This week, our arts critics have recommended the best events in every genre—from Washington Ensemble Theater's Six Pack Series to Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival to a reading from Geraldine Brooks. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar.
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MONDAY
THEATER
The Motherfucker with the Hat
"The Washington Ensemble Theater really wanted to produce The Motherfucker with the Hat, a Tony award-nominated play by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. Co-artistic director Ali el-Gasseir was attracted to Guirgis’s material because it was 'dangerous,' and WET’s attracted to danger, within the context of theater standards, at least. You can expect someone to get naked at a WET show, a promise they’ll keep with this production. Foul mouths abound. Weird reigns." -Rich Smith (Continues Thurs-Mon)
COMEDY
Collide-o-Scope
Created and hosted by Michael Anderson and Shane Wahlund, Collide-O-Scope is the cavalcade of curated video delights that takes over Re-bar twice a month. The show keeps getting better, with thematic suites, hallucinatory repetition, and inspired guests. And this week, some lucky person will win two tickets to Dina Martina's spring show.
FOOD & DRINK
Cider & Sirens Dinner
"The Ciders & Sirens dinner features an entirely female roster of chefs and cidermakers. Each of the six courses will showcase the work of a talented local chef de cuisine or sous chef from a local restaurant. ... Pace yourself and sip carefully or, like the sailors who were lured into danger by the song of the Sirens in Greek mythology, you may find yourself with a crushing, incapacitating hangover the next day." -Angela Garbes
FILM
Kenneth Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale
Shakespeare’s timeless tragicomedy is reimagined in Kenneth Branagh and Rob Ashford's new production, featuring Judi Dench as Paulina and Branagh as Leontes, broadcast live from London.
READINGS & TALKS
National Geographic Live - Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous
Hear the story of the young paleontologist who made sure that Spinosaurus, a dinosaur bigger than the T-Rex, didn't disappear in the records of history. (Through Tuesday)
TUESDAY
READINGS & TALKS
A Loose Leaf Reading Presents An Evening of Storytelling and Music
Bellingham-based heart-on-the-sleever Nora Hughes will be providing the tunes for tonight’s edition of Loose Leaf Reading, a self-described 'evening of story telling and music' centered on a clutch of talented young female authors.
Six Pack Series
"The folks over at Washington Ensemble Theater organize this quarterly-ish variety show around a theme. The directive for this installment of the series is, 'Stop Shutting the Fuck Up . . . It's Time to Speak Out About Race.' Special guest hosts Malika Oyetimein and Hazel Lozano will present six artists, all of whom will perform pieces related to the concept of race." -Rich Smith
To Whom It May Concern: Writing for a Cause
How is writing used as a tool for social change? And in what ways is it actually effective? During this evening of creative discussion at Hugo House, you'll be treated to readings from Litsa Dremousis, Jennie Shortridge, and our own Charles Mudede—plus, this free event offers an open bar.
FOOD & DRINK
Cheese 101
This 21+ class promises a tasting menu featuring 10 unique cheeses, plus the knowledge that you're gaining "turophile smarts."
Timber City Brewers Night
The Growl Store serves local beer from within 100 miles of Seattle, and for tonight's Taster Tuesday, they'll have $0.75 tastings of Timber City Ginger Beer. The makers of Seattle's newest ginger beer will also be on site.
THEATER
Constellations
"Playwright Nick Payne's rom-com dramatizes courtship in the era of quantum physics. Within this framework of reality, one where lives and loves play out in many dimensions and universes, Roland tries to seduce theoretical physicist Marianne. The actors' body movements indicate changes in time-space, which, understandably, throws a wrench in many pair-bonding strategies." -Rich Smith (Through Sun)
ART
TURN
"You’ve heard of an exquisite corpse drawing, probably, or if you haven’t, you’ve probably still been part of making one in an art class at some point—it’s a drawing where one person puts down a part, then the next person, without looking at the first, adds her own part, and on and on until the paper is filled with a segmented beast of a thing. This week, see Max Kraushaar's revision, who's known for 'transformative experiences.'" -Jen Graves
WEDNESDAY
FOOD & DRINK
Bitches Brew: Miles Davis & Dogfish Head Beer Tasting
Jazz and beer: who knew they could go so well together? Dogfish Head Brewery celebrates the release of their Bitches Brew Imperial Stout plus other rare beers from their collection, all while the crowd gets lost in Miles' indelible fusion classic.
ART
You Are on Indigenous Land
"Longhouse Media is a video production company with the goal of empowering and representing indigenous people, and Longhouse is CORE's guest curator this month, presenting mini solo shows by seven Native artists." -Jen Graves (Through Sat)
Canoe Social Club: Figure Drawing
Drink and draw at Nordo's Culinarium.
