FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2010 >>>

1. Olympia Spring Arts Walk - a celebration of Earth and art - is proof Oly knows how to have a good time. It's one huge block party. It's a great place to bring the kids during the day and then hit the bars at night. All of downtown Olympia is transformed into a giant smorgasbord of food, fun, art and music for an entire weekend, more specifically this weekend - April 23-24. As part of Art Walk artist Skie Bender will hold a 5 p.m. reception for her new paintings inspired by the Oly Roller Derby Girls at King of Olympia at 206 Fourth Ave. W. For more Art Walk best bets, click here.

2. The Grand Cinema will screen the Israeli film Ajami, one of the five Oscar nominees for best foreign-language film, at 3:15, 6 and 8:45 p.m.

3. Being earnest is important. Just ask Oscar Wilde. Of course, after debuting The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895, Wilde would never write again. Damn Marquess of Queensberry! According to Wikipedia, the dastardly Queensberry attempted to throw vegetables at Wilde on opening night. Though he failed, it was just the beginning of the real-life drama that would end Wilde's career. Anyway, Paradise Theatre stages the play at 8 p.m. The Gig Harbor theater company will be checking for vegetables at the door.

4. The BareFoot Collective presents MOBILIZE, an evening of concert dance at 8 p.m. inside the Jan Collum Ballroom at the Merlino Arts Center. Co-Directors Carrie Goodnight M.F.A. and Amanda Herman M.F.A. will be presenting four new works as well as showcasing the talents of choreographers Ellie Klopp and Nicole Sasala of The Asterisk Project.  

5. The über talented singer-songwriter Camille Bloom holds a sneaky peek for her latest EP, Sneak, at 8 p.m. inside the Mandolin Café.

(6.) OK, we need to sneak one more in: Shakespeare-a-thon at the Speakeasy Arts Cooperative. We have seen Shakespeare in the Parking Lot practice twice for the event. It looks like a good one.

LINK: More Arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: New movies open today

THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010 >>>

1. King's Books hosts a special Murder Mystery edition of Scrabble rousers of all ages from 6:30-9 p.m. Entrance fee is $10 per person with proceeds directly benefit the Tacoma Community House Student Scholarship Fund, which assists students as they transfer from TCH to community college.

2. Beginning at 5 p.m. Inside the Crown Bar on Sixth Avenue bartender Dino will serve a martini made with fresh local rhubarb and a Tacoma-made IPA called Jack Rabbit, Chef Charlie McManus will grill up his Walla Walla Thundering Hooves 100 percent organic grass-fed beef burger, and local artist Susie Russell Hall will be showing her hummingbird painting in the lobby. There will also be trivia contest and prizes including two seats to a Primo Grill cooking class. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Tahoma Audubon Society and their mission of Connecting People to Nature.

3. Tacoma Little Theatre's final performance of Samuel Beckett's Endgame goes down at 7:30 p.m.

4. Billy Roy Danger & The Rectifiers perform their rockin' blues at 7:30 p.m. inside the Happy Days Casino in Lakewood.

5. Hell's Kitchen celebrates Earth Day with The Keeper, Vallor, Cold Cold Ground, Voxxy Vallejo, and 4th Dimensional Nightmare at 8 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2010 >>>

1. OK, purists: It's not the Grateful Dead. But guess what? You're never, ever going to see the Dead live again. And, musically speaking, a re-creation of one of the band's historic shows just may have more potential than a performance by a Jerry-less offshoot (or the Boys themselves, on off nights). Besides, the Dark Star Orchestra offers more than note-for-note mimicry - it's a whole concert experience, minus the parking-lot cops and the bathroom lines at 7 p.m. inside the Capitol Theater.

2. The World Folk Art Festival continues at the Washington State History Museum featuring master folk artists teaching their crafts and talking about their cultures. Learn traditional Croatian dances, dip Mexican wax flowers, try Ukrainian wheat and much more from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. If you've ever acted, directed or "teched" for a play (or even wanted to do any of those things), Tacoma Little Theatre's production of Noises Off is the play to see. In three acts that seem to take far less time than their two hours, the audience watches as the cast attempts to rehearse and perform the play Nothing On. "Attempts" is the key word, you see, not because the cast isn't talented or rehearsed - but because the real play, Noises Off, is a farce about the theater. It's a play about putting on a play. The Sunday show hits the stage at 2 p.m. Read our full review here.

