FRIDAY, APRIL 19 2013 >>>

1. Before Tacoma's semi-longstanding, all-ages venue The Redroom closes its door for good April 27, Bleak Outlook Volume 1 will blow open doors and minds this weekend with a three-day fest that includes two kickin' shows at The Redroom and one at Fifth Dimension. It all begins at 7 p.m. when Transient, Sidetracked, Same Sex Dictator, Mahnhammer, Hirsute Corpse and Carrion Cathartid rock The Redroom.

2. At 7 p.m., the last day of the Greek & Roman Mythology exhibit at Tacoma Community College, Tacoma Poet Laureate Josie Emmons Turner, former TPL Tammy Robacker, Puget Sound Poetry Connection founder Connie Walle and a who's who of regional poets will add a poet's voice to the strong art show depicting strength of character, purpose and ideology to ancient myths by contemporary South Sound artists.

3. Crystal Mountain will hold an amateur film night at 7 p.m. inside the Snorting Elk Cellar. Visitors are encouraged to bring their short ski/snowboard films that are no longer than four minutes.

4. A cozy little romantic drama with touches of comedy, The Rainmaker still speaks to audiences after more than a half-century. Originating as a television play in 1953, Richard Nash's best-known work hit Broadway in 1954 and Hollywood two years later. There's even a musical version (110 in the Shade, which seemed like a good idea in 1963). Set on a Western cattle ranch during a drought, The Rainmaker remains a captive to its own pre-feminist, quaint, and rigidly defined-role times, when men roamed the range rounding up cattle and looking for romance (generally not at the same time), while women stayed home and did wifely things, such as cooking, cleaning, and burying themselves under the weight of society's expectations. See it all unfold at 8 p.m. when Lakewood Playhouse opens its version of the story for a run through May 12.

5. Drag show troupe New Queens on the Block has produced shows at the Urban Onion since September, dropping a themed show on Olympia every third Friday of the month. Tonight at 9 p.m., the troupe celebrates fashion and the "runway" at the Onion. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on New Queens on the Block.

LINK: Friday, April 19 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area