Our music critics have already chosen the 35 best music shows this week, but now it’s our arts critics’ turn to recommend the best events in their areas of expertise. Here are their picks in every genre—from a stand-up show with Tom Segura to the HUMP! Film Festival Rescreening, and from El Centro de la Raza’s Cinco de Mayo Celebration to Carmen. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar.
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MONDAY
FOOD & DRINK
Author Talk: Bar Chef by Christiaan Röllich
Famed Los Angeles bartender Christiaan Röllich, who uses the sensibilities of a chef to craft his inventive, seasonally inspired cocktails, will demonstrate a recipe from his new book Bar Chef, answer questions, and sign copies.
Cloudburst Brewing Dinner
Cloudburst Brewing’s owner and head brewer Steve Luke used to work as the experimental brewer at Elysian, and that innovative streak animates his work at Cloudburst, where the ever-changing roster of brews reflects a dual love of hops and pop culture (current beers include the Bob Ross tribute Happy Little Clouds and the Fleetwood Mac–referencing Tell Me Lies). At this event, they’ll join forces with Ballard’s wood-fired pizzeria Delancey for a cozy spring dinner with garlic knots and homemade mustard, green garlic and nettle soup, wood-oven porchetta with asparagus, and spring salad with beer vinaigrette, paired with some of Cloudburst’s most recent releases. JULIANNE BELL
MONDAY-TUESDAY
COMEDY
Hari Kondabolu’s New Material Nights
It’s not always a guaranteed pleasure to watch comedians working out new material, but Hari Kondabolu is not just any comedian. You could make the case that his asides, self-edits, and ad-libs are as funny as the individual finished bits. Though the finished work is, all in all, a whole other level of funny. These shows give small audiences an intimate look at the process of a comic whose trajectory is thrilling to behold. Plus, when you see the final, polished gems months from now, in video clips from TV appearances shared on your Facebook feed, you’ll be in a great position to make the comments all about how YOU saw it first. Everybody wins! SEAN NELSON
FESTIVALS
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
After the long, hard, and—this year—snow-filled-winter, the best way to shock you out of seasonal depression is to stick your face in a ton of fresh flowers. You’re in luck, because Skagit Valley’s annual Tulip Festival is really something to behold as, quite literally, millions of pink, yellow, purple, orange, and red tulips shoot up from the ground and announce that winter is finally over. (Or at least, it’s over in the rest of the world. It’ll be chilly here through June.) While you could fly to Holland to get your fill of tulips, the trip up I-5 is quicker, cheaper, and, with one mountain range to the east and another to your west, even more Instagrammable than Amsterdam. KATIE HERZOG
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY
VISUAL ART
Ko Kirk
Seattleite (by way of London, Tokyo, and LA) Ko Kirk Yamahira delicately dissects canvas in a play on the distinctions between two- and three-dimensional art forms and an exploration of color and texture. In the words of former Stranger writer Amber Cortes: “Ko Kirk Yamahira’s process may very well be: rinse, deconstruct, repeat. His ‘unweaved’, shredded canvases are a striking, emotionally-charged use of what most artists choose to just paint on.”
Closing Wednesday
MONDAY & THURSDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCE
Singlet
Erin Markey’s surprising, left-field humor pervades Singlet, which explores the edges of the sexual attraction within friendships. The play features two actors, Markey and Emily Davis, who seamlessly transition between several different characters as they break and rebuild the boundaries of their constantly shifting relationship. The show opens up with Davis and Markey nose-to-nose. Together they trying to reach “the holy grail of clothes,” as Markey described it, which is fitting into an extra-small shirt. The campy critique of feminine expectations is hilarious, casually and cleverly revealing the characters’ deep psychological issues even as they skim along the surface of their relationship. In the next scene, the two play coaches co-teaching a social studies class. That dynamic morphs into a kinky role play scene between a coach and student, which then morphs into even stranger and more intimate relations. Markey’s impossible-to-categorize, genre-bending work is the perfect inaugural piece for WET’s new GUSH series. Samie Spring Detzer, WET’s artistic director, envisions the new slot as a way to inject some cutting-edge, experimental, contemporary theater into Seattle’s scene. RICH SMITH
MONDAY-FRIDAY
VISUAL ART
From the Archives of ZAPP (Zine Archive & Publishing Project)
The Zine Archive Publishing Project was a volunteer-driven Seattle zine library and workshop space that housed over 30,000 zines, comics, chapbooks, and other small-press periodicals from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The founders have since donated all their titles to Hugo House, who donated the collection to the Seattle Public Library in 2017. Check out a small but diverse fraction from the archives.
