DakhaBrakha, Taylor Mac, Mark Morris Dance, IF/THEN and More Highlight Seattle Theatre Group's 2015-16 Season
By: BWW News Desk May. 08, 2015
Art & culture are vital to our existence and Seattle Theatre Group's 2015-2016 season features ample offerings of live performance experiences from arts provocateurs, global masters, cultural icons, and contemporary legends.
Consider a single evening of music from India and Pakistan, with virtuosic genius and spiritual enlightenment, Dr. L. Subramanian, India's foremost violinist, and Qawwali Sufi music by Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammed. Or experience an "ethno-chaos" performance ensemble at the crossroads of Ukranian folklore and theatre, with DakhaBrakha, combining Arabic, African, Russian, Australian music and sounds, with traditional melodies from the Ukraine. Both groups open the STG season in September. Modern-day troubadour, José González, from Sweden, with an Argentinian background, will grace the Moore Theatre stage for the first time, with his poignantly delicate voice, masterfully eloquent classical guitar, achingly emotional melodies, and thought-provoking lyrics, with new chamber orchestra arrangements by Rob Moose in a Seattle premiere collaboration with the yMusic ensemble.
The STG season will also explore political and social justice themes this upcoming season, featuring members of Pussy Riot, presenting a documentary and moderated discussion, and the flamboyant provocateur, Taylor Mac, presenting an evening of glittering musical time travel, with a concert that features popular songs selected from time periods as diverse as the 1770s through the 2000s. Mac is "equal parts bedazzled shaman, searing social critic, radical angel and Elizabethan fool who... defies any categorization." (Time Out New York). Tanya Tagaq, in concert with Nanook of the North, is modern dance meets modern art, narrated by an ancient voice. The New York Times, says that her performance is, "fiercely contemporary...a dynamo, delivering a sort of gothic sound art with feral energy."
Unnerving and exquisite, Tagaq's unique vocal expression may be rooted in Inuit throat singing but her music has as much to do with electronica, industrial and metal influences as it does with traditional culture.
With this project, Tagaq, a Polaris Music Prize winner and two-time Juno Award nominee, reclaims the controversial 1922 silent film Nanook of the North, considered the world's first major work of non-fiction filmmaking, yet it is rife with contradictions. Both Taylor Mac and Tanya Tagaq are presented in partnership with On the Boards.
This season STG subscribers can choose from a few spotlighted series. In addition to our Keybank Broadway at The Paramount Broadway series, subscribers will be able to choose a Seattle Rock Orchestra, Trader Joe's Silent Film series and a Dance Lovers package.
The season spotlights five dance performances including, the Mark Morris Dance Group returning with a couple of Seattle premieres, and for the first time in Seattle, the electrifying, Shaping Sound, under the artistic direction of Emmy Award-winning choreographer Travis Wall, from So You Think You Can Dance, on the Paramount stage. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns in the spring of 2016, just prior to the summer 2016 launch of the new Seattle Theatre Group AileyCamp. The STG AileyCamp, in memory of longtime Ailey company leader, STG friend and Tacoma native Calvin Hunt, offers a free 6-week camp for youth ages 11-14, using dance and other arts disciplines for personal development.
KIDD PIVOT, along with the Electric Company Theater from Canada will present the Seattle premiere of Betroffenheit on the historic Moore Theatre stage, to round out the DANCE LOVERS package. This program is also presented in partnership with On the Boards. Of course, STG's signature program Dance This is also included and celebrates 18 years of creative and cross-cultural expression through dance.
Other highlights of the season include the groundbreaking, PopOpera, Now I'm Fine, remounted by local artist, Ahamefule Oluo, and a band of local musicians, including a 17-piece orchestra. American music roots abound with The Jones Family Singers, Blue Note jazz artist, Gregory Porter, and music legend Arlo Guthrie in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the story and the song that inspired the iconic movie- "Alice's Restaurant."
Tony Award-winner and Broadway superstar Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent, Frozen, Glee) will be reprising her critically-acclaimed, Tony-nominated performance in IF/THEN. The original Broadway musical reunites composer Tom Kitt, book writer/lyricist Brian Yorkey, and director Michael Greif, the creative team behind the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, Next to Normal.
Also highlighting this season, original Policedrummer Stewart Copeland, plays his original scoring live to accompany the 1925 classic silent film Ben Hur: A Tale of Christ, as part of our TraderJoe's Silent Film series, Significant Silents.
Join Seattle Theatre Group for an entertaining, challenging, inspiring, and enriching season to explore distant cultures, and examine political and social issues through artistic lenses. Be a part of the Vital Art that lives here!
