Our music critics have already chosen the 52 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 genreâfrom a Molly Moon's Summer Flavor Tasting to a night of comedy with Chelsea Handler, and from the Fremont Fair to Ocean Vuong's debut fiction reading. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar.
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MONDAY
COMEDYBig Cult Science
The Big Cult Science improv troupe will work through their most "impractical, outlandish, and possibly wildly unsuccessful" ideas.
MONDAY & THURSDAY-SATURDAY
PERFORMANCEThey/Them: The Festival
Drag king and former Intiman Emerging Artist Sam I'Am presents They/Them: The Musical, a solo show. Sam I'Am plays an expecting mother imagining the ways the life of their child would change depending on gender. Though their character explores the slipperiness of gender, the music will be "kinda more traditional," according to Annex. Each night of the festival will kick off with a little cabaret featuring stand-up comedy, burlesque, and musical performances from trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming performance artists. RICH SMITH
TUESDAY
FOOD & DRINKMolly Moon's Summer Flavor Tasting
Be the first to try Molly Moon's upcoming flavors for summer, including pink lemonade, vegan "bumberberry," s'mores, lemon blueberry custard, peaches and cream, honey and cornbread, and more. Plus, the chain's head chef will demonstrate how to make their strawberry shortcake flavor.
Adam Gopnik: A Thousand Small Sanities
Criticize him if you must, but Adam Gopnik, staff writer for the New Yorker, is a talented essayist, and heâs also a talented speaker. I saw him give a talk at Town Hall a year or two ago that was phenomenally arranged and presented, seemingly offhand, undoubtedly practiced, edifying, funny, etc. (By the way, if you do decide to criticize Gopnikâfor being an apologist of bourgeois culture or whatever your argument isâyou should know Renata Adler beat you to it. She wrote a stirring, almost convincing takedown of his work in her stirring, almost convincing attempted takedown of the New Yorker itself, a strange and fascinating book called Gone: The Last Days of The New Yorker.) Anyway, Gopnik. Heâs good. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
TUESDAY-SATURDAY
PERFORMANCESeattle International Dance Festival 2019
The Seattle International Dance Festival, organized by Khambatta Dance Company and Cornish College of the Arts, presents approximately 10 million performances (okay, more like 25) from international, national, and local acts over the course of 16 days. It's too much. It's not enough. The best I can do here is tell you to make sure to catch the following international acts: Sumeet Nagdev Dance Arts, Tara Brandel, Equilibrio Dinamico, and Tchekpo Dance Company with Elisabeth MasĂ©. I'm also excited to see works from HYPERNOVA and the kaâneiâsee | collective, both national acts. RICH SMITH
TUESDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCEPass Over
Antoinette Nwandu's Pass Over combines Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot with the biblical story of Exodus, and sets the whole thing in a world where two black guys, Moses and Kitch, cannot hang out on a sidewalk without getting harassed by a white cop. Spike Lee liked the play so much that he filmed a performance and screened it at Sundance to great acclaim. Chicago Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss had a different take, which led to an uproar in the theater world. She generally praised the acting but slammed Nwandu for her "simplistic, wholly generic characterization of a racist white cop (clearly meant to indict all white cops)." She then criticized Nwandu for ignoring "black-on-black" crime. The theater world rightly flipped, and Nwandu responded in American Theatre, saying Weiss's review "perpetuates a toxic discourse in which black lives do not matter and white lives remain unburdened by the necessary work of reckoning with white privilege and the centuries-long legacy of violence by which it is secured." You'll get the chance to see Pass Over in Seattle under Tim Bond's direction. RICH SMITH
Tiny Beautiful Things
Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) has adapted Cheryl Strayed's story of writing an advice column under the pseudonym Sugar, yielding a play about empathy, healing, tough love, and kindness.
