely resembled the Queen of Mean. Entrants were encouraged to be creative, but Seattle drag queen Lily Armani just blew away the competition with her impersonation (view the slideshow).

Photo is of friends Ryan McCabe, myself, and Mike Rotman taken at the 2011 Oscar Party here in Seattle.

I’m a local Female Impersonator and Stand-up Comedian here in Seattle. I’ve been doing drag for a little over 10 years now. In addition to my original stand-up material, I have impersonated everyone from Dolly Parton to Tina Turner, but Miss Joan Molinsky-Rosenberg-Rivers is QUEEN!

My costumes have been pulled from inspirations of Joan’s looks and styles from her 40+ year career. I’ve worked public and private Oscar Parties, Charity Fundraisers, Baby showers, and Retirement parties.

Joan is living proof of what can be achieved in this great Nation of ours with intense passion, hard work, talent and perseverance. She has done it all, seen it all, and [lived] to tell it all—and does!

Congrats to Seattle’s own “piece of work.”

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