2015-2016 Season:
Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays - 25th Anniversary of Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation
Paramount
Monday, June 1, 2015 - Monday, June 22, 2015
Silent Movie Mondays celebrates the 25th ANNIVERSARY OF MARTIN SCORSESE'S THE FILM FOUNDATION by featuring four 35mm films from their list of preserved films. Founded in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, the non-profit is dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history by providing annual support for preservation and restoration projects at the leading film archives. Since its inception, the foundation has been instrumental in raising awareness of the urgent need for film preservation and has helped to save over 600 motion pictures. We honor their work by presenting the following: June 1 the action-adventure The Mark of Zorro (1920) starring Douglas Fairbanks; June 8 the recently restored romantic comedy My Best Girl (1927), Mary Pickford's last silent; June 15 the crime spree caper The Unholy Three (1925) starring Lon Chaney in his last film; and June 22 the fantasy film of Snow White (1916) starring Marguerite Clark, inspiring Disney to create his 1937 animated classic. All films will be accompanied by the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
CineClub will follow each film in the Paramount Lobby bar.
Silent Film, Film, Live Music, History
Dr. L. Subramaniam with Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad
Moore
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Dr. L. Subramaniam
A gifted South Indian counterpart of Jean-Luc Ponty on the electric violin, and endlessly curious about all kinds of music, Subramaniam has been a pioneer in exploring intelligent fusions between European classical music, American jazz, rock and South Indian music. His father, a master Indian violinist, and mother, who played the Indian vina, were his first musical influences. After abandoning a career in medicine, he formed a violin trio with his two brothers while still in India. He toured America and Europe with Ravi Shankar and ex-Beatle George Harrison in 1974, made his first fusion album in Copenhagen (Garland), and wrote material for Stu Goldberg and Larry Coryell in 1978. He settled in the Los Angeles area in the late '70's in order to earn a doctorate in Western music at the California Institute of the Arts, where he also taught South Indian music.
Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad
Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad learned the art of Qawwali (Qawwali is a traditional form of music and song found in India and Pakistan, part of the Sufi Muslim tradition) from their father, the late Ustad Raziuddin Ahmed of the Delhi Gharana. This unique tradition of Qawwali can be directly traced back over 700 years to Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and Hazrat Amir Khusrau of the Indian Sub-continent.
The group sings in multiple languages including Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Hindi, Farsi, Arabic, Bengali, and Purbi. They use music as a spiritual force - singing repetive phrases continually until the words lose their meaning, like a mantra, and become pure sound, with the goal of moving the participant and the audience towards a state of spiritual enlightenment.
The government of Pakistan has decorated Fareed Ayaz Qawwal with the "Pride of Performance" Award. The group continues their family tradition of performing Qawwali by consistently touring across the globe.
Live Music, International Music, India, Pakistan
ANNIE
Paramount
Sunday, September 20, 2015 - Saturday, September 26, 2015
The world's best-loved musical returns in time-honored form. Directed by original lyricist and director Martin Charnin and choreographed by Liza Gennaro, this production of ANNIE will be a brand new incarnation of the iconic original. Featuring book and score by Tony Award-winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, ANNIE includes such unforgettable songs as "It's the Hard Knock Life," "Easy Street," "I Don't Need Anything But You," plus the eternal anthem of optimism, "Tomorrow."
Broadway
DakhaBrakha
Neptune
Saturday, September 26, 2015
DAKHABRAKHA is world-music, "ethno chaos" performance ensemble, whose work exists at the crossroads of Ukrainian folklore and theatre. Their name means "give/take" in the old Ukrainian language. The group was created in 2004 by the avant-garde theatre director, Vladyslav Troitsky, and theatre work has left an endelible mark on the band and their performances. DAKHABRAKHA inbues traditional Ukrainian folk melodies with Indian, Arabic, African, Russian and Australian traditional instrumentation, which, along with their astonishingly powerful and uncompromising vocal range, creates a trans-national sound rooted in Ukrainian culture.
Live Music, International, Russia
Cameron Esposito
Neptune
Saturday, October 17, 2015
CAMERON ESPOSITO has appeared on LOGO, NPR, at TBS' Just for Laughs Chicago, SXSW, as well as in the Aspen Rooftop & Bridgetown Comedy Festivals (Portland Mercury Best of the Fest). Cameron got her start in improv comedy at Boston's ImprovBoston & Improv Asylum, trained at the Second City Conservatory & began her career as a standup in Chicago. Cameron relocated to LA in fall 2012 & since then has been named one of the top 12 LA Comedy Acts to Watch in 2013 by LA Weekly, a Best of 2012 by LA's thecomedybureau.com & launched Put Your Hands Together, the only weekly standup show at Los Angeles' Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.
