WEDNESDAY 7/7
Paramount
Travolta and company revive the ’50s—
and the ’70s.
Jackie Canchola
An Oldenburg original.
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Classical: Oh, Bwünnhiwde, You'we So Wovewy
What's really striking about those brilliant Warner Bros. classical-music sendup cartoons—What's Opera, Doc?, The Rabbit of Seville, and the ultimate deconstruction of the conductor mystique, Long-Haired Hare—is not only the wit and animation, but the fact that the studio could assume the average moviegoer knew enough about Wagner and Leopold Stokowski to get the jokes. See those cartoons with conductor George Daugherty and the Seattle Symphony recreating the soundtracks live in Bugs Bunny on Broadway, a popular touring show. Afterward, you can try to explain both Leonard Bernstein and Elmer Fudd to your kids. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave. and Union St., 215-4747, seattlesymphony.org. $20–$65. 7:30 p.m. (Repeats Thurs.) GAVIN BORCHERT
THURSDAY 7/8
Film: The One That We Want
If there are any people left on the planet who haven't heard of 1978's most popular film, the marketing folks behind the sing-along version of Grease appear to have an idea who they might be. The flick that cemented John Travolta's movie superstardom, and gave Olivia Newton-John her only taste of it, is now cannily being tagged "the original high school musical." It's being rereleased in select theaters with the lyrics splashed every which way across the screen, like the doodles from some 12-year-old girl's Pee-Chee. The words to "Greased Lightnin'" have the O's done up to resemble car tires—as if Travolta swiveling in full-tilt Elvis homage weren't engaging enough. Hey, whatever gets 'em to the classics, right? And make no mistake, Grease—despite the fact that everyone in the cast is obviously old enough to be running the P.T.A.—still looks like the stuff of which legends are made. (The print is newly restored.) When the T-Bird gang first calls out "Hey, Zuko!" and the camera zooms in to capture Travolta's magnificent mug, you know you're in the presence of a god. Zac Efron? As if. (Through Sat., rated PG-13.) Pacific Place, 600 Pine St., 652-2404, greasemovie.com. $10. 7 and 9:45 p.m. STEVE WIECKING
Visual Arts: Festival '10, Anyone?
Wait—Bumbershoot wasn't always on Labor Day Weekend? That's one of the small surprises in the poster exhibition Umbrella for the Arts: 40 Years of Bumbershoot Artwork. Another, to those who were also young when the fest was founded in 1971: The city originated and ran the thing until One Reel took over in 1980. And the roster of artists who've contributed posters includes Jacob Lawrence, Dawn Cerny, and Claes Oldenburg. Given that Flatstock, Bumbershoot's poster show, is always extremely popular with the music-and-comix crowd, it makes sense that graphic arts should remain a strong component of the event. And a bit of Bumber-trivia: If you take the elevator down to the hard-to-find Anne Focke Gallery, it's named for the woman who in 1973 gave the fest its official name; before then, it was called Festival '71 and Festival '72. Fortunately the posters were more imaginative. (Through Sept. 7.) City Hall (Lobby Gallery and Anne Focke Gallery), 600 Fourth Ave., 684-7171, seattle.gov/arts. Free. Reception 5–7 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
Film: Strike It Rich
SAM's summer salute to Preston Sturges begins with Christmas in July, actually released in October 1940. Dick Powell plays a hapless, avid slogan writer and contest entrant who's fooled into thinking he's won $25,000 (a lot of money back then). Powell and his fiancée (Ellen Drew) then go on a buying spree, which must've been mighty attractive to viewers still haunted by the Great Depression. Then, naturally, the truth comes out with disastrous consequences for our duo. Like all Sturges comedies, Christmas is fast, frenetic, full of wordplay, and stuffed with wonderful supporting roles (filled by William Demarest and others from the Sturges stock company). On following Thursdays are The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, and Hail the Conquering Hero. (Through Aug. 12.) Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., 654-3121, seattleartmuseum.org. $35–$39 (series), $7 (individual). 7:30 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
SATURDAY 7/10
Visual Arts: Cold Worlds
After the Klondike gold rush, Seattle began booming. The Frye-Bruhn Meat Packing Co. was one such local beneficiary, and it opened branch operations in the lower Alaska panhandle—helping create the fortune that established the Frye Art Museum in 1952. Through paintings and historical photos, Northern Latitudes: The Frye and Alaska explores that link. (Its companion show, On Arctic Ice, celebrates Alaska artist Fred Machetanz.) With the exception of some painted church glass by Eustace Paul Ziegler, the historical materials are more noteworthy; the best thing on view is a six-minute silent newsreel made in Skagway in 1918. The old nitrate was decayed and splotchy when transferred to tape, making pre-statehood events seem more historically distant than they are. Big dogs, oversized strawberries, and cute kids are paraded before the camera. Members of the Elks Club march to celebrate Independence Day—even in a territory, patriotism runs high. And in one artful touch, director Burton Holmes illustrates the artistic process in a series of dissolves from an artist's sketch board to a nature scene and back: It's a special effect achieved in-camera, with the film rewound twice and exposed thrice, pioneer filmmaking on the frontier. Also be sure to examine the old Frye-Bruhn photos and product labels on the way out. Anyone care to sample the Sugar-Cured Loin Backs? (Through Sept. 19.) Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave., 622-9250, fryeart.org. Free. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
