WEDNESDAY 10/20
Vendetta Films
We can't tell them apart, either. The Topp Twins (on film) at the Admiral.
Tim Summers
Triptych returns some original performers.
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Comedy: Mr. Monotone
Before Twitter there was Steven Wright, who in the early '80s condensed his Tonight Show jokes into pithy absurdist haiku, delivered in severe deadpan without setup or biographical embellishment. (For instance: "I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.") His stage presence was to have no stage presence, a kind of Zen detachment from his material. Despite his comical Jewfro, Wright refused to do anything wacky, to make any kind of physical investment in his jokes. He didn't sell the laugh, as his peers Jay Leno and Robin Williams did so profitably. For that reason, perhaps, he never hit it big, never got a sitcom, has never done more than a few supporting roles in movies. His monotone delivery was a minimalist rebuke to '80s excess; if you didn't get the humor, you just weren't listening carefully enough. Three decades later, Wright is still doing more with less. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., 877-784-4849, stgpresents.org. $27.50–$37.50. 8 p.m.BRIAN MILLER
Food: Dishing About Dishes
Pleasure. Sustenance. Family. Culture. Science. These are just some of the topics to be addressed at tonight's roundtable discussion, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Food." Hear what it means to a troupe of Seattle authors—all with new books out—to think and write about cuisine. Perhaps the biggest name on the bill is Ethan Stowell (Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen), chef and owner of four highly rated restaurants (including his new Staple & Fancy). You'll also hear from the creators of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef (Shauna and Danny Ahern), Greg Atkinson (The Northwest Essentials Cookbook), and Kim O'Donnel (The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook). These professional gourmands will gather for a casual talk, with wine and apps. Ask them anything you like. Even moderator Amy Pennington has a book out, Urban Pantry, in which she talks about that hot new old-fashioned fad, canning. Palace Ballroom, 2030 Fifth Ave., 441-5542, tomdouglas.com and kimricketts.com. $25. 7 p.m.ADRIANA GRANT
THURSDAY 10/21
Film: Island Girls
Resistance is futile. Don't even try not falling for these adorable twin lesbian political-activist farmer/folksinger/comedians from New Zealand. "On paper, they should not work," says one talking head in the documentary The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (screening as part of the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, which continues through Sunday). Jools and Lynda Topp sing like the Everly Brothers, look like k.d. lang (in plaid flannel), crusade like Joan Baez, and bring to life onstage a flock of campily satirical, Little Britain–style characters—when they're not working their family farm. Some of those characters, like drag-king everyguys Ken & Ken or socialites Dilly and Prue Ramsbottom, sometimes take over, appearing at county fairs and charity teas and fooling people who might not know the Topps' shtick. If NZ's a reasonably gay-friendly country now, it was a hard-won battle. Part of the victory is due to the Topps, on the ramparts for decades, and their "healthy, rural, cheerful cowgirl image." A gay who can wrangle sheep is a gay every Kiwi can relate to. Admiral, 2343 California Ave. S.W., 938-3456, threedollarbillcinema.org. $10. $7:30 p.m.GAVIN BORCHERT
Dance:Recurring Memory
It took Pat Graney 10 years to develop the individual works in her Faith Triptych, now being revived in a single performance (with intermissions between each hour-long section). Watching the whole sequence of Faith, Sleep, and Tattoo is like seeing a collage of old home movies—you remember the people and what they were doing in the '90s, but also who you were when it was first happening. Graney's work often has the disoriented feeling of a dream, with simple movements holding significant meaning. Tiny household objects can trigger a big emotional resonance. You come away from the theater knowing a little bit more about the artist, but also much more about yourself. (Through Sun.) On the Boards, 100 W. Roy St., 217-9888, ontheboards.org. $20. 7:30 p.m.SANDRA KURTZ
FRIDAY 10/22
Stage: Women on the Verge
An elderly matron on her deathbed reflects on the pain and pleasure of living—including remembrances of a philandering husband and gay son. Edward Albee has long since confessed that his Three Tall Women, a 1994 Pulitzer winner, draws on his own strained family ties. It sounds depressing, but the play's ultimately a witty, wrenching quest for "the happiest moment," as Albee finally phrases it. In a bracing bit of theatricality, Women has its dying heroine—simply called A—interact with herself at various prior ages (thus B and C). After commanding the lead of the Rep's worthy Wit staging, Megan Cole lends her stentorian presence to the matron, A. Local favorites Suzanne Bouchard and Alexandra Tavares represent the woman in, respectively, her meditative midlife and idealistic 20s. They're guided by director Allison Narver, whose eye and ear for human frailty—proven in New Century's Orange Flower Water and ACT's Eurydice—make her arguably the tallest woman in a formidable crowd. (Through Nov. 28.) Seattle Repertory Theater, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), 443-2222, seattlerep.org. $10–$47. 7:30 p.m.STEVE WIECKING
SATURDAY 10/23
Comedy: The Roots of Schrute
