Bits & Bytes
Friday,
March 18, 2005
Volume 33,
Issue 11
Fri, Nov 20, 2009
IN THE SGN
SECTION ONE
Front Page
MORE/ALL
SECTION ONE
STORIES
SECTION TW0
Arts & Entertainment
Thumpers hosts three hit cabaret shows |
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| Thumpers hosts three hit cabaret shows, PNB offers three eventsMerry Widow, Choreographers Showcase, Stowell Tribute | ||
| by Milton W. Hamlin
- SGN A&E Writer
picture - Miss Saigon Pacific Northwest Ballet continues its revival of the crowd-pleasing The Merry Widow and adds a special Choreographers Showcase to its schedule next Wednesday. PNB is also busy with plans for a special Tribute To Kent Stowell & Francia Russell on June 12. Thumpers popular Cabaret On The Hill series hosts three (three!) cabaret shows, and a new cabaret troupe plans its first Men Only Dinner And Wet Dreams event. Its another great week for Seattle entertainment fansand for Bits&Bytes. MERRY WIDOW DANCES The big news at Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is the highly anticipated revival of Ronald Hynds version of Franz Lehars beloved The Merry Widow. PNBs spirited revival opened last night (too late for this weeks deadline) but the lavish production is sure to be a crowd pleaser. The full-length ballet continues through March 27 with Thursday-Saturday evening and Saturday and Sunday matinee performances. Ticket information at (206) 441-2424. Watch for a full review here in next weeks SGN. DANCE SHOWCASE PNB revives its popular Choreographers Showcase format next Wednesday, March 23, for a one-night-only performance of five new works. Four PNB dancersChristophe Maraval, Olivier Wevers, Jonathan Porretta and Kiyon Gainesoffer new works. Sonia Dawkins, a faculty member from PNBs prestigious dance school, provides the fifth work for the evening. There is always a true sense of excitement in Showcase events, and this years evening of new works should continue that tradition. Its a must for Bits&Bytes and many Seattle dance fans. The 7:30 p.m. performance is at McCaw Hall. Ticket information at (206) 441-2424. STOWELL TRIBUTE PNB, busy with next weeks Choreographers Showcase and the on-going production of The Merry Widow, is also planning a June 12 Tribute To Kent Stowell & Francia Russell. The popular husband-and-wife team have been artistic directors of PNB since 1977. In their 28 years here, they are credited with developing the company (his focus) and the school (her domain) from a fledgling regional troupe into a company of national (and maybe) international acclaim. The two are retiring at the end of this years season, and the June 12 tribute should be an emotionally charged event. Tickets start at a very reasonable $30including a champagne receptionand are now available at (206) 441-2424. It should be a night to remember. POUR THE LAWN Thumpers Cabaret On The Hill series invites musical fans to Mow The Bubbly And Pour The Lawn, a cleverly titled, self-proclaimed Swell Cabaret that continues the Showcase Cabaret series of students from the vocal and cabaret classes of Ann Evans, a stage and cabaret veteran with strong Seattle performances in her background. With the ever-dependable Mark Rabe at the piano, Mow The Bubbly and Pour The Lawn continues Sunday evenings through March 27 (yes, that is Easter Sunday nighta great chance to unwind at Thumpers after a hectic family focus day for many). While the student showcase, by its very nature, is designed primarily as an evening for family and friends, the current edition has much to offer Seattle musical and cabaret fans. Courtney Proff started the evening with two touching numbers, Out Of The Blue and Unexpected Song from Andrew Lloyd Webers Song & Dance. Amy Berryman was excellent in her two numbers, the poignant Princess from the Gay-themed A Man Of No Importance and Maltby & Shires Today Is The First Day. Bits&Bytes loved Man Of No Importance in New York several seasons back and Berryman was equal to the performance at Lincoln Centertruly, Berryman is a talent to watch. When she sang of her small Irish hometown, They have their footballs and their Bibles and dont believe in art, it was a magically memorable moment. Sarah Davis and Sarah Decker scored with their individual numbers. Davis was hushed and mesmerizing in Still Hurting (covered with scars that I didnt earn) and raucous in the perky Popular from Broadways Wicked. Decker scored with Its An Art and James Taylors low-key Millwork. Doug Knoop seemed to delight the capacity crowd with his gender-bending Im Not The Kind Of Girl. Joanna Johnson had great fun with Breakin In A Pair Of Shoes. Two numbers from a recent production of Quilters ended the showboth were vocal highlights of the evening. The high points of the evening were truly high. Alas, the weak points were exceptionally weakmajor lyric stumbles indicated that several performers were not quite ready for prime time (or even a family-and-friends event). Reservationsa good ideaare available at (206) 328-3800. DINA MARTINA RETURNS Dina Martina and Sunday Brunch scored a personal triumph last year at Thumpers, and the self-proclaimed talentless drag queen returns with a series of Sunday brunch outings through May 22 with two shows each Sunday. Martina is an acquired taste in comedy (which, alas, Bits&Bytes has not acquired) but she is a beloved Seattle institution. All four shows in her first two weeks were sold out shortly after her encore visit was announced. Reservations are a must for Dina Martina. Details at (206) 328-3800. PIGS STILL FLYING Howard Crabtreess When Pigs Fly, a smart, sassy Gay-themed revue that was a huge hit in New York nearly a decade ago, continues its smash run at Thumpers with performances through April 9. The funny, funny show runs Friday and Saturday nights at Thumpers. As the revue starts its last four weekends, Thumpers reminds patrons that the show often sells out days in advance (and, now and then, inexplicably, draws half a