Performance Picks

TWISTED OLIVIA

Now in its closing weekend, Everett Quinton’s one-man rendition of Oliver Twist should pull you away from whatever else you’re doing if you haven’t yet been fortunate enough to spend time in his company. A veteran of Charles Ludlam’s famed Ridiculous Theatre, writer/performer Quinton here plays a loquacious drag queen rooting madly about her junky apartment, preparing for an evening’s performance with friends but drawn instead into an old volume of Dickens’ novelwhich she brings to life for us using whatever is handy as props (a baseball cap stands in for the Artful Dodger). The orphan’s melodrama suits the hard-knock life of such a flamboyant outsider, and the tender complement makes for captivating, often moving theater. Empty Space Theatre, 3509 Fremont Ave. N., 206-547-7500. $10-$40. 7:30 p.m. Sun. and Tues.-Thurs.; 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Sat. Jan. 10. STEVE WIECKING


PEKING ACROBATS

Forget the “new circus” label that groups like Cirque du Soleil wearChinese acrobats have been performing that mesmerizing combination of double-jointed limberness and sleight of hand since the Han Dynasty. With a fraction of the props and none of the trippy lighting that their contemporaries use, these movement artists inhabit a world of extreme physicality, working at the intersection of flexibility, coordination, and counterbalance. They’re an example of real-life special effects. Kentwood Performing Arts Center, 25800 164th Ave. S.E., Covington, 253-856-5050. $14.50-$22. 7:30 p.m. Sat. Jan. 10. Kirkland Performance Center, 350 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland, 425-893-9900. $13.50-$25.50. 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sun. Jan. 11. SANDRA KURTZ


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