Known for her "effervescent storytelling" (AV Club), Cameron is the brains and voice behind revolutionary all-standup podcasts Standup Mixtape (Underground Communique Records) and Put Your Hands Together (aspecialthing records). She is also the host/creator of the Wham Bam Pow action & scifi movie podcast on the Maximum Fun network. Cameron is also the founder of the Feminine Comique, the world's only all-female standup course. Her debut album, Grab Them Aghast, was released in 2010 on Rooftop Comedy Records.
Comedy, Stand-up
Whose Live Anyway?
Moore
Friday, October 23, 2015
Join the cast from the Emmy-nominated TV show Whose Line is it Anyway for WHOSE LIVE ANYWAY? It's 90 minutes of hilarious improvised comedy and song, including some of your favorite Whose Line games but also many new ones. STG is excited to welcome the show back along with Ryan Stiles, a Bellingham native. Bring your suggestions and you might be asked to join the cast on stage. It's always a new show and it's hilarious! WHOSE LIVE ANYWAY? will leave you feeling good many days later.
Comedy, Improv
Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays - The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari composed by Wayne Horvitz and Performed by the Wayne Horvitz Ensemble
Paramount
Monday, October 26, 2015
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, on October 26, is a 1920 German classic silent horror film, directed by Robert Wiene and considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema through its intriguing visual style of dark and twisted shadows, angles and stairs. Many view it as the first true horror film and cinema's first cult film. The film score is composed by Wayne Horvitz and performed live by the Wayne Horvitz Ensemble, a seven-member group of Seattle musicians.
CineClub will follow the film in our Paramount Lobby bar.
Silent Film, Film, Live Music, History
Shaping Sound
Paramount
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Created by Emmy© Award-nominated choreographers Travis Wall, Nick Lazzarini, Teddy Forance and Kyle Robinson, SHAPING SOUND is an electrifying mash-up of dance styles and musical genres brought fully to life on stage by a dynamic company of contemporary dancers. After rising to fame with an early and ongoing presence on So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With The Stars, they starred in their own Oxygen reality TV show All the Right Moves.
Audiences of all ages will experience the exhilarating collaboration of these visual musicians whose explosive choreography, dynamic rhythm, speed and physical strength give shape and form to sound. SHAPING SOUND - dance reimagined.
Dance
RIVERDANCE
Paramount
Friday, October 30, 2015 - Sunday, November 1, 2015
The international Irish dance phenomenon is back by popular demand in RIVERDANCE- THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR. Drawing on Irish traditions, the combined talents of the performers propel Irish dancing and music into the present day, capturing the imagination of audiences across all ages and cultures in an innovative and exciting blend of dance, music and song.
"As for the flaws? Well, there simply aren't any. Here's to another 20 years!" - The Edinburgh Evening News
Broadway, Live Music, International, Irish Heritage, Ireland
IF/THEN
Paramount
Tuesday, November 3, 2015 - Sunday, November 8, 2015
IF/THEN is a contemporary Broadway musical about living in New York today - and all the possibilities of tomorrow. With unforgettable songs and a deeply moving story by the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning creators of Next to Normal, this "fascinating, ambitious, and original new musical (New York Post)" simultaneously follows one woman's two possible life paths, painting a deeply moving portrait of the lives we lead, as well as the lives we might have led.
Broadway
Seattle Rock Orchestra performs David Bowie & Glam Rock
Moore
Saturday, November 7, 2015 - Sunday, November 8, 2015
SRO celebrates its fifth season at the Moore Theatre with a re-imagining of their very first Moore show, this time flaunting even more hits, dance tunes and glam rock glory! Before paying tribute to the titular music legend, SRO will open the show with a deeper look into the genre, performing a set of songs by glam rock contemporaries T. Rex and Electric Light Orchestra. Featuring David Bowie songs "Young Americans," "Let's Dance," Life On Mars?" and "Changes," T. Rex songs "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" and "20th Century Boy," and ELO songs "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Don't Bring Me Down," (with many more hits by all three artists) this will be one glam-tastic evening you won't want to miss!
Seattle Rock Orchestra (SRO) was born out of the desire to marry the unabashed performance energy of rock'n'roll with the broader palette of musical nuances treasured in classical music. With a 50+ piece orchestra complete with strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, choir and a rotating cast of guest vocalists, SRO is embarking on its fifth full season of programming.
Live Music, Pop Culture, Rock, Bowie
Global Party
Moore
Friday, November 13, 2015
GLOBAL PARTY is a high-energy performance of cultural and contemporary dance and music. The performance features young talented Northwest performers celebrating the world's cultural richness, reflecting the diversity of music and dance origins present in our region. It's a not-to-be-missed experience for all ages. Think Global, Celebrate Local!
