WEDNESDAY 1/4
peoplesrepublicofkomedy.com
Haynes returns to his hometown.
Music Box Films
Bejo dances with OSS dunce Dujardin.
Location Info
3000 Landerholm Circle S.E.
Bellevue, WA 98007
Category: Schools
Region: Bellevue
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Comedy: Growing Haynes
Andy Haynes lives in New York City now, but he remains the quintessential Seattle comedian. His subject matter, drawn from everyday life, is edgier and more sarcastic than that of the king of observational humor, Jerry Seinfeld. Haynes' hair and clothing appear to be an afterthought (he looks faintly like early-SNL Seth Meyers), and his anecdotes are delivered as though he's seated next to you at Linda's, not standing onstage in front of hundreds of fans. He's going places—Haynes recently performed on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon—but he remains emblematic of the scene that nurtured him. Never before has a man cracking wise about Nazis, homosexuality ("It gets sweater"), and the stench of homeless subway commuters seemed so darn cuddly. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000, chopsuey.com. $10–$15. 9 p.m. MIKE SEELY
THURSDAY 1/5
Film: Small Crimes
Beginning a 10-film retrospective at SAM, François Truffaut's 1959 delinquency tale The 400 Blows still resonates through the isolation of essential details, which stand out with the focus of unblemished memory: that ancient, gouged, chalk-coated classroom that's seen a thousand wiseasses sent to its corner; the horror of impending discipline as a teacher's called into the hallway; the tactile, gasping chill from the milk that Antoine quaffs from a stolen bottle during a night on the street. It is the nature of the film for those who love it to recognize themselves in it, and so it never fully recedes into history. Fourteen-year-old Jean-Pierre Léaud appears for the first time as Antoine Doinel, who begins a cycle of punishment and retaliatory misbehavior that inexorably mounts, burying him under an accretion of lies, accidental arson, plagiarism, truancy, and petty larceny. Eventually the boy leaves the cramped apartment he shares with his hard, bottle-blonde mother and clownish, cuckolded stepfather for the more peaceful climes of the juvenile detention center. The film was Truffaut's arrival, a triumph of publicity at Cannes, the loudest early success of the loose confederation of New Wave filmmakers, and a milestone in autobiographical cinema. His 1958 short Les Mistons ("The Brats") precedes the feature. (Thursdays through March 1.) Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., 654-3121, seattleartmuseum.org. $59–$66 series, $7 individual. 7:30 p.m. NICK PINKERTON
Photography: Faces of Conflict
After nine years, nearly 4,500 military fatalities, and thousands more seriously wounded, the Iraq War is finally over. Soon after the U.S. invasion, New York photographer Suzanne Opton began to make portraits of the men and women who serve, posing them near-identically in her series Soldier, with heads resting on the ground. Eyes open and closed, some looking relaxed, others just tired, their faces were compared to those in a morgue back in 2008, when Opton bought billboard space to display them in Minneapolis–St. Paul during the Republican National Convention. Naturally the billboard company canceled the contract for fear of offending attendees. Said Opton of her subjects, "They may look troubled, but it's not easy to be a soldier. Why should that be hidden from us?" In a second series on view, Many Wars, she drapes veterans—some going back to WWII—in robes and places them in almost classical poses, as if they'd stepped out of a painting. In a real sense, they have. Art history is full of nobly posed warriors with raised swords, flapping banners, and valiant steeds. Opton does away with all that, dispensing with medals and uniforms, notions of bravery and patriotism. You just get a name, no rank, and maybe the length of service. Their sacrifice and our respect is implicit, but it's the gulf between us that may be the real subject of Opton's lens. (Through early February; also note closing reception with the artist on Thurs., Feb. 4.) Platform Gallery, 114 Third Ave. S. (Tashiro Kaplan Building), 323-2808, platformgallery.com. Free. Opening reception 6–8 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
FRIDAY 1/6
Stage: Rush Jobs
The whole point of the annual 14/48 Theater Festival, in which 14 new 10-minute plays are created over two weekends, is to accept the format's hasty limitations. Facing his fourth outing at 14/48, actor/playwright MJ Sieber says "You're definitely setting up a chance to fail—usually on the first night [Friday], which then informs the second night's performance." Themes are assigned at random, and the writers' response is usually to aim for laughs. "That's what I've always shot for," says Sieber. "Having sat through thousands of 14/48 performances, it seems like SNL-style sketch comedy works best." Also, it's wise to maintain a character-first approach to writing. "I don't think about the plot beforehand," he adds. More advice: Hew to realism or go completely beyond it (into the zany), and keep the stagecraft simple: "If you're gonna have any props, it's best to be minimal—a stapler and a cell phone." (Seven new shows are created next Fri. & Sat.) ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676, acttheatre.org. $20–$25 ($40 pass). 8 & 10:30 p.m. Repeats Sat. BRIAN MILLER
Dance; Serious and Twisted
Ron Smith and Jaret Hughes dance for the past and the present. Hughes' group, Twisted Elegance, pays homage to the hip-hop music and style of the '90s, while Smith's Throne Level ensemble stays true to more current styles like vogueing and street jazz. Together these two have created an upbeat, lighthearted, and full-out urban dance show called Live in the Drum 3: A Night of Twisted Elegance. It's impossible not to bounce in your seat when you see Smith's gritty moves or Hughes hitting each "boom-kack" of the music with the precision of Janet and the flair of Michael. Smith has a knack for humorous vulgarity: In Throne Level, his dancers pull down their pants to reveal superhero-patterned underwear, only to start doing the dougie. Hughes, the SuperSonics' first male dancer, asks that his dancers sport serious "fierce" faces while performing. If anything, his lightning-fast, energetic choreography requires a serious mind to keep track of what move comes next. I should know, since (disclosure) I'm one of the performers. Bellevue College's Carlson Theatre, 3000 Landerholm Cir. S.E., 425-564-1000, brownpapertickets.com. $15. 8 p.m. AARON GORDON