Closing Friday
TUESDAY
FOOD & DRINK
Spring Sips at Cuoco: Poliziano Winery
The second of two spring wine tasting events at Cuoco will highlight offerings from Poliziano Winery, located in the Montepulciano region of Italy.
Zymurgy Beer Series: Barrel Wizards
Something magical happens when a great brewer barrel ages their beer. They can use rudimentary and ancient tools—mainly the combination of wood and time—to turn ordinary beer into something extraordinary. How are brewers able to make this magic happen? That’s the question we’ll be exploring at Barrel Wizards, the third event in the Zymurgy Beer Series. Reuben’s Brews will host the event at their new Ballard taproom with the very special guests Holy Mountain Brewing and Fremont Brewing. Ticket price includes a curated tasting of barrel aged beer as well as access to the moderated panel discussion with the brewers.
READINGS & TALKS
Anthony Ray Hinton
Anthony Ray Hinton knows firsthand what racial bias and corruption in the justice system can inflict: Though innocent, he spent 30 years on death row before being released in 2015. Now a speaker for the Equal Justice Initiative, which helped him obtain liberty, he’ll stop in Seattle to educate the community on his ordeal, and the suffering of others in similar situations.
TUESDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCE
Nina Simone: Four Women
The play opens with a character based on Nina Simone, Peaches, playing “I Loves You, Porgy,” the signature tune of the jazz singer/pianist’s pre-protest-song era. The performance, however, is disrupted by the cries of the four girls killed in the 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, church bombing. In the second act, Nina meets another black woman, Sarah, in the ruins of the church. It soon becomes clear that Sarah, a committed member of the church, is opposed to Nina’s radicalization. “I ain’t into that radical business,” Sarah says. The question at the core of the play becomes clear: Do we rebuild the church or destroy the current racist society? For Peaches/Simone, the answer is clear: Because there is nothing good about American society, it must be exploded and completely rebuilt from scratch. The ruins of the Alabama church should become the ruins of racism in America. CHARLES MUDEDE
Urinetown: The Musical
The themes of scarcity, greed, populism, and capitalism running amok make the triple Tony-winning post-apocalyptic musical Urinetown, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis, a perfect satire for our times. This is a co-production with the 5th Avenue Theater.
VISUAL ART
Neon Spring
True Love Art Gallery presents another group show full of eclectic, colorful, quirky work by locals—this one is devoted to the onset of long-awaited spring. Expect magic critters and natural exuberance by Angelita Martinez, Rich Stevens, Rhodora Jacob, Genevieve St. Charles-Monet, Val Niemeyer, and many others.
Closing Sunday
WEDNESDAY
PERFORMANCE
Cephalopod Appreciation Society 2019
Exult in your love of cuttlefish, octopuses, squid, nautiluses, and other squishy intelligences with dancers, musicians, artists, and other cephalopod-lovers at this festival founded by poet Sierra Nelson. This year’s event will feature poetry by Seattle civic poet Anastacia Renée, music by Lori Goldston set to videos by local legend Diver Laura, dancing by Sarah Paul Ocampo, art by Clare Johnson, and much more.
READINGS & TALKS
Cara Robertson: The Trial of Lizzie Borden
Lawyer and former Supreme Court clerk Cara Robertson takes a deep dive into a murder mystery so well known there’s a sinister children’s song named after it: that of Lizzie Borden, who was put on trial for taking an axe to her mother and father in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892.
WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY
VISUAL ART
Meggan Joy: Earthly Delights
See ghostly digital collages made up of hundreds of photographs of animals and plants in an update on Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s composite portraits.
Opening Wednesday
WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY
VISUAL ART
Bold as Love: Jimi Hendrix at Home
This Jimi Hendrix exhibit, which opened on the late, legendary Seattle guitar player’s 76th birthday, features archival and family photos, Hendrix’s own artwork, personal artifacts, music findings, and more from throughout his life.
Closing Sunday
THURSDAY
FILM
British Comedy Classics
The finest British comedies of the 1940s and ’50s—Green for Danger, The Man in the White Suit, The Lavender Hill Mob—have aged marvelously well, thanks to understated, funny scripts and endlessly watchable professionals like Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Audrey Hepburn, and Peter Sellers. Tonight’s film is The Ladykillers, which follows a group of dopey crimianls trying (and failing) to outsmart an old lady who loves to catch people breaking the law.
