17. JOHNNY CLEGG

>>> APRIL 29

Think the fresh-faced, boat shoe-wearing Vampire Weekend was the first musical enterprise to imagine a combination of Western pop and traditional African vibrations? Not even close. Johnny Clegg, billed as "one of South Africa's most celebrated sons," is headed to Tacoma in April, bringing his guitar, career full of hits and genre-bending style with him. The master songster behind tunes like "Great Heart," "I Call Your Name," "Scatterlings of Africa," "Take My Heart Away," and more, Clegg comes to the Rialto under the umbrella of his "Spirit is the Journey 30th Anniversary Concert." There's no doubt it'll be tasty.

But, since one cannot live on music alone, a meal seems in order prior to Clegg's energetic and vibrant show. For this, it's hard to go wrong with a visit to Maxwell's on St. Helens Ave. Once inside Maxwell's swanky (for Tacoma) bowels, it's also hard to go wrong with one of Maxwell's steaks, the 16-ounce rib eye, 7-ounce filet mignon or the 10-ounce flat iron. The white cheddar cheese-infused whipped potatoes are simply a gluttonous and delicious bonus.

After Clegg's Rialto gig, finish a classy evening with a nightcap from the 1022 South. Have Tacoma's most forward-thinking bar whip you up something as eclectic as the tunes you just heard. Trust us - they'll be able to pull it off. - WV

[Pantages Theater, Friday, April 29, 7:30 p.m., $39-$49, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5890]

18. THE KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN

>>> MAY 5

Novelist Manuel Puig was born in Argentina but fled to Mexico to escape a right-wing government.  He lived there the rest of his life, completing his last five novels and over half a dozen plays.  The most famous of those novels, which Puig himself converted for the stage, was El beso de la mujer arena, The Kiss of the Spider Woman.  Kiss is the story of two convicts in a Buenos Aires prison, one an effeminate window-dresser, the other a political revolutionary.  Is the window-dresser an informer planted by the government?  Puig's play was rewritten by Terence McNally and Kander and Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret) as a musical (naturally!), which brings us to Capital Playhouse. Richard Hinds will direct and choreograph, as he did for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. 

Oly has no Argentine churrascaria rodizio, depriving us of the parade of meats on swords beloved by fans of Ipanema Grill in Seattle.  We do, however, have savory Mexican munchies, the best of which might be at California Taco Trucks.  Have you tried the torta cubana?  Ay, dios mio.  Or you could celebrate your own release from captivity by hitting the Farmers Market the next morning.  Los Tuleños makes a salsa verde burrito that's absolutely one of my favorite meals on Earth. - CC

[Capital Playhouse, May 5-28, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 2:00 p.m. Sunday, $28-$39, 612 Fourth Ave. E, Olympia, 360.943.2744

19. UNEXPECTED TENDERNESS

>>> MAY 5

A dysfunctional Jewish family is at the chaotic heart of Israel Horovitz's Unexpected Tenderness, playing at Harlequin Productions.  The play is seen through the bemused eyes of Roddy Stern, a 14-year-old boy growing up in 1950s New England amid the turbulence of his father's suspicious mind.  Call it oversimplification, but I think a play about a Jewish family should be preceded by a meal of rib-sticking kosher cuisine.  As a born Los Angeleno, when I hear the word "kosher," I immediately think of long, boozy nights in Canter's Deli on Fairfax.  Ah, the stuffed kishka! 

Sadly, Olympia is without a proper delicatessen, but it does have Meconi's Italian Subs, which offers pastrami and corned beef sandwiches.  If you're lucky, Erev Rav will be somewhere on Fourth Ave. that night.  I've had the privilege of rocking out to a live performance of Erev Rav, Olympia's fiery "klezmer orchestra," and I can tell you it's every bit as much fun as you'd expect from a band whose most recent EP was called Oly Shtetl Klezmer.  Zie ga zink! - CC

[Harlequin Productions, May 5-38, 8:00 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2:00 p.m. Sunday, $26-$32, 202 Fourth Ave. E, Olympia, 360.786.0151]