5th Avenue Theatre updates the 1940s musical with an interracial cast and gritty choreography.
Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Feb 09, 2012 at 01:00PM1 Comments
Eric Ankrim stars as cowpoke Curly in Oklahoma! at 5th Avenue Theatre.
Oklahoma! officially opens tonight at 5th Avenue Theatre, and we have a four pack of tickets to give away to an upcoming performance on Thursday, February 23, at 8pm.
Dare we say it, these seats are good: row P, dead center, orchestra level (a value of about $400). It’s a close encounter with the updated Broadway musical, whose familiar Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes are still intact (“Surrey With the Fringe On Top,” anyone?), but now features Jud Fry played by a black actor (Kyle Scatliffe), and gritty, emotionally charged choreography by Spectrum Dance’s Donald Byrd.
To enter to win, email SeattleMetTix@gmail.com with “Oklahoma” as the subject, and a reason why you want to see the show, by Thursday, February 16, at 5pm. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.
Oklahoma! Thru Mar 4, 5th Avenue Theatre, $29–$139
Spectrum dancers rehearse the dream ballet in Oklahoma!.
It’s like Black Friday for thespians. Starting at 8am this Saturday, 5th Avenue Theatre will hand out free tickets to its February 5 performance of Oklahoma!. There are more than enough passes to go around (2,100), with a limit of four per household. All you have to do is queue up—hopefully not in the snow—and accept that fact that you’ll be missing the Super Bowl.
Ah yup. This free show is at the same time as the big game. But 5th Ave knows its audience—this giveaway is for the men, women, and children who only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials (and you can DVR those anyway). In exchange for a night of nachos, light beer, and extreme grunting, you’ll get to see an updated production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, with new choreography by Spectrum Dance’s Donald Byrd.
The Tony-nominated choreographer earned accolades for his work on Broadway’s The Color Purple and his collaborations with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. But since signing on as artistic director of Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theater a decade ago, he’s taken the lead locally in creating unflinching, emotionally charged dance performances, interpreting everything from domestic abuse to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through modern dance. In his hands, and with the help of director Peter Rothstein, Oklahoma!will receive a more critical treatment. Don’t dismiss it as a lightweight cowpoke love story with a jaunty score (“Surrey With the Fringe On Top,” anyone?). There’s a darkness to the script regarding turn-of-the-century race relations—in 1906, the Oklahoma Territory was home to one of the nation’s largest communities of freed slaves—and 5th Ave plans to honor that reality with an interracial cast. It’s a new look with a familiar score. The wind, as always, will go whipping down the plains.
Oklahoma! 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave, Feb 3–Mar 4
After nearly a decade of being pegged “alt-country,” Sykes and guitarist Phil Wandscher enter new territory on their latest record, Marble Son, which explores the darkness and chaos of ’60s psychedelia and art metal. Even the explanation of the album title is heavier: “I liked the idea of something beautiful that may or may not be appreciated in it’s own time,” Sykes says. “Of course, a statue comes to mind.”
They’re joined by opening bands the Highway Kind (with Matt Camirand from Black Mountain) and Low Hums (with Jonas Haskins/Jason Merculief of Alela Diane).
To enter to win tickets, email SeattleMetTix@gmail.com with “Jesse Sykes” as the subject, and a reason why you want to see the show, by Friday, December 2, at 5. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter play Neumos on Dec 7. Doors open at 8.
It’s been 20 years since the passing of French iconoclast Serge Gainsbourg, a prolific songwriter and provocateur whose 550 songs and 30+ albums earned him bipolar praise (he was called everything from “debauched” to a “modern-day Baudelaire”). The Vatican banned his breathy duet “Je T’Aime … Moi Non Plus” (“I love you, me neither”), featuring orgasmic panting by Gainsbourg’s longtime lover Birkin, but that only encouraged him. He was a fervent drinker, smoker, poet, and paramour who bedded Brigitte Bardot—but it was Birkin he adored, who was mother to his daughter Charlotte, and who now owns a portion of Serge’s song catalog.
The British actress and chanteuse—a talented solo artist in her own right—is still going strong at 64. As for why now, why more Serge?She responds on her website:
I too wondered why I was singing Serge again, even if it was celibrating the 20 years after Serge’s death, even if it was a very personal 40 years since “Melody Nelson” but what did I have to offer … i’d done it all before, Serge in pop, arabesque, classic quator, 14 musiciens, 6 musiciens, a harp, a squeeze box, violins … this year others have started, their “Serge” was a new point of view, their interpretations… so I started contemplating, putting it all off …
Then there was the Japanese disaster … of unbelievable horror, earthquake, tsunami, and then the ghasly news of the nuclear horror, the like of which we had never witnessed … the images…
What to do ? I have known these people for forty years… “go there” I thought… tell them that back home folk are thinking of them, but get there, “and do what ?” what can I do ?….the only thing i can do… a concert …
Birkin is joined by Japanese musicians for her “Serge Gainsbourg and Jane via Japan” performance in Seattle. To enter to win tickets, email SeattleMetTix@gmail.com with “Jane Birkin” as the subject, and a reason why you want to see the show, by Monday, November 14, at 10am. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.
