The years from 1967 to 1977 were the richest of the radio era. Abbey Road is the single greatest album ever recorded, and whatever's in second place is also by the Beatles. Leather pants will always be awesome. These are indisputable scientific facts, Gentle Reader, so I welcome your nods of agreement.
Now. Can we also agree Harlequin's summer jukebox extravaganzas aren't proper theater? No, we cannot. Last year I thought it; this year I don't. True, there's no spoken dialogue in Summer in the Sixties. There's no storyline, either, just one killer pop/rock smash after another, sung by truly standout voices. Yet it's fully and gracefully choreographed (by Nancy Rawson), and as if that weren't production value enough, God knows how long it took Jill Carter to edit hours of video to play above the band.
I did miss the gospel heart Antonía Darlene brought to last year's production. In her stead, we get the multitalented Christian Doyle and his bodaciously groovy top hat, so there's compensation. The rest of the cast is straight from Sixties Kicks, so if you liked that show, and you probably did, then this year's model will once again pummel you right in your sweet spot. It takes a while to reach escape velocity, but boy, grab your hat when it does.
To read Christian Carvajal's full review of Summer in the Sixties click here.
[Harlequin Productions, Summer in the Sixties, $37-$40, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through July 17, 202 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.786.0151]
We're hearing it all over the South Sound these days: "We're gonna bring you a season of the classics!" As one troupe after another announces its 2011-2012 schedule, that cry of fiscal desperation, always delivered by the house manager with insincere enthusiasm, is ominous music to a theater critic's ears. Board logic insists people only come to material they know. Comparing the houses of Sweeney Todd and the newer, more obscure Proof in Tacoma lends support to this dictum. I haven't seen Sweeney Todd; it might be great. What I know is, lighting issues aside, Proof's a well-acted show that deserves to be seen. But choosing a season from the few dozen straight plays and musicals known to every American brings definite risks, all of which haunt Paradise Theatre's production of Grease.
To read Christian Carvajal's full review of Grease click here.
[Paradise Theatre, Grease, $10-$22, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday through July 3, 9911 Burnham Dr. NW, Gig Harbor, 253.851.7529]
In a weekend full of events, Volcano photographer Patrick Snapp was one busy dude. Saturday, he dropped in on Tacoma Hempfest, a shindig that was unfortunately riddled by controversy thanks to the Tacoma Police Department's handling of the pro-cannabis event and its many vendors.
Along the Thea Foss Waterfront, however, Urban Arts Festival blazed all weekend - inhabiting a new space with the mix of arts, music, fun and culture Tacoma has come to expect out of the yearly summer festival.
Here's how Sunday looked through the lens of Patrick Snapp ...
Saturday in Chehalis a crowd gathered in the parking lot of the old, iconic Yard Birds all-everything store to enjoy classic cars, all the usual summer festival bells and whistles, and the music of a bygone era - anchored by Don Wilson and Nokie Edwards of the Ventures, and Barry Curtis and Steven Peterson of the Kingsmen. It was called Birdfest 2011, and all the fun was in benefit of the much-loved Yard Bird statue that still stands in said parking lot, albeit in serious need of repair. The Volcano's Nikki Talotta wrote about the event for last week's paper.
Actually, no. I might have seen Jack Zduriencik at the airport. Very likely, I saw a shaved-head, stocky man who just happened to resemble the Mariners'general manager. It probably wasn't him. Even though he did have those narrow glasses and that general manager swagger.
Regardless of if it was the real deal Jack Z or just some look-alike, he was off before I had a chance to stop him. And while I stood in line at the airport Starbucks and the bald man took off down terminal C, I got to thinking:
If he was the real Jack Z and I ran to stop him, what would I ask? More accurately, what would I ask him that would best serve this blog?
Obviously, I couldn't ask him anything too detailed. An airport-cruising Jack Z doesn't have the time or the patience to outline the Mariners' ten-year plan to some middling blogger. I also couldn't ask him anything too commonplace. Something like, "What do you think of the Mariners chances this year?" A question like that would make us here at the Volcano look amateurish. Soft. Like we're talking out our butts.