Mindfulness Meditation at the Frye
As distractions swarm around us, the importance and elusiveness of focus becomes increasingly evident. Reclaim your brain at the Frye with this free 30-minute meditation session.
THEATER
Disgraced
"Disgraced, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar, is what happens when you throw an intimate dinner party and invite only the most uncomfortable thoughts that people have about race, Islam, cultural appropriation, assimilation, and gender expectations." -Rich Smith (Through Sun)
COMEDY
Brett Hamil and Friends
Comedian Brett Hamil takes the stage with his funny cohorts for a free evening of comedy in the back bar.
MUSIC
Nosaj Thing, WD4D, IG88, Thalo
"Nosaj Thing, a producer whose driver’s license reads Jason Chung, traffics in the same limbs-akimbo beat construction/deconstructed melody contrast as fellow Los Angelenos in the Brainfeeder crew, or the bass-heavy Low End Theory crowd, but with a spacier, icier sheen. ... Tonight he’ll be DJing a sure-to-be diverse set, along with local experts WD4D, IG88, and Thalo." -Kyle Fleck
A Concert To Mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Music of Remembrance pays tribute to the liberation of Auschwitz, by Soviet Forces, in 1945. The program will feature songs from composers whose lives were cut short by Nazis: Hans Krása, Gideon Klein, Viktor Ullmann, Robert Dauber, and Erwin Schulhoff.
OPERA
The Marriage of Figaro
"General directors don't usually act as creative artists, and [Seattle Opera general director Aidan] Lang 'doesn't intend to repeat this feat,' but this presentation of Figaro, Mozart's best-loved and most commonly produced opera, is Lang's own production. He created it in 2010 in New Zealand, partly at the same place—Weta Workshop—where Peter Jackson made his Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it sailed across the seas to get here." -Jen Graves (Also Friday-Saturday)
THURSDAY
FILM
Outdoor Movie Night: Hot Tub Time Machine
Is there a better way to spend a winter evening than drinking and watching a movie in a covered (but outdoor) beer garden? You can listen to the rain coming down with a pint to warm you up, and watch the comedy Hot Tub Time Machine—for free.
Cartoon Happy Hour
A two hour block of free classic cartoons, plus food specials.
READINGS & TALKS
Word Works: Maggie Nelson
"I'm continually surprised that Maggie Nelson's brain doesn't constantly burst into flames. She has one of those minds you wish you could just download. ... Her lecture at Hugo House will be all about writing the body, which is something she's does a lot of in her most recent book, The Argonauts, but also in her New York Times Notable Book of the Year: The Art of Cruelty." -Rich Smith
Geraldine Brooks
Bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks is a master of building on and adapting existing stories to make new narratives...whether she's writing detailed, heavily researched historical fiction, exploring the lives of her childhood pen pals, or filling out the life of the absent father in Little Women. In this reading, presented by Seattle Arts & Lectures, Brooks will read from her newest novel The Secret Chord, based on the life of The Bible's King David.
Rick Shenkman: How Human Instinct Shapes Elections
"In Political Animals: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics, Rick Shenkman, historian and former managing editor of KIRO-TV, employs scientific research from various fields in an effort to explain why voters tend to be moved by instinct rather than solid argument." -Rich Smith
ART
Critical Issues in Contemporary Art Practice: John Knight
John Knight, known for his art that engages with and critiques the art establishment itself, comes to Henry Art Gallery as a part of The University of Washington's CICAP (Critical Issues in Contemporary Art Practice) lecture series.
THEATER
The Birds
Strawberry Theatre Workshop pits man (and woman) against avian to present Conor McPherson's 2009 stage adaptation of The Birds, based on Hitchock's classic 1963 horror/thriller flick and Daphne du Maurier's 1952 short story. (Through Sat)
The Last Five Years
This haunting Jason Robert Brown musical comes to Second Story Rep. A one-man, one-woman show told both beginning-to-end and end-to-beginning...with one song where the characters meet in the middle. (Sounds confusing? Just watch it.) The music and words will stick with you long after you've left the theater. (Tonight is a pay-what-you-can preview, but there are also shows on Friday and Saturday.)
