SGN Feb 9, 2018 - Part 2

Arts & Entertainment

Michael Feinstein on old friends, timeless music and building bridges

by MK Scott SGN Contributing Writer

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN: CELEBRATING THE CROONERS –FRANK SINATRA, DEAN MARTIN, SAMMY DAVIS, BING CROSBY, & OTHERS

BROADWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS PANTAGES THEATER (TACOMA)

February 23 @ 7:30pm

EDMONDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS

February 24 @ 7:30pm

In 1990 I traveled to New York for the first time and while there I was mentored by a man that knew many people in show business. The name, Michael Feinstein came up and once I heard his voice and saw his stunning good looks, I became an instant fan. My friend, Buddy, also told me to follow my dreams and encouraged me to become a journalist. In 1993-94, Feinstein was coming to Portland to perform with the Oregon Symphony and I wanted to interview him. I reached out to his publicist, but since I only had my talk show on public access, the interview never happened.

see FEINSTEIN page 5

Pacific Northwest Ballet presents a spectacular, virtuosic and memorable Swan Lake

by Sharon Cumberland SGN Contributing Writer

PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET

SWAN LAKE

MARION OLIVER MCCAW HALL

February 3 (runs through 2/11)

It has been three years since Seattle dance lovers have seen Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake – one of the iconic ballets of the 19th century storybook genre. It’s fabulous in every sense – a big, glossy work based on a fable about a prince who falls in love with a

Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company brought profound conversation and dance to University of Washington

by Sharon Cumberland SGN Contributing Writer

UW WORLD DANCE SERIES

BILL T. JONES, LECTURER: “ANALOGY/FORM: FINDING MEANING IN CONFUSING TIMES”

KANE HALL UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

January 30

UW WORLD DANCE SERIES

BILL T. JONES / ARNIE ZANE COMPANY

THE ANALOGY TRILOGY, PART 2 – LANCE: PRETTY AKA THE ESCAPE ARTIST

MEANY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

February 2

In a wonderful lecture at the University of Washington on January 30th Bill T. Jones spoke movingly about his Analogy Trilogy – three evenings of dance presented together for the first time by the Meany Center for the Performing Arts. I wish I could have been present for all three evenings since the one part I did get to see, Lance: Pretty AKA The Escape Artist, was

see JONES / ZANE page 7

Rufus Wainwright to appear in special engagement at ECA, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis joining Ciara at Benaroya Hall for student arts concert

Albert Rodriguez

SGN A&E Writer

Rufus Wainwright is scheduled to appear May 16 at the Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA) in what’s being billed as a special engagement. The Grammy-nominated LGBT artist hasn’t played in the city for several years, the closest was a year ago in Olympia when he gave a special performance to raise funds for Pizza Klatch, an organization that supports Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer youth (LGBTQ) and allies to prevent teen suicide, reduce bullying and keep youth in school. Wainwright’s upcoming concert isn’t a fundraiser and it isn’t clear if his set list will be a collection of music from his twenty-year career, or if it will concentrate on a certain recording, such as he did in 2009 when he introduced fans at the Paramount Theatre to songs from his acclaimed first opera Prima Donna; his untitled second opera, centered around Roman Emperor Hadrian, has already been commissioned to debut in Toronto in the coming months. In total, the American-Canadian singer-songwriter has released nine studio albums in addition to three live recordings and a trio of EPs. Tickets for this concert, priced between $49 and $84, are available at the ECA Box Office (410 Fourth Avenue North, Edmonds), by calling 425-275-9595, or online at www.ec4arts.org.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Ciara will join forces, along with Seattle Seahawks

A fine Bulgarian soprano as Bellini’s Norma

by Rod Parke SGN Contributing Writer

BELLINI’S NORMA ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

DVD BLU-RAY

J.S. BACH: MASS IN B MINOR

ACCENTUS MUSIC

DVD BLU-RAY

ema know that she has considerable dramatic skills. I enjoyed her Norma despite her omitting most of the high notes (shocking!), and in spite of her only rudimentary coloratura (clean but no trills).

quarterback Russell Wilson, for an upcoming music event titled “Youth. Equity. Access.” The show, to feature performances by the hip hop duo and R&B star, as well as showcase the talents of local area students, will take place in the 2500 seat S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall. Proceeds from the show will benefit the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Equity Fund, Russell and Ciara’s Why Not You Foundation and the Seattle Symphony’s Education Programs. This one-nightonly event will feature Seattle celebrities alongside the next generation of artists for an unforgettable evening of music. For ticket information, go to www.seattlesymphony.org.

Speaking of special performances at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, Latin great Sergio Mendes will play the venue on June 11. The Brazilian musician is a pioneer of the bossa nova sound, a fusion of jazz and funk, and has recorded over 35 albums in his career that began in 1961. He scored three Top 10 hits in the US, in 1968 twice with “The Look of Love” and “The Fool on the Hill”, then in 1983 with the pop ballad “Never Gonna Let You Go”, which featured vocalists Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller. Mendes has won a total of three Grammys, two of them Latin Grammy Awards. Tickets, priced between $49 and $84, are available for purchase at the ECA Box Office (410 Fourth Avenue North, Edmonds), by calling 425-275-9595, or online at www. ec4arts.org.

Because I have no wish to waste your time nor mine, I try to order for review only those discs that look promising as candidates to enhance a music lover’s library. Alas, what looks promising turns out sometimes to be highly flawed, either technically or musically. Such was the case with the two Blu-ray discs covered in this review. So, the point this time is more a warning than a recommendation.

The discs are, first, a new production from Royal Opera, Covent Garden, of Bellini’s great opera Norma, and, second, a 2017 video of Bach’s “Mass in B minor”, with Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and some fine soloists. The appeal of the Norma disc is the young soprano du jour, Sonya Yoncheva, in the lead role. (She stars in no fewer than three of this season’s Met Live in HD presentations at the cinema.) Is this Bulgarian singer that great?

Norma was one of Wagner’s favorite operas. Both its music and its drama are of the highest caliber, but of special interest is the extremely challenging nature of the title role. The soprano must have supreme breath control and almost super-human stamina, as well as a beautiful voice with easy tops and perfect legato line. As well, her coloratura must be at least passable, and she’d better grab you dramatically, or it will be a long haul to the end. Called the “Mt. Everest of soprano roles,” it is a supreme test for a new artist.

While nowhere near as great a Norma as American Sondra Radvanovsky, whose Norma opened this season’s Met Live in HD (recently telecast by PBS), Yoncheva almost succeeds here in this live performance in London. Her technique is rock solid, and her voice is lovely, warm, and of considerable size and weight. And those who saw her very recent Tosca at the cin-

Too bad the production surrounding her violates almost everything one might want in this opera! Where to begin? The setting is no longer the Druid culture during Roman occupation; instead there are a gazillion crucifixes, each complete with the dead Christ, Roman Catholic processions with incense and some KKK coneheads, a chorus dressed in modern military garb, and stage direction that has these soldiers slithering backwards on their bellies to get off the stage. The great scene in which Norma (in slacks and heels!) contemplates killing her children is dominated by a big, flat-screen TV with cartoon bunny rabbits, flanked with a Monopoly set and a modern bicycle. The boy wears large headphones. Absolutely nothing about the production illuminates the narrative, and everything contradicts the sublimity of the music. The designer and director both must have hated this opera!