No, if I was going to stop Jack Z in the airport and ask him something, it had to be perfect. Something quick yet poignant. Easy to answer but offering much. A question, or questions, Jack Z would reflect on later during his flight. Questions that, of course, would serve a Rainiers fanbase.
So while guzzling my extra large Frappuccino, I came up with the three questions I would ask the Mariniers' general manager.
1. What do you think of the remodeled Cheney Stadium?
2. What do you think of Tacoma? Do you have a favorite restaurant/bar?
3. Do you have any baseball news the Weekly Volcano can break that hasn't already been spouted by Shannon Drayer's twitter?
That's it. My three questions for Jack Z. I also thought about throwing in a, "When are you going to give us back our Mike Carp?" But I don't want to be selfish. Carp is doing fine in the big leagues. As much as we would love to see him back in a Rainiers' uniform, we know he is where he belongs. Sniff, sniff.
-The Rainiers (37-41) have finally cured their post-Ackley era jitters. The team has won four in a row, including a 12-2 trouncing over the Las Vegas 51s on Saturday.
-The Rainiers' recent success is due in no small part to Ackley's replacement, Kyle Seager. In five games with the Rainiers, Seager has hit .500 with an OPS of 1.137. We understand that his eighteen at-bats are a small sample size, but if he continues at even a fraction of this pace we might have the next team star on our hands. And while being the next team star is glamorous, it also means he is the butt of a lot of Rainiers Minute jokes. We're sorry in advance, Seager.
-Speaking of team leaders, how about Rainiers starting pitcher Chris Seddon? After a shaky start to the season, Seddon has calmed down. In his last four starts Seddon is 3-1 with an ERA of 2.81. On Saturday, the tall man from Cali tossed a season high eight innings. Good stuff, Seddon. If the Volcano was any lesser sort of rag, we might write something like, "Seddon has really settled." But we won't write that. It could tarnish our reputation.
-On Friday night the Rainiers will play the Fresno Grizzlies at home, which means the team will miss Skateboard Giveaway night at Cashman Field in Las Vegas. That's right, in the coolest promotion ever, the first 2,500 fans to attend Friday night's game will receive a free skateboard deck. It's a shame the Rainiers are out of town before Friday, because, you know, that Kyle Seager is a killer on the vert ramp. Rivals Tony Hawk, even. Or so we hear.
The Rainiers try to continue their recent hot streak tonight at 7:05 p.m. Be sure to pay careful attention to tonight's broadcast because we here at the Volcano have a suspicion that Mike Curto has recently immersed himself in rave culture. Curiosity killed the cat, Mike.
UPDATE: Earlier today, Ryan Divish of the News Tribune reported on his twitter that Mike Curto will call some of the Mariners game on Wednesday. According to Divish, Curto will do the play-by-play for the third, sixth and seventh innings.
We here at the Weekly Volcano would like to congratulate Mr. Curto. Whether it's a one-time thing or it turns into something bigger, this is one call-up that is certainly well deserved.
Also, we can't help but think this call-up is a tiny bit rave related. Let's just hope Rick Rizzs doesn't get wind of Curto's raving days down in the Las Vegas dessert. Otherwise we might have a rave-related nickname on our hands. Mike "the glowstick" Curto, or something like that.
Olympia's New Moon Cafe is known for its breakfasts, its squirt bottles of blackberry jam and the blank books on the tables that inspire writing, drawing and games of tic-tac-toe.
Wednesday, the cafe has something new on its menu - a monthly pay what you can day.
"For people who are making a choice between paying rent and paying for food or paying for medication and paying for food, going out to eat just isn't an option," says Dylan Elkhart, who's owned the restaurant since 2007. "It adds to the stress if all of your friends are going out to eat and you have to sit there and not eat or you have to miss out on that opportunity to spend time with your friends.
