Slideshow: Seattle’s Boardwalk Empire Sneak Peek
We put on our best bowler hat for a party and preview of season 2.
Posted by: Heather Fink on Sep 19, 2011 at 02:00PM
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All photos by Carey Rose.
The Tommy gun: an always-excellent means of ensuring speedy service.
View Slideshow » Illustration:The season two premiere of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire took place at the Big Picture, a bar and theater beneath El Gaucho in Belltown. Specialty cocktails were available in addition to the usual selection of beer, wine, and bubbly.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Kieran Archer works the bar at the Big Picture, serving up drinks to attendees who were encouraged to dress (and party) like it’s 1919.
View Slideshow » Illustration:The premiere “should be great,” said Todd Hattori, decked out in a full suit and bowler.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Chris Warner, second from right, sits with a group of friends before the premiere. “We’re fans of the show, and fans of dressing up,” said Warner, who purchased his bowler hat from a Goorin Bros. Hat Shop in Seattle.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Leah and Marty Ross pieced together their outfits from a costume shop in Northgate, leftovers from a wedding, and a Value Village. “We decided to roll it into Halloween,” Leah said.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Another group gets a last-minute drink order in before the show.
View Slideshow » Illustration:A group hailing from Issaquah said they love the show, and when they saw the suggestion to dress up, decided to be “good sports.”
View Slideshow » Illustration:There were no smartphones in 1919 — you’re breaking character!
View Slideshow » Illustration:Shea Whigham, who plays Sheriff Eli Thompson on the show, chatted briefly before the screening about their latest round of taping (which had just wrapped). He withheld all juicy tidbits about the second season.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Eric Warner, with friends Lee Kalfan (left) and Kate Solomon, exit the premiere and head over to the first spot on the “speakeasy crawl,” the Sarajevo Lounge (aka the old Del Rey).
View Slideshow » Illustration:The Sarajevo Lounge was booked exclusively for participants in HBO’s pub crawl, and offered drink specials, snacks, and a photo booth.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Kate Solomon makes sure the bartender mixes that drink right at Sarajevo Lounge.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Lee Kalfan and Kate Solomon have a souvenir photo taken at the Sarajevo Club photo booth.
The scene at Belltown’s Big Picture bar and cinema last Friday was decidedly un-Seattle. Locals dressed in bowler hats and flapper dresses? Strangers mingling? A man brandishing a Tommy gun in a dimly lit underground bar? Okay, the Tommy gun was a fake, but the costumes—and a palpable buzz in the air—were real.
Thanks to the high concentration of Seattle-area Facebook fans for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, our city played host to a sneak preview of season two of the Prohibition-era drama, followed by a pub crawl with complimentary food and booze. The theater, with seats for 100, was filled nearly to capacity as Shea Whigham (Sheriff Eli Thompson) took center stage to properly introduce the show. Despite delivering a recap of last season with a quality Jersey accent, Whigham was decidedly tight-lipped about the rest of the new season.
The good news: The second season of Boardwalk hasn’t faltered in costuming, acting, or drama. Nucky faces new challenges [SPOILER!] following his arrest for election fraud, Chalky White goes up against the KKK, and Agent Van Alden’s wife Rose comes to Atlantic City for their anniversary (which proves to be a strangely hypnotizing, slightly awkward occasion).
View the slideshow for more from Friday night’s Seattle “speakeasy crawl.”
Tags: Belltown, Television, Slideshow, Boardwalk Empire, Pub Crawl
