LOVE THIS >>>

For the second week in a row Harlequin Productions has extended the run of its production of The Love List. The stage production will now end Oct. 29.

“We love this kind of success, because it’s good for both Harlequin and our community. Now even more people will be able to enjoy this great play and an evening of laughter,” said Scot Whitney, managing artistic director of Harlequin. “We can’t imagine a better end to what has been a great 20th season.”

Weekly Volcano theater critic Christian Carvejal wrote:

Originally, the next slot at Harlequin Productions was to be filled by my favorite play of all time, Cyrano de Bergerac. ("We are the Gascony cadets!") So imagine my disappointment when that show's lead, Kerry Skalsky, tore his Achilles tendon, forcing director Scot Whitney into panic mode. His solution? Revive one of his company's biggest hits, a Norm Foster farce called The Love List, in which Bill (Gerald Browning) is asked to enumerate the top 10 qualities of his ideal woman. Then that woman (Alison Monda) walks into his apartment. As Whitney's tag line advises, "Be careful what you wish for!" Foster is often called "Canada's most produced playwright," and he's certainly among its most prolific. Well, The Love List is one of his funniest efforts, boasting guaranteed laughs and, in this run, a promising cast. 

To read Christian Carvajal's review of The Love List, click here.

[Harlequin Productions, The Love List, through Oct. 29, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, $12-$31, 202 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.786.0151]

SCARY GOOD SHOW >>>

Although Peter Wolf Crier could be described as what it might sound like if a Midwestern Chris Martin and the Animal Collective were to get in a bar skirmish, the Minneapolis duo of vocalist/guitarist Peter Pisano and drummer Brian Moen owe as much to those two as they do Hot Chip and Radiohead. With a sound layered with electronics, keys and terse rhythmical tracks, coupled with Pisano's graceful songwriting, Peter Wolf Crier performs with a fiery quiet intensity that can be completely infectious.

On tour in support of its sophomore album, Garden of Arms, the duo has grabbed a bass player and will test the space of The Space in downtown Tacoma Sunday, Oct. 30.

Before the show, I highly recommend you spend some quality time sinking into Peter Wolf Crier's poetic analogies and layers between headphones.

[The Space, Halloween party with Peter Wolf Crier, Birds & Batteries and Goldfinch, Sunday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m., $8 at brownpapertickets, 729 Court C, Tacoma]

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment comes from the folks at GrittyCityFood in response to our Fall Restaurant Guide loaded with comfort food.

GrittyCityFood writes,

Amazing list! You should do this every season. Needs some homemade macaroni though. Maybe from Stink or The Rosewood Cafe.

Yes, somehow we missed STINK and the Rosewood. Pappi Swarner recently went nuts over STINK's classic mac 'n' cheese here.

TUESDAY, NOV. 25, 2011 >>>

1. French director Catherine Breillat takes Charles Perrault's late 17th-century Sleeping Beauty and turns it into a heady, witty exploration of a young girl becoming a young woman. She's considerably aided in this endeavor by Carla Besnaïnou, the young actress who occupies the bulk of the movie as the prepubescent Anastasia, a 19th-century tomboyish princess cursed to sleep for 100 years and wake up at 16. This French film with English subtitles screens at 2 and 6:30 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema as part of the Tacoma art house's Tuesday Film Series.

2. Sonia Nazario, named one of the most influential Latinos by Hispanic Business Magazine, has tackled issues such as hunger, drug addiction and immigration in her 20-year career as a news reporter. Nazario wrote the Pulitzer-prize winning national best-seller Enrique's Journey, which deals with the struggles faced by a Honduran boy. Nazario will tell all at 11:30 a.m. inside Tacoma Community College's Bldg. 11 Student Center.

3. Artist Colleen Carrigan will discuss her art cards editions and originals in a power point presentation at the Peninsula Art League at 7 p.m. inside the Cottesmore in Gig Harbor.

4. Author Lisa Wade, Ph.D, from Occidental College will lecture on "The Promise and Peril of Hook Up ‘Culture'" at 7 p.m. inside theScandinavian Cultural Center on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University.

5. Under the banner "Forward With Scotland's Past," Battlefield Band has been cranking out Scottish music since the sixties. The Scottish band mixes the old songs with new self-penned material and will perform them on a unique fusion of ancient and modern instruments at 8 p.m. inside Traditions Café in Olympia.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Freeloaders this week

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Beep, Beep: There be cars in the LeMay-America's Car Museum. (News Tribune)

That's A Lot Of Apples: The eight-day strike by Tacoma School District teachers racked up about $566,000 in costs ... so far. (News Tribune)

The Smelter That Keeps On Giving: The public is encouraged to review and comment on a draft cleanup plan for the 1,000-square-mile Tacoma Smelter Plume. (The Suburban Times)

Secret Burial: The body of ousted Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi was buried in an undisclosed location with his son Tuesday. Gadhafi's purported will is to be posted online. (CNN)

Take That McRib!: Burger King has a new burger. (Huffington Post)

They. Are. Iron. Lungs: Black Sabbath reunion looks promising. (Paste Magazine)

What!: Hear new Mazzy Star. (Pitchfork)

Sixty Years Of Cinema in 40 Seconds (because we just don't have time)

OLYMPIA GALLERY CELEBRATES 40 YEARS >>>

The latest show at Childhood's End Gallery seems to be geared toward gift buying - a prequel to the holiday season and a celebration of the gallery's 40^th year in Olympia. Everything is decorative, colorful and safe almost to the point of blandness, but very well done. It's a group show, and all of the artists display well-honed skills. But for the most part it is all too conventional for my taste and, in a couple of instances, too gimmicky.

