Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jan 25, 2012 at 10:30AM0 Comments
Photo: Courtesy Ben Vanhouten.
Take a long lunch today and head downtown to City Hall for the free Seattle Symphony community concert. Starting at 12:30, conductor Ludovic Morlot will lead the orchestra in Weber’s Overture to Der Freischütz and Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7 in A major, Op. 92. Following the performance, Morlot will introduce the lineup for the 2012-2013 season, which kicks off in September.
SSO Community Concert Jan 25, 12:30-1:30, City Hall
Gypsy jazz act Pearl Django and vocalist Greta Matassa liven up the Two Union Square business center with a free Out to Lunch concert from noon-1:30pm today. Go go go.
In honor of her new album, Live at Benaroya Hall, out today.
Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 03, 2011 at 10:00AM0 Comments
Brandi Carlile looks like a balsamic strawberry kind of girl.
Back in November, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile played two sold-out shows with the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall. If you couldn’t make it—or you were in row ZZ—there’s another opportunity to see her perform: up close, personal, and while eating salted caramel ice cream.
Brandi Carlile will play a free set at Molly Moon’s on Capitol Hill tonight, May 3, from 7–8pm. She’s back in town to promote the release of her new album, Live at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony, which drops today—same day as the Fleet Foxes’s much-heralded sophomore album, Helplessness Blues. Too…much…local…talent.
UPDATED 1:40pm. Brandi will also play Cupcake Royale on Pike St in Capitol Hill at 4pm and Easy Street Records on Mercer Street in Lower Queen Anne at 10pm.
These are can’t-miss dramatic readings of playwright Harold Pinter’s finest.
Posted by: Laura Dannen on Sep 16, 2010 at 10:05AM0 Comments
Harold Pinter
ACT’s Central Heating Lab brings back its popular Pinter Fortnightly series—a celebration of the late Nobel laureate Harold Pinter and his canon—on Monday with two one-acts performed by star Seattle thespians. As always, the dramatic readings are FREE, but reservations are encouraged. Here’s the rub:
September 20 One of Pinter’s funniest plays, 1960’s word war The Dumb Waiter (with John Aylward and R. Hamilton Wright, directed by Kurt Beattie) and the more somber Family Voices (with Susan Corzatte, Clayton Corzatte, and Burton Curtis, directed by Jane Kaplan).
October 4 Full-length play The Hothouse (cast TBD).
October 11 A non-Pinter play! Madagascar (winner of the Pinter Review Prize for Drama) by young American playwright J.T. Rogers.
Century Ballroom dances onto the movie scene this weekend with View and Chew.
Posted by: Douglas Bair on Aug 19, 2010 at 10:30AM2 Comments
Free movies are continuing to pop up on screens throughout Seattle and continuing this Fall.
So you know you can’t dance? No worries—Century Ballroom won’t drag you into a Dancing with the Stars routine at its new View and Chew nights. All you have to do is pull up a chair, tuck into your meal, and let the leading men on the silver screen take the lead. On weekends from Friday through October 31, Century Ballroom will host free movie screenings in West Hall—all films dance-related, of course—with food and drink service available through the Tin Table.
“It supports what we do: to provide another outlet for enjoying dance, especially if you aren’t a dancer,” says Hallie Kuperman, owner of Century Ballroom and the Tin Table.
Swayze fans, take note: Dirty Dancing screens on August 27. Here’s the full lineup:
Aug 20: Strictly Ballroom
Aug 21: This Is It
Aug 22: Hellzapoppin’
Aug 27: Dirty Dancing
Aug 28: Shall We Dance? (with Japanese subtitles)
Sept 3: Dance With Me
Sept 10: Singin’ in the Rain
Sept 11: West Side Story
Sept 12: Swing Clips & Swing Bloopers
Sept 17: Moulin Rouge
Sept 18: Billy Elliott
Oct 1: Bring It On
Oct 8: Tango Lesson
Oct 10: A Day at the Races
Oct 15: Top Hat
Oct 16: Dirty Dancing Havana Nights
Oct 17: Swing Kids
Oct 31: Rocky Horror Picture Show
Free. Doors open at 7; movies screen at 8. West Hall in Oddfellows, 915 E Pine St. For group reservations, call 206 324-7263 or go tocenturyballroom.com.