West Side Story
One of the most famous musicals of all timeâthe first major work Stephen Sondheim ever wrote lyrics toâWest Side Story is getting the Bill Berry treatment at 5th Avenue Theatre. The director is known for exuberant takes on classic American musicals and for brilliant casting choices. Excitingly, this production will also feature Jerome Robbinsâs original choreography, which ought to be a delight for the eyeballs. West Side Story didnât win best musical at the Tonys the year it came out (The Music Man did), but it did win best choreography. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
Wicked
Now is your chance to see the musical that, 16 years ago, made everyone remember musicals existed. Youâve heard the spielâitâs the Wizard of Oz, except not boring, and sympathetic to the antagonist (the Wicked Witch of the West). Wicked is spectacular, especially if the cast you see has a Galinda (originally played by Kristin Chenoweth) with a lot of spunk. But, unfortunately for all of us, all of Wicked canât be the bombastic, show-stopping âDefying Gravity.â And once âDefying Gravityâ plays out and youâre absolutely sated, thereâs a whole other act to sit through. Wicked is still good, and at some moments great. Especially if, unlike me, you havenât seen it four timesâor played a medley of the music in your middle-school wind ensemble. NATHALIE GRAHAM
WEDNESDAY
COMEDYDuos Comedy ShowcaseâPride Edition
Watch queer and ally improv duos, from the greenest to the most experienced, create fun from thin air. You'll see invited duos from in and out of town as well as open-mic performers.
Marination 10th Anniversary Party!
Hawaiian-Korean food truck Marination will celebrate 10 years of business with a whole lot of tasty tacos.Â
James Ellroy: This Storm
Ellroy sets This Storm in the months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when President Roosevelt issued an order to send all Japanese Americans to internment camps. The casual references to âJapsâ and âwetbacksâ feel de rigueur for this early â40s epic, and the racial paranoia befits the twisty breadth of the tale. One thread involves crooked police captain Dudley Smith using an army assignment in Mexico as his entrĂ©e into the heroin trade, while another follows a medical examiner and his assistant as they connect a body found in Griffith Park to a conspiracy involving pilfered gold and Nazi sympathizers. How Ellroy ties up seemingly loose plot threads and sticks the landing with a satisfying flourish is as electrifying as the hep vernacular he delights in. Such is the strength of Ellroyâs status in the world of letters that this new book carries a provocative cover: four arrows, bent to form the shape of a swastika. Ellroy acolytes will shrug it off, but folks outside that circle might be less forgiving. ROBERT HAM
Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic: Indianapolis
The USS Indianapolis sank on July 30, 1945 after being hit by Japanese torpedoes in the Philippine Sea. Of the approximately 1,200 sailors on board, only 316 survived the wreck and the subsequent five days in the sea. Vincent and Vladic draw on new research, including interviews with the survivors, to tell the story of the tragedy and its aftermathâincluding the fight to exonerate Captain Charles McVay III, who was court-martialed.
Nicole Dennis-Benn: Patsy
Dennis-Benn's debut novel, Here Comes the Sun, won the 2017 Lambda Literary Award and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 2016. Her new story follows a woman, the title character, who leaves Jamaica for New York, where her friend and former lover has settled. But America isn't quite as she expected, and she's left behind two very important people: her mother and her five-year-old daughter.
WordsWest Literary Series Finale: Cake in the Garden
After a five-year run, the WordsWest Literary Series is wrapping up. At this final installment, eat tres leches and sip a cocktail in a garden during readings from Elizabeth Austen, Quenton Baker, Rick Barot, Claudia Castro Luna, Christine Deavel, Lyanda Lynn Haupt, Rachel Kessler, J.W. Marshall, Greg November, Renee Simms, and Ann Teplick.
WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCELegend of El Dorado
Three women on a summer trip turn into sexy, fishnetted robbers on motorcycles in the cozy cabaret's latest production, featuring all-new choreography and a soundtrack with singing by Brent Amaker.
THURSDAY
FOOD & DRINKAuthor Talk: Every Day Is Saturday by Sarah Copeland
Award-winning cookbook author and former Real Simple magazine food director Sarah Copeland will discuss her new book Every Day is Saturday, which provides inspiration on how to bring laidback weekend energy to your weeknight cooking, in conversation with local author and photographer Aran Goyoaga.
