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.

FEATURE: LE NOIR BIZARRE

Julia Jones may have found Tacoma's Halloween Pulse. She's the mind behind Le Noir Bizarre, a three-floor, dark holiday extravaganza happening Sunday, Oct. 30 at Sanford and Son Antiques. Jones has a couple dozen craftspeople, performers and assorted weirdoes lined up for this romanced/goth/steampunk celebration, and promises there will be plenty of skulls, goggles, lace, fire, demons, devils and tons of stuff made from pieces of animals and old clocks.  Recognize.

Contrary to my assumption, Le Noir Bizarre does not translate as "the new weird." It means "The Dark Market," which only describes about half of what Jones has lined up. As far as the dark market goes, Jones runs her own - all year long  - from Sanford and Son, called A Little Touch of Magick. Whatever she sells, and whatever she has in store for Halloween Eve, Tacoma seems to be hungry for it. ... --  Paul Schrag

THEATER: DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE AT TACOMA LITTLE THEATRE

Jeffrey Hatcher's stage adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde feels ripe with potential ...

Potential that never quite breaks free in the Tacoma Little Theatre staging.
Most distinctive (and when re-adapting a long-recognized and oft-staged work like Jekyll & Hyde, it pays to be distinctive) is the portrayal of Hyde. Rather than cast a single actor as Dr. Jekyll's darker half, Tacoma Little Theatre employs four actors (each also playing an assortment of supporting roles) donning the cape and hat of Hyde at various intervals. The flip-flopping is seemingly reliant on which actors need to be on stage for other purposes.

There is opportunity here. Opportunity for four different actors to play four different Hydes. Four different facets of the many layers of darkness that afflict mankind. Because at its core, Jekyll & Hyde is not a story about light and dark, or good and evil. It is about gray and dark. Human and evil. ... -- Joe Izenman

THEATER: THE FANTASTICKS AT PLU

Newfangled technology at PLU's Eastvold Studio Theater serves as an invisible backdrop for the remarkably simple and sparse staging that makes up The Fantasticks. The production took me some time to get into, in part because of my vague but persistent expectation of what the show (which I had never seen or listened to previously) would be. But this show grows on you, and by the end I was won over.

Vocal performances are often a highlight at PLU, known for the quality of its choral program. But the real standout of the show is the silent Mute, serving up pre-show antics and various utility roles. Angie Tennant, also the choreographer, picks up on an array of small mannerisms giving her Mute a genuine-feeling vaudevillian demeanor.

Fellow highlights include Frank Roberts as the theatrical death expert Mortimer, and Ali Rose Schultz as a girl absolutely convinced of her destiny as a romantic fairytale lead. ... -- Joe Izenman

VISUAL EDGE: BEYOND CRAYONS & FINGER PAINTING 2.0

("The Hidden:" An acrylic painting by 18-year-old Rebekah Slusher)

Beyond Crayons & Finger Painting 2.0, the second annual art project at B2 Fine Art, features 75 works of art from Africa, Canada, China and the United States, all created by youth ages seven to 19. The overall inventiveness and technical quality of the work puts to shame work I've seen in student art exhibits at area colleges.

All of the American artists in the show hail from Western Washington, most from Tacoma and a handful from Seattle and Bellingham. The works from Africa come from George, South Africa, and because of some kind of conflict in George there were no identifying wall labels on any of the African art. Gallery owner Gary Boone said they expect to remedy that soon.

Boone pointed out an interesting difference between the art from South Africa and that from China. The Chinese art is all up-beat, colorful and joyful in outlook. Most of it is Animé influenced. There is no regional look to it. No recognizable Chinese people or culture or architecture. ... -- Alec Clayton

PLUS: Comprehensive Arts and Entertainment Calendar

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