Some of the more enjoyable pictures in the show are in a group of pastels by Marianne Partlow. They are flower pictures in rich tones of deep blue and purple with accents in orange and a soft yellow-green. The drawing is loose and free, and the colors are very nice.

I also particularly enjoyed some of Barbara Noonan's pastels, most especially "Small Town Bliss," which may well be the best work of art in the show.

To read Alec Clayton's full review, click here.

[Childhood's End Gallery, through Nov. 13, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, 222 Fourth Ave. W, Olympia, 360.943.3724]

ART AT WORK: TACOMA ARTS MONTH >>>

Broadway Center for the Performing Arts Executive Director David Fischer is so awesome the Tacoma Arts Commission created an award for him. 

Fischer will be the first recipient of the Arts Leadership award, which recognizes exceptional vision, dedication and leadership in the arts in Tacoma. 

The Arts Commish will skip riding the scary elevator up to Fischer's penthouse office in the Pantages Building to hand him the award. Instead, wisely, the Commish will slide Fischer's award into the AMOCAT Arts Awards ceremony Nov. 3 at the Museum of Glass - the official kickoff of the gargantuan feast of literary, visual and performing arts known as Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month.

Likely before the other award recipients - The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts and Stella Haioulani - receive their awards for Arts Patron, Community Outreach for an organization and artist, respectively, Fischer will approach the podium, set aside his slice of cake from Celebrity Cake Studio, and wait out the five minutes of continuous applause for saving the Broadway Center, creating Washington state's top arts education program, for bringing our diverse community together through focus groups and open forums and, of course, booking top entertainment - adding an edgy element here and there, thankfully.

Fischer is backed by a hard-working crew. He always gives kudos to his staff as the true talent of the organization. That said, Broadway Center Deputy Executive Director Benjii Bittle and the staff would claim the "Leadership" award carries equal merit inside the Broadway Center organization.

I caught up with Fischer as he waited in the Eugene, Ore. airport for his thoughts on how his journey through the arts has helped him at the Broadway Center.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: It's obvious from your public speaking engagements that your acting background taught you to be a dynamic, passionate speaker. How have those skills helped you as executive director of the Broadway Center?

DAVID FISCHER: Most folks think acting is about artifice ... but, it's really about mirroring reality with as much authenticity as possible. One of the reasons I came back to Tacoma to take the job at the Broadway Center was because Tacoma is one of the most authentic places on earth. So, I guess my training has helped me get as grounded in authenticity as Tacoma is.

VOLCANO:  What stuck with you most from those years as director of the Tacoma Little Theatre?

FISCHER: With out a doubt the most fun and exhausting job I've ever had! The mix of doing good theater with people whose hearts are so deeply invested in the work was a joy.

VOLCANO: What was it that drew you from your director position on the Pierce County Arts Commission and the Broadway Center to executive director of the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa?

FISCHER: I left TLT to go to the Pierce County Arts Commission, then to the Broadway Center (working for Eli Ashley) and then to Santa Rosa. Each of those moves was inspired by different reasons. After nearly five years at TLT, I was exhausted and needed to let someone else take the reigns.  Pierce County at that time was running a vibrant program, and it allowed me to learn new skills. The move to the Broadway Center was in response to an invitation by Eli to come join his team, and there, too, I was interested in learning more about running a performing arts center. The move back home to California came at the urging of a "head hunter" and at the prospect of being closer to my aging parents and siblings. The move back to Tacoma was in response to community activists asking for feedback about how to improve the performing arts sector. I'd finished my goals in Santa Rosa (securing naming rights from Wells Fargo and selling 25 acres of arts center land to a major hospital) and the thought of returning to Tacoma, its people and these gorgeous buildings as a case of perfect timing and a perfect offer.

VOLCANO:  Is there any signs of your Santa Rosa experience at the Broadway Center?

FISCHER: Yes, mostly in our programming strategies - trying to deeply reflect the community with diversity and accessibility. Also, the creation of our membership program that invites support from the community in exchange for great benefits. Finally, in building a strong team. In Tacoma, in particular, it is a privilege to work alongside the GREAT teammates we've assembled at the Broadway Center.

VOLCANO: If you could cast a trophy and put it on your mantle at home of   your proudest accomplishment so far at the Broadway Center, what would the engraving say?

FISCHER: "The Broadway Center ... a home for all of Tacoma's citizens."

