THURSDAY – SATURDAY
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY
DANCE
The company celebrates a couple of anniversaries with this program: Taylor has been making dances for 50 years, and his most recent work is for the National Foundation of Jewish Culture and its project honoring 350 years of Jewish Life in America. “Klezmerbluegrass,” co-commissioned by Meany Hall and one of three pieces on the bill, mixes traditional styles in dance and movement and filters them through the lens of Taylor’s quirkily American aesthetic, combining darkness and light in equal measures. As part of the commission, Meany is sponsoring a series of preshow events, including a community forum on Saturday led by Judith Brin Ingber, author of Movement and Movements: Modern Jewish Dance. 8 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 18–Sat., Nov. 20. $37. Meany Theater, University of Washington, 206-543-4880. SANDRA KURTZ
WEDNESDAY
MUSIC
ROPEADOPE NEW MUSIC SEMINAR
A multiartist concert revue that, conceptually at least, combines the folk hootenanny, the hip-hop cipher, the jazz jam, and whatever the hell else they feel like throwing into the pot, Atlantic Records subsidiary Ropeadope’s conglomeration lacks for neither breadth nor size. The participants include guitarist Charlie Hunter (pictured), Bobby Previte, DJ Olive, Critters Buggin’, the Sex Mob Horns, ace rapper Lyrics Born, Benevento/Russo Duo, Matt Haimovitz, and DJ Rich Medina. 8 p.m. Wed., Nov. 17. $20 adv. Showbox, 1426 First Ave., 206-628-6151. MICHAELANGELO MATOS
THURSDAY
STAGE
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice’s pop-rock musical is a big show. Theater Babylon’s Union Garage is a small space. How, you may be tempted to ask, are they going to get that in there? Your guess is as good as ours, though it’s no surprise that the man behind such a task is Babylon’s resident savior, Brad Cook (center). The evidently tireless Cook is not only playing God’s only begotten son, he is also co-directing (with John Longenbaugh) and designed both set and lights. The man gives and gives; if he’s not careful, he’ll get a Jesus complex (sorry). Added curiosity factor: Every Sunday, a guest celebrity from the local theater scene—including Teatro ZinZanni’s Kevin Kent and Troy “Carlotta” Mink—will play Herod. Previews Thurs., Nov. 18. Opens Fri., Nov. 19. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sat., Dec. 18. $25–$30 opening gala/$12–$18 all other shows. Union Garage, 1418 10th Ave., 206-720-1942. STEVE WIECKING
FRIDAY
MULTIMEDIA
NEUE SLOVENIA KUNST
Come meet the founding fathers of the planet’s first virtual state, the collective known as NSK. Beginning Friday, Northwest Film Forum presents a weeklong retrospective of films by the zany and ironic Slovenians who created the group; the same night, NWFF opens a monthlong exhibition of visual artwork by IRWIN, NSK’s art subset; on Saturday, the group’s Devo-meets-Gestapo musical arm, Laibach, plays Neumo’s on Capitol Hill; plus the usual much, much more. Various dates and times beginning Fri., Nov. 19. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 206-267-5380, or www.nwfilmforum.org/slovenia for full schedule and prices. ROGER DOWNEY
FRIDAY
FILM
DR. STRANGELOVE
This new print of Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 A-bomb farce is timed to a new DVD set, but that’s no reason not to see it anew on the big screen. Even though the Cold War is long over, and even without its Kruschev-era payload of anxiety, the movie still soars as pure, venomous comedy. Every character is a type, no one is redeemable, and the world itself hardly seems worth saving (or mourning)—yet Strangelove‘s dark satire has never been funnier. Feel free to identify any of the current Iraq war players with the figures on screen; it’s no stretch to see Dick Cheney as Gen. Jack Ripper or Donald Rumsfeld as Dr. Strangelove himself. George C. Scott (pictured, left) and Peter Sellers (right) lend to the insanity. Various times Fri., Nov. 19–Thurs., Nov. 25. Call for prices. Varsity, 4329 University Way N.E., 206-781-5755. BRIAN MILLER