The music-making, led by the superb Antonio Pappano, is generally first-rate. Tenor Joseph Calleja sings perfectly but has minimal acting chops. Mezzo Sonia Ganassi (considerably past her prime) makes a valiant effort to resurrect her former vocal glories, and bass Brindley Sherratt is vocally excellent. Video and audio quality are first-rate.

The aforementioned Bach disc is a major disappointment. Memories of the radiant warmth of the old Robert Shaw LPs and the crystal clarity and excitement of the John Eliot Gardner CDs spoil one’s chances of enjoying this live performance. The visuals are okay, but the sound is multi-miked mono, despite being labeled DTS-HD on the jacket. Everything sounds pinched and lacking in warmth or any sense of space between the instruments. Even the usually excellent bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni sounds thin and cold. Only the tympani come off sounding alive. The recording engineers should apply at McDonalds!

Reviewer Rod Parke can be reached at rodparke41@gmail.com.

After 25 years, I got another opportunity to seek an interview with Feinstein who will be performing in the Puget Sound area in two weeks: First at the Pantages Theater in Tacoma on February 23rd and then at the Edmonds Center for the Arts on February 24th. And I finally got to talk with Michael Feinstein by phone last Friday!

Here’s our conversation.

Feinstein: I remember that too, of course.

MK: It’s like I keep on seeing the review in the Seattle Gay News. It says, “Absolute Gershwin was absolutely fabulous.”

Feinstein: Oh, that’s nice.

MK: Yes. (Chuckle) So also speaking of the chorus, your good friend, Rosemary Clooney performed with them in 2001 when I was an actual member. And it was a great moment with her. She was amazing. It was amazing to sing behind her and see the audience’s reaction.

MK Scott: Welcome back to Seattle. We are looking forward to your two concerts, one at the Pantages Theater in Tacoma, and the other at the Edmond Center for the Arts. What can we expect from these performances?

Feinstein: I’ll be working with a jazz trio doing a selection of songs that are American classics that are by Gershwin and Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, so that’s part of the soundtrack of our history and history sung by everybody through the years from Sinatra to Lady Gaga and beyond. These songs are indestructible and it’s a fun, interactive, upbeat show. It celebrates this music and is really an expression of timeless topics, you know, beautiful expressions of romance and wit. It’s a fun show.

MK: I read that you were mentored by the iconic Ira Gershwin. What did you learn most from Ira?

Feinstein: I worked for six years for Ira Gershwin who was 80 years old at the time and wrote all the lyrics to these classic Gershwin songs that I grew up hearing in my home. And he taught me about the importance of telling a story when you sing a song, that each song is like a three-act play. They’re little slices of life. And they express emotions, heightened emotions, that we can’t always express personally. They say things that we aren’t able to say as eloquently. And it’s interesting because Liza Minnelli, who is a friend of mine, recently said “When I meet someone who knows a lot of songs I know that they had a lonely childhood,” because they embrace music. And that music became sort of their friend in their expression of so many things. And I thought that was a very canny observation.

MK: And actually I kind of remember that you were here about 20 years ago. You sang with Seattle Men’s Chorus and it was a Gershwin-style concert.

You know, those sorts of expressions are so incredible and people appreciate the craft and the work that went into creating them. And also, these songs, they are adaptable. So they can be performed with a contemporary beat by a jazz combo, by a symphony orchestra, or a big band with percussion accompaniment. You know, the songs are changeable so they are performed in thousands of different ways. And that’s what keeps them alive. You know, they’re not staid and solid, they’re not stuck in one style, they evolve, as we do, the music evolves with us. And that’s a wonderful thing.

MK: With Tony Bennett still active and there’s the new generation with Josh Groban and Michael Buble’ keeping the genre going. What does the future hold for the Great American Songbook?

Feinstein: It will always survive. I don’t know about how popular the songs will be, I mean, as far as going mainstream, but that doesn’t matter. They’ll always be present and important to a segment of the population. And I helped start an organization called The Great American Songbook Foundation, and every year we have an annual high school song book academy where kids come from all 50 states and take a week long workshop learning how to interpret and perform these songs. So young people embrace them. And now there’s more, it’s more possible for young people to know this music than ever before

ago, when George W. Bush was President, I was asked to perform at the White House on Valentine’s Day, and I turned it down, for personal reasons. And Terrance said, “Well, I’ve never been to the White House, and I want to go to the White House.” And I thought, well, you know, the White House belongs to all of us as citizens, and I called President Bush’s social secretary and I said, okay, I’ll come and perform on Valentine’s Day if my partner and I are treated as a couple, we are photographed together, and that we are treated in the same way as you would treat any other couple. And they agreed. And so we went there and I feel that by going there with my partner, with my life partner, it might’ve changed the perception of some people in how they think of same sex couples. Because it was – that particular performance was a private event for the president. It was all of their friends, so they were almost all very conservative Republicans. And I felt very good being there with my partner, because that’s another way that bridges are built. And I try not to demonize people with whom I do not share the same point of view. If they are violating my freedom and my rights I can get pretty loud and will fight for my rights to the death. Yet the most important thing is how we behave moment to moment.

MK: I’ve got one more question, my burning question. You have always looked about 15, 20 years younger. How do you keep your youthful appearance?

Feinstein: Yes, and that was only a year before she passed. So very lucky.

MK: I know. Yeah, well, we had the same feeling back in 2000 when we performed with Nell Carter, and then she ended up passing a couple of years later after that as well. By the way, my favorite song of yours is “You and I”.

Feinstein: Oh, yes. That’s a beautiful one. I was thinking about that the other day. Yeah, from Goodbye, Mr. Chips

MK: Yes, yes, it was beautiful. What is your favorite song to perform?

Feinstein: I don’t have a favorite. I love singing “Love Is Here To Stay”, certainly that is one that I sing a lot. So that is a favorite, but a single favorite is impossible, you know, that would be against my religion, to choose one.

MK: (Chuckle) Because you are called the father or the keeper of the Great American Songbook. I loved watching the threepart series that you hosted on PBS years ago. What makes these songs so timeless?

Feinstein: I think that these songs are timeless because they express fundamental emotions that never change, the human condition, the wit, the humor, and the expression of romance, all of these things never change, you know, as the song “As Time Goes By” – it says “The fundamental things apply / As time goes by.”

