FRIDAY

STAGE

THE MAGIC CITY

Seattle Children’s Theatre’s season opener succeeds on so many levels, it’s hard to know where to start praising it. In Joe Sutton’s excellent adaptation of the classic E. Nesbit tale, orphaned Philip (Jason Collins, center) must adjust to his older sister’s marriage and their subsequent integration into a new household; his internal struggle is told through a series of adventures in a dream world, complete with a dragon and an evil, whip-wielding antagonist (Anne Allgood). The cast does a terrific job—Collins gives a wonderfully subtle performance as the 10-year-old protagonist—and director Linda Hartzell has brilliantly brought together all the fabulous technical talent in her company to create a truly magical production. 7 p.m. Fri.; 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sat.–Sun. Ends Sat., Nov. 6. $14–$28. Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Center, 206-441-3322. GEORGE HOWLAND JR.

WEDNESDAY

MUSIC

Seattle Concert for Kerry/Edwards

In any other year, local rockers Presidents of the United States of America and United State of Electronica would have two trivial commonalities: (a) Both are party bands—the former generating lighthearted alt-pop, the latter dropping vocoder-rich, populist booty jams; and (b) both have cheeky nationalistic monikers. Funny how the closer we get to November, the more even our merrymakers start to get serious and put their three-string guitars and drum machines toward a greater common good. Before you blanch at the pricey cover charge, bear in mind that Dubya still holds significant financial and fund-raising advantages over the Lord of the Snowboards. 7 p.m. Wed., Sept. 29. $100 minimum donation. Premier, 1700 First Ave. S., 206-382-7877. ANDREW BONAZELLI

FRIDAY

LECTURES

Robert Irwin

Irwin is one of those rare artists who also doubles as a philosopher and theorist—and, even more shocking, who can speak with clarity about his own work. The trajectory of Irwin’s four-decade career has taken him further and further from galleries: Beginning as a painter of ghostly abstraction, he now works exclusively in installation and sculpture, responding like a chameleon to the quirks of a specific site. The occasion for this talk is the relocation of Irwin’s mazelike 9 Spaces, 9 Trees from its former home outside the downtown Public Safety Building to a new site on the UW campus. Most artists would bristle at such a move, but Irwin is so enamored of change that he’s transforming this into a new artistic challenge. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 1. $7 students and CAC, SAM, and Henry Art Gallery members; $10 nonmembers. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St., 206-654-3100. ANDREW ENGELSON

SATURDAY

GREAT OUTDOORS

Harvest Celebration Farm Tour

There are definitely city mice and country mice, but it’s nice to trade places once in a while. If you’re an urbanite itching to flee the noise and grime, we recommend King County’s annual Farm Tour—a countywide event wherein 23 farms open their gates to visitors for a day of running corn mazes, chatting with farmers, and picking up produce. At certain farms, you may even get a chance to pet the adorable, llamalike beasts known as alpacas. Visit www.metrokc.gov/dchs/csd/wsu-ce/FarmTour/Index.htm to download driving directions. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Sat., Oct. 2. Free. Various locations. Call 206-205-3206 for additional information. NEAL SCHINDLER

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

FILM

Greene on Film

Former movie critic Graham Greene’s better-known career as a novelist resulted in many notable film adaptations of his work. Among four titles being screened in this centennial celebration of his birth, Carol Reed’s classic 1949 Cold War noir, The Third Man, begins the weekend on an appropriately jaundiced note. A cynic who nonetheless maintained a strong Catholic faith, Greene typically constructed morally ambivalent heroes—decent but flawed men such as Joseph Cotton (left), stumbling through the dark alleyways and sewers of postwar Vienna in search of his old buddy, Orson Welles (right), now a depraved black marketer and killer. Naturally, in Greene’s world, the criminal is the most charming guy in the movie—and the most often quoted. Also on the bill: Our Man in Havana, This Gun for Hire, and Brighton Rock. Various times Sat., Oct. 2–Sun., Oct. 3. $10–$12. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St., 206-654-3100. BRIAN MILLER