Magnuson Park Night Market
This evening market brings food truck fare and goods for sale from vendors.
Rosé Solstice Soirée
Spend the first day of summer sipping Pacific Northwest rosés chosen by regional winemakers.
Ask Me Another
Experience NPR/WNYC's radio game show live with host Ophira Eisenberg, satirical musician Jonathan Coulton, and special VIP Nicole Byer of Nailed It and The Good Place.
Justin Vivian Bond: Summer Solstice Benefit Performance
Justin Vivian Bond (who goes by the pronoun "V") is best known as the powerhouse singer and morbid humorist who brought Kiki and Herb to demented life in one of the most fabled queer punk/cabaret duos of all time. Kiki being long since dead (or maybe sheâs just frozen in ice or something?), Bond is now regarded as one of the foremost trans artists in the United States. In the last few years, V has been recording music and performing in cabarets and writing books and wearing amazing fashion and just generally being an uncategorizable sorcerer of mystery and music. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
Queen4Queen: PRIDE
This special Pride edition of Pony's beloved recurring drag night Queen4Queen will star regular pros Cookie Couture, Rowan Ruthless, Eucalypstick, and SHE, and will introduce the newly minted Jane Don't.
Ocean Vuong: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
When Ocean Vuong toured with his recent collection of poetry, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, his powerful readings would turn roomfuls of cynical adults into crying children. His use of cinematic imagery in poetry was enthralling. The gentle intensity of his reading style was mesmerizing. And though he was writing about all the old subjectsâloneliness, family, painâevery poem seemed fresh and alive. Expect similar results with his first foray into fiction, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, which centers on a son writing a letter to his illiterate mother. The book seems like a fictional extension of the incredible personal essay he published in the New Yorker, "A Letter to My Mother That She Will Never Read." Vuong's mother couldn't read, but he expresses himself best through writing. The piece explores the ways in which language shapes our identities and limits (or enhances) our ability to communicate. "I am writing because they told me to never start a sentence with because. But I wasnât trying to make a sentenceâI was trying to break free," he writes. RICH SMITH
Ted Chiang: Exhalation
The lauded recent sci-fi film Arrival was based on Ted Chiang's short fiction piece "Story of Your Life," which combined a gorgeously nerdy and profound examination of alien grammar with a sad and equally profound exploration of love and fate. Which is to say, Ted Chiang is a genius and "Story of Your Life" should be viewed as a gateway to his body of literature, not a companion to Denis Villeneuve's (admittedly pretty cool) movie. Better yet, catch up with the author at this reading of his new collection, Exhalation. JOULE ZELMAN
In the Spirit: Contemporary Native Arts Awards Ceremony
For the 13th year, Native artists will showcase their work at the In the Spirit contemporary Native arts exhibition, which will offer prizes in categories including Best of Show, Honoring the Northwest, and People's Choice.
THURSDAY-SATURDAY
PERFORMANCEQueens
The burlesque talents of women of color will be front and center at this burlesque residency. Queens, their first production, will be a sexy simulation of a chess match, starring Adra Boo, Caela Bailey, TAQUEET$!, Elise, Shay Simone, and Annya Pin.Â
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCE'The War in Heaven' and 'The Waste Land'
ACTLab and New City Theatre have teamed up to stage two short masterpieces, Sam Shepard's War in Heaven (about an innocent angel who crashes to Earth and witnesses societal turmoil) and T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. New City's Mary Ewald plays both the angel and Eliot's myriad characters. Directed by John Kazanjian.