You know, certain things do not change. And I think that regardless of where music goes, this music will always be strong and thriving because it speaks to the heart in a unique way that does not replace or supplant any other kind of music, it’s just another kind of music that people desire to hear. There’s something about the eloquence of Cole Porter writing: “I’d sacrifice anything come what might / For the sake of having you near / In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night / And repeats and repeats in my ear.”

because of technology. So I’m meeting – and there’s always lots of young kids, young people, I should say, in my audiences because they discover the music somewhere. And they’re interested in it because it appeals to them. So it will be around as long as good music is around.

MK: And you also own Feinstein’s in San Francisco and New York. How do you have time to do it all? And, also I hear you’re still an artistic director at a center in Indiana? [EDITOR’S NOTE: Michael Feinstein is artistic director for the Center for Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana where the Great American Songbook Foundation is currently based.]

Feinstein: Yes. Well, to quote a famous song, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” (Chuckle) So, you know, it’s definitely a group effort, you know. But I, with my name being on the clubs, that means that the buck stops here and I’m responsible for people having a good time and making sure that they’re taken care of, so I take it quite seriously. But obviously I’m not able to handle day-to-day operations.

MK: You married your partner Terrance in 2008. As a gay and Jewish man, what are your thoughts on the current political climate?

Feinstein: Hmm, it’s a time where it’s very, very important, simply, to live the truth of who we are. I think that the most important thing that anyone can do is be true to themselves. Just as years and years

Feinstein: Well, I’m 61, and I’ve not had red meat for 41 years. Started when I was 20. Been a vegan for 15 years. I meditate. I very much accept that belief creates reality and I do a lot of visualization and connection with spirit, or energy, or God, or whatever, you know, everybody has their own beliefs. But I think that without having a connection to a source of creation none of us could survive in these times. And I feel that as we age who we are on the inside manifests more and more on the outside. So I feel that if I have a youthful appearance it’s because I live from the source of creation and spirit and belief that we all, in our essence, are ageless.

MK: Awesome. That is all the questions I have. I feel like I’ve come full circle since I’ve waited 25 years for this interview.

Feinstein: Oh, my gosh. Hope it was worth it. (Laugh)

MK: Wonderful. Thank you so much for taking time out for this.

Feinstein: My pleasure.

MK: I appreciate it.

Feinstein: Me, too.

For ticket information for Michael Feinstein’s upcoming concerts February 23, visit Pantages Theater in Tacoma (www. broadwaycenter.org) or call (253) 591-5894 or (800) 291-7593, and February 24, visit Edmonds Center for the Arts (www.edmondscenterforthearts.org) or call (425) 275-9595.

Tale of a divided Korean family

by Miryam Gordon SGN A&E Writer

AMERICAN HWANGAP

WEST OF LENIN / SIS PRODUCTIONS

Through February 25

If your dad disappeared in your teens and then showed up expecting you to celebrate his 60th birthday, what would you do? What if your family was Korean and obedience to family was baked into your DNA? Family dynamics and reconciliation are on full display with Lloyd Suh’s American Hwangap at West of Lenin, co-produced with SiS Productions.

In many Asian cultures, the 60th birthday is very important. There are 12 animal years in the Asian Zodiac, each with specific social attributes, and after five cycles, you are honored for your long life. Min Suk Chun (Stephen Sumida) lost his job as an engineer in America, after moving with his wife to Texas and birthing three children. He is so demoralized about his future that he believes moving back to Korea would be best and essentially abandons his family.

Now, on the eve of his 60th birthday, he shows up again, and tries to make amends to his wife Mary (Kathey Hseih), and his adult children, David (Moses Kristjanson Yim), Esther (Mara E. Palma) and Ralph (Michael Cerado). Each of them has their own reaction and their own relationship with him and Suh allows them each to unfold for the audience.

SWAN LAKE

continued from cover

princess who is spell-bound as a swan. This four act ballet in the elegant Russian style marshals all the resources required of a premiere dance company: a gorgeous composition, a first-class orchestra, beautiful stage and costume designs, virtuoso dancers, and – extremely important to this work – a corps de ballet that can execute the group precision that characterizes Swan Lake. Dance lovers everywhere can be grateful that the Pacific Northwest Ballet has the resources to produce a spectacular, virtuosic, and memorable version of this classic work. To see it for the first time is to experience a heart-lifting revelation, as if you never knew humans could conspire to make something so beautiful. To see it again is to be reminded that magic is composed of hard work and good taste – it’s just as wonderful, but now you can see the wizardry that informs your memory of earlier visits.

On February 3rd the demanding role of the swan princess, Odette, and her evil twin, Odile, was danced by Noelani Pentastico, partnered by Seth Orza as Prince Siegfried. Both were deeply compelling. Pentastico achieved the sublime mixture of gracefulness and sorrow required of a princess who suffers so much misfortune: to be enslaved, to find love, to have love requited, but then to lose the promise of both love and freedom. Seth Orza’s prince is almost as unfortunate – pressed by his demanding mother to marry against his will, he escapes with his courtiers into a forest where he encounters a flock of magical swans. He falls in love, invites Odette to meet the court and satisfy his obligation to marry, only to discover that Odile has replaced his true love and tricked him into betraying his vow. It’s a tragic story for all the characters – one of those melancholy, beautiful tales that needs to be set in fairyland, otherwise we would be too sad. Orza’s dancing was not only spectacular – his leaps and turns almost dangerous – but his final collapse when Odette disappears into the mist was as romantic and heartbreaking as Wallis’ Pre-Raphaelite painting, “The Death of Chatterton.”

The play is written for 2005, so references to North Korea’s leadership is to Kim Jong Il, which can be a bit disconcerting. Most of the rest of the play feels as contemporary as can be, even though the set decoration uses old phones. There is a subtle confluence with the politics of the split Koreas: North and South, where their history of being overtaken by China and Japan meant that Korea never developed a very distinct culture, and then separated from itself in a very bad war.

The shared choreography between PNB’s founder Kent Stowell and the Russian choreographers of 1895 Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov preserves all that ballet lovers expect to find in Swan Lake while adding a reimagined and more realistic ending and new folk and national dances in Acts I and III. Though one of the patrons sitting near me complained bitterly about the lack of coordination in Act I between the dancers and orchestra I found the opening scenes to be quite charming and less in need of military precision as the famous Act II is when the swans enter in soft, feathery steps and perfect unity. Swan Lake is justly famous for the role that the corps de ballet plays as the flock of swans that accompanies Odette and her prince, providing a graceful frame for their courtship. As PNB’s twenty-four swans create one lovely pattern after another, or hold graceful poses in absolute stillness during the adagios, the audience is given the impression not only of the elegance and beauty of swans, but of the rigid control that the evil wizard has over these entrapped swanhumans. Their pristine white tutus that lift and fall as they move complete the effect of women trapped in swan bodies. PNB’s corps executes these patterns with perfect refinement and discipline. In my book, they are the stars of the ballet – the dancers who personify refinement and balance, the icons of otherworldly beauty, the exquisite birds who inhabit our memories.

