Best of the City 2008
You're about to see your city in a whole new way.
Edited by Jessica VoelkerWith contribution from Christopher Werner, Ben Schock, Kathryn Robinson, Rachelle Robinett, Erin Pursell, Laura Peach, Kelly Huffman, Leah Finn, James Ross Gardner, Lee Fehrenbacher, Stefan Durham, Wilson Diehl, Laura Cassidy, Roger Brooks, Sarah Anderson, and Steve Wiecking
Bowling Alley
What better metaphor for a rapidly changing city than its bowling alleys? Not four months after Ballard’s Sunset Bowl turned out the fluorescent lights for good, LA-chic Lucky Strike Lanes opened a new, superluxe location in Bellevue’s Lincoln Square. It has none of Sunset’s lowbrow charm, but Lucky Strike’s posh, candlelit setting—where tenpinners sip upscale cocktails while DJs spin dreamy house tunes—offers an ambient update on a classic indoor sport. Lucky Strike Lanes, 700 Bellevue Way NE, Ste 250, Bellevue, 425-453-5137; www.bowlluckystrike.com
Class
“So I’m driving to the doctor,” the comic begins, “and I stop to get a latte [pauses for a beat] like anyone in Seattle would.” It’s all about timing at the Comedy Underground showcase, where recent grads of Stu Stuart’s multipart Beginning Stand-Up Comedy class display their newly developed wisecracking prowess. Stuart, a Seattle- and Michigan-based comedian who also runs beer tours in Belgium, flies into town several times a year to teach the class through the UW’s Experimental College, and boy, are his arms tired. Beginning Stand-Up Comedy, Experimental College, Husky Union Building, Rm G10, Stevens Way at University of Washington, 206-543-4375; www.exco.org
Readings
It’s been around forever—or at least since 1973—but the brick-walled basement of our beloved Elliott Bay Book Company (a store so compelling, transplants often list it as the reason they moved here) remains the best place to catch your favorite authors reading from their newest manuscripts. The store regularly hosts literary luminaries like Jane Smiley, Dave Eggers, Edwidge Danticat, and David Sedaris—and is the only one that serves wine while the wordsmiths work the room. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, Pioneer Square, 206-624-6600; www.elliottbaybook.com
Theater export
Bartlett Sher forces the East Coast cognoscenti to look west in admiration. First the Intiman Theatre’s artistic director nabbed the prize for outstanding regional theater, and now Sher’s ravishing, clear-eyed revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center is the hot ticket for “some enchanted evening” of musical magic. The production has earned this local boy his share of critical accolades, including the 2008 Tony for Best Direction of a Musical. Bartlett Sher, Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer St, Seattle Center, 206-269-1900; www.intiman.org
Neighborhood Arts Project
Community theater on a shoestring, it’s not. To create Arts on Beacon Hill, Michael Perrone bought an old grocery store, overhauled the roofing, plumbing, and electrical, installed a coffee shop and 49-seat theater, then unveiled the result last spring. The resident company, Seattle Novyi Theatre, has a clear international flavor, with members from around the globe and a dedication to the Stanislavski acting system. Sound insane in this financial climate? “I’m 50,” Perrone jokes. “The closer to death you get, the less fearful you are of taking chances.” Arts on Beacon Hill, 4951 13th Ave S, Beacon Hill, 800-838-3006; www.seattlenovyi.org
Bargain Theater
For its inaugural season this spring, Richard Hugo House’s resident company Next Stage mounted the twisted corporate satire Demonology, but its First Week Free initiative made a more impressive debut. Every opening week of every play this season (August 15 through September 7) will cost you no more than what you’re willing to pay to support local fringe theater. Up next is 43 Plays for 43 Presidents, which begins with George Washington and ends with George…well, you know. First Week Free, Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, Capitol Hill, 206-322-7030; www.nextstage.org
Vaudeville Venue
There are no bad seats at Columbia City Theater, the burlesque boîte where Jimi Hendrix got his start. A full bar helps patrons psych themselves up for circus-style high jinks, and unobstructed views are plenty—even at the back of the house—always important when you’ve come to see Tamara the Trapeze lady fly across the stage. Columbia City Theater, 4916 Rainier Ave S, Columbia City, 206-723-0088; www.columbiacitytheater.com
New Dance Company
That Julie Tobiason and Timothy Lynch had performed with the nationally acclaimed Pacific Northwest Ballet didn’t assure their Seattle Dance Project’s January debut would be a sure thing. Taking direction from an ambitious range of choreographers (Seattle’s Donald Byrd, New York’s Molissa Fenley), the nine-member troupe melds ballet technique with a modern-dance mind set. Sizable crowds showed up to what proved to be a polished, assured performance—see what had them cheering when the Project remounts the program July 25 and 26. Seattle Dance Project, Meydenbauer Center, 11100 NE Sixth St, Bellevue, 206-325-6500; www.seattledanceproject.org
Published: July 2008
