WEDNESDAY 8/4
Edie Bresler
Bresler’s vision of paradise?
20th Century Fox
Fairy-tale romance at the Mural.
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Stage: The Possible Dream
The biggest stars of Taproot's production of Man of La Mancha are the designers: Mark Lund (scene and sound), Sarah Burch Gordon (costumes), and Andrew Duff (lighting). Together they transport us into the 16th-century prison where Don Quixote (Jeff Berryman) enlists fellow inmates to assist him in creating his fantastical play-within-a-play. The prison wall is appropriately intimidating and the clothing appropriately drab, setting up a hopeless environment where the cast remains for the duration. But the arrival of Don Quixote puts an ironic twist on the prison: One flicker of the lights, and suddenly he's beyond the walls, surrounded by, and being seduced by, gypsies. The 1965 Man of La Mancha contains plenty of memorable musical numbers, which partly explains its long-running success and many revivals. Taproot's cast performs the songs adequately, if not always stunningly. The exception is Don Darryl Rivera, who brings wonderful humor to Sancho, Quixote's squire, and whose musical delivery never fails to energize the audience. Berryman's comic timing is perfect, making for a very funny production. (Ends Aug. 21.) Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., 781-9707, taproottheatre.org. $20–$35. 7:30 p.m. BRENT ARONOWITZ
Film: A River of Whiskey
In The African Queen, you get Katharine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, their little boat, and a very hokey—but very enjoyable—mismatched romance as they careen downriver toward a German gunship. World War I has broken out in Europe, and Hepburn's spinster is determined to strike a blow for England. Bogart's drunken river captain wants nothing to do with heroics—he's like Casablanca's Rick gone to seed (the part earned him an Oscar). But wouldn't you know he gradually softens to Hepburn and embraces her cause? Director John Huston shot the 1951 Technicolor picture on location in Africa, where Hepburn got very sick while Huston and Bogart got very drunk. The movie begins the Wednesday night Metro Classics series, which also includes titles like the original King Kong, Meet Me in St. Louis, and The Apartment. (Through Sept. 29.) Metro, 4500 Ninth Ave. N.E., 781-5755, landmarktheatres.com. $7.50–$10. 7 and 9:10 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
Baseball: Vlad Company
Had the offensively anemic Mariners had the foresight to sign Texas Rangers slugger Vladimir Guerrero to a modest free-agent contract in the off-season, they'd have likely not been compelled to trade ace pitcher Cliff Lee, who was enjoying one of the best years in team history before being traded a few weeks ago to...Texas, which leads the AL West as the M's dwell in the cellar. So it's gone for second-year Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik, for whom a second trial's been ordered after a premature rendering of a "genius" verdict after what was, frankly, a lucky first year at the reins. Nothing exemplifies Zduriencik's sophomore slump like the decision to let free agent 1B/DH Russell Branyan sign with Cleveland after hitting 31 home runs for the M's last year, only to trade a pair of prospects to bring him back shortly before the Lee trade, which yielded a hot 1B/DH prospect in switch-hitting Justin Smoak. While there's often method to a man's madness, sometimes madness is simply what it is. (Tonight is the second in a series of three games, continuing through Thurs.) Safeco Field, 1250 First Ave. S., 346-4001, seattlemariners.com. $8–$70. 7:10 p.m. MIKE SEELY
THURSDAY 8/5
Dance: Import Improv
Sometimes you have to travel to see what the dance world has to offer, but this is the weekend to stay in town. Every summer the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation brings an incredible roster of artists to Seattle. This year's program, "Off the Cuff," offers a double handful of stellar performers who'll join their local counterparts in two shows. Tonight, hometown favorites KT Niehoff, Alia Swersky, and Christian Swenson share the bill with out-of-town guests including Ohio-based powerhouse dance-maker Bebe Miller, who's been blazing trails in the alt-dance world for two decades. Some may remem ber seeing her pointed little wing, part of the 1997 Hendrix Project and often revived, in which her combination of virtuosity and attitude perfectly match Jimi's signature guitar sound. Friday's show offers a fresh program with a different mix of dancers. Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway, 686-7323, danceartgroup.org. $15. 8 p.m. SANDRA KURTZ
Visual Arts: Roll With It
Good art often inspires bad art. Occasionally you get the reverse. Then there's the 1980 roller-disco musical Xanadu, inspired—if in name only—by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem. The movie is a certified kitsch artifact, and it's the leaping-off point for 16 artists in the group show Xanadu: A Stately Pleasure Dome. Certainly they've got a lot of material to work with: the opium-eating reverie and dream palace of Coleridge; the Hollywood iconography of Gene Kelly; the Aussie-pop confections of Olivia Newton-John; the soundtrack by Electric Light Orchestra and other bands. Some participants are responding directly, like Tony Gua, who embeds Newton-John's pretty mug in a block of Lucite. Others allude indirectly to visions of paradise, like Edie Bresler's bleak nighttime photo We Sold a Winner 350 Food Mart, where a lucky lottery number might be the ticket to bliss. And even if you don't like the art at tonight's reception, there's always the music of ELO. (Through Aug. 28.) Soil Gallery, 112 Third Ave. S. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 264-8061, soilart.org. Free. 6–8 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
