Oddballs and Events

PickText for this block of text. Hello! The Cornish Music Series, always a prime locus for contemporary music in Seattle, got a shot in the arm this past season with the arrival of composer 20 faculty as the new chair of Cornish's music department. A "Piano Pairings" series last spring brought together students, faculty, alumni, and guest what drab PONCHO recital hall, a gradual process (though the space will be usable all season) scheduled for completion April. Gaven Borchert

PickText for this block of text. Hello! The Cornish Music Series, always a prime locus for contemporary music in Seattle, got a shot in the arm this past season with the arrival of composer 20 faculty as the new chair of Cornish's music department. A "Piano Pairings" series last spring brought together students, faculty, alumni, and guest what drab PONCHO recital hall, a gradual process (though the space will be usable all season) scheduled for completion April. Gaven Borchert

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Casablanca We all know the story of this 1942 Michael Curtiz perennial: a classic love triangle set against the tensions of war. True to its stage origins, the film sets up neat oppositions between selfishness and sacrifice, patriotism and exile, love and duty. Humphrey Bogart gained iconic status as Rick, who balances his lingering attachment to Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa against his long-suppressed sense of idealism. Casablanca is about a lot of things, but one strong theme is forgiveness: Two former lovers must somehow reconcile themselves with the past, mutually absolving each other to clear the way for the future. Their relationship has its parallel as Bogie and Claude Rains also forgive and forget, then famously stride forward together to battle. (NR) Seattle Center Mural Amphitheater, 206-684-7200. Free. Dusk. Fri. Aug. 4.

Don Juan John Barrymore plays the famous rake in this 1926 silent, which begins the Paramount's series of four Monday-night vintage screenings with live musical accompaniment (plus introductory remarks) by organist Dennis James. (Local film gadfly Warren Etheredge will also lend a hand on selected evenings.) As in Byron's poem, Barrymore must meet his match (after bedding many lovelies, of course). She comes in the form of Mary Astor who, like Barrymore, would go on to have a pretty decent career in the talkies. (NR) Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., 206-292-2787. $9-$12. 7 p.m. Mon. Aug. 7.

How to Steal a Million Peter O'Toole stars with SAM tribute gal Audrey Hepburn in this 1966 caper flick, which never quite rises to the level of The Thomas Crown Affair (or even The Italian Job). Director William Wyler is the consummate studio craftsman, of course, but he doesn't quite have the right sensibility for a bubbly European heist picture. Hepburn's Charade, made three years earlier by Stanley Donen, was the obvious and more successful model for How to Steal, which is chiefly memorable for Hepburn's Givenchy outfits and the supporting roles filled by Hugh Griffith (as her art forger father) and Eli Wallach (as one of her suitors—good luck!). But she and O'Toole (the thief who helps her swipe back one of her father's forgeries) look great together, and sometimes that's all you ask of a movie. (NR) Museum of History and Industry, 2700 24th Ave. E., 206-654-3121. $35-$39 (series), $6-$8 (individual). 7:30 p.m. Thurs. Aug. 3.

Kumbh Mela: Songs From the River One of several recent documentaries about the Hindu religious gathering, Songs chronicles the gathering of some 30 to 70 million people (yes, you read that right) at the 2001 festival held in Allahabad, where the holy Ganges and Yamuna rivers converge. The festival is held every 12 years, and the most recent iteration was deemed especially significant, and therefore popular, as it was the 12th such gathering in the cycle, part of a tradition that dates back some 4,000 years. Filmmaker Nadeem Uddin will attend the Wednesday night screenings. (NR) Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 206-686-6684. $5. 7 and 9:15 p.m. Wed. Aug. 2-Sat. Aug. 5.

Little Shop of Horrors Frank Oz's Little Shop (1986), remember, started out as a joke in Roger Corman's 1961 quickie about a creature from outer space masquerading as a houseplant in a rundown Bowery flower shop. The joke was refined further in the 1982 off-Broadway musical version. The performances, principals, and cameos fit neatly into the machinery. SCTV alumnus Rick Moranis is plausible as the plant's nerdy slave. As his adored fellow shop clerk, Ellen Greene clicks on film as few stage divas do recreating their original roles. Steve Martin goes completely over the top as her sadistic dentist boyfriend, but Bill Murray turns in a performance (as one of Martin's patients) that rivals Jack Nicholson's in the same role in the original film. (PG-13) ROGER DOWNEY 4000 California Ave. S.W. (West Seattle), 425-445-5672. Free. Dusk. Sat. Aug. 5.

The Manster Perhaps a distant influence on How to Get Ahead in Advertising, this 1962 Japanese horror flick has a visiting American journalist fall victim to a mad scientist's fiendish experiment. From there, well, let's just say a very split personality begins to evolve. For extra kitsch value, the dialogue will be ad-libbed live by members of the Jet City Improv troupe. (NR) Fremont Outdoor Movies, N. 35th St. and Phinney Ave. N., 206-781-4230. $5. 7:30 p.m. (doors open); show at dusk. Sat. Aug. 5.