READINGS & TALKS
Bill McKibben: Falter
Author and activist Bill McKibben has been on the front lines of the fight against climate change for decades, and as everyone north, east, south, and west of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue seems to realize, the news about our warming planet gets a little more dire each day. Why are Americans still debating the existence of climate change as the world burns around us? For that, we can thank the oil industry in general and Exxon in particular. McKibben will review our fraught history and (hopefully) tell us just what to expect as the world keeps warming up. KATIE HERZOG
Word Works: Min Jin Lee on Having Faith
The literary hit Pachinko, following a Korean family over 70 years, was Min Jin Lee’s second novel. It took her 25 years to write. In this lecture, which will no doubt be a boon to aspiring but frustrated novelists out there, Lee will speak about having faith in herself and her book through all that time.
VISUAL ART
Lifting the Sky: An Indigenous Fashion Show
The yəhaw̓ indigenous art show will present contemporary designs chosen by curator Lisa Fruichantie (Seminole/Mvskoke-Creek) as well as an exclusively Native art market and information from locals on intertribal regalia. Once you’ve shopped and admired Native garb, take advantage of Seattle Art Museum’s free admission for First Thursday.
Pioneer Square Art Walk
Once a month, Seattleites flock to the streets in Pioneer Square for a chance to stroll, sip on booze, and attend as many art openings as possible at First Thursday. It’s the city’s central and oldest art walk, and takes place in a historic neighborhood known for its abundance of galleries. Wine and hobnobbing steal the scene for some, but at its core, it’s an impressive communal unveiling of new artwork. Check out our list of suggested art openings here.
THURSDAY-SATURDAY
PERFORMANCE
Language Rooms
Before his ACT Theatre premiere of People of the Book this fall, Stranger Genius Award winner Yussef El Guindi will have another play—a very dark comedy—staged by Pony World Theatre. Ahmed is a regular, if rather awkward, American guy who works at “a secret military intelligence group that interrogates terrorism suspects.” When he’s forced to grill someone very close to him as a test of loyalty, Ahmed must confront his own roots and patriotism. Interesting fact: El Guindi became a citizen in the very room where this play is staged.
Queer, Mama. Crossroads
Though Invisible Man was written more than 60 years ago, the politics of recognition are still with us today, as a new play, Queer, Mama. Crossroads (written by local poet and performer Anastacia-Reneé, and codirected by her and Aviona Rodriguez Brown) makes abundantly clear. Though the subjects of the play—which is short, direct, poetic, and charged with powerful emotions—are black, they are also queer women. That second identification makes them even more invisible than the invisible man. They simply and painfully live in a society that cannot and refuses to see them either in life, or death. The three main characters in Queer, Mama. Crossroads are the ghosts of women whose lives ended violently. One is named Forgotten (Simone Dawson); another, No Hashtag (Kamari Bright); the third, Invisible 1 (Ebo Barton). They speak to us from the crossroads, the place where the numerous souls of dead black people, black women, black queers, journey to demand recognition. They want to be known, named, counted. CHARLES MUDEDE
VISUAL ART
Akio Takamori: To Be Human
The late Seattle-based ceramicist Akio Takamori breathed a different kind of life into his figurative sculptures—they somehow feel drawn, composed not of earthenware or clay, but of pigment and ink. They sometimes remind me of the softness, the pliability of my favorite dolls. Born and raised in Japan, Takamori’s largely autobiographical work engages the history of both Eastern and Western aesthetics, and the themes of cultural identity that ricochet between them and through him. In this show at James Harris Gallery, Takamori’s sculptures will be paired with related prints of his own making. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Opening Thursday
Wandering What Is
How do artists relate to creative existence beyond themselves? That what’s explored in Wandering What Is, a group show curated by Dori Hana Scherer, with makers who have developed structures that capture their methods and personal processes.
Opening Thursday
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
FILM
Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival
Here is something that Seattle should take pride in. We have the world’s largest trans film festival. Not Berlin, not London, not New York City—but Seattle. The festival is called Translations, and it features a bunch of films from places that do not have the largest trans film festival. CHARLES MUDEDE
PERFORMANCE
The Diary of Anne Frank
For years, Anne Frank and some relatives and friends lived on the third floor of a building in Amsterdam, in an annex behind a bookcase. They were hiding out from the Nazis. On the ground floor of the building was a jam factory. The Diary of Anne Frank, which won a Tony Award for best play and a Pulitzer Prize for drama, is adapted from Frank’s diaries, and it is given fresh relevance by the worldwide re-ascendance of fascism. This coproduction with Indiana Repertory Theatre features several Seattle actors and is intended for anyone over the age of 9. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
Love, Chaos, & Dinner
Beloved circus/cabaret/comedy institution Teatro ZinZanni will reboot their successful variety show, which they describe as the “Kit Kat Klub on acid.” They promise to fill their spiegeltent with “world-class acrobats, musicians, divas, illusionists, madmen, and aerialists,” plus ping-pong-playing comedian Tim Tyler, trapezists Duo Rose, opera singer Kelly Britt, and the Anastasini Brothers, Lady Rizo, and Frank Ferrante.