One of the highlights of Swan Lake is the dance of the four little swans, in which four young women face the audience holding hands lattice-style and execute two minutes of the most precise dancing imaginable, including sixteen consecutive pas de chats, as they move sideways across the stage. The dance is a highlight of the ballet, made all the more impressive by the fact that if one dancer messes up the others will be forced to stop. This dance elicited some of the most enthusiastic cheers of the evening. And though the swans are what people tend to remember about Swan Lake, there are two big scenes in the prince’s palace in which we are treated to an array of dances from other countries –Russia, Spain, Italy, Persia – in Act III and

So the family dynamics relate to the dysfunction in the two Koreas, just as they demonstrate real schisms in the feelings of those who have been abandoned. Sumida must be very charming, in a gruff and disarming way, and nails that portrayal. Suh writes the Dad as accepting the criticism of his abandonment with solid grace and composure. Min Suk is ready to face the music of his family’s disappointment.

Mary is admonished by her eldest, David, not to have sex with his father, but

there is an undeniable attraction there (that we are simply not aware of) and the draw of their history entices her to reconnect physically, even as she demands that Min Suk respect the changes and independence that she has won over the years.

David is in New York, an investment banker, and reluctant to reward his father’s appearance with a visit. He dithers through the entire play. We can understand his complex feelings, but it is a difficult role to pull off without getting petty. Yim mostly stays on that tightrope walk.

Esther and Ralph have much more deeply complex stories than we realize at first, which is part of the pleasure of watching them unfold. Suh embeds some small surprises that change our perceptions of their characters. Min Suk’s reappearance seems to begin a healing process that both sincerely need, though neither knew it. Thankfully, the play does not wrap everything up neatly and it simply stops. We get to imagine how this family proceeds into the future. Overall, it’s a sweet and sour portrayal that will stir the sympathies and linger.

For more information, go to www. westoflenin.com or https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3210085 or call 800838-3006.

Discuss your opinions with SGNcritic@ gmail.com or go to www.facebook.com/ SeattleTheaterWriters. More articles can be found at MiryamsTheaterMusings. blogspot.com.

a pas de trois in Act I – a series of short pieces that express all the charm and exuberance of youth. I found this sequence of dances among the most delightful of the evening because they expressed the witty, flirtatious optimism of youth while making virtuosity appear natural. Their happy exuberance contrasted sharply and provided an important antidote to the tragedy of the main narrative. There was also a tipsy dance master conducting the festivities who made the audience laugh out loud. Jester Price Suddarth was suitably airborne and comical, but without a jester’s cap or

bells he looked like a frat boy showing off at the party. I think this is the fault of the costume – he needs a hat!

As ever, Emil de Cou and the PNB orchestra gave a luscious account of Tchaikovsky’s music. If you’ve never seen Swan Lake, don’t miss it! Where else can you hear a world-class account of Tchaikovsky’s marvelous composition while seeing an iconic, superb ballet as well? It’s a wonderful journey. PNB’s Swan Lake is performed at McCaw Hall through February 11.

fabulous. Yet just as fabulous was Bill T. Jones’ qualities as a lecturer in an event that went far beyond the standard artist’s talk.

The first two dances of The Analogy Trilogy are focused on the lives of very different real-life people whom Jones interviewed at length: a 95-year-old French-Jewish nurse who worked for the underground resistance in World War II, and Jones’ own nephew, a beautiful, drug-addicted rent boy navigating the club culture of the 1980s and ’90s. The third dance in the trilogy is a response to W.G. Sebald’s complex novel The Emigrants (1992) and its principal character, Ambros Adelwarth. I was so fascinated by Jones’ discussion of this fictional character that I ran out the next day and bought Michael Hulse’s English translation. I’d never heard of Sebald (shame on me, an English professor) but find myself as drawn into his intricate, multi-layered world as Jones was. I would love to have seen how Jones connected these disparate narratives into a coherent whole, especially since Jones himself, in his quiet, authentic way, is one of the most compelling speakers I’ve ever seen. Indeed, my lecture buddy and I felt so uplifted that we left Kane Hall with renewed hope in humanity.

Everything you would expect in a famous choreographer’s lecture was present: an explanation of the origins of the trilogy, a film clip that was analyzed, a brief history of his development as a dancer and the conceptualism that influenced him, and his response to the political turmoil of Black Lives Matter and the Trump administration. Yet all of it was delivered by a man who is simultaneously powerful and humble; a man who, at the height of his fame, asked himself if he was still making art or if he was comfortable with success. He talked about rigor in art – about being in a studio in New York City and witnessing an experimental work so boringly focused on its concept that he was driven to the understanding that “art is not about my pleasure – it’s about an idea! The rigorous investigation of an idea.”

Clearly The Analogy Trilogy is the rigorous investigation of an idea – what makes humans do what they do; how they find meaning in the confusing and dangerous times in which they live; what makes them go wrong and how (or whether) they go right again. Jones investigates these

complexities, both in dance and conversation, with seriousness and compassion. For instance, one of the most uplifting parts of the evening was how Jones handled the Q&A at the end. Instead of the ordinary speaker’s polite patience with those who hold forth instead of asking a question, or who ramble on and on, Bill T. Jones looked at each interlocutor with serious attention. He listened hard, even when the audience got restless, wishing the speaker to sit down or get to the point (we’ve all been there, right?). Jones, however, zeroed in on each speaker, bringing person after person into focus, waiting for a clue that allowed him to ask a key question – “Are you a dancer yourself?” “Have we ever met?” “Are you talking about race?” “Do you know why you’re asking a question?” – always said earnestly, as though they were sitting together in Starbucks having a heart-toheart over lattes.

Each person responded to his attention in ways that seemed reflective and even transformative. Here was an immensely famous and accomplished man looking at them, seeing them, and caring enough about them to listen carefully and then ask a hard question in a kindly way – ending in an embrace or handshake. Jones addressed race with simple directness. “I love you being here, but it’s not a diverse group – this is my life,” he said, looking at us, a typical Seattle audience. To a questioner on how black people can work in a white-dominated art, he said “The people who came out tonight are not the same color as me but their hearts vibrate – you got to make peace with that – you got to, or you’ll be very sad.” To a young woman who talked in agitated circles he said “Are you a writer?” She was brought up cold, but confessed that she was. “If that’s real,” he said, ”and I think it is, you’re going to be on fire! How do you break through? You own words and what will be your criteria for judging it?” The audience sat up and took notice – suddenly we could see what he saw – anxious talent looking for direction. It was a beautiful moment, and a moment that spoke to his theme – rigor in art – which was the subtext of “Finding Meaning in Confusing Times.”

Hearing the lecture at Kane Hall was a great introduction to The Analogy Trilogy, even though I wasn’t able to see all three evenings. Yet of the three I feel very fortunate to have seen the second in the series about Jones’ own nephew, Lance – a beautiful and troubled young man whose

path through the thickets of drug addiction and prostitution form the narrative of Lance: Pretty AKA The Escape Artist. Jones spoke about Lance in his lecture, saying that people criticized him because his first subject, Dora Amelan, focused on a woman who acted bravely in an evil time, while Lance was a “pretty boy-gangster thug” who threw his gifts away on illness, prison and crime. Jones’ response was “Why not? What is a life well lived? Why not write about a black boy as well as a Jewish woman?” The juxtaposition of the lives in the trilogy challenge the “life well lived” cliché and suggest (or demonstrate) what is fundamental to human endeavor and what is variable by time, circumstances, race, and opportunity.