Dance, Live Music, International, Community
Mark Morris Dance Group
Moore
Friday, November 20, 2015 - Sunday, November 22, 2015
The MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP has enthralled critics, dance enthusiasts, and novices alike with its amazing technical expertise, unique artistry, and its signature use of live music. Proclaimed "the most prodigiously gifted choreographer of the post-Balanchine era" by Time Magazine, Mark Morris has had a profound impact on the dance world ever since he burst onto the scene in 1980, and continues to create important new works with a singular ability to combine beautiful music, graceful movement, and delicious wit.
The program will include the following pieces: Cargo, A Wooden Tree, Whelm, and The.
Dance, Modern Dance
Snarky Puppy
Neptune
Sunday, November 22, 2015
SNARKY PUPPY is led by award-winning bassist/guitarist/composer/arranger Michael League, whose creative grass-roots approach to a tougher-than-ever industry has created a new model for independent artists. SNARKY PUPPY is a three-headed creature: first, and most obviously- an original music ensemble. Second- a production team and session band for individual artists. Third, and probably most importantly - SNARKY PUPPY is a group of musicians enthusiastically committed to music education and community outreach.
The once Texan, now New York-based quasi-collective has gone from the best-kept secret to one of the most respected names in instrumental music. Although still "underground" in many respects, the band has earned high praise from critical stalwarts like the BBC, Village Voice, Guardian, and Boston Herald, and has performed at some of the best venues and festivals in Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America.
Live Music, Jazz, Funk, Soul, Pop
Taylor Mac - Songs of the American Right
On the Boards
Thursday, December 10, 2015 - Saturday, December 12, 2015
Equal parts bedazzled shaman, searing social critic, radical angel and Elizabethan fool, TAYLOR MAC "doesn't just defy categorization; he makes the categories themselves seem irrelevant" (Time Out NY). For the past 18 years, TAYLOR MAC has created internationally award-winning performance events that at once provoke and embrace his diverse audience. Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music is his most ambitious project to date - a subjective history of the past 240 years since America's founding, told through the music of the times.
Mac's appearance at On the Boards, his first in Seattle in several years, will feature Songs of the American Right, a political and hilarious introduction to what will eventually be a 24-hour long performance work. A Taylor Mac show is like nothing you've ever witnessed: "Startlingly unique...a must see for anyone who wants to see a kinder, gentler society" (Huffington Post).
Live Music, Comedy, Cabaret
NETworks presents Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Paramount
Friday, December 11, 2015 - Sunday, December 13, 2015
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY EVER TOLD COMES TO LIFE!
The romantic Broadway musical for all generations, Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, the smash hit Broadway musical, is coming to Seattle! Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature film, this eye-popping spectacle has won the hearts of over 35 million people worldwide. This classic musical love story is filled with unforgettable characters, lavish sets and costumes, and dazzling production numbers including "Be Our Guest" and the beloved title song. Experience the romance and enchantment of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at The Paramount!
MythBusters© - Jamie & Adam Unleashed
Paramount
Monday, December 14, 2015
The all-new, live stage show MYTHBUSTERS© - JAMIE & ADAM UNLEASHED, starring Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, co-hosts of the Emmy-nominated Discovery series MythBusters©, promises to be an unexpected evening of on-stage experiments, audience participation, rocking video and behind-the-scenes stories. Fans will join Jamie and Adam on stage and assist in their mind-twisting and not always orthodox approach to science.
MYTHBUSTERS© - JAMIE & ADAM UNLEASHED brings you face to face with the curious world of Jamie and Adam as the duo matches wits on stage with each other and members of the audience.
Science, Comedy, Film, Discovery Channel
Mark O'Connor's An Appalachian Christmas
Moore
Saturday, December 19, 2015
A product of America's rich aural folk tradition as well as classical music, Mark O'Connor's creative journey began at the feet of a pair of musical giant. Growing up in the O'Connor musical household, Christmas time was a wondrous mixture of Christmas carols and traditional American music - and that is the spirit of Mark O'Connor's critically acclaimed album An Appalachian Christmas. In this eagerly anticipated live show, the Grammy-winning fiddler shares songs from, and inspired by, the hills and hollows of Appalachia. Share a celebration hailed as "a model of intelligence, heart and soul" (Los Angeles Times).
Live Music, History, Folk, Classical
THE BOOK OF MORMON
Paramount
Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - Sunday, January 10, 2016
Ben Brantley of The New York Times calls it "the best musical of this century." Entertainment Weeklysays it's "the funniest musical of all time." From South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, it's THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards® including Best Musical. Jon Stewart ofThe Daily Show calls it "a crowning achievement. So good it makes me angry."
Broadway
STOMP
Moore
Tuesday, January 26, 2016 - Sunday, January 31, 2016
STOMP is explosive, provocative, sophisticated, sexy, utterly unique and appeals to audiences of all ages. The international percussion sensation has garnered an armful of awards and rave reviews, and has appeared on numerous national television shows. The eight-member troupe uses everything but conventional percussion instruments - matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, hubcaps - to fill the stage with magnificent rhythms. The return of the percussive hit also brings some new surprises, with some sections of the show now updated and restructured and the addition of two new full-scale routines, utilizing props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans. As USA Today says, "STOMP finds beautiful noises in the strangest places." STOMP. See what all the noise is about.
