VISUAL ART

Mar 20–May 1
Maïmouna Guerresi: Light Bodies
Italian and Senegalese artist Maïmouna Guerresi kicks off a new era for the M.I.A. Gallery, which has been rebranded as the Mariane Ibrahim Gallery. Guerresi’s exhibit Light Bodies explores religion and iconography through photographs and mixedmedia installations inspired by the Sufi women she encountered in her travels to Africa. The luminous works express the spiritual balance of the female soul and a quiet sense of dignity. Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Free

CLASSICAL & MORE

Fri, Mar 20
…That Language Is Shaped Air…
The Seattle Chamber Players didn’t get a typical response when they asked composer Juan Pampin for a new commission. Pampin dreamt up …That Language Is Shaped Air…, a site-specific piece to be played at Henry Art Gallery in conjunction with (and inspired by) Ann Hamilton’s exhibit the Common Sense, a collection of original work influenced by pieces from the Burke Museum and UW Libraries. Members of the UW faculty—including trombonist Stuart Dempster and trumpeter Cuong Vu—join SCP for this one-of-a-kind performance. Henry Art Gallery, $10

BOOKS & TALKS

Fri, Mar 20
Lament for the Makers
When Hugo House executive director Tree Swenson started putting together an reading to commemorate the life of poet Carolyn Kizer, she kept coming across the names of more great poets that passed away in 2014. So to pay respects for the departed, Hugo House hosts Lament of the Makers, an event where ten local poets gather to celebrate the lives and read the works of ten literary voices we lost last year. Hugo House, Free

CONCERTS

Fri, Mar 20
Hot Java Cool Jazz
Seattle’s high school jazz scene is richer than any Starbucks dark roast, but the coffee giant doesn’t hold a grudge. Instead it presents its yearly showcase of the best young jazz bands around from Ballard, Bothell, Garfield, Mountlake Terrace, and Roosevelt High Schools. Paramount Theatre, Sold Out

THEATER

Thru Apr 4
The Flick
There's drama to be mined from the mundane minutiae of a dead-end job. New Century Theatre Company's production of Annie Baker's Pulitzer Prize winning play The Flick focuses on the discourse between three employees and a floundering single-screen movie theater. As they sweep, pick up trash, mop the floors, and change the reel of the 35mm projector, their conversations about movies and the depressing aspects of their lives propel a simple but captivating story about going nowhere fast. 12th Avenue Arts, $25–$30

THE SPORTING LIFE

Fri & Sun, Mar 20 & 22
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
Though the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has been a March mainstay for more than 75 years, it wasn’t until 1984, when the Kingdome hosted the finals, that it truly went mad. Seattle sports promoter Bob Walsh is credited with turning the tourney into an event, and over the next 20 years it came back to the Emerald City eight times. Then we got the cold shoulder—and no one’s exactly sure why. But after more than a decade, March Madness is finally returning to Seattle—KeyArena, specifically—and hoops fans couldn’t be happier. The Gonzaga Bulldogs headline the action in the quest for their first Final Four. KeyArena, Sold Out

COMEDY

Sat, Mar 21
Amy Schumer
Don't let the Cabbage Patch face (her word, not ours) fool you: Schumer works blue—like "@#$% you in the *&%#ing $#@!" blue. But she's funny! Emerald Queen Casino, Sold Out

Sat, Mar 21
Mick Foley
For professional wrestling fans, March means one thing: WrestleMania. But these days you’re more likely to find WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley (aka Mankind) in a comedy club than in the ring. The former WWE Champion and best-selling author has found a second career as a comedic storyteller (but not—he insists—a standup). Foley is known for taking more physical abuse than any other wrestler (fake pile drivers still hurt), but it hardened the hardcore legend for the brutality of the stage. Parlor Live Comedy Club Bellevue, $25–$30

PERFORMANCE

Thru Mar 22
Cirque du Soleil: Kurious
It's the last weekend to head to Marymoor Park and enter the steampunk world of Kurios, Cirque du Soleil's latest circus arts performance. Robots wander about as a band plays a mix of 1930s jazz and dark gypsy Balkan folk, while performers astoundingly juggle, flip, balance, swing, bike, and even yo-yo across the stage. It feels like Northwest fantasy pulled from a Portlandia character; their version of The Dude’s dream sequence in The Big Lebowski. Marymoor Park, $42–$495

Mar 19–Apr 12
Moisture Festival
The annual Moisture Festival adds a month-long dash of colorful spice to surprise the Seattle artistic palate. The shows are presented in Vaudevillian fashion, as comedy, burlesque, and varietè acts perform in short 3–15 minute bursts. Where else can you find dancers, jugglers, acrobats, strong men, drill teams, and bubble acts all showing off their skills with musical backing? Various Locations, $20–$40