Stage

Openings & Events

Barn Show Creepy farm tales, invented by Blood Ensemble and staged in an actual Marysville barn. (They’ll bus you there; see bloodensemble.org for details.) $30–$35. 8 p.m. July 11–12 & 18–19, Aug. 2–3.

Don Quixote Seattle Public Theater’s Youth Program presents this adaptation of Cervantes. Bathhouse Theater on Green Lake, 7312 W. Green Lake Dr. N., 524-1300, seattlepublictheater.org. Donation. 7 p.m. Fri., July 11, 2 & 7 p.m. Sat., July 12, 2 p.m. Sun., July 13.

Family Affair Jennifer Jasper’s “sick, hilarious, and ultimately relatable” monthly cabaret on the theme of family. JewelBox/Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., 
jenniferjasperperforms.com. $10. 7:30 p.m. Wed., July 16.

Greenstage

Othello, Love’s Labours Lost, All’s Well That Ends Well, and The Comedy of Errors in various area parks, July 11–Aug. 16, all free. See greenstage.org for full schedule.

Hands Solo: Pianoman You may know him as that Nordstrom’s pianist: longtime cabaret musician Victor Janusz recounts his career in this memoir with songs. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676, acttheatre.org. $25. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., July 10–Sat., July 12 and Fri., July 18–Sun., July 20.

Jane Eyre—The Musical Return to Thornfield Hall, courtesy of Paul Gordon’s music and lyrics. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., 781-9707, taproottheatre.org. $15–$40. Previews July 9 & 10, opens July 11. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat. Ends Aug. 16.

Twelfe Night, or What You Will Cross-dressed love tangles in Illyria, via Bainbridge Performing Arts. Bloedel Reserve, 7571 N.E. Dolphin Dr., Bainbridge Island, 842-8569, bainbridgeperformingarts.org. Opens July 11. 7 p.m. Thurs–Sun. Ends July 26.

Wine Shots: Comedy’s Happiest Hour All-female stand-up, music, and more, with complimentary vino, every second Sunday. The Grotto in the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., wineshotshow.com. $5. 8 p.m. Sun., July 13.

Wise Guys Jet City Improv’s salute to mob movies. Historic University Theater, 5510 University Way N.E., jetcityimprov.com. $12–$15. Opens July 10. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Fri. Ends Aug. 22.

Wooden O SEE THE PICK LIST, PAGE 23.

CURRENT RUNS

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Whereas Book-It’s epic past productions of The Cider House Rules spread the feast over two nights, delivering Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer-winning novel in one five-hour mega-serving makes sense in our age of TV binge-watching. If the audience is going to focus its ADD-ridden brain for longer than a YouTube video (so the logic goes), it might as well gorge. And indeed you should. This production—in which two superhero-obsessed cousins encounter the harsh and exhilarating realities of the real world (1938–’50s) through a comic-book filter—brings emotional KAPOW!s aplenty. Incredibly, after four one-hour acts separated by two intermissions and a dinner break, you could even ask for more. Not having read Chabon’s 2000 book, I don’t know how the two leads compare to their characters on the page. Yet here we have a dream team of moxie and melancholy from David Goldstein, as Brooklyn-born Sammy Clay, and Frank Boyd, as Czech-born Josef Kavalier. Boyd in particular goes from strong to extraordinary as Josef alters his ambitions to fit wartime and postwar circumstances. Nate Kelderman, who plays Kavalier’s younger brother in the old country (and later his son), perfectly mirrors Kavalier’s wary intelligence. Other memorable performances among the 18-member cast include Opal Peachey as shared romantic interest and activist Rosa Saks and Robert Hinds as the radio actor who voices one of the superheroes. Directed by Myra Platt from an abridged script by Jeff Schwager, Kavalier & Clay obviously requires some audience endurance. The third act is where the setups start to pay off in spades, so if the early acts seem slow, hang in there. And the show can be surprisingly nimble thanks to Christopher Mumaw’s ever-morphing sets. Legions of flats depict towering buildings and bland suburbs, straight from the imaginations of adventure-craving youth. Live music by Micahel Owcharuk and Beth Fleenor helps evoke our heroes’ quick-changing moods. Sometimes we follow them from the map of the known world into pure escapade. In one episode, Peachey doubles as comic-strip heroine Judy Dark, who molts into superhero Luna Moth amid airborne motes like Ben-Day dots. In another, Kavalier bombs through a strobe-storm in Antarctica on a gruesome mission. The clockwork precision of this complicated adaptation seems a feat of magic in itself. It’s like a trick Kavalier might have tucked up his sleeve to dazzle a captor long enough to escape with his life.MARGARET FRIEDMAN Center Theatre at the Armory, Seattle Center, 216-0833. 6 p.m. Wed.–Sat., 
2 p.m. Sun. Ends July 13.