house some nights). Reservations are a must but procrastinators are advised to check for last-minute availability. Call (206) 328-3800. (Chuck Tracy, one of the cast members, is also a popular Thumpers bartender and waiterhe may even take your reservation.) Bits&Bytes loved the show in New York and loved the show here at Thumpers. Its a dont miss evening for GLBT audiences. NY OPENING KNIGHT You gotta love the people involved in the New York production of Monty Pythons Spamalot which officially opened last night in The City That Never Sleeps. The credits note that Spamalot is A new musical lovingly ripped off from Monty Python And The Holy Grail. The show, which is expected to be the smash hit of the season, has drawn raves throughout its preview performance period. Directed by Broadway and Hollywood legend Mike Nichols, the show headlines David Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria and Tim Curry, who will be forever rememberedand revered as a Gay iconas Frank-N-Furter (the sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania) in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The big ad in the New York Times bannered Opening Knight This Thursday with the added stipulation, No Black Ties or Strait Jackets. If the show is only half as funny as the ad campaign, Spamalot is sure to be a big, big hit. Reviews should be out today. Bits&Bytes bets it will be a smash. GLOVERS IMPROVOGRAPHY Savion Glover brings his cleverly titled dance program, Improvography II, to Seattle on March 31 performance at the Moore Theatre. The mix of dance improvisation and prepared choreography should be a highlight of the spring for dance fans. Glover, the Tony Award-winning choreography (and creator) of Bring In Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk, has been a frequent Seattle visitor in recent years. He will appear with three other dancers in the March 31 program. Glover initiates the first annual Artist In Residence program for the Seattle Theatre Group, which provides programming for the Paramount and Moore Theatres. He will work with local students, teaching, rehearsing and performing with the young dancers during his residency. Lecture/demonstrations are also planned. Glover will return to Seattle July 8-9 2005 Dance This performances at the Paramount. FOUR JAZZ STARS The Seattle Theatre Group hosted the touring Concord Jazz Festival last week, a great music night at the beautifully restored Paramount Theatre that featured four major women in jazz, three with strong Seattle connections in their early lives. Karrin Allyson, a frequent Seattle visitor with memorable gigs at Jazz Alley, hosted the evening and appeared in solo, duets and group arrangements. Her bubbly personality, which has made her one of the top women in the jazz world, delighted the crowd. She opened the show with Joni Mitchells Help Me (I Think Im Fallin) and charmed the crowd within minutes. Sara Gazarek, a recent Roosevelt grad who just finished college in California, had a huge turn out from friends and family to help launch her Seattle visit. She will record her first CD for Concord this spring for a mid-year release. Her first appearance seemed tentativeand a far-too-stylishly-bizarre outfit seemed to confuse the audience. Her quick return in a casual wardrobe found her much more musically secure. Her highlights included Too Young To Go Steady, which she quipped would please her family because they believe in the message. Oleta Adams grew up in Seattles Central District where her father had his own church. She moved from Seattle to Yakima at age six and, after high school, set out for Los Angeles where nothing happened. Moving to Kansas City, Kansas, she became a local headliner and was discovered by the British band Tears For Fears which invited her to perform with them. The rest, as they say, is history. Her career was launched in 1990 with Get Here, a pop hit which allowed her to evolve musically and work in various musical forms, including her current focus with jazz. Diane Schuur, a Seattle-area resident for many years, was born in Tacoma and grew up in Auburn. The two-time Grammy Award-winning singer was clearly the major audience attraction and seemed delighted with her warm greeting. Blind since birth, Schuur, now in her early 50s, was wearing new hearing devices for the first time on stage. They were a major distraction for the singer (and for many in the audience) but she finally solved the problemin the rush to get on stage for her part of the program, the color-coded hearing aids had been reversed. When her ever-present husband came on stage to help her, she cracked up the audience as she scolded him, You know Im color blind. When group gathered for the final song of the evening, appropriately it was a jazzy Thats All. A great evening of great musicwith a strong Team Seattle feeling. GAYS GO WATERFORD Seattles GLBT community celebrates several events this weekendSeattles Leather Pride Weekend, a special Womens Conference, plans for upcoming private Men Only Dinner And Wet Dreams dinner and male burlesque show (Editors Note: Bits&Bytes is not making this updetails at (206) 227-9548). But the true gathering for Gay men in Seattle will this weekends Special 3-Day Waterford Crystal Warehouse Sale Event at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center for The First Time Ever. The event, which features Waterford, Marquis and Wedgwood products at Drastically Reduced Prices, opens each day at 10:00 a.m. Wowdiscounted Waterford and Wedgwood in downtown Seattle. Bits&Bytes expects to see all his friends (and a few Crystal Queen Enemies) in line each day. |
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| Pacific Northwest Ballet company men in The Merry Widow | ||
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| Avion Glover | ||
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| Daine Schuur | ||
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