VOLCANO: How the hell did you triple the audience at the Broadway Center?

FISCHER: We have a couple of slogans we stay focused on: "It's all about relationships" and "Know thy customer, and give 'em what they want."

VOLCANO: Who are the three performers/performance groups you are dying to have play the Broadway Center?

FISCHER: Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Bonnie Raitt and Yo-Yo Ma

VOLCANO: Who are the three most important people on your speed dial?

FISCHER: Just three? Melinda Lowe and Spencer Fischer, wife and son; Benjii Bittle, our deputy executive director and miracle-man; Lacey Leffler, our marketing director and miracle-woman; board leaders, donors, fellow arts executives and our 250,000 annual visitors.

VOLCANO: Now that's a smartphone.

[Museum of Glass, Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month Opening Party & AMOCAT Arts Awards, Thursday, Nov. 3, 6-8:30 p.m., free, 1801 Dock St., Tacoma]

LINK: Art at Work Month schedule

DEAR CITY'S JEFF STILLWELL BEGINS FIRST FEATURE FILM >>>

Did I go to Wendy's twice yesterday?

Comedian Jim Gaffigan jokes that lofty contemplations like the one above eventually creep into his brain during church services. If make that noble pilgrimage every Sunday, you probably from time to time can relate to Gaffigan's spiritual ennui.

Even as a youngster, Jeff Stillwell could sense restlessness in his fellow parishioners. "It was one of those churches where everyone seems pretty bored," he recalls. But while others passed the hour by mentally balancing their checkbooks or doodling on donation envelopes in the pews, Stillwell's imagination soared.

"I always wondered, ‘What is going on behind the scenes at this church? Why would people keep coming back to this place?'"

Out of these simple questions comes his first feature-length screenplay, Henryk (pronounced "hen-REEK"). Stillwell (also acting as director and co-producer with Alex Flenniken) describes the story as neo-noir. And Henryk includes an essential character from that gritty genre: the cop-as-antihero, in this case named Julian Grey. Set in Hoquiam, what begins as an investigation into the disappearance of his friend's fiancé unravels into a most unholy battle against the satanic cult lording over this seemingly quiet coastal town.

Barely a month into production, Stillwell has already put together an odd little teaser for the movie. It immediately draws you in by juxtaposing a golly-gee-whiz-sunshine Christian hymn with a man wearing a goat's head prowling around suburbia. Either it's autumn, or David Lynch's shadow has descended over the Northwest. I think both. 

Though he shares his musical talents as the one-man band Dear City, Olympia resident Stillwell has also dabbled as a film actor, earlier this year starring with Ashley Cozine (A Perfect Life) in the Tacoma short Dessert and Suicide. Now he feels ready for that quantum leap forward into calling the shots on a feature film set.

"I've really prepared for this project, Henryk, by being an actor ... just because I've spent so many hours on set, and I've figured out how it works and where time gets wasted and things like that," Stillwell says.

Keep tabs on the film's progress by visiting www.henrykmovie.weebly.com.

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment comes from Shiplosion in response to our feature story on this Saturday's Night of the Living Tribute Bands in Olympia at the Capital Theater.

Shiplosion writes,

Some of the best Halloween parties I've been to include cover bands. I think the best one was an entire night dedicated to the Misfits. There were like 6 bands, and they all had a few songs that they grabbed. So much fun. Also, Oingo Boingo had some good Halloween songs. I could stand to hear some punk remakes of Dead Man's Party or Weird Science.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26, 2011 >>>

1. Olympia producer/director Terrence Knight turned the streets of Olympia into the Bronx for his indie short film, The Prince of Arthur Avenue, which screens at 6 p.m. inside the Yelm Cinemas. The film features John Fantasia (The King of New York, Highlander) and well as many denizens of downtown Olympia. Admission is free.

2. Pour At Four wine bar in Tacoma's Proctor District will pour $10 tastes of the 2010 Mollydooker wines, including the Scooter, Two Left Feet, Boxer, Blue Eyed boy, Enchanted Path and Carnival of Love from 5:30-8 p.m.

3. Poet Carolyne Wright spent four years in Bangladesh collecting and translating the work of Bengali women poets and writers. She will read from her book Majestic Nights: Love Poems of Bengali Women at 6 p.m. inside Orca Books in Olympia.

4. The music of Canadian prog-rock gods Rush will reach the screen of The Grand Cinema at 7 p.m in a special showing of the concert film Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland. The film captures a show from Rush's "Time Machine" tour, during which the band played its album Moving Pictures in its entirety every night. That 1980 album contained the power trio's most well-known songs and perennial radio favorites including "Tom Sawyer," "Limelight" and the Grammy-nominated instrumental "YYZ." We know exactly where Publisher Pappi and his old-fart friends will be tonight.

5. There is no such thing as too many open jam nights. If you agree with that statement, then you probably know the Harmon Tap Room has launched a Wednesday Open Jam from 7-9 p.m. The Stadium District brewpub hosts spotlight local performers every week to back those willing to get up and jam.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Freebies this week