Dance, Live Music, Theatre
BULLETS OVER BROADWAY
Paramount
Tuesday, February 2, 2016 - Sunday, February 7, 2016
"The best show in town!" shouts NPR.
Hailed by Time Magazine as, "Musical Theatre Gold!," BULLETS OVER BROADWAY is the hilarious musical comedy about the making of a Broadway show.
Written by Woody Allen, with direction and choreography by Susan Stroman and based upon the screenplay of the acclaimed film by Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath, BULLETS OVER BROADWAY is the story of a young playwright who, in desperate need of financial backing for his next show, accepts an offer he can't refuse from a mobster looking to please his showgirl girlfriend.
Broadway
Seattle Rock Orchestra performs Motown
Moore
Saturday, February 6, 2016
SRO pays homage to the signature 60's & 70's soul, R&B and funk sounds of Detroit-based record label Motown Records. Stylistically unified by incredible house band The Funk Brothers, Motown boasted an incredible roster of recording artists, including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and many more. SRO also celebrates the influence of Memphis-based label Stax Records, whose famous house band Booker T. & The MGs backed artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Isaac Hayes. Featuring a program of some of the best soul, R&B and funk music ever made, this is will be a dance party for the ages!
Seattle Rock Orchestra (SRO) was born out of the desire to marry the unabashed performance energy of rock'n'roll with the broader palette of musical nuances treasured in classical music. With a 50+ piece orchestra complete with strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, choir and a rotating cast of guest vocalists, SRO is embarking on its fifth full season of programming.
Live Music, Pop Culture, Motown
The Jones Family Singers
Neptune
Sunday, February 7, 2016
THE JONES FAMILY SINGERS, consisting in part of five sisters, two brothers and their father, have been tearing up churches and festivals alike for over two decades. However, they've never before made a studio album that displays the depth of their pure musical gifts quite like The Spirit Speaks, recorded to analog tape at Jim Eno's Public Hi-Fi studio in Austin, TX and released on April 1st, 2014 via Arts+Labor.
Yep, it's gospel music - but fans of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and Vintage Trouble will also find a hip shaking and spiritually uplifting workout at the core. "The three-generation gospel collective's high-energy performances are the living embodiment of the indelible connection between the black church and its rock and soul offspring" notes the Austin Chronicle. "It was all joyful praise, brilliantly timed with one crescendo after another" boasts the New York Times, and both Rolling Stone and NPR called them "a must see act" at SXSW 2014.
Live Music, Gospel, Soul
Trader Joe's® Silent Movie Monday's - Silent Treasures Series
Paramount
Monday, February 8, 2016 - Monday, February 29, 2016
The four films in this series are treasures-each in its own way. On February 8, Chaplin does it all in the classic The Gold Rush as producer, director, writer and star. February 15 features the restored film of The Big Parade, directed by King Vidor, and recognizes the Centenary of WWI. Finding a treasure is what happened at the Museum of Modern Art when Lime Kiln Field Day was discovered in their vaults 100 years after the film was made. On February 22 Bert Williams stars in the first full-length film featuring Black actors. Excluding The Gold Rush, the films in this series will be accompanied by The Paramount's original Mighty Wurlitzer organ. And closing the series on February 29 is Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ, with a score composed and performed by Stewart Copeland (original drummer for the band The Police) on drums and percussion. He edited the film to 90 minutes and will be joined by 50 musicians from Seattle Rock Orchestra, conducted by Kim Roy. With the exception of Lime Kiln Field Day, all three films were made in 1925 and were the top grossing films of the silent era.
CineClub will follow each film in the Paramount Lobby bar.
Silent Film, Film, Live Music, History
Pussy Riot: A Conversation and Documentary Screening
Moore
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
PUSSY RIOT is a Russian feminist punk protest group based in Moscow. Founded in August 2011, they have risen to global visibility over the last several years by staging unauthorized provocative guerrilla performances in unusual public locations. These performances are edited into music videos and posted on the Internet, as well as reported on widely by international media. Their lyrical themes include feminism, LGBT rights, opposition to the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom they regard as a dictator, and links between Putin and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2012, in a controversial ruling, three of the group members were jailed for hooliganism.
After a documentary screening, PUSSY RIOT members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina will share their story with the audience. The coversation will be moderated by a local expert on Russian politics and culture.
Film, Politics
Moore
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Singer/songrwriter/entertainer GREGORY PORTER brings his group of fine improvisers for a lyrical and inspirational evening of jazz and 70's inspired soul songs. Hot off the release of his Blue Note debut, Liquid Soul, the acclaimed young vocalist won the 2014 Grammy for best jazz vocal album and is heralded as "the next great male jazz singer" by NPR Music.
