Arts
Let's face it: some people are genetically predisposed to be standup comedians. I say this knowing I may be one of them. Ian Karmel, a comic best known for appearances on Chelsea Lately, Conan and Portlandia, is a 29-year-old who looks a great deal like I did at age 29.
Stage
I earned my undergraduate theater BA in an auditorium reputed, as so many are, to be haunted. Students reported inexplicable pennies falling from the "clouds" overhead. I heard women's voices arguing in the wings one night in an otherwise empty building, a phenomenon I was helpless to explain till a
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One of the things I love, and there are many, about our South Sound theater community is that it's big enough to allow a broad spectrum of material. Some, obviously, I like more than the rest, but that diversity means I don't have to watch Grease or
Stage
One of the things I love, and there are many, about our South Sound theater community is that it's big enough to allow a broad spectrum of material. Some, obviously, I like more than the rest, but that diversity means I don't have to watch Grease or Annie every year
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On the afternoon of Nov. 24, 1971, Thanksgiving Eve, a man who identified himself as Dan Cooper (no middle B - that was a media error) boarded Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, one-way, from Portland to Seattle. A guy could book a flight with sketchy ID in that pre-9/11 era.
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You know who looks great for her age? Washington. Yeah, I said it: Washington. For 125; are you kidding me? This state doesn't look a day over 80! This Saturday, three experts in what it means to be a Washingtonian musician will come together for a brisk,
Music
You know who looks great for her age? Washington. Yeah, I said it: Washington. For 125; are you kidding me? This state doesn't look a day over 80! And as terrific as Washington looks, she sounds even better. Oh, sure, she's been through some experimental phases. I mean, what youngster
Stage
Though I admire the Bard of Avon, I'd never before seen or read one of his first plays, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. It isn't highly prized. Some commentators, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch among them, believe Shakespeare farmed out its ending; even the play's CliffsNotes sniff, "(The play) doesn't appear to
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It was a cool July night in the City of Grit. My fedora pulled down low over my eyes, I peered out through a haze of cigarette smoke as I slunk down South Tacoma Way. Maybe that's why at first I didn't see the hep cat in the zoot suit.
Music
It was a cool July night in the City of Grit. My fedora pulled down low over my eyes, I peered out through a haze of cigarette smoke as I slunk down South Tacoma Way. Maybe that's why at first I didn't see the hep cat in the zoot suit.
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I first became aware of Keaton's 1926 classic film The General when Roger Ebert credited it for elements of the thrillingly ridiculous mine-car sequence in Temple of Doom. No less an authority than Orson Welles called The General "the greatest comedy ever made, the greatest Civil War film ever made,
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There are times when our music picks write themselves, which is helpful as some of us drink. This is one of those welcome moments, because Jazzbones is having one stunner of a week. It begins with crooners Color Me Badd Saturday the 26th - hell, yes, they still wanna sex
Stage
I often hear people defend flawed productions by protesting, "It's community theater," thereby entitled to amateur errors. I get that, and do assess productions according to what I know their participants can accomplish. The catch is I've seen some mighty fine community theater over the years. Scan my Carvy year's-best
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Allow me to set a scene. Having just departed Algebra II, I hustle to Starcade IV, the blinking, bleeping console-game paradise across the street from Fortuna High. Lunch will be a burger and rings from Pam's mom-and-pop burger shoppe around the corner. First, however, I have an appointment with Pole
Stage
Mel Brooks' 1974 parody Young Frankenstein is one of the funniest, most quotable movies ever made. And some funny movies, including Brooks' own The Producers, make for entertaining stage musicals. At a lean 106 minutes, Young Frankenstein must've seemed tailor-made for expansion into a song-and-dance extravaganza; but at 2:20 plus
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Dudley Taft may well be the best white, Cincinnati-based blues artist you've never heard of, despite the fact that he toured with Seattle's own Alice in Chains and Candlebox. But wait, you say, Alice in Chains and Candlebox aren't blues bands. You're right! Now wipe that smug look off your
Arts
Has it really been a year since we previewed Art on the Ave for last July? Wait, we're counting on our fingers and toes ... yep, the math checks out. Our love for this summer celebration of all things expressive is a matter of record, so don't think we're throwing
Arts
Ours is a region of readers, well-served by a plethora of literary outlets. As crass as the question may seem, then, it's fair to ask: do we truly need another bookstore? We do if it's the Nearsighted Narwhal, and here's why: it's all about local talent. The store's walls are
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Louie G's Pizza takes its rock as seriously as its oversize pies. Restaurateur Louis Galarza installed professional-grade light and sound equipment, then threw his doors open to the types of bands you may not expect with your meatball calzone. This Saturday he's hosting Montana's heavy-metal trio Hellgate as part of
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If you're new to the show as well, be advised it quotes plenty of Elizabethan language from Shakespeare's original text, then seasons it with a drizzle of "baby"s and "man"s. It jars the first time that gives way to pop, rock or, in one early number, reggae,