The Agitators
Concerns about the intersectionality of civil rights movements is not a new phenomenon, as Mat Smart's dramatization of the longtime friendship between Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass will attest. Anthony and Douglass hung out on weekends at a farm in Rochester, New York, for several decades. While both civil rights leaders supported voting rights for women and black men, they butted heads on timing. Anthony thought women should get the right to vote before black men. Douglass thought men would grant women suffrage, but only after black men got the vote. Considering the fact that America has clearly achieved universal suffrage, I'm sure the conversation between these two great thinkers won't at all resonate with current conversations about the best strategies for securing inalienable rights for all. But it's worth a go on the off-chance that it does. And, if not, watching Douglass (played by Reginald André Jackson, who's fresh off his incredible performance of Capulet in ACT's Romeo and Juliet) intellectually duke it out with Anthony (played by Carol Roscoe) under Valerie Curtis-Newton's direction will be worth the price of admission. RICH SMITH
Don't Call It a Riot!
Local playwright Amontaine Aurore's new work, Don't Call It A Riot!, takes audiences on a tour of black activism in Seattleâfrom the beginnings of the Black Panther Party up to the WTO protestsâas seen through the eyes of a character named Reed. Reed has to figure out how to raise a kid, maintain a relationship with her new husband, and build a burgeoning movement, all while the culture at large conspires against her at every turn. RICH SMITH
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.
Alli Good
Grotesque sexuality, eye-popping nudity, skewed religiosity, and horrifying surrealism clash in North Carolina artist Alli Good's comic-like prints. The artist, who'll be present at the opening, takes a decidedly unwholesomeâyet fascinating and catharticâapproach toward issues of body image and femininity.Â
Opening Thursday
FRIDAY
COMEDYChelsea Handler: Life Will Be the Death of Me...and You Too!
There seem to be two schools of people when it comes to comedian, TV producer/host, writer, and activist Chelsea Handler: those of us who love her sarcastic, acerbic wit and brash outspokenness on topics ranging from sex to parenthood to politics; and those who find her abrasive as fuck. Sheâs definitely become far angrier and more vocal about her discontent with American politics following the election of Donald Trump, and she explores this and various other self-involved subjects in her sixth book of memoir-style nonfiction, sold as the âfunny, sad, super-honest, all-true story of Chelsea Handlerâs year of self-discovery,â and which includes but is not limited to the content of her therapy sessions with neuropsychiatrist Dan Siegel, and her (not-so) newfound relationship with edibles. Every Handler book reads like she talks, and I imagine this one will be no different. Tickets to this âSit-Down Comedy Tourâ include a copy of the book. LEILANI POLK
David Rue: A Physical Homage
David Rue, a dancer who "transmits the metaphysical and makes a person want to move" (according to former Stranger writer Jen Graves), has curated an incredible series of outdoor performances dedicated to AIDS activists and those who perished from the disease. The first iteration kicks off on June 21 and features Randy Ford, whose sheer range and talent has moved me to consistently call for someone to award her $100,000 so that she may create work at her leisure. When Ford dances, she uses modern, bounce, vogue, and moves from genres I've never seen before to communicate maximum velocity, sharpness, and strengthâall qualities shared by ACT UP and other activist groups fighting against the deafening and deadly silence of the US government. RICH SMITH
Justin Vivian Bond: The House of Whimsy
Award-winning "trans-genre" cabaret star, writer, and actor Mx. Bond has gathered a lineup of "divas and deviants" to bewitch your senses and to raise money for On the Boards' programming.
Frederick L. Brown: The City Is More Than Human
Instead of focusing on great men, great women, great artists, or great whomever, UW historian Frederick Brown focuses his history of Seattle on animals. In The City Is More Than Human, Brown looks at the way the relationship between people and animals shaped the city, from the days of livestock and imperialism to the time of pets in grocery stores. As far as I can tell, all other books about Seattle's past focus on brothels and vice lords. Brown's angle should delight old mossbacks who think they've heard it all, but also people who hang with their Shiba Inu at Dogwood Play Park and Bar. RICH SMITH
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCEFalling Awake: A Fugue State
Physical theater company UMO Ensemble, which has brought poetic, clownish original shows to the PNW for more than 20 years, will present Falling Awake: A Fugue State, a new play by Maria Glanz. According to publicity materials, it's about "how lives and identities form and fall away, like dust in sunlight."