"I want to make going out for breakfast not be one of the stresses that people have to worry about for that day."
But the customers who'll get a chance to dine out affordably aren't the only ones who'll benefit from the event. Elkhart plans to donate the day's full profits to a different non-profit organization each month.
First up is Conchetta House (www.conchettahouse.org), which subsidizes housing for single parents working on completing their college degrees.
Conchetta House founder Sandy Kozlowski has long been a regular at New Moon. There's even a dish named after her on the menu.
"There are so many people who give by supporting local businesses," Elkhart says. "People are interconnected. Without that support, we wouldn't last very long."
The day will feature a special menu with a breakfast focus (the restaurant serves breakfast and lunch), and seating will be different, too, with diners sharing tables so that as many people as possible can be served.
"We are a very small restaurant," he says. "I'm a little worried that we are going to get overwhelmed. I don't want people to get all excited about it and then not be able to serve them either because we run out of food or because we run out of time."
He's hoping to get other restaurants to offer pay what you can days, too, whether they give away the profits or keep them.
"There are a lot of hungry people out there, and I know I can't feed them all - especially not in one day."
New Moon Cafe's Pay What You Can Day
Wednesday, June 29, and the last Wednesday of each month, 7 a.m.-2:30 pm. (last seating at 2:15 p.m.)
The other day in Oleanna rehearsal, I expressed my theory that David Mamet hates actors. "Mamet loves actors," our director countered, "the way Sondheim loves singers."
Some of you laughed really hard at that. You others aren't theater geeks, so why are you reading this?
My annoyance with Mamet stems from lines like, "I'm sorry...are: we: yes. Bound by...Look: before the other side goes home, all right? 'a term of art.' Because: that's right."
Not only is it grammatically illegal and tougher to memorize than a Tokyo phone number, it also includes not one but two emphases through italics. Doesn't that seem just a tad condescending? As an actor, do I really need Mamet spoon-feeding me every vocal inflection and hesitation? Can't I be trusted to bring some imagination to the table?
Of course, I'd be less annoyed if I didn't have to memorize over half of an 80-page script, for a role that weighs in at (I'm guessing) 4,000 words--most of which were seemingly chosen at random from a box of refrigerator poetry magnets. I can tell you from personal experience that the ability to memorize declines after age 25. I'm 43. In my undergrad days, I could memorize a page of dialogue every two minutes or so, including Shakespeare. Now I seem to find myself in one impossible monster after another. (Frost/Nixon, in which I had a relatively minor role, was a welcome respite.) My costar, Deya Ozburn, had months with the script; I was a late replacement, so I've had two weeks. We preview in ten days.
Just typing that made me tear up.
I will get this stuff memorized somehow, because I have to. The characters and interaction are working, and our director and stage manager are on point. I'm confident we'll have a perfectly respectable show. In the meantime, have pity on our overworked souls and overtaxed memories. I used to roll my eyes when people in theater greeting lines asked, "How did you memorize all those lines?" as if that were the hardest part of acting. Now I get it. At my age, it's pretty much the despicable part. How Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole did it drunk I will never understand.
Saturday at the Foss Waterway Seaport building Tacoma's increasingly-legendary rollerderby bad-asses, the Dockyard Derby Dames, celebrated the league's championship bout. The night's first bout, the Maurading Mollys vs. Femme Fianna, warmed things up for the big showdown, Hellbound Homewreckers vs. the Trampires - a grudge match battle for all the 2011 glory.
The Volcano's Steph DeRosa was on hand to track the action ...
BOUT 1: Maurading Mollys vs. Femme Fianna
This bout was about who would come in third place and who would end up in last place. Retiring from the Dockyard, some of my favorite Mollys and Fiannas said their goodbyes before the bout began, showing careless disregard to anyone who got in their way on this evening and adding nothing but tension to the bout. The retiring Dames had nothing left to lose, and it showed in their game.