Live Music, Jazz
Kronos Quartet
Moore
Saturday, February 20, 2016
For over 40 years, the KRONOS QUARTET-David Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello)-has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to continually re-imagining the string quartet experience. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 50 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity, collaborating with many of the world's most intriguing and accomplished composers and performers, and commissioning more than 800 works and arrangements for string quartet. In 2011, Kronos became the only recipients of both the Polar Music Prize and the Avery Fisher Prize, two of the most prestigious awards given to musicians. The group's numerous awards also include a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2004) and "Musicians of the Year" (2003) from Musical America.
Live Music, Contemporary Classical, Collaboration
This copy will probably change at some point to include the two programs that will be featured at this event
Trader Joe's® Silent Movie Monday's - Silent Treasures Series - Ben Hur: A Tale of The Christ
Paramount
Monday, February 29, 2016
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a 1925 American epic silent film directed by Fred Niblo. It stars Ramón Novarro and Francis X. Bushman, and is based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace. The novel was first adapted for the screen in 1907 also titled Ben Hur.
In 1997, Ben-Hur was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
STEWART COPELAND, original drummer from the band The Police, has adapted & composed a score for this classic silent film. He will play drums & percussion with a 50+ orchestra from Seattle Rock Orchestra, conducted by Kim Roy.
CineClub will follow the film in our Paramount Lobby bar.
Silent Film, Film, Live Music, History
Jose Gonzalez and yMusic
Moore
Sunday, March 6, 2016
José González (Seattle Premiere)
Modern-day troubadour González's poignantly delicate voice, masterfully eloquent classical guitar, achingly emotional melodies, and thought-provoking lyrics will be reframed by new chamber orchestra arrangements by Rob Moose in a collaboration with yMusic.
yMusic
Art rock collides with contemporary classical in the hands of this Gen Y ensemble, the go-to group for My Brightest Diamond, St. Vincent, and Antony and the Johnsons, among others. They open the evening with instrumental pieces by some of today's most vital composers, including Nico Muhly, The National's Bryce Dessner, and Son Lux.
Live Music, Indie, Contemporary Classical
JERSEY BOYS
Paramount
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 - Sunday, March 13, 2016
"TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!" raves the New York Post for JERSEY BOYS, the 2006 Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award®-winning Best Musical about Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This is the true story of how four blue-collar kids became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were 30! JERSEY BOYS features their hit songs "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Rag Doll," "Oh What a Night" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." "THE CROWD GOES WILD!" cheers The New York Times.
Broadway
Kidd Pivot/Electric Company Theatre - Betroffenheit
Moore
Friday, March 18, 2016 - Saturday, March 19, 2016
A state of shock and bewilderment encompasses you in the wake of a disaster. It is a timeless, liminal space where you return again and again even as you struggle to gain and maintain distance, and where you keep responding to the disaster long after it has subsided. Here, a crisis-management team is keeping your emergency situation alive and present, a trusted voice is urging you to come to terms with the past, and a steady supply of "The Show" is available for all the distraction, escape and pleasure you crave. In one sense you're the survivor and this is your refuge. In another, you're the disaster waiting to happen. This new creation by two of Canada's most celebrated companies is an innovative, boundary-stretching hybrid of theatre and dance.
Dance, Modern Dance, Theatre
Starbucks Hot Java Cool Jazz
Paramount
Friday, March 25, 2016
As part of Starbucks' ongoing commitment to supporting the local youth arts community, this benefit concert features Ellington Festival award-winning jazz bands from five local high schools, with all proceeds from ticket sales going to support each school's music program. Seattle area high school jazz musicians take the stage in a showcase of the city's finest young talent performing with their big bands. Past performing bands include Garfield, Roosevelt, Edmonds-Woodway, Mountlake Terrace, Ballard and Newport to name a handful.
Live Music, Jazz, Community
BLUE MAN GROUP
Paramount
Thursday, March 31, 2016 - Sunday, April 03, 2016
BLUE MAN GROUP is best known for their wildly popular theatrical shows and concerts, which combine music, comedy and multimedia theatrics to produce a totally unique form of entertainment. Although it is impossible to describe, people of all ages agree that Blue Man Group's show is an intensely exciting and wildly outrageous experience that leaves the entire audience in a blissful, euphoric state.
With no spoken language, BLUE MAN GROUP is perfect for people of all ages, languages, and cultures. In Fall 2010, Blue Man Group takes to the road on its U.S. theatrical tour. This unique theatrical experience is a form of entertainment like nothing else, guaranteed to be an outing you will never forget!
