Friday December 30, 2005 SGN.org |
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Volume 33 Issue 52 |
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Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008
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Bits & Bytes |
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| Symphony hosts New Year's Eve Gala, Flora The Red Menace highlights January, PNB's Valentine offers four premieres | |
| by Milton W. Hamlin
- SGN A&E Writer
As the Emerald City prepares to celebrate New Year's Eve and plans ahead for 2006, Seattle entertainment fans will find a wide variety of entertainment choices in the new year. Bits&Bytes finds his January theater, music and film calendar almost full with February and March closing in fast. It's a great time to try something new or something familiar-a new chance for a New Year. Read on&. THREE KEY THINGS TO SEE THIS WEEK In the final countdown for 2005, three major events demand attention now. Act quickly, they will all be gone by next weekend: SEATTLE SYMPHONY HOSTS NEW YEAR'S EVE The Seattle Symphony Orchestra reports good seats are still available for tomorrow night's New Year's Eve Concert & Gala: Music of Bernstein and Gershwin, a special evening that pairs the two musical giants for a festive end of 2005 and the start of 2006. Gerard Schwarz, SSO's artistic director, takes the podium with guest soloists and key members of the Seattle Choral Company on the stage. Act One salutes George Gershwin with pianist Jon Kimura, a keyboard artist with a strong Seattle following and an international reputation, as special guest soloist. Act Two salutes Leonard Bernstein with two sets of Concert Suites from West Side Story. Amy Burton will sing Maria and Patrick Miller will be Tony in the concert-staged highlights. Members of the Seattle Choral Company will perform supporting roles from the Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim work and appears as the chorus of the Jets and the Sharks. Tickets for the Concert start at $65 and include a celebration in the Grand Lobby of Benaroya Hall. There will be post-performance dancing, complimentary hors d'oeuvres, party favors and a countdown to the New Year. A special Gala package includes a cocktail party, a seated dinner and after-concert dancing on the auditorium stage. Prices for the Gala are $350 and should be ordered at 215-4834. Tickets for the Concert and Countdown package are at the SSO box office, 215-4747. The Symphony also reports scattered seating for tonight's final performance of Beethoven's immortal Symphony No. 9. With its world famous "Ode To Joy" as the choral climax, the Ninth Symphony always packs the house for SSO. Tonight's is the third offering of the beloved work this week. Call 215-4747 for last minute seating. Be flexible in your plans, but, as Bits&Bytes loves to say, check it out. SEATTLE ART MUSEUM ENDS TIFFANY EXHIBIT The Seattle Art Museum is in the final days for its current blockbuster show, Louis Comfort Tiffany: Artist For The Ages, continuing just through Jan. 4 at the downtown SAM. It's clearly "the" art show of the season. The exhibit-which opened here in mid-October and travels to three other major regional museums in the coming years-has lured thousands and thousands of visitors. The Tiffany exhibit is the last show at the downtown SAM before it closes Jan. 5 for expansion into its new addition to the north of the existing building. It reopens in the spring of 2007. The Seattle Asian Art Museum, the group's original home in Volunteer Park, reopens in early January with its first major exhibit, The Orchid Pavilion Gathering: Chinese Paintings from the University of Michigan Museum of Art, starting Jan. 14. Both exhibits should be on your arts calendar for 2006-but hurry for the Tiffany exhibit. You'll be glad you did. RESTORATION COMEDY ENDS AT SEATTLE REP The spirited world premiere production of Amy Freed's Restoration Comedy ends its laugh-filled run at the Seattle Repertory Theatre with performances through Jan. 7. (Check out last week's SGN for a detailed review.) The show has numerous problems-and many theater fans in the opening night audience wondered it the new script was really ready for a full production or whether or not it desperately needed more workshop stagings to iron out its rambling narrative. The opening night crowd agreed on one thing-the overly long production is beautifully staged and gloriously acted. Like its historical source material, Restoration Comedy is artificial fun from its opening moments when a harpsichordist sits at a fake instrument-and the music "starts" just seconds before his fingers reach the keyboard. The quick glimmer of "surprise" in the actor's eyes underscores the delightful directorial touch. In a matter of minutes, the fake harpsichord sinks into the stage, becoming part of the stage floor (and part of the swirling design of the stylish set). Sharon Ott, the Rep's immediate-past artistic director, returned to Seattle to stage the commissioned work in its world premiere production. For the most part, Ott got it right. Bits&Bytes has no doubts that the show will be greatly revised-and cut considerably before it reaches New York. Freed, the author of The Beard Of Avon (a hit at the Seattle Rep and off-Broadway in New York), is a talented playwright with a tremendous future. One highlight of the production for this scribe include the multiple roles played by Laurence Ballard. For many theater fans in the GLBT community, Ballard's long list of Gay or Gay-friendly characters (think Lonely Planet at ACT or Angels In America at Intiman) make him a spokesman for good, topical theater for GLBT stage fans. His work here in multiple roles climaxes in his Act Two performance as Manlove-the openly Gay, Liberace-like fop. (Historically, restoration drama used personal qualities for character names-Freed honors that tradition with "Mr. Loveless," "Mr. Worthy," the vain "Narcissa," and the flaming queen of "Lord Foppington.") Another comic highlight was the over-the-top performance of Laura Kenny as Hillaria (yes, she is indeed hilarious). Kenny just keeps getting better and better with each production. Restoration Comedy continues through Jan. 7 at the Rep. Budget-minded stage fans should