Big Top Rock Teatro Zinzanni’s rock-concert-themed family cirque show stars the band Dream On. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $19–$22. See zinzanni.com for schedule of weekend shows. Ends July 20.

Teatro ZinZanni: When Sparks Fly Maestro Voronin headlines this mad-scientist-themed show. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $99 and up. Runs Thurs.–Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Sept. 21.

We Will Rock You This traveling jukebox musical is built around Queen’s greatest hits, meaning karaoke standards like “We Are the Champions” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.” 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., 625-1900, 5thavenue.org. $29.25 and up. 7:30 p.m. Wed., July 9; 8 p.m. Thurs., July 10–Fri., July 11; 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., July 12; 1:30 & 7 p.m. Sun., July 13.

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Little Red Riding Hood meets the Three Little Pigs in this fractured fairy tale. Volunteer Park, schmeater.org. Free. 
5 p.m. Sat.–Sun. Ends July 20.

Dance

YELLOW FISH SEE THE PICK LIST, PAGE 23.

DANCE THIS! SEE THE PICK LIST, PAGE 24.

Dani Tirrell Performing Pot Roast, Aprons, and June Cleaver as part of the closing events of Jacqui Beck’s Gender Personal multimedia show. (You know, Leave It to Beaver’s been off the air for 51 years; perhaps we could find a fresher symbol of conventionality?) Kirkland Arts Center Gallery, 620 Market St., Kirkland, 425-822-7161, kirklandartscenter.org. 9 p.m. Sat., July 12.

Melody Nelson “We take our inspiration from anime, classic role-playing video games, quiet prayer, and Spinoza,” says this local dance company. Members include Britta Peterson, Jan Trambauer, Kince De Vera, and Dylan Ward. Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave., 800-838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. $12–$20. 8 & 10 p.m. Sat., July 12.

Classical, Etc.

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The Met Summer Encores Favorite “Live in HD” broadcasts from past seasons. Renee Fleming sings the doomed Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello, 7 p.m. Wed., July 9. The Enchanted Island is the Met’s Shakespeare/baroque pastiche with music by Vivaldi, Rameau, and others, 7 p.m. Wed., July 17. See metopera.org for participating theaters.

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Seattle Chamber Music Society Recitals at 7 p.m., concerts at 8. Wed., July 9 Recital: Beethoven’s Quartet in C minor. Concert: Stravinsky, Mendelssohn, and a later Beethoven quartet. Fri., July 11 Recital: A sampler of Bartok’s violin duos. Concert: Mozart, Brahms, and Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. Mon., July 14 Recital: an introduction to this summer’s premiere, Derek Bermel’s Death with Interruptions for piano trio. Concert: Bermel’s new work is flanked by a Schubert trio and Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet. Wed., July 16 Recital: Pianist Orion Weiss plays Debussy’s La boite a joujoux. Concert: Haydn, Sibelius, Vaughan-Williams, and Brahms. Benaroya Recital Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., 283-8808, seattlechambermusic.org. Single tickets $48.

Auburn Symphony Summer Concerts Light music for brass. Mary Olson Farm, 28728 Green River Rd., Auburn, auburnsymphony.org. $10–$17. 7 p.m. Thurs., July 10.

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Seattle Symphony “Pixar in Concert” closes the SSO season with music and clips from Pixar’s 13 feature films. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., 215-4747, seattlesymphony.org. $19 and up. 7:30 p.m. Fri., July 11, 
2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., July 12.

Olympic Music Festival Chamber-music favorites in a repurposed barn, 2 p.m. each Sat. & Sun. through Sept. 7. Next up, Beethoven, Bottesini, and Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet. Quilcene, Wash., 360-732-4800, olympic
musicfestival.org. $18–$33.

Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society SEE EAR SUPPLY, THIS PAGE.