7. GERSHWIN AND GUITAR

>>> OCT. 23

Leave it to Tacoma Symphony Orchestra to spice up their season opener, in the form of Gershwin and Guitar.  The performance will mark Croatian guitarist Ana Vidovic's first time on stage in the South Sound, and will be an opportunity to see and hear several quintessential works - including Copland's "Billy the Kid," Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" and Gershwin's "An American in Paris." Here's an evening that brings the sounds and flavor of Paris, Spain, Mexico and the American Deep South to the forefront.

With all that mixing going on at show time, you could go one of two directions at dinner beforehand: play it safe to avoid indigestion, or go all out just like the show you're about to see. Either way, Tacoma's El Gaucho has you covered. Whether you dabble in the seafood, including ridiculously good pan seared oysters or tuna tartare, or play it safe with one of El Gaucho's certified Angus steaks, which are dry-aged 28 days, your stomach and your eardrums will find themselves in a good spot.

After the show, stop by El Matador for a drink. We don't have a great connection with the show to make here, but there's no doubt Matador's bar is one of the coolest places to hang in town. - Weekly Volcano

[Pantages Theater, featuring Ana Vidovic, Saturday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m., $24-$77, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5890]

8. ALMOST, MAINE

>>> NOV. 4

Do you like love?  Do you enjoy romantic comedies, or watching a handful of actors play multiple roles?  How ‘bout cozy winter nights?  Are you into those?  Me, too.  I'm a sucker for all of that.  So as hokey as it may seem, I'm the target audience for John Cariani's Almost, Maine. 

Gold from Straw, which debuted this spring with its successful run of Doubt, will once again inhabit the "historic Mecca Theater" - if, that is, by "historic," we mean "suffused with the musty specter of raincoats and porn."  Now, this show has date night written all over it, especially given the Mecca's smutty past.  So don't even think you're not starting the night with fondue at The Melting Pot.  That's right, Smooth Operator, you know you want to dip your berries into that sweet, sweet chocolate.  And after the show, which will no doubt incite plentiful smooches and holding of hands, why not shake your inamorata's groove thing at Surreal Ultra Lounge?  Or, for that matter, you could skip all that foreplay and go straight to Lovers for an eleventh-hour erotic shopping trip.  Aww, yeah.  It's business time. - Christian Carvajal

[Gold from Straw Theatre Company at the Mecca Theater, Nov. 4-28, Thursday- Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m., $23-$26, 755 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.301.8004]

9. HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE

>>> NOV. 4

Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive sounds like a charming bucolic, and it certainly is, but any superficial similarities between Vogel's Pulitzer Prize winning 1997 drama and Haven Kimmel's A Girl Named Zippy end by intermission.  In the former work, a teenager nicknamed Li'l Bit gets tutored by her Uncle Peck in a manner that seems openly flirtatious.  Vogel went so far as to call her play "a love story," adding, "The eroticizing of children is so prevalent in the culture yet so seldom acknowledged." 

Yes, Prodigal Sun Productions' director John Ficker and stars Heather Christopher and Tim Hoban have their work cut out for them.  Hey, y'know what else is tough?  Finding a restaurant to recommend as the intro for a show about child molestation!  So let's start the evening with some good old-fashioned comfort food. 

Why not open The Joy of Cooking and whip up a delicious home-cooked meal?  Nothing will ease you into this surprisingly warm play more than knowing your own family will never be invited on The Steve Wilkos Show.  Have some pie at Shari's on the way home.  Then, devote the next day to a healthy, non-incestuous drive on the Chinook Scenic Byway.  Mount Rainier sure is pretty, huh, kids?  You bet, Mom and Dad, and thanks for not warping our minds! - CC

[Prodigal Sun Productions at the Midnight Sun Performance Space, Nov. 4-20, Thursday-Sunday 8 p.m., $12, 113 N. Columbia St., Olympia, 360.250.2721