An energetic cast of nine dancers reproduced the club styles of 1980s and ’90s –rock informed by bboy moves – within the vocabulary of modern dance. Jones and Wong use a diagonal string of independent dancers whose spectacular low move solos

stick together like a crazy chorus line. “Bad Boy/Having a Party,” “Work This Pussy,” and music of that genre are interspersed with the voices of the real Lance being interviewed by his uncle, Bill T. Jones, about what he was thinking, what he was doing, and what he plans to do next. We never have the feeling that Lance is lost or abandoned. He may be treading dangerous waters in the grip of Pretty, his powerful alter-ego, but he is also in the grip of a good uncle whose steady voice calls him back to his innate intelligence and potential.

Two dancers of very different sizes, races, and qualities of movement play the main character, Lance/Pretty. I was sorry neither the program nor the Jones/Zane website identifies the dancers in their roles since Pretty, Lance’s alter-ego, is an intensely dramatic diva who dominates the boy whose body she inhabits. Pretty was danced in the diva sequences by a very tall black man dressed in white (with red socks) and a white Grace Jones-style hood, whose every gesture was at once sexy, dangerous, and controlling, like the pushiest bottom who ever lived. In the dance sequences where Lance describes his actual life – his aspirations, his sex work, his illness – he is danced by a diminutive Asian man whose small stature creates friction against his feisty argument with the world. Between the two – and those who move in and out of Lance/Pretty’s life in the dance clubs, John’s cars, and hospitals – we see the underworld as clearly as Milton’s Pandemonium or Dante’s Inferno

Lance: Pretty AKA The Escape Artist is at once a narrative of a specific life and an analogy – a metaphor, a comparison – of life in general: it’s demands, dangers and brevity; it’s hope in the face of daunting odds. Bill T. Jones surprised us in his lecture by saying “Oh, yes – Lance is alive and well and he wants to be an artist.” Not just an “escape artist” – though he had to escape to save his life and have a chance to control his future – but a musical artist. Jones told him that “You’re not an artist until you make something beautiful out of the ugliness of your life,” though he told us in his lecture that he might say it differently today: “You’re not an artist until you make something.” And if making rigorous art is the answer to confusing times, Bill T. Jones has made something rigorous and inspiring to shed light on our own troubled historical moment.

Kudos to the Meany Center for the Performing Arts for bringing the whole trilogy together and for offering the public a free lecture so that everyone in town could hear the legendary Bill T. Jones talk about his work, philosophy, and hope for the future. He is a great man, and it was a great gift to Seattle to have him here.

Classic The Gin Game casts classic Seattle couple

by Miryam Gordon SGN A&E Writer

THE GIN GAME

VILLAGE THEATRE

Issaquah: thru February 25

Everett: March 2-25

A two-hander (a play with two characters) about a couple of older people in an old-folks home, The Gin Game opened in 1976 with the classic theatrical couple Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy. I’ll bet these two were great to watch on stage. Now, Village Theatre has pulled off a similar feat by casting Kurt Beattie and Marianne Owen, the classic Seattle theatrical couple, in their production.

Directed by another Seattle treasure, Jeff Steitzer, the production is probably as good as you can imagine a production should be. Beattie and Owen hit all the right emotional notes as the two relatively new home inhabitants get to know each other and don’t have much else to do but play gin rummy.

Weller (Beattie) thinks of himself as a great gin player. As he invites Fonsia (Owen) to play, he seems happy to mentor her, and clearly does not think she’ll mount much of a challenge. Fonsia does tell him she has “a bit” of experience with gin rummy, but he discounts that as they begin.

Instead of being an easy mark, Fon-

sia begins to win an incredible streak and Weller’s competitive nature starts to cause him to erupt with unseemly rage. Fonsia tries to stop playing, but Weller literally grabs her and doesn’t allow her to leave. No matter what she wants, the game must go on.

The play doesn’t hold up as well, now, as when it won its Pulitzer Prize in 1978. It might have been a fresh idea in 1976 to create a play about older people. Truly, even

now, there are not many plays that actively reflect that time of life, even as the theatergoing population skews older and older. If companies are supposed to “play to their audiences,” you’d think that a bunch of playwriting would be focused on older people’s troubles. That doesn’t seem to be the programming path.

Fonsia tries to stick up for herself and the play may now be a good example of what

we mean when we say that people need to learn about “consent.” Weller’s anger also scares Fonsia and she doesn’t know what to expect. Indeed, a lot of times, when women do things that men get angry about, men can and do become violent and scary. If it starts a conversation about that kind of interaction, that would be a good thing.

One way the production could choose to be stronger is to eliminate the intermission. The play turns out to be a fairly short one in “run time” – i.e., the amount of time it takes to stage the whole thing. Here, intermission is 45 minutes in. The first two scenes are so tame as to be kind of boring, almost. The bang is in the second act, also two scenes. If you’re not engaged by intermission, you’d have a tendency to leave and miss the fireworks.

If it were possible to eliminate that intermission, the play would immediately move into the third (of four) scenes and wake the audience up. There is both more movement (the couple dances) and more energy then. If you choose to see the play, make sure to stay for the payoff, the second act.

For more information, go to www.villagetheatre.org or call 425-392-2202.

Discuss your opinions with SGNcritic@ gmail.com or go to www.facebook.com/ SeattleTheaterWriters. More articles can be found at MiryamsTheaterMusings. blogspot.com.

Latest Cloverfield a weirdly inconsequential curiosity

by Sara Michelle Fetters

SGN A&E Writer

THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX

On Netflix

A viral marketing sensation that came out of nowhere to become a modest-sized hit in January of 2008, the found footage rampaging monster movie Cloverfield was something of a sensation. Eight years later, debuting a trailer a scant two months before its theatrical release, 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane was a critical sensation and a sizable box office success, both factors leading many to believe studio Paramount Pictures and producer J.J. Abrams had the makings of a successful anthology franchise on their hands, one that could move in the realms of science fiction and horror as if it were a cinematic “Twilight Zone” or “The Outer Limits” for the 21st century.

Changing the game once again, Paramount and Abrams turned over their latest installment in their series The Cloverfield Paradox over to Netflix for release. The streaming service debuted a 30-second trailer for the movie during Sunday’s Super Bowl broadcast, subsequently setting the release for the film as the moment the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots came to an end. The buzz of this announcement immediately took the Internet by storm, social media blowing up as viewers wondered what this newest chapter was going to offer up to

mull over and debate. Many also openly wondered why the feature was bypassing a theatrical exhibition entirely in order to premiere on Netflix, this unveiling feeling like both a cagey power play for the powerful streaming company as well as an easy way for Paramount and Abrams to avoid any bad word-of-mouth they might have feared this newest Cloverfield chapter was potentially going to generate.