I had to wait all the way until Jam 5 to see my girl, Misty Miyagi, hit the floor as jammer, but it was well worth the wait. By Jam 7 the score was Mollys (37) and Fiannas (12) - but that didn't matter. I knew everyone was skating with all the passion they could muster.
Jam 10 featured Skate Paulie Girl once again pulling a grand slam (plus one point) out of her ass, thus making her retirement from the Dockyard that much more bittersweet. Mass grand slams were achieved by rockstar rollergirls such as Hit O' Honey, Anita Hit Sum Won and Snickerbrutal - just to name a few.
Props to jammer Layla Lawdown of the Mollys for putting up a great fight against Fianna's jammer, Snickerbrutal in Jam 15 of the second half. Playing defense and being lead jammer? Crazy shit.
Heidi Flyss of the Mollys fell to injury during Jam 18 of the second half. After specifically crawling to the center to get off the track, officials called off the jam and Flyss was made to sit out three jams - something only done when a player is injured and stuck on the track.
Jam 17: FF- 79, MM-141
Final: FF-102, MM- 159
BOUT TWO: Hellbound Homewreckers vs. The Trampires
What started with a one-point win in the last few minutes of a previous bout between the Homewreckers and Trampires has been taken to a grueling level of friendly competition and playful animosity.
Dubbed the "grudge match" by many DYDD fans, Saturday's championship bout held all the excitement we'd been promised.
Too bad damn near everyone left the arena before the second bout even began.
Like clockwork the stands cleared of spectators, vendor booths packed up and left, and even the food tent run by Three Chicks Catering was gone by the beginning of the second bout. This amazes me, and to be quite honest, frustrates me just a bit. This lowers the importance of what was supposed to be (to me) the main event - the CHAMPIONSHIP bout!
Just as with every seemingly every other second bout in DYDD history, not only were the fans tired by the time it rolled around - so were the officials. You could tell because they stopped the game with an "official time out" every few jams in order to re-count the score. Yawn.
But with the bad comes the good - and this bout just reiterated why people shouldn't leave before the second bout.
From Jam 11 of the first half on, the score between Homewreckers and Trampires was neck-and-neck the entire bout.
Here's a simple score record:
Jam 11: HH-27, TT-28
Jam 15: HH-36, TT-40
Halftime: HH-65, TT-65
Jam 6: HH-73, TT-73
Jam 9: HH-73, TT-82
Jam 14 (Top): HH-87, TT-86
...And then... TWIGGIE SMALLS of the Hellbound Homewreckers takes over as lead jammer!
Twiggie's weaving, dodging, bouncing, and agility on skates is completely indescribable. She's resilient to anything in her way, and squeezes through the pack like she's been greased up at Jiffy Lube.
Jam 14: (Bottom) HH-96, TT-96
Even with amazing defensive blockers like Ivanna Pound U and speedy jammers like Betty Driddler, the Hellbound Homewreckers couldn't keep the points away from The Trampires.
Final: HH-107, TT-128
My thoughts after a season of attending DYDD bouts:
-Doug Mackey as a seat partner is pure distraction.
-Trampires need to put their numbers next to their pictures in the program.
-All vendors should stay the entire bout, although...
-Two bouts in one evening really is too long. (I'm old.)
-I love the announcers, but can't understand what they're saying.
-Liesl Diesel and Melanie Rushforth talked way too much about their vaginas this bout.
-I love being in the VIP section.
-Vitamin V is a miracle worker.
-I don't think I saw Rocky Hardplace skate this season.
-I almost cried when saying goodbye to Skate Paulie Girl (now retired).
OH! And speaking of Skate Paulie Girl - she went to blows with Maurading Molly's Vicious Divalicious at the end of the first bout! I wasn't too quick with my camera, but here's a brief interview with Skate Paulie Girl after the bout.
YWCA FUNDRAISING EVENT BROUGHT OUT THE BIG NAMES >>>
Sunday morning over 200 women (plus a few brave dudes) infiltrated Hotel Murano's Bicentennial Pavilion for the very first YWCA Glam that Gives fundraising event.
