The Must List: Earshot Jazz, Queer Film Festival and Seattle Opera Presents Hansel & Gretel
What to do this weekend in Seattle
By Seattle magazine staff October 12, 2016
Must See
It’s Time for the 21st Annual Queer Film Festival
(10/13 to 10/23, times vary) Don’t miss this year’s 21st annual Twist: Seattle Queer Film Festival. Now the largest event of its kind in the Pacific Northwest and opening at the Egyptian Theatre on Capitol Hill, the festival features everything from major motion pictures to up-and-coming talent in queer film from producers all over the world.
Must Bravo
Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel Returns to Seattle Opera
(10/15 to 10/30, times vary) German composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s folk-tune-influenced adaptation of the famously dark Grimm Brothers fairy tale from 1812 has not been seen at Seattle Opera for 23 years. But this October, Halloween comes early with the return of this musical drama of starvation, sorcery, cannibalism and bravery.
Must Jam
Get Groovy at the Earshot Jazz Festival
(Through 11/11, times vary) This year’s Earshot Jazz Festival promises to be another blowout event with performers that include Rudresh Mahanthappa (Bird Calls), Kris Davis and Craig Taborn, The Manuel Valera Trip, the Rez Abassi Trio, Renee Baker, Dave Douglas & The Westerlies and Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra (Miles Ahead).
Must See
Seattle Shakespeare Company Presents Medea
(10/18 to 11/13, times vary) Is there an artist of the ancient world whose work is more at home in our own time than Euripides? The modernity of his psychological realism is as astonishing today as it must have been then. Seattle Shakespeare Company stages his most famous, and possibly darkest, tragedy.
Must Experience
The Taste of Iceland Returns
(10/13 to 10/16, times vary) Savor all that Iceland has to offer at this annual four-day festival featuring authentic Icelandic cuisine, music, art and more. Fill up during its dinner series at The Carlile Room, witness an art installation at the Nordic Heritage Museum, hear a reading from Icelandic authors at KEXP studios, and take in a gratis concert at Neumos (10/15) packed with Icelandic artists Fufanu and JFDR and Seattle band Kinski.
Follow Us
Little Ways to December in Seattle
A few (mostly) local things worth picking up, wandering through, or falling into as the year wraps.
December always sneaks up on me even though every year I convince myself I’m going to be organized (I’m not). So I’ve been collecting these simple outings and local spots that feel like unwrapped gifts. If you’re looking for a way to escape or lean in, here are some recommendations. A sip of history You…
Back to Gander
Seattle Rep revisits its original world premiere with a new staging that pulls you straight into the heart of the story.
When you walk into the theater, the cast is already onstage in what looks like a Gander high school gym—setting out dishes for a potluck, chatting, and then cleaning up. It feels like you’ve arrived in the middle of a reunion, which is the point. This run marks 10 years since Come From Away first…
Seattle’s Big Holiday Arts Guide
A full lineup of seasonal performances across local theaters and venues.
In the words of William Shakespeare, “All’s well that ends well.” Local theater and arts organizations are hoping for exactly that. Holiday productions often account for as much as half of their annual ticket sales. A 2018 Dance/USA survey found that The Nutcracker alone represented 48% of yearly revenue for many companies producing the Tchaikovsky…
Outside the Frame
In their first solo museum exhibition in Seattle, artist Camille Trautman uses photography to reclaim history, narrative, and self-expression.
You have probably seen Camille Trautman’s work without even realizing it. A huge photograph—20 feet wide—is currently hanging across the exterior of the Frye Art Museum, visible to passersby driving along Boren Avenue. The image is of a wooded landscape in black and white. Its edges are vacuous, with trees swallowed by darkness, but the…