WTF?! Guys & Dolls & Zombies / Daily through Sunday, November 7
Dana Emerson
¡Four amigos! The Chevy Chasers.
Metropolis Records
Gary Numan, Halloween makeup-ready.
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Zombies get no respect in museums or galleries. Vampires, sure, because they're sexy and transgressive. The devil and his minions have been part of Western art since the dawn of Christ. And classical mythology and art are full of beasts and half-human creatures. But nobody loves the undead. Yet this group show gives props to the brain-eaters, with work by Kate Vrijmoet, Shaun Doll, Paul D. McKee, and Daniel John Williams. Here we see zombies riding roller coasters, totemic dolls to protect against zombie attacks, and ordinary suburbanites clutching the tools to be used for their last stand. (Hedge clippers make an excellent weapon—but you probably knew that already.) ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., 938-0339. T. BOND
The House on Telegraph Hill / Thursday, October 28
Your husband is dead, your home has been burned, then you're tossed into a Nazi concentration camp. This spooky 1951 film noir, ably directed by Robert Wise, begins dark and actually gets darker when its Polish heroine (Valentina Cortese) emigrates to America after the war. As it turns out, she's been delivered from evil . . . into more evil. First, she's an imposter, having assumed the identity of a friend who died in Belsen. The dead woman's young son, shipped to America to live with a rich aunt before the Germans invaded, is her ticket to the states. There, she quickly marries the trustee (Richard Basehart) of her (false) family's fortune, which includes a big creaking Gothic house overlooking San Francisco Harbor. But wait a minute—just how did the rich aunt die, anyway? Just as our heroine starts asking inconvenient questions, her car's brake lines are cut and someone slips poison into her orange juice! There's a strong Rebecca vibe as this interloper becomes enveloped in the intrigues of the past, trapped in domestic horror. Everything was fine, the trustee warns her, until "you decided to come back from the grave." Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., 654-3100. 7:30 p.m. $7. BRIAN MILLER
Dracula / Friday, October 29
People remember that Orson Welles and company panicked unsuspecting listeners in October 1938 with a radio-vérité treatment of The War of the Worlds. Yet Mercury Theatre on the Air actually debuted in July of that year with a hot-blooded treatment of Dracula that probably stunned a few ears, too. There was no drooling, bug-eating Renfield, but the hypnotic Count (played by guess who) seduced a woozy, willing, audibly horny Mina to a repeated messianic refrain of "flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood." Tonight, Seattle Radio Theatre recreates Welles' often maleficent magic live onstage for Halloween with music, sound effects, and a cast including venerable Seattle comedian and Almost Live! alum Pat Cashman. Whether or not they're going for laughs, chills, nostalgia, or some sweet, trick-and-treaty confection of all of the above remains to be heard . . . er, seen. A few chuckles will be unavoidable. and were probably intended by a snickering, wicked Welles anyway. What else to make of the moment when Mina's true love Harker, pondering the lusty vampire, remarks, "I don't understand these things. I only know he is a man with hair in the palm of his hands"? Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255. 7:30 p.m. $5–$15. STEVE WIECKING
Benefit for the Youth Suicide Prevention Program with Victor Shade / Saturday, October 30
Like many superhero stories before his, the tale of Ra Scion's Victor Shade begins with a tragedy—and like any good hero, he's venturing out to prevent that same tragedy from affecting others. Because while the Youth Suicide Prevention Program is an undeniably good cause, it was also very deliberately chosen: Ra Scion lost his father to suicide. But that doesn't mean you can't have a good time at the benefit—hosted by 2010 Olympic medalist J.R. Celski, it features appearances from Grynch and Sol. Plus, appearing in costume not only saves you $4 at the door but gives you the chance to win a free costume rental the next night. "The Vision" might already be claimed, but there are plenty of other superheroes to choose from. With Kind of Blind. Vera Project, 305 Harrison St., 956-8372. 7:30 p.m. $10. All ages. NICK FELDMAN
Halloqueen / Saturday, October 30
Wearing another band as a Halloween costume is generally a PBR-fueled, sloppy, drunken joyride through that band's catalog. False starts and flubs are par for the course. And when you're taking on a band whose catalog consists of more than just fast power chords, things can get a little tricky, especially when that band is Queen. Technically and melodically over the top, Queen's music isn't the sort you can just plow through. From a showmanship standpoint, you couldn't pick a harder pair of shoes to step into than Freddie Mercury's. Seattle's Halloqueen (featuring ex-members of Shadow, Goodness, and Medicine Hat) manages to fill them surprisingly well, falling more on the side of loving tribute than sloppy schtick, while putting on a proficient (but still goofy) show. With Rawbones (a Ramones tribute band). Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9:30 p.m. $10 adv./$15 DOS. GREGORY FRANKLIN
Halloween Party with Wild Orchid Children / Saturday, October 30
