Author: Jeremy M. Barker

Five Questions With Matt Smith
Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Five Questions With Matt Smith

Q: Where did you grow up, and how did you end up where you are now?
A: I grew up on Capitol Hill in Seattle. I went to St. Joe’s. How’d I end up here? A series of miscalculations. Har har. I love Seattle. I love that that John and Babe and Michael Shepherd are opening The Totem House as a new Red Mill, with Fish & Ships. When I lived in New York I always told people I could never stay away from Seattle for long. That was before the first vote against public transportation here in the ’70s. Continue reading Five Questions With Matt Smith

Solo Performance Fest #5 Kicks Off at Theatre Off Jackson
Theatre

Solo Performance Fest #5 Kicks Off at Theatre Off Jackson

Tonight marks the opening of the fifth installment of Solo Performance Festival down at Theatre off Jackson, which runs through May 7. The festival is a little sparser than last year, but the programming is tighter. It kicks off tonight with the inimitable Lauren Weedman, an LA-by-way-of-Seattle performer, in No…You Shut Up!, which explores adoption. (Don’t let that touchy-feely description fool you–Weedman’s amazing.)

Local fave Terri Weagant (who not so long ago owned a production of the solo show to end ’em all, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe) presents a original piece, Karaoke Suicide is Painless, “a multimedia karaoke comedy that explores the correlation between air guitar and personal choice.” Continue reading Solo Performance Fest #5 Kicks Off at Theatre Off Jackson

Billy Elliot’s Pliés Warm the Wounded Hearts of Organized Labor
Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Billy Elliot’s Pliés Warm the Wounded Hearts of Organized Labor

In fact, as the child of a blue-collar, union family turned white collar office worker and performing arts writer, I get a little teary-eyed whenever I watch some burly dad come to terms with his son’s seemingly odd choice, not least because I hope it speaks well for my future. Anyway, however good the movie was, Billy Elliot just screams musical, and indeed, six years ago it hit the West End with music by Elton John, before a successful Broadway run where young Billy’s jazzy pliés and entre-chats moved audiences. And now, the stirring tale is coming to Seattle, where it plays the Paramount Theatre through April 3. Continue reading Billy Elliot’s Pliés Warm the Wounded Hearts of Organized Labor

Win Tickets to Ezra Dickinson and Paurl Walsh’s Show at NWFF
Arts & Entertainment, Theatre, Visual Arts

Win Tickets to Ezra Dickinson and Paurl Walsh’s Show at NWFF

Next week, the latest installation of Live at the Film Forum kicks off at NW Film Forum with the three-day run of Ezra Dickenson and Paurl Walsh’s Actually Really (Thurs. to Sat., March 17 to 19). Dancer Dickenson will actually be playing part of the score live as he dances using some awesomely clever new technology. Now, tickets are only $15 ($12 for members), but, courtesy of our friends over at the Film Forum, we’ll be giving away a pair of tickets for each night of the show. Continue reading Win Tickets to Ezra Dickinson and Paurl Walsh’s Show at NWFF