I feel pretty confident that this latter point is the main reason a theatrical release for The Cloverfield Paradox was put on hold. For as clever and as genre-breaking as both Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane proved to be, they were also fairly easy to sell, their basic plots easy for general audiences to grasp. Not so much this time, director Julius Onah and writers Oren Uziel (22 Jump Street) and Doug Jung (Star Trek: Beyond ) coming up with a story and film that is close to indescribable. A hodgepodge of everything from Alien to Event Horizon to an episode of “Fringe” to Back to the Future to an H.P. Lovecraft story to the classic 1983 television movie The Day After, to call this effort a mess would be massively understating things. It’s likely, at least in today’s marketplace, theatrically, this would have been an almost certain box office dud, so not wanting to weaken the brand for future installments going for an impromptu showcase on Netflix (for which the streaming service reportedly paid a hefty $50 million for the privilege) makes a lot of sense.

Sometime in the very near future, a global energy shortage has the Earth on the brink of a third world war. In order to stave off what could be an extinction-level event, a group of countries send a team of crack scientists up to a newly built space station to conduct tests of a device that could change the course of history forever and instantaneously end the energy crisis. Led by the determined Commander Kiel (David Oyelowo) and with a scientific team headed up by the egotistically self-confident Schmidt (Daniel Brühl), the group has been in orbit for almost two years and has

met with little in the way of a success. But with fellow team members Hamilton (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Monk (John Ortiz), Mundy (Chris O’Dowd), Volkov (Aksel Hennie) and Tam (Ziyi Zhang) looking on with hope-filled eyes, Schmidt is certain the next test will deliver the results they’ve all been praying for.

Initially things go as planned. The experiment is a success, the station’s crew giddy once they realize they’ve finally discovered a source of unlimited energy that will help save the planet. But suddenly the unexpected occurs, an event that bends the very fabric of space and time. Unable to find the Earth, the station suffering from a number of inexplicable malfunctions that must be repaired if they’re ever going to make it back home and report on their discovery, Hamilton in particular finds her sense of reality forever shattered. The catalyst for this is the arrival of an apparent stowaway named Jensen (Elizabeth Debicki), the woman claiming to be one of her best friends as well as a vital member of the crew. Yet this is just one of a myriad of mysteries the team must pool their resources together in order to solve, all the while back on Earth a strange series of monstrous events has plunged the entire planet into a fiery state of terrifying darkness.

There is a lot going, and almost none of it makes sense. Yet as obnoxiously convoluted and overwrought as everything is, somehow Onah manages to still present things in a way that’s fascinating no matter how pointlessly bizarre much of what is transpiring undeniably is. He also stages a handful of strong, unsettling shock sequences that caught me by surprise, the introduction of Debicki’s character an absolute showstopper. Doug J. Meerdink’s (The Watch) production design is sensational, while composer Bear McCreary’s (Colossal ) thunderously eloquent score adds to the excitement level considerably. The film is also magnificently shot by Daniel Mindel (Star Trek: Into Darkness), the manner in which he navigates in and around the space station’s interiors reminding me at various times of William Fraker’s classic visual

compositions for Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby

More importantly, the cast is universally excellent, Mbatha-Raw, Debicki and O’Dowd in particular. The latter appears to be having a grand time gallivanting inside this sci-fi playground, some of his oneliners and deadpan observations getting me to laugh out loud on multiple occasions. Debicki grounds her mysterious character in a surreal pathos that is palpably genuine, the shock and dissociative psychological trauma she goes through understandable and easy to relate to once the full magnitude of her situation is revealed. It is Mbatha-Raw, however, who is the film’s heart and soul, her emotionally devastating journey one overflowing in heartbreak. Yet Hamilton’s perseverance in the face of the unthinkable is equally affecting, her ability to see the bigger picture even though she’s right on the verge of falling to metaphorical pieces a form of quiet courageous heroism stories like this one seldom, if ever, take the time to showcase in such intimately poignant detail.

Still, I’m not kidding when I say that this movie is a mess. It almost feels as if Abrams and company had Onah and his creative team shoehorn in the “Cloverfield” aspects of the story at the very last minute, and as such the tissue connecting this installment to its 2008 predecessor (this is supposed to explain the appearance of the monster that destroyed New York City) is tenuous at best. More importantly, subplots and narrative devices talking about multiverses, alternate realities and time travel paradoxes aren’t given room to breathe, and as such it all becomes a twisted pretzel of mental and psychological sci-fi gymnastics impossible to make heads or tails of. The audacity of a Netflix premiere a little over two hours after a Super Bowl trailer presentation aside, there’s precious little about The Cloverfield Paradox that rises to the same heights as the previous two entries in the anthology series soared to, making this one more of a uniquely weird curiosity than it is anything compellingly substantive.

Violently obnoxious Peter Rabbit a vile adaptation

by Sara Michelle Fetters

SGN A&E Writer

PETER RABBIT Now playing

There is almost nothing about Peter Rabbit that makes me think Beatrix Potter would be pleased by this frantic, violently juvenile adaptation of her classic character. Beginning with the publication of The Tales of Peter Rabbit in 1902, the author wrote a number of books featuring Peter, his siblings Flopsy, Mopsy and CottonTail, and a great many of their countryside friends including Pigling Bland, Jemima Puddle-Duck and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. She detailed his mischievous adventures as he invaded Old Mr. McGregor’s farm in order to steal vegetables for his kin, the proud and prideful Peter learning a number of lasting lessons about sacrifice, family, community and humility as he did all he could to keep from being baked into a meat pie.

Had I never read a single one of Potter’s books as a child, I can say with conviction I would still have loathed director Will

Gluck’s (Annie, Easy A) distasteful adaptation. While the CG animation utilized to bring Peter and his fellow critters to life is undeniably extraordinary, maybe some of the best I’ve ever seen, and even though actors Rose Byrne and Domhnall Gleeson manage to give two pretty solid performances reacting to all the madness and mayhem, this movie still made me so angry I was practically speechless afterwards. It was like I was sitting there getting pelted in the face with one rotten vegetable after another, and while I can appreciate certain aspects of the production that doesn’t mean I’d want anyone, anywhere to waste their hard-earned dollars taking the family to see this unmitigated disaster anytime soon.

Only the basic semblance of a connection to Potter’s source material exists. After Old Mr. McGregor’s (Sam Neill) untimely demise, Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Corden) believes he’s finally won the battle for the human’s lush, carefully tilled vegetable garden. But not so soon after he, his siblings Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki), Cotton-Tail (Daisy Ridley) and their cousin Benjamin Bunny (Colin Moody) take up residence in Old Mr. McGregor’s now empty house, along comes the farmer’s grand-nephew, Mr. Thomas McGregor (Gleeson). He’s the new owner, and the persnickety and fussy busybody intends to get the property into tip-top shape so he can sell it for a tidy profit. That means Peter and his brood are not welcome in the vegetable garden, and he’ll go to whatever lengths he feels are appropriate to ensure no rabbit sets foot inside of it ever again.