4. Chopstix, A Dueling Piano Bar on Sixth Avenue hosts its Family Night at 5 p.m.

5. Today's show at the Spar will be the last Swampy Draws live performance "for a while." The band plans to focus on other aspects of their art over the coming months, specifically a TV pilot they're working on with Tacoma's bearded hero, Justin Peterson - the same man that designed Swampy Draws' one-of-a-kind, Southern front porch stage setup. Also on the bill is The Bluebillies featuring Bob Hill from The Swiss. The free show begins at 7 p.m.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010 >>>

1. Deanna Riley will teach Hula Hoop for dance, meditation and low-impact exercise at 6:30 p.m. inside the Speakeasy Arts Cooperative.

2. No one pisses more freely on the futility of existence than Samuel Beckett, embracing and mocking the confines of reality. The characters particularly of Endgame - hitting the Tacoma Little Theatre stage at 7:30 p.m. - are defined by their bleak worldviews and confined environments and yet can forget their plights instantaneously.

3. The Art Kitchen of Olympia presents an all-ages Open Mic Night at 8 p.m. The performances will feature the enthusiastic poetry of prize-winning poet Casey Fuller, as well as the distinctive and compelling music of guitarist Eleanor Murray.

4. Sixth Annual City of Destiny Faith and Film Series - entitled "Welcoming the Stranger" - explores themes of hospitality and community. The series begins with a screening of To Kill a Mockingbird with a reception and lecture by Whitworth Professor of film and literature Leonard Oakland at 5:30 pm inside The Grand Cinema.

5. Redneck, Algiers, Lavas Magmas, and Marlo Eggplant perform at 9 p.m. inside Le Voyeur Café and Lounge.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

SHAKESPEARE IN THE SPEAKEASY >>>

Before he becomes king, Prince Hal gives his dear old dad King Henry IV a few headaches. He drinks, throws down and hangs out with all manner of slatterns and washerwomen. He cavorts with Falstaff, a disreputable knight, while numerous parties plot against his father, the titular king. Eventually, he realizes the need to prove himself as heir to the throne, and the challenge to his father provides the perfect foil.

Watching Tacoma's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot troupe rehearse Henry IV Part 1, Act 4, Scenes 1 and 2 at the Speakeasy Arts Cooperative today, I wonder if the honor-crazy Hotspur (son and heir of the Earl of Northumberland and the nephew of the Earl of Worcester) might not steal the show. Prince Hal is the true focus and hero of the drama, which is considered Shakespeare's greatest history play, supposedly written in 1591 and 1592 along with Henry V and Henry VI. However watching the fiery female redhead perform the role of Hotspur, performing it as if it was opening night, the others, including Prince Hal, better step it up. She had her game face on, often screaming at her mistakes as if part of the play.

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot was rehearsing for their upcoming Shakespeare-a-thon to be held April 23-24 at the Speakeasy. More than 50 actors and Shakespeare enthusiasts will recreate the three King Henry and two King Richard plays in "Shakespeare Unplugged" staged readings and performances.

Here is the schedule:

Friday, April 23 (the first 12 hours - the first four plays)

6:30 p.m.: Richard II

8:30 p.m.: Henry IV Parts 1 and 2

11:00 p.m.: Henry V 

Saturday, April 24 (the final 12 hours - the final four plays

3 p.m.: Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3

8 p.m.: Richard III

Saturday, the staged reading of Henry VI at 3 p.m. and the final show of the series, Richard III, will both be presented for free. Otherwise, adult tickets are $10 for each play. All plays will be free for those 18 and younger.

A "meal ticket," which will include the three Friday evening shows and an Elizabethan inspired dinner, is $32 or $45 for two. Meal ticket reservations must be made before April 19.

Call 253.318.5182 for more information and tickets.

And keep your eye on that redhead.

FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2010 >>>

1. The Museum of Glass presents an exclusive screening of Trimpin: The Sound of Invention, a film created by Peter Esmonde about Timpin, a renowned artist, inventor, composer, engineer and recipient of the MacArthur Genus Award, at 6 p.m. A reception will follow.

2. The Hub restaurant and bar in Tacoma's Stadium District celebrates its second anniversary with live music from 6-9 p.m., DJ sets at 10 p.m. and happy hour prices all night long.

