The Weekend List: The arts and culture guide to Seattle's good life

Drink with "Virginia Woolf." Say farewell to the Seattle Dance Project's founders. And get your fill of food books and taco trucks.
Crosscut archive image.

(l to r) Amy Hill, Aaron Blakely, Pamela Reed and R. Hamilton Wright in Seattle Repertory Theatre’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Drink with "Virginia Woolf." Say farewell to the Seattle Dance Project's founders. And get your fill of food books and taco trucks.

* Items are $15 or less

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Count me as one of the few people who’s never seen the Oscar-winning film or the Edward Albee play. So I went into the theater cold and three hours later, was emotionally wrought. This is devastatingly great theater, the story of a middle-aged married couple named Martha (Pamela Reed) and George ( R. Hamilton Wright) who relish the game of verbal evisceration.
And on this night, they do it all in
front of two kids, a younger
but not-entirely-naïve couple
named Honey (Amy Hill) and Nick (Aaron Blakely). All four performances are knock-outs but Reed’s — vicious, boozy, desperately seductive   – is wickedly fantastic. I could
watch her stab an ice cube or rip apart her husband again and again. The Rep always
serves fabulous play-themed drinks in the bar. You will need one at intermission and afterwards to recover. It’s that good.  

If you go: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Seattle Rep, Through May 18 ($12-$60). – F.D.

Ian Bell’s Brown Derby Series present “The Lost Boys”

Long before there was a Team Jacob or a Team Edward, I was a passionate devotee of The Lost Boys. (Damn, that Jami Gertz was so lucky.) Here’s a chance to relive the ‘80s and surf to the Santa Cruz boardwalk and hang with the cool blood-sucking crowd through a staged reading of this classic film. Here’s hoping whoever plays the Corey Feldman character dons that masterful mullet. And this just in: First 40 people get Lost Boys-style sunglasses just like Jason Patric wore!

If you go: Ian Bell’s Brown Derby Series, Re-Bar, May 1-3 ($20). — F.D.

* Fe Fi Fo Fums and Unnatural Helpers

KEXP’s Sonic Reducer, the excellent hard/punk/noise rock show on Saturday nights, is throwing a benefit show for the Betsy Hansen Cancer Fund at the Highline this week, and they have two particularly choice garage rock bands that stand out among the night’s sizable lineup. Fe Fi Fo Fums, the mostly-retired black knights of Seattle lo-fi, are playing a special reunion show. And Unnatural Helpers, effortless masters of the two-minute punk song, are opening. It's a concert to support Hansen, who co-owns the awesome Radar hair salon and record store in SoDo.

If you go:  Fe Fi Fo Fums and Unnatural Helpers, The Highline, May 1 ($8). 21+. – J.S.H.

Seattle Dance Project

Local choreographers Wade Madsen, Amy O’Neal and Iyun Ashani Harrison present work about identity, intimacy and desire for the company's seventh season. But why I’m going is to say farewell to dancers-dance leaders Timothy Lynch and Alexandra Dickson, who are moving to Ohio. Lynch co-founded SDP, which celebrates the craft and athleticism of mature dancers. He and his wife Dickson have helped build this unique company into one more testament of Seattle's thriving dance scene. We’ve been lucky to have them for all these years.  

If you go: Seattle Dance Project, May 2-4, Broadway Performance Hall, ($20-$25). – F.D.

Grynch & Dave B

Seattle’s own Dave B is opening for fellow Seattle rapper Grynch’s album release this week. I hate to pull this party foul, but I’m always a little more excited about Dave. He’s a quintessentially modern rapper, mixing social media metaphors into his lyrics (e.g. “Now we alone, glued to our devices”) even when he’s talking dirty. But he’s also a student of the legends, shouting out to the likes of Kanye and Outkast. His flow, mercurial and urgent, is surely influenced by both musicians. Anyone who goes can pat themselves on the back for supporting several key fixtures of the expanding Seattle rap scene.

If you go:  Grynch’s “Street Lights” album release party with Dave B, Jake One and The Bar, The Crocodile, May 2 ($12). 21+. – J.S.H.

* Friends of the Library Cookbook Sale

Two days to peruse donated used cookbooks – some priced at $2 -- and expand your own collection while benefitting the Seattle Public Library system. And Delancey, a lovely pizza parlor, has offered its space as the site of this year’s Friends of the Library Cookbook sale. So while you’re up in this cute sub-neighborhood of Ballard, I recommend having brunch at the Fat Hen, or hanging around for a cocktail at Essex.

If you go: Friends of the Library Cookbook Sale, Delancey, May 3 and 4. (Free admission) — N.C.

* Taco Libre Showdown

Like all reasonable humans, I love tacos. However, I strongly hold the belief that they are best — and cheap! — from a truck, and that food trucks that serve tacos are the very best kind. At this incarnation of Seattle’s mobile food rodeo, 25 trucks gather to compete for the best taco (or taco-inspired creation) and serve up their specialities, from lamb tacos to pulled pork and apple gastrique taco crepes. Eat and then wander around, surrounded by live mariachi and the camaraderie that can only be brought on by a binding appreciation for the wonderful taco. It’s taking place Saturday evening in the International District and Sunday in Fremont.

If you go: Taco Libre Showdown, May 3 in the International District and May 4 in Fremont. (Free) — N.C.

The Glitch Mob

Electronic trio Glitch Mob are very, well … glitchy. They’re known for their high-energy remixes of popular artists — check out their versions of Jack White’s “Seven Nation Army” and TV on the Radio’s “Red Dress” — as well as for their original work. The Mob is touring behind “Love Death Immortality,” their first album of original material in four years. This show will be loud and mind-bending; be warned or be excited, depending on your temperament. Saturday’s show is already sold out so act fast for Sunday. 

If you go:  The Glitch MobShowbox SoDo, May 4 ($21.50). all ages. — J.S.H.

* Deborah Madison

Deborah Madison is on a short-list of cooks we can credit with catapulting vegetarian cooking into the mainstream. And she’s done so in the best possible way: by celebrating what vegetarians have to work with, which is a lot of great produce, grains and unique sauces and dressings to bring it all together. My favorite Madison work is Vegetable Literacy (which is not only beautiful to behold but a great informational guide to food families). But the chef-author will be here in support of her revised New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The event is free, but registration is recommended. If you can’t make it, there are other classy (but spendy) events at the Corson building and the Palace Kitchen on May 7 and 8.

If you go: Deborah Madison, The Book Larder, May 7. (Free) — N.C.

  

Please support independent local news for all.

We rely on donations from readers like you to sustain Crosscut's in-depth reporting on issues critical to the PNW.

Donate

About the Authors & Contributors

default profile image

Joseph Sutton-Holcomb

Joseph is a full-time landscaper, part-time journalist and full time culture junkie discovering the hidden joys of life as a UW graduate in Seattle. When not taking care of plants or writing, he spends his time in the company of good friends enjoying film, music and the great outdoors.