Mae West's The Drag: A Homosexual Comedy in Three Acts
When The Drag first opened in 1927, a reviewer for Variety apparently called it "an inexpressibly brutal and vulgar attempt to capitalize on a dirty matter for profit." After only 10 performances, the play was shut down for "indecency." So, in honor of indecency, in honor of the vulgar, and in honor of capitalizing on dirty matters, we must all go see this historical revival about a gay man named Rolly Kingsbury coming out in much more homo-hostile times (in America, at least), and then marvel at how far we've come, and how far we've yet to go. RICH SMITH
SATURDAY
COMEDYThe Comedy Nest Presents: Pride with El Sanchez
El Sanchez, whom Lindy West has called a "grumpy nugget of delight" and whom Kimya Dawson considers her "favorite underground Northwest comedian," has been performing all over the country since 2010. El is "a queer, pansexual, mixed-race, gender non-binary Seattle-based comedian and comic book reader" whose "conversationally cynical, yet upbeat comedic style weaves together a unique mix of embarrassing personal stories, nerdy obsessions, social politics and possible overshares." Clara Pluton will host.
Esther Povitsky
Esther Povitskyâs Twitter bio sums her up in three words: âCute but gross.â Itâs doubtful anyone in stand-up is more adorable and petite than Povitsky, who appears to be about half of her 31 years. Intractable biases may lead you to underestimate her, but Povitskyâs sharply funny, working her looks and Jewishness into many jokes, including one thatâs relatable to this lapsed Jew: âMy dad is so Jewish I didnât go to Hebrew school because he didnât want to pay the dues to belong to a temple.â With popular roles on the sitcoms Crazy Ex Girlfriend and Alone Together (which she also co-created), Povitsky is on the ascent. DAVE SEGAL
Seattle Women's Pride 2019
Pride month in Seattle wouldn't be complete without the Seattle Lesbian's womxn-focused event, which this year features an award ceremony honoring activists and community members and a comedy show with some hilarious, down-to-earth local talent: Monisa Brown, Tambre Massman, and Val Nigro. Drink, laugh, bid on auction items, celebrate, and eat with womxn like you!
Seattle Outdoor Cinema
First Tech Federal Credit Union's outdoor movie series (beginning tonight with The Matrix) will also feature a night market, yard games, and beer, and proceeds go to charity. You have to be over 21 to partake.
Seattle Night Market: Asia
Sample "hyper-local, globally inspired" fare like kimchi-smothered fries and bubble tea at this Asian-themed curbside night market. Plus, enjoy a beer garden and moonlight movie viewing.
Third Annual Pour
Kick off summer by sipping offerings from over 20 Seattle wineries and filling up on street food at Seattle Urban Wineries' third annual event.
Queer Prom Seattle
Some of the sexiest and most inventive drag and burlesque stars of Seattleâincluding Waxie Moon, Briq House, Apollo Vidra, and many othersâwill flaunt looks (and perhaps disrobe) at this much-improved reimagining of your high school dance. This evening will double as a fundraiser for What the Funk: An All POC Burlesque Festival.
Valtesse
For those with a yen for high-end kink, the performers of Valtesse will revel in opulent "couture burlesque, aerial, whips, chains, dance, and doms." Wear black, red, and/or fetish gear to fit in, and stay on after the show for a party by the fireplace.
If You Want to See Something: Allen Ginsberg in Art and Action
If you've ever whipped out a copy of Howl from your back pocket, join artists and poets Dorothea Lasky, Rae Armantrout, Ron Silliman, Sadie Dupuis, Ryo Yamaguchi, Laura Da', Andrew Schelling, and Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore for a celebration of famous bespectacled beatnik Allen Ginsberg. Expect poetry performances in front of Geoffrey Farmer's photo installation If You Want To See Something Look at Something Else (Allen Ginsberg 1926-1997), consisting of 50 tree-mounted framed portraits of the writer.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
FESTIVALSFremont Fair
Fremont loves its weird celebrations, and this two-day outdoor urban festival following the Summer Solstice is arguably its biggest event of the year. From its gigantic parade composed of elaborately painted (and sometimes just wild and free) nude bicyclists and inventive costumes (Sat) to its craft market and live music events (the lineup this year includes acts like the Black Tones and DJ Indica Jones), the tradition has something for hippies, families, foodies, and artists alike. Be sure to pick up a fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich while youâre there.