Jane Birkin performs at the Neptune Theatre on November 29 at 8.
They’re wrapping it up after 10 years of shredding.
Posted by: Laura Dannen on Nov 01, 2011 at 04:05PM0 Comments
Seattle’s Rachel Flotard and Ben Hooker have been rocking together as Visqueen for a decade—but sometimes rock stars have children, touring gets tough, and the tough have to call it quits. So it’s bittersweet that we’re offering a chance to win two tickets toVisqueen’s final performance at the Neptune Theatre on Saturday, November 26, at 8.
Visqueen’s current crew—Flotard, Hooker, bassist Cristina Bautista, and (with luck) Barb Hunter on electric cello—will cover hits from the band’s entire catalog: their energetic punk-pop debut King Me (2003), 2004’s cymbal-clashing, guitar-shredding Sunset on Dateland, and 2009’s love letter to Flotard’s late father, Message to Garcia. And in honor of the occasion, one of Visqueen’s favorite bands, local punk trio Broadcast Oblivion (Drew Church, Dave Hernandez of the Shins, and Coady Willis of Murder City Devils), will reunite for the evening to open.
To enter to win tickets, email SeattleMetTix@gmail.com with “Visqueen” as the subject, and a reason why you want to see the show, by Monday, November 7, at 10am. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.
Visqueen’s Thanksgiving Fare-Thee-Well Performance is at the Neptune Theatre on Nov 26.
The British dance-punk trio lights up the Neptune next week.
Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Oct 13, 2011 at 10:30AM4 Comments
The free fun continues. Yes, we said we would give away a pair of concert tickets every Tuesday for the next month or so, but we just got these and felt impatient. You could win two tickets to see Friendly Firesat the Neptune Theatre on Wednesday, October 19, at 8pm.
After being shortlisted for the coveted Mercury Prize in 2009 (for the best new album in the UK), the dance-punk trio from St. Albans has been riding the new wave revival to the top. They tour behind their sophomore release, Pala, a poolside party soundtrack that will drag us out of our encroaching seasonal depression.
To enter to win, email SeattleMetTix@gmail.com with “Friendly Fires” as the subject, and a reason why you want to see the show, by Monday, October 17, at 10am. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.
Friendly Fires is at the Neptune Theatre on October 19 at 8pm.
Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Aug 08, 2011 at 04:00PM0 Comments
Photo: courtesy Wendy Lynch Redfern.
We’ve been saving our best giveaway for last: You have one week to enter to win tickets to see musician-comedianReggie Wattsat the Neptune Theatre on August 21. The ‘fro that opened last year’s Conan O’Brien live tour got his start in Seattle—studying jazz at Cornish, fronting soul-rock-hip-hop crew Maktub. He’s a born-and-bred hyphenate who lived in Germany, Spain, and Montana before he turned 18, and does genre-defying comedy that’s part musical act (Watts at a looping machine), part gonzo performance, and almost entirely improvised. In other words, we have no idea what to expect. And that’s the best part.
To enter to win a pair of tickets, email ReggieWattsTix@gmail.com with “Reggie” as the subject head, and a reason why you want to see the show, by Friday, August 12, at 5pm. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.
Reggie Watts is at Neptune Theatre on Sun, Aug 21, at 8pm.
We have a second pair of tickets to hand out. This time, win a chance to see local singer Vince Mira — once thought to be the second coming of Johnny Cash — take on the King’s oeuvre with Joe Doria and the Can Can crew at the Moore Theatre on August 20. There’s going to be movie montages, some jailhouse rockin’. Just don’t expect a creepy Elvis impersonator; Mira’s the real deal. Ever since recording in the Cash Cabin in 2007, where Mira reportedly freaked out John Jr. with a deep baritone that sounded just like the his dad’s, the boy from Federal Way has made a name for himself nationally. He’s been on Ellen, Good Morning America, played Sasquatch! and Bumbershoot, and recorded two (soon to be three) albums. By the way: He’s only 19.
To enter to win a pair of tickets, just email ElvisandVince@gmail.com with “Elvis Alive” as the subject head, and the name of the greatest Elvis song ever written, by Thursday, August 11, at 5pm. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.
Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Aug 04, 2011 at 10:00AM0 Comments
See Imelda May at the Neptune on Aug 12.
Aren’t you lucky: Today we start giving away tickets to all kinds of things this month: concerts, comedy. First up: Win two tickets to see Irish rockabilly starImelda Mayat the newly renovated Neptune Theatre on August 12. Don’t know May? She’s a siren with fire-red lips and a reputation for causing a rumpus—absolutely rockin’ live shows that cover rock, blues, and New Orleans jazz. To enter to win a pair of tickets, just email ImeldaMayTickets@gmail.com with “Imelda May” in the subject head, and one reason why you want to see the show, by Wednesday, August 10, at 5pm. The winner will be notified by email shortly after the deadline.
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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