crosscut.com : Arts / Entertainment

Chamber music: the Lakeside formula

Crosscut — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

A recent concert shows both the rewards and the pitfalls of Seattle Chamber Music Festival's philosophy of programming with mix-and-match musicians from the summer circuit.

The founder of ArtsJournal talks about arts and new media

Crosscut — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Seattle journalist Douglas McLennan is a leading national figure in Web journalism. Here he talks about his venture, the imperiled state of newspaper arts coverage, and why Seattle and Portland orchestras are not much noticed across the nation.

Review: Faith and mental illness on Seattle's streets

Crosscut — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:33:01 PDT

Craig Rennebohm provides a refreshing look at compassion and caring for Seattle's outcasts in Souls in the Hands of a Tender God: Stories of the Search for Home and Healing on the Streets (Beacon Press, 2008 194 pages).

This Streetcar rides a little too smoothly

Crosscut — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:00:01 PDT

Director Sheila Daniels' debut at Intiman tackles a play so vivid in our memories that it is hard to make it new, or to bring back what once made it so incendiary.

Jerry Springer's sea of troubles

Crosscut — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:00:01 PDT

Guests of today's show include Hamlet and Fortinbras.

Seattle Symphony diversifies the product line

Crosscut — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:00:01 PDT

The symphony embarks on some new, non-traditional programming directions as it faces a decline in season ticket buyers and tight finances. So far, it seems to be working.

A design-savvy city defined

Crosscut — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

A report lays out a road map, backed by polling that revealed surprising attitudes of Seattleites and Portlanders about their hometown architecture.

Sausage Links, mayor-about-town edition

Crosscut — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:49:01 PDT

Oh, Greg. You are trying to break our hearts! Just when we vilify you for airballing the Sonics all the way to OKC for a cool $45 million — you show you're a real Mayor-about-town houses and plastic bag taxes.

For better or worse, everybody's talking about Mayor Nickels' proposals today. Erica C. Barnett at The Stranger says she spotted a "Plastic Monster" at last night's public-comment meeting about the proposed plastic bag tax, while Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat warns if we don't choose paper the plastic bag police will get us. Meanwhile, the folks at Sound Politics rail against Nickels for the new town house plan, which they argue will regulate affordable housing "out of existence." ...

Gift shops aren't just for gifts anymore

Crosscut — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

When looking for the next great addition to your wardrobe, try a museum store.

A-Rod as the new Katie Holmes

Crosscut — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:35:01 PDT

Seattleites like to believe there's something more important than money. Which is why when Alex Rodriguez left the Seattle Mariners for the Texas Rangers and a $252 million contract, people were pissed. A-Rod had said he wouldn't sign just for money, but in the end, that's what he did: departed for a dead-end team that paid him more than he was worth — and more than they could afford. You may remember what Seattle fans did when he returned to Safeco Field in 2001 to compete against his old mates: The fans spewed venom, booed, and dumped baskets of play-money from the upper decks. It was a rare show of resentment from live-and-let-live Seattle. Our egos were bruised and illusions shattered because A-Rod could be bought.

What she's wearing: the little black dress

Crosscut — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:12:01 PDT

I wore this dress for a lovely Father's Day celebration. In the morning, we went to the International District and had yummy dim sum at Sun Ya. My daughter and I also attended her friend's dance performance that evening (Spectrum Dance Theater's All School Demonstration at the MOHAI)

Finally, some good Seattle sports news

Crosscut — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:44:01 PDT

When I edited Seattle Weekly, I issued a ban on soccer coverage. Why edit a newspaper when you can't, very occasionally, act like a tin-pot dictator and shape it to your perverse desires? I left the paper two years ago but hoped the new editor would realize my no-soccer edict was a lifetime ban. Apparently not. There's a new dictator in town, and the moratorium has been lifted. The editor himself has written a column about soccer in Seattle. The good news: He's not buying the hype that it's the next big thing.

As the Sonics leave town, it may help the arts

Crosscut — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:17:01 PDT

In all the reporting about the Sonics decision, we tend to overlook the intense clamoring over a taxing source, the so-called "stadium taxes," that bedevils the politics. A lot of groups want to lay claim to those taxes, which are supposed to go away after the Kingdome, Safeco Field, and Qwest Field are paid off, but are really catnip to politicians for their pet causes. The taxes have two attractions: they are not really an "increase" if you just extend their life, and they fall mostly on visitors, who don't vote locally.

One of the main supplicants is the arts. Thereby hangs an interesting story.

Sausage Links, sonic-bust edition

Crosscut — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:07:01 PDT

Let the mourning begin about the Seattle SuperGoneics. Everyone's in tears. That is, except the editorial board at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. They think the settlement was a good deal. Hmmm. Are you kidding me? Heck, even the basketball gods thundered their disapproval throughout the night. ...

What she's wearing: Rock 'n roll, baby!

Crosscut — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:32:01 PDT

OK, so my personal version of a rock 'n' roll outfit is lame, I know. I woke up feeling like raging against the machine (which for me is summer mommy life — it takes a few days to adjust to kids 24/7). Of course the best I could muster with this outfit is being a "tad bit uncomplimentary" against the machine.

Oklahoma is OK: They have lots of Dale Chihuly glass!

Crosscut — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:00:01 PDT

And they even have their own Underground. When the Seattle SuperSonics move to the Sooner State, they'll miss some things but not others. After a visit, our correspondent compares and contrasts.

Where else but Seattle?

Crosscut — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 07:15:01 PDT

On a cloudy Sunday in early June, I spent the morning with poetry bookshop proprietors Christine Deavel and John Marshall. The results of our conversation were an article on the poetry bookselling biz for Crosscut and a Q&A for Poets & Writers about Marshall's first book, a poetry collection published by Oberlin College Press called Meaning a Cloud. The middle section of his book is called "Where Else," which takes on the subject of Seattle directly, for example:

'Technicolor Armageddon' at the Seattle Symphony

Crosscut — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:00:01 PDT

A season-ending display of the Symphony's firepower, with Wagner and Mahler, produces some lovely moments and some curious spells of sputtering.

Profits from poems

Crosscut — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:00:01 PDT

While poets are often advised to secure a good day job rather than try to support themselves as poets, two Seattle bookstore owners have done the unthinkable: They make a living selling nothing but poetry.

Zen and the art of gardening

Crosscut — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Geri Larkin's latest book is like your neighbor's undisciplined garden, a little too rambunctious at times, but filled with moments that will appeal to both gardeners and those looking for a little enlightenment.