check Ticket/Ticket for half-price admission or ask the box office about various discounts-senior/student/rush policies. Rep tickets are available at 443-2222 or toll free at (877) 900-9285 for out-of-town patrons. NEW PRODUCTIONS HIGHLIGHT 2006 Entertainment fans planning for January and February have a seemingly endless wide range of choices. Some major events include: PNB'S VALENTINE OFFERS 4 PREMIERES Seattle-area dance fans are excited about Pacific Northwest Ballet's innovative mixed repertory program for February. Termed Valentine, the evening features four PNB premieres-that's right, folks, four Seattle premieres. Peter Boal, PNB's new artistic director, is clearly making a statement in the staging of so many new works in a single program. Most of the works are long overdue for PNB and Seattle dance fans. After several "diplomatic," transitional programs in the fall, Boal seems to be saying, "This is the future of PNB." Hats off to the new direction& Emerald City audiences got a look at Red Angels in September at PNB's Soiree, The Season Opening Gala. Ulysses Dove's 1994 work-"athletic, sensual"-was a sensation in the September preview. Visually, Red Angels is a knockout-with the four couples in scarlet unitards with white and red hot lighting "bathing the dancers" in color. Twyla Tharp's 1982 Nine Sinatra Songs finally makes its PNB debut with the February mixed rep program. The now world-famous ballet-danced, as the title suggests, to nine classic Frank Sinatra recordings-is also the first Tharp work performed by PNB. Under Boal's direction, it certainly won't be the last. Costumes are by Oscar de la Renta, making Nine Sinatra Songs a perfect addition to the Valentine theme. Richard Tanner's 1992 Ancient Airs and Dances is performed to music of the same name by Respighi, the Italian composer best known for his tone poems The Pines Of Rome of Rome and The Fountains Of Rome. Tanner was in town last year to stage Balanchine's Prodigal Son for PNB-he returns to set his own work on the company's dancers. Susan Marshall's Kiss completes the program. The brief, yet mesmerizing 1987 work, finds two dancers suspended in harnesses above the stage. "They move together, separate, and return to one another" in a series of "gentle, sweeping movements" that capture "both the pleasure and torment" of being in love. Sounds terrific to Bits&Bytes. Can't wait. Valentine runs Feb. 2-4 and 9-12 at McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. Evening and matinee performances are scheduled for both weekends. This scribe predicts that all four parts of Valentine will be sensational hits with Seattle dance fans. Although Valentine ends its two-week run just before Feb. 14 and the "real" Valentine's Day, tickets to the PNB program would be an ideal Valentine's Day gift. Complete ticket details are available at 441-2424. Be sure to ask about the long, long list of PNB Special Events revolving around Valentine-many of them are free. Tickets start at just $20 for the Valentine program-which breaks down to just $5 a work. Such a deal&. SHOWTUNES! STAGES FLORA THE RED MENACE Showtunes! Theatre Company continues its 2005-2006 season with a mid-January revival of Flora The Red Menace, the 1965 quick flop that won Liza Minnelli, then just 19, her first Tony Award. The musical was the first collaboration between John Kander and Fred Ebb who went onto Cabaret, Chicago and a long list of other classic Broadway shows. Showtunes! specializes in lost, forgotten or overlooked Broadway musicals-and Flora is an outstanding choice for the ambitious company. Bits&Bytes saw the original 1965 Broadway production and is looking forward to seeing Showtunes! stage the 1987 off-Broadway version which (reportedly) basically abandons the original story and creates a new tale with the Kander and Ebb score. Musical highlights include "A Quiet Thing," "Sing Happy" and "All I Need Is One Good Break." Showtunes!' last outing was a winner-the long neglected Fiorello!, one of the few musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize. Showtunes! now makes its musical home at the Kirkland Performance Center. The two performances of Flora are scheduled for Jan. 14, a Saturday night, and Jan. 15, a Sunday matinee. Details and ticket reservations at (425) 893-9900. SEATTLE PUBLIC STAGES MAMET'S BOSTON MARRIAGE A "must see" for GLBT stage fans-that's Boston Marriage, running Jan. 27-Feb. 19 at Seattle Public Theatre, the ambitious theater group that makes its home in the historic Bathhouse Theatre on the west shore of Green Lake. Same-sex relationships are at the core of the Mamet's rare comedy/drama about Lesbian relationships in Boston at the end of the 19th century. Women living with women (and, occasionally, men living with men) were historically termed "Boston Marriages" by students and staff members at Harvard in the late Victorian era. Mamet's recent script met with mixed reviews in New York and other cities, but there is no doubt that it will draw a lot of GLBT stage fans to the intimate theater in North Seattle. Ticket details and complete information is available at 524-1300. And, yes, dear readers, tell 'em Bits&Bytes sent ya. CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY HOSTS WINTER FESTIVAL A major event for Emerald City classical music fans is the Jan. 30-Feb. 5 Winter Festival at Benaroya Hall, the annual concert series sponsored by the Seattle Chamber Music Society. The winter event will celebrate its eighth year this year. Four concerts are offered for 2006. Call 283-8808 for program and ticket details. The Society's summer Chamber Music Festival is a highlight of the warm weather months for Seattle music fans. The now-annual Winter Festival is a welcome addition to the Society's program calendar. SEATTLE OPERA STAGES THE BAT Nine performances of Die Fledermaus (The Bat) by Johann Strauss, Jr. will highlight the opera calendar for Emerald City opera fans. The Seattle Opera production features Jane Eaglen in her role debut as Rosalinde-a performance that could draw national attention to the Seattle Opera production. Die Fledermaus, one of the most popular operettas ever written, has Seattle "box office hit" written all over it. Ticket details at 389-7676. |
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