Starting at noon today, local teens show off their moves in a free outdoor performance.
Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jul 01, 2010 at 09:00AM0 Comments
Dance This hits fever pitch at the close of the 2009 show at Paramount Theatre, Seattle. Photo courtesy Ben Kerns.
If you wander by Seattle’s City Hall on your lunch break today, you might see 75 teens (give or take) dancing in the streets. They know hip hop, the rhumba, even traditional Indian Odissi. They have the kind of energy that could make you smile even if your lunch cost $12 and you dropped half of it on your pants. Starting at noon, these talented young things (T.Y.T) will perform a preview of Dance This, an upcoming show (Paramount Theatre, July 10) of all local teens showing off what they learned from visiting choreographers like Giselle Peacock of Broadway’s Burn the Floor and Napoleon and Tabitha from FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance.
And once they’re done, they’ll even teach you a few moves for a flash mob to follow at a secret location. Yes, more flash mobs. This show is in conjunction with Seattle’s outdoor Concerts at City Hall series, which also includes shows by Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band (July 8), the Dusty 45s (July 15), and more throughout the year.
The lunchtime series is back with outdoor shows across the city.
Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jun 23, 2010 at 10:00AM0 Comments
Hey Marseilles plays a free show at Harbor Steps on Friday, June 25. Photo courtesy Hayley Young.
Two hours from now, ska/reggae band the English Beat will play a soundtrack to your burrito-eating over at Westlake Center. On Friday, Hey Marseilles brings its orchestral pop to Harbor Steps. On Wednesday, June 30, hot new trombone player Trombone Shorty—fresh off an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman — will jazz up Occidental Square.
Best part? These shows are all at lunchtime, and all free. Soul supergroup Wheedle’s Groove played a funky set last Friday from noon-1:30pm to kick off this summer’s downtown Out to Lunch series, and after seeing that, I don’t plan to miss any of the sets at Harbor Steps if I can help it. Overton Berry, a dapper 74-year-old pianist, had everyone singing along to “Hey Jude,” trumpets blared, and people danced. In broad daylight.
Here’s the lineup, with our recommendations in caps. All shows start at noon.
The English Beat, Wednesday, June 23, Westlake Park.
HEYMARSEILLES, Friday, June 25, Harbor Steps.
TROMBONESHORTYANDORLEANSAVENUE, Wednesday, June 30, Occidental Square.
VICCIMARTINEZ, Friday, July 2, Harbor Steps.
Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, Wednesday, July 7, Waterfront Park.
The Paperboys, Friday, July 9, Harbor Steps.
Michael Powers & Deems Tsutakawa, Wednesday, July 14, Bank of America Plaza.
The Legacy Quartet with Clarence Acox, Friday, July 16, 2200 Westlake.
Ian McFeron, Wednesday, July 21, Occidental Square.
Greta Matassa & Susan Pascal, Friday, July 23, 2200 Westlake.
Po’ Girl, Wednesday, July 28, Bank of America Plaza.
GLENPHILLIPS from Toad the Wet Sprocket, Friday, July 30, 2200 Westlake.
Jovino Santos Neto, Wednesday, August 4, Two Union Square.
Chatham County Line, Friday, August 6, 2200 Westlake.
Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, Wednesday, August 11, Two Union Square.
Lucy Woodward, Friday, August 13, Harbor Steps.
PORTLANDCELLOPROJECT, Wednesday, August 18, Two Union Square.
LeRoy Bell & His Only Friends, Friday, August 20, Harbor Steps.
Geoffrey Castle, Wednesday, August 25, Bank of America Plaza.
THEDUSTY 45S, Friday, August 27, Harbor Steps.
Grupo Ashé, Wednesday, September 1, Westlake Park.
Clinton Fearon & the Boogie Brown Band, Friday, September 3, Harbor Steps.
Old vaudeville haunt gets a facelift, hosts free shows all summer.
Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jun 21, 2010 at 10:00AM0 Comments
A lot has changed in Columbia City since the early ’90s, when longtime resident Ken Nicholas remembers hearing gunshots in the street. “This place was in bad shape,” he says. But the cleanup began after trailblazing business owners moved in and the townhome market heated up to serve the single scenesters and young couples who came next. —Matt Halverson, 2010 Best Places to Live
It’s no secret that Columbia City is a new haven for first-time homebuyers. But local arts organizations are certainly making the ’hood more enticing: first with a successful word-of-mouth effort to save—and revitalize— Columbia City Cinema, and now with the grand re-opening of Columbia City Theater on Friday, June 25.
The historic vaudeville venue has new tenants, a new lease on life, even a new sprinkler system. CCT—once a haunt for Jimi Hendrix, Ella Fitzgerald, and Duke Ellington—now boasts a renovated concert hall with exposed brick and a quality bar (a big plus) that will host a diverse lineup of local bands this summer: hip-hop act Mash Hall (June 25), orchestral pop crew Grand Hallway (June 26), and roots rockers the Maldives (July 2), to name a few.
Even better: Those shows are free.
Here are the acts we’re most excited about (all starting at 9pm, unless otherwise noted). For the full lineup, go to columbiacitytheater.com.
FREE June 25 Mash Hall, Cloud Nice, DJ Suspence
FREE June 26 Grand Hallway, Drew Grow & The Pastors’ Wives, Kelli Schaefer
FREE July 2 The Maldives, Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers
FREE July 3 The Whore Moans (last show), Lesbian, Chinese
July 10 Too Beautiful To Live ($35)
FREE July 23 Star Anna & The Laughing Dogs, Ryan Purcell
August 6 Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground, Head & The Heart ($12)
August 7 Thee Satisfaction, OC Notes & Chocolate Chuck as The Black Power Rangers ($10)
Academy Award-winning documentary is this week’s “Friday Night at the Meaninful Movies.”
Posted by: Laura Dannen on Apr 15, 2010 at 10:00AM0 Comments
The Cove
Every Friday at 7pm, the Wallingford Neighbors for Peace and Justice screen a movie they hope will spark some meaningful conversation—and we’re pretty excited about this week’s selection: The Cove, the 2009 Oscar winner for best documentary. The film follows a team of activists on a mission to expose the killing of dolphins in a small coastal town in Japan; it’s as riveting as any thriller, and beautifully shot. If you haven’t Netflixed it yet, consider checking it out tomorrow night.
The Cove screens at Keystone Congregational United Church of Christ (5019 Keystone Place N, Seattle), with a discussion to follow on the current plight of dolphins and sea mammals. Scott West, a retired U.S. Federal Agent hired to work for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, will be around to answer questions, as well as representatives from the Northwest Animal Rights Network.
Entry is free, but donations are welcome. For more information, go to MeaningfulMovies.org.
Seattle’s veteran thespians do dramatic readings of the late Nobel laureate’s work.
Posted by: Laura Dannen on Mar 29, 2010 at 11:00AM0 Comments
People loved (I mean, loved) Two by Pinter at ACT in January, and what’s not to love about free readings of Harold Pinter’s work by some of Seattle’s strongest actors? New theater company Shadow and Light has dedicated itself to running through the Nobel laureate’s canon, starting with one-acts A Kind of Alaska and Ashes to Ashes earlier this year. The shows were such a success, ACT’s Central Heating Lab asked series curator Frank Corrado to throw together four more performances. The series continues tonight, with The Room—Pinter’s sinister first play from 1957—and The Collection, a sexually charged drama about marital fidelity. The cast is TBA.
Admission to Pinter Fortnightly is free, but reservations are encouraged since seating at ACT’s Bullitt Theatre fills up quickly. RSVP by calling ACT’s box office: 206-292-7676.
Upcoming Pinter plays… April 12Celebration and Victoria Station (cast TBA) April 26Mountain Language and a reading of Pinter’s 2005 Nobel address “Art, Truth and Politics” featuring Kurt Beattie (additional cast TBA)
Before joining Seattle Metropolitan, Laura Dannen covered all things A&E as deputy editor of Time Out Singapore. She’s an award-winning reporter and editor whose team of entertainment junkies delivers daily doses of news, reviews, and interviews.
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Culture Fiend covers the best Seattle has to offer in theater, music, art, and more.
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