Small Mouth Sounds
Thalia’s Umbrella will stage this “(mostly) silent comedy” about seven people trying to stay quiet at a forest retreat.
FRIDAY
READINGS & TALKS
An Evening with the Clintons
No matter how you feel about this particular power couple, there is no denying that they’re two of the most important political figures of our lifetime. While I doubt we can expect much insight into the most famously troubled of marriages, they’ll be in Seattle as part of a national speaking tour, where they’ll discuss his time as president, hers in the Senate and as secretary of state, and, of course, the most shocking night in American politics: November 8, 2016 (never forget). KATIE HERZOG
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
FESTIVALS
Crosscut Festival
In the style of the New Yorker Festival, local news site Crosscut presents two days of timely conversations with journalists, authors, and politicians. This year’s highlights include Valerie Jarrett (who served as a senior adviser for President Barack Obama), Janet Napolitano (the former Secretary of Homeland Security), Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas, Pod Save the People host DeRay McKesson, Washington Post investigative reporter Emma Brown, KUOW Online Editor and former Stranger staffer Sydney Brownstone, and many others.
Red May 2019
This annual “vacation from capitalism” offers new takes on Marx, equality, and economics in community spaces.
FILM
HUMP! Film Festival Rescreening
Missed Dan Savage’s boisterous festival of amateur porn, HUMP!, back in November? No worries! The films will be re-screened in all their raunchy glory. This year’s festival was wilder than ever, full of kink, queerdom, and…human goats? so don’t miss out.
PERFORMANCE
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons
Imagine being able to flirt with only 140 words a day. Honestly, it might solve a lot of problems. But in this dry, British rom-com from Sam Steiner, the government is imposing the rule, and government rules are always backed by the threat of state violence, which isn’t good for flirting. Most of the time. Anyway, Sharif Ali and Mary Kate Moran star in the show from Theater Schmeater, and they’re good, so this play about a love triangle in a time of totalitarian rule should resonate. RICH SMITH
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
COMEDY
Tom Segura: Take It Down Tour
Segura is one of those beardy, vaguely familiar comedians who dominates in the realm of making observations about American society and his own life with equal wryness. In his latest Netflix special, Disgraceful, he covers topics ranging from losing weight on a public platform and the unintended consequences of being the inspiration for someone who wants coaching (“‘Please give me a message to get this thing kick-started.’ I’ll give you a message. When you look in the mirror, do you say, ‘I fucking hate you?’ Then you’re not ready. Cry more and eat less. Send.”), to disabilities that aren’t funny, except when they are. (“Some people experience head trauma. Not funny. But they wake up speaking their native language with a foreign accent. Very funny.”) He also hosts a solid podcast, Your Mom’s House, with comic wife Christina Pazsitzky. LEILANI POLK
PERFORMANCE
Devi
Anti-colonialism! Classical Indian dancing with occasional modern twists! Swords! This ambitious piece employs “eight Indian dance forms and 45 performers” to tell the story of Prafulya, a destitute teen who grows up to fight British colonial rule. Director Moumita Bhattacharya adapted the story from Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s classic Bengali novel Devi Chaudhurani. Pratidhwani’s Chitrangada—The Warrior Princess scooped up a Gregory Award for costumes two years ago, so you can expect to be dazzled by rich textiles as you root for Prafulya to beat the British. RICH SMITH
Shakespeare Dice: As You Like It
Eight actors will learn the entire script—meaning all the roles—of Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It. You, the audience, get to determine who plays whom.
SHOPPING
Tilth Alliance’s May Edible Plant Sale
Take your pick from a selection of edible plant starts for your summer garden, including over 70 varieties of tomatoes and 30 types of peppers.
SATURDAY
FESTIVALS
Cinco de Mayo Celebration
Every year, El Centro de la Raza hosts this Cinco de Mayo party to celebrate the richness of Mexican American culture (and the Mexican Army’s victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862). Check it out for traditional food, an open-air market, a multicultural parade, live music (last year’s event saw performances from Los Folklore Mexicano Tonantzin and José Iñiguez) and art activities.
Seattle Yacht Club Opening Day
On the first Saturday of May for almost a century, hundreds of recreational boats have paraded from Portage Bay through the Montlake Cut for Seattle Yacht Club’s Opening Day to celebrate the official opening of Seattle’s boating season. Watch from the shore as adorned vessels boast live bands and giant floats—this year’s theme is “Boating Through the Decades.” It’s also a tradition for people on board to throw water balloons at shore-dwellers, so practice your reflexes.
