On the evening of May 24, I attended a very special performance of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" presented by the Cascade Shakespeare players, a group of second-graders - yes, second-graders - 7- and 8-year-olds under the direction of Harvey Sadis, a golden-apple award winner and dedicated English teacher at Cascade Elementary School who has been teaching Shakespeare to second-graders for eight years.
Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre salutes the 50th anniversary of "West Side Story" with a sensational production of the beloved Broadway classic. Beautifully directed by Bill Berry, the romantic tragedy ranks as one of the best locally produced musicals this critic has seen. There's a huge, talented cast - 43 in all - a full orchestra, and the dancing is glorious.
GOYA'S GHOSTSSaturday, June 9, 6:30 p.m.; NeptuneMonday, June 11, 7 p.m.; Lincoln Square Cinemas (Bellevue)Some years ago, Marina Ajaja, one of SIFF's unheralded programmers, committed considerable time and passion trying to mount a tribute to director Milos Forman, whose work she greatly admired. Forman couldn't make it to Seattle, more's the pity, and SIFF honored Jean-Jacques ("Diva") Beineix instead.
Canada's gain is Seattle's loss as Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Christophe Maraval retires from dancing to become a faculty member at Ballet Divertimento de Montréal. Maraval joined PNB in 1999 after performing with Cincinnati Ballet and Ballet Nationale de Nancy.
The last time a Seattle ballet audience went berserk over a half-naked man dancing alone on a stage, they were watching "Mopey" performed by James Moore.Thursday night, Pacific Northwest principal dancer Jonathan Porretta awed the crowd with 34 minutes of emotion and sweat in Molissa Fenley's "State of Darkness." When he was done, the audience, unusually hushed throughout his performance, roared to their feet for a tidal wave of applause.
'SEX IN SEATTLE' RUNS AT HUGO HOUSEThe latest installment of "Sex in Seattle" continues at the the Richard Hugo House, with performances on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 and 10:30 p.m. through June 23. LOCAL MUSIC RALLIES FOR HIV/AIDSLocal artists and venues are partnering up to benefit children and teens affected by HIV/AIDS in this year's "Noise for the Needy" music festival. Noise for the Needy, a local non-profit organization, will host a number of concerts nightly through Sunday, June 10 at many venues around the city. Artists will include Okkervil River, Sera Cahoone, CSS, The Handsome Family, The Cops, Thee Emergency, Head like a Kite, Tall birds, Cancer Rising and more. Venues include Neumo's, Chop Suey, Comet Tavern and many more.
Corey asks:I have a pianist daughter who is inspired by the performers she hears on your station, especially the soloists. I'll catch her whispering "That's impossible" as she listens. She has always practiced well, but she'll be going to high school this fall, and the distractions of puberty are multiplying: dating, sports, surfing the Web. Piano has definitely taken a back seat. It's not like she was on the concert pianist track, but I'd hate to see her drop piano altogether. I did, and I'll always regret it. How do I get that through? My regret isn't enough of a lesson. I'd like to find a more positive reinforcement model for her.
Although the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) remains focused on showing as many movies as possible to the public, each year finds the festival organizers trying to improve the "industry events" meant to foster filmmaking in the area.This year, SIFF launched the Northwest Production Market and designed four forums for filmmakers interested in this project.
Isaiah Barnett gets a refreshing splash of water.
There are lots of scary aspects of the American food system today," said Siri Erickson-Brown. "Such as poisonous food additives from China, e. coli in Californian spinach, not to mention the regular old pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers that appear in conventionally grown produce and in America's soil and water."
It sounds like some arcane mechanical device you'd need years of training and a state certificate just to install. But, according to Capitol Hill-based fitness trainer Michele McCauley, the Gyrotonic Expansion System is actually an exercise program that combines the fluidity and integrated movement of ballet with the toning and core support one finds in Pilates.
Public meeting on Hill park acquisitionFrye summer courses announcedSeattle's best video jockeys square off
The Shore Run/Walk, support ing the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is celebrating a big milestone this month: It has raised more than $1.7 million since its inception in 1977. This year's event will take place on June 24. It is a 6.7-mile runners' course from Seward Park and a 5K run or walk from Leschi to Madison Park. Both the 5K run and walk starting at Leschi Park begin at 8:15 a.m.; the 6.7-mile run begins at Seward Park at 9 a.m. A1K kids' run starts at Madison Park and begins at 10:15 a.m.
The Oregon Trail stretched out more than 2,000 miles from Missouri to Oregon. With sights set on a new life, hopeful pioneers journeyed westward, not knowing the hardships they would endure along the way. For 41 McGilvra elementary students, re-creating the Oregon Trail trek was an adventure they would not soon forget.
This sour-tasting vegetable makes a sweet cobbler when used with strawberriesWhen I was young, eating rhu- barb was just a way to get sugar into my mouth. My brother and I would scoop a cup full of sugar and take it into our garden. Sitting in the grass, we would snap the long, red stalks of rhubarb from the leaves and dip them in the sugar.Many years later, I tasted rhubarb and strawberries baked together - first in jam, and then in pie. Just like that, I was hooked on this irresistible combination.