Riding on a Cloud
Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué returns to On the Boards with a performance drawing on the experiences of his brother Yasser Mroué’s personal experiences in the Lebanese Civil War, written by Rabih and performed by Yasser. (Through Sun)
MUSIC
Jonas Reinhardt
"It’s a rare treat indeed to witness a live Jonas Reinhardt performance. Few people in America have renovated the kosmische synth grandiloquence of avatars like Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, and Cluster, and the sinister horror-film tropes of Bernards Fevre and Szajner with Reinhardt’s authority." -Dave Segal
Symbion Project
"Symbion Project (Seattle producer Kasson Crooker, making his live debut tonight) has been creating music for 20 years, but somehow has eluded my radar. His 10-track Semiotic LP from last year reveals a composer who favors rich, grandiose melodies and easily danceable rhythms." -Dave Segal
The Spider Ferns EP Release
"What a smart lineup of local atmospheric, hazed, and slightly dazed, sounds!" -Mike Nipper
Certain Creatures
"Vipassana, Certain Creatures’ recent debut on the Styles Upon Styles imprint, manages the easier-said-than-done task of splitting the difference between monochromatic post-punk, power noise, and blippy, acid-warped techno." -Kyle Fleck
Behavior
"No matter how watered down the image of punk rock may be in 2016, it’s important to see past the gimmick and force yourself to glance at the grimy underbelly where labels like Iron Lung Records strive to showcase true underground noise—and do a damn fine job of it. One of Iron Lung's newest releases is by a Los Angeles-based band called Behavior." -Kevin Diers
Nu Era
"As far as local rap crews go, Nu Era’s certainly put in the work, and after years of hustle, the group is celebrating the release of their best work yet: Armadilla Lexus, a fantastic slice of new-school flows and forward-thinking productions." -Kyle Fleck
FRIDAY
FESTIVALS
Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival
"Taking advantage of the entertainment-industry malaise that infects January, Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival seeks to uplift music lovers in the natural beauty of Leavenworth. The organizers have gone for a nice mélange of acts over two days and nights." -Dave Segal (See the complete Timbrrr! schedule on our Things To Do calendar.)
MUSIC
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
"Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s third album Multi-Love, is the kind of cultural artifact that’s so out of step with the times that it’s timeless ... It’s a kaleidoscopic dance record in which sunshine pop, paisley funk, and chrome-plated jazz coalesce into an irresistible whole." -Kathy Fennessy
Jessica Lea Mayfield
"There is a beautiful moody fog in the Ohio singer-songwriter's sometimes country, sometimes grunge-y rock music. Her originals, which she'll play solo on this tour, are wistfully romantic in their sparse, tasteful instrumentation, full of pretty longing and tinged with vague, tender sadness emoted through Mayfield's dreamily enthralling voice and poetic lyrics that she's been perfecting since her first recording as a 15-year-old Foo Fighters fan." -Robin Edwards
SATURDAY
QUEER
Decadence: Celebrating 1920s Queer Berlin
"Dust off your glossary of 1920s slang, drape yourself in flapper beads, and try not to consider the possibility that there may be an economic crisis looming: It's time for Decadence, a celebration of queer Berlin in the 1920s." -Matt Baume
READINGS & TALKS
Martha Rosler: Housing Is a Human Right
Presented in conjunction with If You Lived Here Still at The New Foundation Seattle, this talk by Martha Rosler, Alison Eisinger (from the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness), and guests will address the ways in which housing is a human right.
Star Trek Geek Out: A Weekend of Star Trek Revelry
The Seattle Public Library and Experience Music Project come together for a weekend to create a Trekkie experience for all, including a screening of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, live reinterpretations of episodes, and panel discussions.
Sunil Yapa
Sunil Yapa reads from his new novel Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist, a book embedded in Seattle geography and the WTO protests.
FOOD & DRINK
Belgian Fest
Enjoy over 80 Belgian-style beers from Washington breweries. The featured styles will include Tripels, Dubbels, Saisons, Wits, Abbeys and Lambics. All beers are brewed with Belgian yeast. Food will be provided by Dante's Inferno Dogs, Sweet Iron Waffles, Taylor Shellfish and Theo Chocolate.
COMEDY
Paula Poundstone
Rockstar comic Paula Poundstone (NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me) performs at the Pantages Theater. Poundstone may well be worth driving to Tacoma for.
MUSIC
Mommy Long Legs, Wimps, Boyfriends
"Mommy Long Legs! Boyfriends! Wimps! I wanna doodle all their names in Sharpie in bubble letters on my beat up Converse shoes. ... This lineup is all killer, no filler." -Robin Edwards
FILM
The Sprocket Society Presents Saturday Secret Matinees
Watch the entirety of the highly regarded serial Spy Smasher over the course of twelve weekly installments. Each screening will feature one episode, plus a secret feature film that follows a monthly theme: classic comedies in January, serial heroes & heroines in February, and fantasy & adventure movies in March.
SUNDAY
FOOD & DRINKFirefighter Chili Cookoff (Cancelled)
"For this competition, chili made by the best cooks from area firehouses will be served alongside beers donated from local breweries including South Park’s Lowercase Brewing and Woodinville’s Sumerian Brewing. All proceeds benefit the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters Burn Foundation, which works to prevent burn injuries and improve the lives of burn survivors." -Angela Garbes
Speed Rack Season 5
An all-female speed-bartending competition put on to raise money for breast cancer.