PERFORMANCE
Burlesco Notturno
Burlesque royalty Dita Von Teese deemed the Atomic Bombshells “polished, clever, and glamorous.” They’ll join the cast of Burlesco Notturno’s revelrous show Flight of Fantasy.
Miss Bacon Strip the Unpageant!
The Miss Bacon Strip Unpageant has been one of Seattle’s best drag events for years, but last year’s pageant scored top marks. Not only did one of the queens, Miss Texas 1988, eat a tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® while performing a baton twirl for her talent portion, but she won the crown! The crowd was shocked and thrilled. But then, in a sincere accidental twist, it was revealed there was a scoring error and Miss Texas 1988 did not win. She was uncrowned of her unpageant title. Everyone was a good sport. It was high camp, and this year’s competition will hopefully be similar. CHASE BURNS
READINGS & TALKS
Breaking the Story of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford: A Fireside Chat with Reporter Emma Brown
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault by Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanagh and the trial that followed dominated the news for weeks, and—despite the exoneration of Kavanagh—opened up the #MeToo conversation in a major way. That’s thanks in large part to Washington Post reporter Emma Brown, who first broke the story. She’ll be joined in conversation by the Riveter’s Amy Nelson.
Seanan McGuire: Middlegame
Washington author Seanan McGuire, who has appeared on the Hugo Award ballot five times in one year and has also won Campbell and Nebula awards, will present her newest book. It’s about two godlike twins, Roger and Dodger, who “were made to each embody half of the Alchemic doctrine”—one with an amazing facility for words, the other with a mastery of numbers. The tagline: “Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.”
VISUAL ART
Open House
The former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service building was turned into Inscape artist studios, and its doors have opened very few times since. Now is your chance to peek in and see what these artists working in “painting, neon drawing, photography, [and] clothing design” have been doing all this time, on all five floors. Special exhibitions will include SPoCS (Seattle People of Color Salon)’s WS Is BS: Contemporary Non-Western Indigeneity and work by barry johnson in the basement.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCE
Balloonacy
I don’t have children, so I can’t say if babies will like Balloonacy, one of the cutest pieces of theater made for young children in recent years. But I once saw Balloonacy at Minneapolis’s Children’s Theatre Company stoned out of my mind, and WOW, is it one of the most magical things to ever be created for the stage. It’s a wordless, situational comedy about an old man who lives alone and is trying to celebrate his birthday when suddenly red balloons bust into his apartment to tease and tickle him. It’s basically an allegory for socialism, but for kids. CHASE BURNS
Carmen
In the popular imagination, opera is everything that Carmen is not: ungainly, grandiose, psychologically cartoonish, full of eardrum-bashing orchestration rather than sinuous, sexy tunes. But Georges Bizet’s Carmen is dark, intimate, catchy, and closer in plot to a film noir than an epic. Expect Seattle Opera to bring a thoughtful and nuanced perspective, carefully handling the dated theme of the exotic femme fatale. JOULE ZELMAN
VISUAL ART
Seattle Style: Fashion/Function
Seattle fashion, whether utilitarian or glamorous, will be the focus of this exhibition drawing on the Museum of History & Industry’s clothing collection. The organizers say it’ll be the “most significant” display ever of the PNW’s regional fashion.
Opening Saturday
SUNDAY
CINCO DE MAYO
15th Annual Cinco De Mayo Block Party
Over-indulge in copious authentic Mexican food and libations with a margarita bar and an outdoor beer garden, and enjoy lucha libre and live music performances throughout the day. The truly masochistic/daring can rise to the challenge of a jalapeño eating contest.
Cinco de Mayo & LWC’s Eighth Anniversary
KEXP’s DJ Chilly will provide modern Latin sounds while you hang out on the patio and enjoy tequila, mezcal, margarita, cerveza, and food specials.
Cinco De Mayo at Eve
Lecosho chef Cody Westerfield’s farm-to-table pop-up, which grows ingredients at its own farm plot at Tuk Muk Farms in Woodinville, will commemorate the Battle of Puebla with a locally sourced, Latin-inspired six-course meal, along with snacks and optional beverage pairings from the bar and tunes from DJ Cide.
Frelard Tamales + Populuxe Brewing: Cinco de Mayo
Tuck into some tamales from Frelard Tamales and wash them down with beer from Populuxe Brewing, including a special Mexican lager brewed especially for the occasion, while Mariachi Fiesta Mexicana provides the soundtrack. Kids and adults can take a whack at some piñatas that will release showers of Mexican candies.
