SPECIAL EVENT

Feb 11
An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert
These celebrity chefs and unlikely friends will dish about the restaurant industry in their one-night stand at the Paramount. It’s being billed as “good versus evil,” but how do they really stack up? Read our Chef Showdown to find out. Paramount Theatre, $55–$200.

THEATER

Thru Mar 4
I Am My Own Wife
Playwright Doug Wright (Quills, Grey Gardens) tells the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transvestite in East Germany who proudly cross-dresses during Nazi and Communist occupation. Who better to play Charlotte—plus 30 other characters—than Seattle’s own Hedwig, Nick Garrison. Seattle Rep, $12–$59.

Oklahoma!
Those familiar Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes are still intact (“O-k-l-a-h-o-m-a!”), but in this updated production of the 1940s musical, Jud Fry will be played by a black actor (Kyle Scatliffe), and Spectrum Dance’s Donald Byrd has infused the dance numbers with a bit of grit. 5th Avenue Theatre, $29–$139.

CLASSICAL & MORE

Feb 10 & 12
Unstrung Hero
Clarinettist Sean Osborn, who debuted at 17 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, joins the ensemble for Brahms’s brooding Clarinet Quintet and his own Beatles-inspired composition for clarinet and strings. Fri at Q Cafe, Sun at Mt Baker Community Center, free–$30.

DANCE

Feb 11 & 12
Chop Shop: Bodies of Work
Eleven of the Northwest’s modern dance masters—including Spectrum’s Donald Byrd and founding Mark Morris Dance Group member Penny Hutchinson—head to the Eastside for this fifth-annual festival of dance performances, master classes, and lectures. Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, $20–$25.

FAMILY

Feb 10–June 17
Asian American Arcade
Hit the pause button and examine the creativity of video games; this new exhibit showcases paintings and 2D imagery by seven local artists, and an installation inside a play station, naturally. Wing Luke Museum, $9–$13, opening reception Feb 9 is free.

FILM

Opens Feb 10
Oscar-Nominated Short Films
Starting this Friday, Varsity Theatre screens this year’s Oscar-nominated short films for a limited time. Get a leg up on your office Oscar pool with our handy guide. Live-action and animated shorts are separated into two feature-length events. $7–$10.

Bonus! Oscar-nominated dance documentary Pina opens at Seattle Cinerama on February 10.

PARTY

Feb 11
Girl Walk // All Day Premiere and Dance Party
Mashup king Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, now has a feature-length music video set to his album All Day. It makes its local debut at Neumos this weekend—dance party included. $12 advance, $15 at the door.

BENEFIT

Feb 12
Beer and Chocolate for Charity
What better than chocolate and beer to sooth a lonely heart on Valentine’s weekend? Georgetown Brewing Company promises live bluegrass music, Macrina baked goods, Theo Chocolate, and the debut of Lisa’s “The Sun Is Trying to Kill Me” Chocolate Stout, brewed with 15 pounds of cocoa. Makes a mean beer float. Proceeds support Autism Speaks. $50.

VISUAL ART

Feb 9–Apr 29
Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise
Despite the lushness of his Tahitian paintings, Paul Gauguin never found that idyllic paradise he sought in 19th-century Polynesia. Examine nearly 60 of the master’s works—and 60 by Polynesian artists—at Seattle Art Museum. (It’s the traveling exhibit’s only U.S. stop.) $18–$23.