Created serendipitously through a random Facebook status update, Glam that Gives quickly became a hot-ticket and a low-cost way for community members to both shop and donate to the YWCA. One woman's Facebook plea began a whirlwind of idea boosting: Take my dress that I no longer need, and in return, make a donation to the YWCA.
(Glam That Gives preparation PHOTO CREDIT: Steph DeRosa)
Marketing Coordinator for the YWCA Kelly McDonald saw this as an opportunity to spearhead one helluva fundraiser. I, for one, was not going to miss it.
Emceed by TV Tacoma's Amanda Westbrooke, gorgeous local women strutted their stuff on the catwalk during a crowd-pleasing runway show that brought lots of hoots ‘n' hollers from everyone in attendance. Notable models in high fashion were Tacoma's Mayor, Marilyn Strickland, Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, and, of course, my good friend Melanie Manista-Rushforth of Rushforth Wheels.
(Melanie Manista-Rushforth of Rushforth Wheels PHOTO CREDIT: Steph DeRosa)
My favorite dress, and the one that meant the most to me as I watched it flow down the runway, was Bandito Betty's wedding dress. Gorgeous the day she got married, and gorgeous on whomever might own it next.
By receiving donations of over 200 gently used party dresses, 300 pairs of shoes and 100 purses, the Glam that Gives event raised over $18,000 to better the lives of battered women taken in by the YWCA. Shoes were sold for as little as $5 a pair while the average dress sold for somewhere between $25 and $75. One specialty dress sold for $300 - the most any item went for at Glam that Gives. A small silent auction and a brief "raise the paddle" exercise also contributed to the YWCA's monetary haul.
Rarely does Olympia's roller derby team, the Oly Rollers, host a double-header.
Even more rare, for any roller derby team, is hosting three bouts in one weekend.
Leave it to the Oly Rollers to take part in such a rarity.
This past Saturday, the Oly Rollers hosted the Kansas City Roller Warriors. The final score saw the Oly Cosa Nostra Donnas (the squad's national travel team) tally 169 against the Kansas City Roller Warriors' 88.
Sunday night my intent was to catch the Joint Base Lewis-McChord roller derby team, the Betty Brigade, battle with the Oly Rollers. But after a very long weekend of DYDD double headers and other community events, when it came to go time I made an audible and prescribed a dose of rest so as not to wear out this ol' bod of mine.
Instead, I arrived just in time to catch a final score of Oly Rollers Bella Donnas - 67, JBLM - 106. Dammit! I would've loved to seen that action. Stupid DeRosa non-stamina always ruins everything.
The bout I did manage to catch was the final bout of the weekend - the Oly Cosa Nostra Donnas vs. Atlanta Rollergirls.
I'll make a long story short: The Oly Rollers KICKED ASS.
WHY were there not more people at this bout? WHY on earth would you want to leave after the first bout? Haven't you been listening to my DYDD lessons? Never, ever, under any circumstance leave before the second bout!
But I digress. With the final score of the second bout coming in at an astounding Oly Cosa Nostra Donnas 298, Atlanta 11 (you read that right), Olympia's Skateland roller rink was filled with fast action and resilient skating. Jammers cared not who or what was in their path while blockers shoved their asses in the way of all Atlanta Rollergirls, forbidding them from getting any work done or advancing their team forward.
I've seen Rat City, Portland, and Texas (many times) compete on national levels and nothing even comes close to the skating ability harnessed within the Oly Rollers' Cosa Nostra Donnas. Simply unbelievable.
Oly Rollers are now #1 in the nation. Did you know that? Here, I'm going to put it in cyber-print: The Rollers are going to playoffs in Portland come September, and nationals in Denver come November. This is actually a no-brainer to call, but you would know that if you were at their bouts.
Are you going to let these local girls win national titles without the ability to say you've seen them kick ass live and in person? You'd be doing a great disservice to yourself. Don't let that happen.
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