Broadway
Ahamefule Oluo - Now I'm Fine
Moore
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Comedian/musician/captivating storyteller AHAMEFULE OLUO leads a team of talented musicians in a grand-scale experimental pop opera about keeping it together. Drawing from darkly funny personal stories about illness, despair, and regeneration, Now I'm Fine ranges from intimate to epic, featuring a 17-piece orchestra and a spectacular cast of performers including Okanomodé Soulchilde, Samantha Boshnack, Josh Rawlings, Evan Flory-Barnes, D'Vonne Lewis and many more.
AHAMEFULE OLUO is a composer, comedian, and trumpet player. Oluo was the first Artist-in-Residence at Town Hall in Seattle. A longtime writing partner of comedian Hari Kondabolu, he has performed nationally with bands including Das Racist and Hey Marseilles, and is a fixture in the local and national comedy scenes. His garage-jazz quartet Industrial Revelation won the 2014 Stranger Genius Award. Oluo lives and works in Seattle.
Live Music, Comedy, Theatre
Tanya Tagaq presents Nanook of the North
Neptune
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
TANYA TAGAQ'S music isn't like anything you've heard before. Unnerving and exquisite, Tagaq's unique vocal expression may be rooted in Inuit throat singing but her music has as much to do with electronica, industrial and metal influences as it does with traditional culture.
This Inuk punk is known for delivering fearsome, elemental performances that are visceral and physical, heaving and breathing and alive. Her shows draw incredulous response from worldwide audiences, and Tagaq's tours tend to jump back and forth over the map of the world. From a Mexican EDM festival to Carnegie Hall, her music and performances transcend language.
With this project, Tagaq, a Polaris Music Prize winner and two-time Juno Award nominee, reclaims the controversial 1922 silent film Nanook of the North. Nanook of the North is considered the world's first major work of non-fiction filmmaking, yet it is rife with contradictions. The film portrays the lives of an Inuk family in Arctic Canada. Its director, Robert Flaherty, lived and worked with Inuit for years, but still included staged scenes of buffoonery and feigned Inuit ignorance of modern accouterments.
Tanya Tagaq in concert with Nanook of the North was commissioned by TIFF Bell Lightbox as part of its film retrospective, First Peoples Cinema: 1500 Nations, One Tradition.
Nanook of the North film is used courtesy of The Flaherty.
Live Music, International, Film
Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage
Paramount
Friday, April 8, 2016
50 years... 726 teleivision episodes...12 blockbuster films.
STAR TREK: THE ULTIMATE VOYAGE brings five decades of Star Trek to concert halls for the first time in the galaxy or any other.
Fans both old and new will experience the franchise's groundbreaking and wildly popular musical achievements, all while 50 years of the most iconic film and TV footage is simultaneously beamed in high definition onto the big screen. This show is for music lovers, filmgoers, science fiction fans and anyone looking for an exciting and unique concert experience.
Live Music, Pop Culture, Sci-Fi
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Paramount
Friday, April 15, 2016 - Sunday, April 17, 2016
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance. The Ailey company has gone on to perform for an estimated 23 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents -- as well as millions more through television broadcasts. The company is currently led by artistic director Robert Battle, whom The New York Times declared "has injected the company with new life."
Dance, Modern Dance
Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour
Moore
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Legendary folk music icon ARLO GUTHRIE embarks on a 18-month North American tour launching January 21, 2015 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the event that inspired the seminal song, "Alice's Restaurant Massacree."
Arlo Guthrie's career exploded in 1967 with the release of "Alice's Restaurant", whose title song premiered at the Newport Folk Festival helped foster a new commitment among the '60s generation to social consciousness and activism. Arlo went on to star in the 1969 Hollywood film version of "Alice's Restaurant," directed by Arthur Penn. With songs like "Alice's Restaurant," too long for radio airplay; "Coming into Los Angeles," banned from many radio stations (but a favorite at the 1969 Woodstock Festival); and the definitive rendition of Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans," Guthrie was no One-Hit-Wonder. An artist of international stature, he has never had a 'hit' in the usual sense. He has usually preferred to walk to his own beat rather than march in step to the drum of popular culture. Over the last five decades Guthrie has toured throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia winning a wide, popular following. In addition to his accomplishments as a musician, playing the piano, six and twelve-string guitar, harmonica and a dozen other instruments, Arlo is a natural-born storyteller, whose tales and anecdotes figure prominently in his performances.
Live Music, History, Pop Culture, Folk
Disney's NEWSIES
Paramount
Tuesday, April 26, 2016 - Sunday, May 1, 2016
They delivered the papers, until they made the headlines...Direct from Broadway comes NEWSIES, the smash-hit, crowd-pleasing new musical from Disney. Winner of the 2012 Tony Awards® for Best Score and Best Choreography, NEWSIES has audiences and critics alike calling it "A MUSICAL WORTH SINGING ABOUT!" (The New York Times) Filled with one heart-pounding number after another, it's a high-energy explosion of song and dance you just don't want to miss.
Broadway
15th Annual More Music @ The Moore
Moore
Friday, May 6, 2016
MORE MUSIC @ THE MOORE features exceptional young musicians mixing up diverse music styles. The performance celebrates the rich musical talent of youth in our community and provides musicians, regardless of what style they play, the opportunity to make music together. This 15th annual pre-professional development program provides the musicians with creative group collaborations, mentorships from music industry professionals, production and promotional support, and the opportunity to perform live at The Moore Theatre. Past Music Directors have included Sheila E., Meshell Ndegeocello, Daniel Bernard Roumain and Michael Shrieve, to name a few.
Live Music, Young Musicians, International, Community
Seattle Rock Orchestra performs Neil Diamond
Moore
Saturday, May 7, 2016 - Sunday, May 8, 2016
This Mother's Day, SRO celebrates the man, the myth, the legend: Neil Diamond. With a career spanning over 50 years, 30 studio albums, dozens of hits and over 125 million record sales, Diamond is undoubtedly a monolithic figure in music history. Riding the line between sincere artistry and pure camp (and crossing it again, and again) Diamond's songs have etched themselves permanently in our collective cultural memory. SRO will explore Diamond's entire catalogue, performing hidden gems and revered hits alike, including 'Cherry, Cherry,' 'Sweet Caroline,' 'Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon,' 'I'm A Believer,' 'Cracklin' Rose,' and many more.
Seattle Rock Orchestra (SRO) was born out of the desire to marry the unabashed performance energy of rock'n'roll with the broader palette of musical nuances treasured in classical music. With a 50+ piece orchestra complete with strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, choir and a rotating cast of guest vocalists, SRO is embarking on its fifth full season of programming.
Live Music, Pop Culture, Neil Diamond
Sound Opinions Live
Neptune
Friday, May 13, 2016
The public radio program Sound Opinions will bring a live version of their popular radio broadcast and podcast to The Neptune Theatre. Each week on Sound Opinions, hosts and music critics Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot discuss pop music news, trends and history, review hotly anticipated new albums, interview artists like Mary J. Blige and Lindsay Buckingham, and share exclusive performances from bands like Radiohead, Spoon and Alabama Shakes. Now they're taking the show on the road to Seattle and inviting you to come and participate!
This event is presented with support from the Goose Island Beer Company & KUOW.
Speaking Engagement, Podcast
MOTOWN THE MUSICAL
Paramount
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Sunday, June 12, 2016
It began as one man's story... became everyone's music... and is now Broadway's musical. MOTOWN THE MUSICAL is the true American dream story of Motown founder Berry Gordy's journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and many more. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat. Now, experience it live on stage in the record-breaking smash hit MOTOWN THE MUSICAL!
Broadway
Trader Joe's® Silent Movie Mondays - Flapper Era Series
Paramount
Monday, June 13, 2016 - Monday, June 27, 2016
Fun and frolic are in store for June 13, 20 and 27 when leading ladies from the Flapper Era and Jazz Age strut their stuff on the screen. In the works are Cecil B. DeMille's Chicago (1927) starring Phyllis Haver as Roxie Hart. Screenwriter Frances Marion coined the phrase in the first appearance of a flapper starring legendary Ziegfeld Follies performer Olive Thomas in The Flapper (1920). Charming Colleen Moore stars in the newly restored Why Be Good (1929). With bobbed hair and short skirts, the brash and brave Flappers of the Roaring 20's listened to jazz music and danced the night away. Unleash your inner Flapper by coming to The Paramount in vintage 20's attire for a costume parade, have a photo-op in an antique car and take pre-film Charleston lessons in the lobby. All films will be accompanied by the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ.
CineClub will follow each film in the Paramount Lobby bar.
Silent Film, Film, Live Music, History
18th Annual DANCE This
Moore
Friday, July 8, 2016 - Saturday, July 9, 2016
DANCE THIS is STG's most beloved dance program and is possibly the most intense, bringing together scores of teen and community performers from varying experiences to share their culture through the art of dance. Celebrating 18 years of collaboration, performers get the unique opportunity to work with each other and with renowned International dance artists for an experience that increases professional acumen and makes lasting memories. Past guest artists have included Broadway professionals, New York and L.A. award winning dancers, the Joffrey Ballet, and Savion Glover to name a few.
Dance, International, Community
STG's mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region's cultural identity while keeping three historic venues, The Paramount, Moore and Neptune, alive and vibrant. STG presents a range of performances from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and jazz, to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at these three iconic theatres in Seattle and venues throughout the Puget Sound region and in Portland, Oregon.
Pictured: DakhaBrakha
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