Urban Craft Uprising 2019 Summer Show
Urban Craft Uprising at Seattle Centerâs Exhibition Hall bills itself as "Seattle's largest indie craft show," and judging from the consistently strong turnouts over the course of its 15-year history, it ain't lying. The summer edition of the two-day bi-annual show boasts a wide variety of handcrafted goods from over 150 local indie vendors, from jewelry to clothing to housewares to food. Itâs a solid way to hide from the sun for a few hours, and we have no doubt youâll leave with new inspiration and knowledge about crafting (and hopefully an armful of nifty new wares).
Seattle Taiwanese American Film Festival
The festival will present seven Taiwanese and American features along with short films.
Bacon Eggs & Kegs
This festival revolving around the combination of savory, gut-busting breakfast foods and heady booze promises concoctions like fried chicken waffle nuggets, cornbread bacon Benedict, biscuits with bacon-fat gravy, and beer-battered pancakes. Day drinking is encouraged with more than 80 brews from 40 breweries and cideries, plus mimosas, boozy root-beer floats, Irish coffee, and a 30-foot Bloody Mary bar with dozens upon dozens of toppings (including tater tots, mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers, veggies, herbs, pickles, puffed Cheetos, bacon, and pork rinds). Youâre probably going to want to clear your schedule for that requisite post-brunch nap.
SUNDAY
FOOD & DRINKAuthor Talk: Bottom of the Pot by Naz Deravian
Author Naz Deravian was just eight when she left Iran with her family during the Iranian Revolution. In the process of bouncing from Rome to Vancouver over the following decade, the family sought comfort in Persian meals that conjured memories of home, including aash (a soul-warming soup made with herbs, legumes, and grains), pomegranate and walnut chicken, and tahdig (the prized crunchy crust that forms on the bottom of the rice pot). Later, as an aspiring actress in Los Angeles, Deravian would call her mother to walk her through re-creating the dishes at home. Deravian went on to create an award-winning Persian cooking blog called Bottom of the Pot and recently published her debut cookbook of the same name. Sheâll share stories and cooking secrets (perhaps how to achieve that perfectly crisp rice crust?) at Book Larder. JULIANNE BELL
The Greatest ShowQueen
More than two decades ago, former Seattle Times critic Tom Orr staged a one-man musical revue called Dirty Little Showtunes!, a gay coming-of-age story that then-Stranger critic Adrian Ryan called "one heck of a fun show." Now, Orr returns with a three-time Bay Area Theatre Critic Circle Award-winning "multitude of new perverted twists on classic showtunes." Songs include "I Feel A Thong Coming On!," "A Crass Act!," "The Devil Wears Nada!," "Aging Bull!" and "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To His Forearm!"
Rae Armantrout and Ron Silliman
Don't miss Rae Armantrout; she's won a goddamn Pulitzer (for her 2010 poetry book Versed). Her other recent work includes Wobble, Money Shot, Just Saying, Itself, Partly: New and Selected Poems, and Entanglements. According to Rich Smith, "Ron Silliman is a big-time thinker and important member of a large poetry movement that started in the 1970s called, annoyingly, L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E."Â
Thom Hartmann: The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment
Guns and their lobbyists in America have never been politically neutral. Thom Hartmann, billed as "the most popular progressive radio host in America," will speak about how they were used in Native American genocide and ethnic cleansing, slavery, and Jim Crow society. He'll go on to address the current uptick in mass shootings and the (he says) specious arguments used by Supreme Court justices to justify widespread access to firearms.