Enter kindly artist Bea (Byrne). She’s lives next door and adores Peter, making room for him and his family whenever possible. But the young woman also catches the eye of her new neighbor, Thomas smitten right from their first meeting. For Peter, this is a step too far, and where he was initially willing to play cat and mouse with the new McGregor in much the same way as he did his predecessor, with Bea showing signs of falling for the man’s charms the rabbit decides to take things to a level he’s never ascended to before. It is man versus bunny, both determined to do whatever they must to win Bea’s affections, and if there’s any collateral damage so be it.

One of the film’s chief gags revolves around Peter’s happiness that he “killed” Old Mr. McGregor. He didn’t, of course, the older man dying of a heart attack, but the fact this ends up being a running joke is moderately repulsive, and for a story designed to appeal to younger viewers I have no idea what Gluck and co-writer Rob Lieber (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) were thinking when they wrote it into the script. From there, the film is overflowing in overly exuberant moments of violence and pandemonium, and there is an entire set piece revolving around the rabbits pelting Thomas in his privates with vegetables. There are explosions, electrical shocks and acts of extreme vandalism that are well beyond the pale, all of it centered on a selfishly narcissistic main character who bears little to no resemblance to his beloved literary forebear.

What’s most annoying is that Byrne and especially Gleeson really are good, both of them giving lively, three-dimensional performances that in a better motion picture might have added something in the way of depth to the material. If anything, I’d love to see Gleeson do even more comedy, his willingness to do whatever it takes to garner a laugh divine. A strong dramatic actor, it would have been lovely to have watched him have such a terrific time portraying this character had the movie itself had made even the slightest of attempts to rise to similar heights. But frustratingly this is almost never the case, and save for a few instances of undeniable charm, Gleeson’s strong performance ends up being nothing more than a minor saving grace in a motion picture that needed at least another halfdozen of them in order to have met with even the faintest semblance of success.

Earlier this year we were gifted the divine beauty of Paddington 2, a piece of family-friendly entertainment that respected and trusted its source material while at the same time still felt modern, fresh and new. On the flipside, Peter Rabbit feels nothing like Beatrix Potter’s timeless books, while the majority of the modern elements injected into the story to make it current hit me as being nothing short of ugly, coarse and vile. While some will undoubtedly be amused, I certainly cannot count myself amongst any who would, this distasteful animation-live action hybrid an odious misfire I hope I never have to think about, let alone watch, ever again.

Freed a drearily maudlin end to the Fifty Shades trilogy

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer

FIFTY SHADES FREED

Now playing

Now married to reclusive bad boy, sexually repressed Seattle billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) is positive she’ll be able to ease his troubled spirit by showering him with a form of confident, selflessly independent love that will help him become the man she knows he could be. However, the reemergence of the vile, duplicitous Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson) is putting a real crimp in Anastasia’s plans for eternal happiness between her and Christian. While she understands just how dangerous Jack is, she’s also determined to live her life the forthright, self-sufficient way she always has whether she’s the new Mrs. Grey or no, and if her husband has a problem with this then as far as she’s concerned that’s his problem, not hers.

Both Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker were bad movies, but they also managed to be two of the best, unintentionally hysterical comedies of their respective years. These adaptations of the first two books in author E.L. James’s inexplicably best-selling trilogy were so bad, so insanely and obnoxiously terrible, they almost ended up being kind of amazing in their mind-boggling incompetence. They also did a fine job of introducing Johnson to the world, and while the disdain the actress shows for the material is readily apparent, the effortless charm she displayed throughout both features was still moderately beguiling.

With Fifty Shades Freed, the supercilious and salaciously sophomoric story James crafted for her two popular characters comes to its conclusion. Much like the previous two adaptations, this one is every bit as maudlin, melodramatically ponderous and emotionally inept as any-

thing I could have anticipated. Yet unlike the other films, this one is going through the motions in a way that makes it feel as if no one involved, not just the actors, but also returning director James Foley and his creative team, too, cared anything about the finished product whatsoever. There’s no energy, no excitement, and even the numerous sex scenes achieve a level of humdrum banality that would be impressive if it wasn’t so unappealing. In short, this capper to the trilogy is flat-out boring, watching it

enough to put even the most easily entertained viewer to sleep within the first 30 minutes.

For Foley this is especially perplexing. Once upon a time the director had the ability to generate steamy passion and heated emotional exuberance with relative ease. At Close Range, After Dark My Sweet, Glengarry Glen Ross, these films had a palpable sense of complex three-dimensional authority that helped them become something worth getting excited about. But after

handling directorial duties on Fifty Shades Darker it’s almost as if the experience of working for James and trying to give some semblance of life to her puerile fantasies took something out of him. The presentation this time around is so paint-by-numbers, so blasé in its unremarkable visual and structural ugliness, it’s as if the filmmaker isn’t even trying.

The same could be said for Johnson and Dornan. The pair has never had any chemistry, that’s just a given at this point, but here the duo are as unappealing a couple as they’ve ever been. Even in the midst of some of the most ponderously staged softcore sex scenes in recent cinematic history, it’s easy to get the feeling the two actors would rather be anywhere else than standing there trying to look romantic while ensnarled in one another’s arms. They’re sleepwalking through the film, and other than a couple of admittedly humorous line readings where Johnson gets to let loose her venom in a fashion that makes her contempt for the material almost vanish into the background, there’s little that either actor does that they’ll want to be adding to their resumes anytime soon.

What else is there to say? This is a movie that transforms a key kidnapping subplot into nothing more than a throwaway detour into fatuous foolishness, while the actual ending to the story is an honest to goodness montage of scenes from all three films smashed together almost as if it was designed to remind the viewer just how laboriously dull all of this breast-baring madness has proven to be. I still have no idea how all three of James’s books became bestsellers or what audiences saw in Fifty Shades of Grey or Fifty Shades Darker to make them box office hits. Thankfully, now after watching Fifty Shades Freed, I likely never have to wonder about any of that ever again, this trilogy almost certain to disappear into the dustbin of history before February has even come to an end.