3. The University of Puget Sound's Jacobsen: Schumann Centennial concert will celebrate Robert Schumann's 200^th birthday, as well as pay tribute to cellist Cordelia Wikarski-Miedel who is retiring as Northwest Artist in Residence at UPS. The program - four works by German composers at 7:30 p.m. inside Schneebeck Concert Hall - includes Adagio and Allegro for Cello and Piano Op.70
.

4. If you've ever acted, directed or "teched" for a play (or even wanted to do any of those things), Tacoma Little Theatre's production of Noises Off is the play to see. In three acts, the audience watches as the cast attempts to rehearse and perform the play Nothing On. "Attempts" is the key word, you see, not because the cast isn't talented or rehearsed - but because the real play, Noises Off, is a farce about the theater. It's a play about putting on a play. And it hits the TLT stage at 7:30 p.m.

5. The Fucking Eagles play The Swiss at 9:30 p.m.

LINK: New movies open today including Date Night

WHEN ONE PLAY IS NOT ENOUGH >>>

Tacoma Little Theatre - the production house Weekly Volcano readers voted "best local Theater" last year - has two plays running on its stage. And we reviewed both.

Picture perfect: Noises Off, a play about a play, nails the ridiculousness of the theatrical world - review by Joann Varnell

Shuffling, difficultly, toward death - and a little laughter: Tacoma Little Theatre's Endgame is worth the challenge - review by Joe Izenman

LINK: More theater in the South Sound

FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2010 >>>

1. Photos of refuse left behind by visitors in museum spaces examine ideas about territory, propriety, trespassing and adaptation in Jennifer Peters and Ellen Ito's exhibit Trace Evidence opening today at The Telephone Room Gallery. The opening reception is from 6-9 p.m.

2. Alex Stisser has been working in glass since 1993 and has been a lead gaffer on the Museum of Glass Hot Shop Team since 2002. Stisser will showcase his personal design series and mastery of traditional techniques infused with his unique contemporary voice from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside MOG's Hot Shop. It's Hot Lunch Friday so if you didn't put your lunch order in by Wednesday you're watching everyone else chow down on Gallucci's Catering.

3. Capital Playhouse will stage Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer-prize winning Broadway musical Rent at 7:30 p.m.

4. The Fun Police, Big Wheel Stunt Show, The Brotherhood of the Black Squirrel and Ten Miles of Bad Road perform a benefit show for Bob's Java Jive at 8 p.m. Keep Bob and Lylabelle Radernich's little coffee pot of wackiness alive. The promoters As You Are entertainment asks for minimum donation of $3. 

5. Ludicra, Pierced Arrows, and Lullabye Arkestra play an all-ages show at 8:30 p.m. inside the Capitol Theater in Olympia.

BONUS: The Frost Park Chalk-Off-Challenge begins today at noon.

THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010 (NO JOKE) >>>

1. The Olympia Farmers Market opens its season today with a regular run Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

2. Jessica Valenti, the celebrated advocate for women's rights and founder of the Web site Feministing.com, will give the keynote address for the 2010 Take Back the Night event at 6 p.m. inside the Wheelock Student Center's Rasmussen Rotunda at the University of Puget Sound.

3. Tacoma Little Theatre offers a "pay-what-you-can" performance of Michael Frayn's farce Noises Off at 7 p.m.

4. Legendary composer Philip Glass performs at 7:30 p.m. inside the Washington Center in Olympia.  Expect to be floored.

5. Sax Restaurant & Lounge launches its new Thursday techno/dubstep/dance night hosted by Black Ice and Vinyl Tribe beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2010 >>>

1. At 9 a.m., the City of Tacoma in partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation, will host a ribbon cutting celebration on the Murray Morgan Bridge to commemorate the completion of the re-cabling work and the turnback agreement for said bridge. Most likely there's will be cupcakes, too.

2. Peterson Toscano, playwright, actor, comedian, and gay activist, will be performing his play, Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible, at 7 p.m. inside the Schneebeck Concert Hall at the University of Puget Sound. The one-person play explores the lives of transgender individuals using stories from the Hebrew and Christian scriptures in a controversial performance that has been described as funny, moving, and insightful by audiences on three continents.

3. Kim Archer performs an all-ages show at 7 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge.

4. The Slow Poisoner, Right On John and Mosquito Bandito play an 8 p.m. show at Bob's Java Jive.

5. The Urban Art Festival hosts a fundraising show featuring Shotgun Kitchen, Sugar Beats and Voxxy Vallejo at 9 p.m. inside Hell's Kitchen.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound