ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>

At this point it goes without saying. If you're looking for coverage of local arts in Tacoma, Olympia, and all points in between, the Weekly Volcano is THE place to find it. Our goal is to consistently provide the best local arts coverage possible to our fantastic readers -- always be on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.

Here's a look at the Volcano arts coverage waiting for you this week in print and online.

Q&A INTERVIEW: JOAN RIVERS

Since her days on The Tonight Show in the 1970s, Joan Rivers has been a comedic icon. Now 78, Rivers, as captured in Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (last year's film documentary about her life) seems to fear just one thing: a blank calendar. Co-host of E! Entertainment TV's Fashion Police, she also stars with her daughter, Melissa, on their reality show Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? - which has been renewed for its second season on WE network starting in January. When not lambasting celebs for their sartorial mishaps or videotaping Melissa in the shower, Rivers travels the country performing stand-up. Ahead of her gig Nov. 4 at the Pantages, Rivers dished with the Weekly Volcano.... - Heather Robinson

Q&A INTERVIEW: MARGARET CHO

As the cliché goes, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." And such is the case with Margaret Cho, who somehow parlayed the poignant failures of her early career - namely, the cancellation of '90s sitcom All American Girl, a gig that, literally, almost killed her - into one of the most successful standup careers of the last decade.

Friday night, Cho will bring her raunchy comedic stylings to Grit City for the first time as she headlines Broadway Center's Pantages Theater. We caught up with her to mark the occasion.

But for reasons that will soon become apparent, we must add the disclaimer that the Volcano has ABSOLUTELY no insider knowledge of who any of this year's presidential candidates are sleeping with.

Or to put it more bluntly, please don't sue us, Rick Perry. ... -- Ernest A. Jasmin

VISUAL EDGE: LARGE GROUP SHOW AT CHILDHOOD'S END GALLERY

(Beth Brooks' "Market Day": It's so Degas. Courtesy photo)

The first works I noticed were a group of etched copper wall pieces by Shelly Carr. Each consists of square and rectangular copper plates etched with drawings (or perhaps photographs that have been etched into the surface) of things like street signs, random words, parts of buildings and bicycles put together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The arrangement of the pieces and subtle variations in color and texture are visually pleasing, but the imagery seems superfluous. When the overall affect is an abstract arrangement of colors, shapes and textures that is pleasing to the eye, which these are, the imposition of recognizable imagery becomes a distracting gimmick. These pieces work best when seen from enough distance to appreciate the overall patterns. ... -- Alec Clayton

THEATER: THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

Despite three good actors and a director I respect, signs augured trouble as the metaphorical curtain rose on Theater Artists Olympia's co-production (with the Outfit Theatre Project) of The Hound of the Baskervilles in TAO's quirky new digs, the Eagles Ballroom basement.

I relaxed within seconds, I'm happy to report, because Baskervilles is instantly funny and stays that way. It owes as much to Monty Python's Flying Circus as it does to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you've seen Shakespeare Abridged or, for that matter, Airplane, you have a feel for its tone: linear narrative cohesion has been sacrificed gleefully at the altar of one goofy joke after another. It even follows the Shakespeare Abridged model to the extent of restaging previous scenes in fast-forward, probably in the hope that this will help us make sense of the plot. It almost does. ... -- Christian Carvajal

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