SEATTLE

SEATTLE

BATHS

BATHS

CLUB Z - (men)

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1117 Pike near Boren - 622-9958

1117 Pike near Boren - 622-9958

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SW corner of Pike & 11th

HOT HOUSE SPA & SAUNA - (women)

SW corner of Pike & 11th

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THE BOTTLENECK LOUNGE

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THE CRESCENT - 1413 E. Olive Way - 720-8188

THE CUFF COMPLEX - 1533 13th Ave. - 323-1525

DIESEL BAR - 1413 14th Ave. - 322-1080

GLO’S - 1621 E. Olive Way - 324-2577

HOT MAMA’S PIZZA - 700 E. Pine St. - 322-6444

JAZZ ALLEY - 2033 6th Ave. E. - 441-9729

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OUT WEST - 5401California Ave. SW

THE PINE BOX - 1600 Melrose Ave - 588-0375

POCO WINE ROOM - 1408 E. Pine St. - 322-9463

POKE BAR - 1542 12th Ave - 402-5178

PONY - 1221 E. Madison St. - 324-2854

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QUEER BAR - 1518 11th Ave - 687-7491

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5633 Airport Way S - 466-5954

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UNCLE IKE’S

2310 E Union St - 1-800-GET-DRUGS

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604 Central Ave. S. - (253) 850-8428

NASHVILLE’S SPORTS BAR (Drag Shows) 114 - Railroad Ave. N. - (253) 852 - 0909

LA CONNER

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1017 E. Pike St - 204-0126

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EMERSON SALON - 909 E. Pike St. - 323-7437

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9630 16th Ave. SW - 762-3299

TABOO ADULT VIDEO 9813 16th Ave SW - 767-4855

ANDY’S - 1401 W. 1st Ave. - (509) 747 - 0304

TOYS IN BABELAND - 707 E. Pike St. - 328-2914

STRAY NIGHTCLUB 415 W. Sprague Ave. - (509) 624 - 4450

UNDER U 4 MEN 709 Broadway Ave. E. - 324-6446

NYNE BAR AND BISTRO 232 W. Sprague Ave. - (509) 474 -1621

UNCLE IKE’S

2310 E Union St - 1-800-GET-DRUGS

501 15th Ave E - 1-800-GET-DRUGS

9822 15th Ave SW - 1-800-GET-DRUGS

WILD AT HEART 1111 NW Leary Way - 782-5538

BELLINGHAM

LOVER’S 193 Telegraph Road - (360) 752-1862

DES MOINES

EVERETT

KENT

LA CONNER

TACOMA

CASTLE SUPERSTORE 6015 Tacoma Mall Blvd. - (253) 471-0391

CLUB SILVERSTONE 739½ St. Helens Ave. - (253) 404-0273

THE FANTASY SHOP 2301 6th Ave. - (253) 272-6640

OLYMPIA

LOVER’S

7002 Tacoma Mall Blvd., #F

PORT

TRI-CITIES

SPOKANE

TUKWILA

Meetings Events Activities

TO GET A CALENDAR LISTING: To have your meeting or event considered for the Community Calendar, please mail, fax, or drop off details to: SGN, Attn: Community Calendar, 1707 23rd Ave., Seattle, WA 98122. SGN phone: (206) 324-4297. E-mail: sgn2@sgn.org.

INCLUDE: Date, time, location, contact phone # for publication (if possible), brief description of event & sponsoring organization. DEADLINE: Tuesday 5pm.

NOTE: 10-digit dialing has come to the Seattle area. The (206) area code must now be used to dial local calls. Location of meetings/events is in Seattle unless otherwise noted.

SATURDAY - February 10

A Gathering of Men in Edmonds 8:15-11:30am. Edmonds UUC, 8109 224th St SW, Edmonds. Meets 2nd Saturday each month. All men are welcome. www. agatheringofmen.org

Seattle Frontrunners Fun Run. 9am. Greenlake (outside Evans Pool). Every Saturday. GLBT running & walking club sponsors weekly runs, monthly potlucks, track & field activity, annual Run With Pride. (206) 4488518. www.seattlefrontrunners.org.

Positively Living Coffee Social. 9:30am-12 noon. Cupcake Royale, 1111 E Pike St. Every Saturday. Casual social get-together for the HIV community. Anthony, 206-957-1600. Sponsored by LIfelong. Crystal Meth Anonymous. 10:30am. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also Mon @ 6:30pm, Thurs @ 6:30pm, Sun @ 6:30pm. Georgetown Art Attack. 6-9pm. Meets 2nd Saturday each month. Reflects the industrial-strength character of the neighborhood. For information stop into Georgetown Records at Airport Way S & S Vale or visit www. georgetownneighborhood.com

Oasis Youth Center in Tacoma - For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Youth, Ages 14-25. 6pm-12 midnight. Call for location & details. Every Saturday. (253) 671-2838. www.oasisyouthcenter.org. (Also Thursdays & Fridays 4-10pm.) Ballard’s Second Saturday Artwalk. 7-10pm. Pick up maps at participating shops & galleries located in the Ballard business district (Ballard Ave NW & NW Market St area). Meets 2nd Saturday each month. Enjoy an evening of art as local galleries & businesses showcase artists from Ballard & beyond. (206) 784-9705; visitballard.com

Lambert House “Drag Disco” Valentine’s Dance. 8pm-midnight. All Pilgrim’s Church, 500 Broadway E at E Republican St. For LGBTQ youth and their alliesages 13-22. Suggested donation $10-$20. No alcohol. No drugs. No hate. www.lamberthouse.org

SUNDAY - February 11

Center for Spiritual Living. 8:25, 9:45, 11:30am. 5801 Sand Point Way NE. (206) 527-8801 ext 203, www. cslseattle.org

Gay Men’s Bowling in Everett 9:30am. Glacier Lanes, 9630 Evergreen Way, Everett. Every Sunday. Spectators welcome. Join us for lunch afterwards! Sponsored by the Snohomish County Gay Men’s Task Force. For info email John at johndmarsh@mac.com; www.gaysnohomish.org University Lutheran Church. 9:30am Worship, 10:30am Coffee Fellowship, 11am Adult Forum & Education Hour. 1604 NE 50th St. All are welcome. We choose love. (206) 525-7074. universitylutheranseattle.org Plymouth Church United Church of Christ. 10am Workship. 1217 6th Ave. Love your (LGBTQ) neighbor as yourself. (206) 622-4865, plymouthchurchseattle.org All Pilgrims Christian Church. 10:30am Worship. 500 Broadway E. Come as you are. All are welcome. A congregation of the Disciples of Christ & the United Church of Christ. (206) 322-0487, www.allpilgrims.org

St. Clement’s Episcopal Church. 10:30am Worship. 1501 32nd Ave S. Great music. Dynamic preaching. Holy communion. Encountering the transformative and unconditional love of God in Christ. Join us! www. stclementseattle.org

Seattle Sunday Bowling. 10:30am. West Seattle Bowl, 4505 39th Ave SW (at SW Oregon St). Open bowl every Sunday for the GLBT community & friends. You don’t have to worry about how you bowl! $6.50 + $3 shoe rental. (425) 785-4729.

Welcome Table Christian Church. 9:45am Meditation; 10:30am Worship; Labyrinth 2nd Sundays 1-4pm. 1322 S Bayview St. Where people of all genders and sexualities, and families of all shapes & sizes are welcome and celebrated. A welcoming and affirming community since 1987. welcometablecc.org

Emerald City Metropolitan Community Church Seattle. 11am Worship. Chapel at University Temple United Methodist Church, 1415 NE 43rd St. MCC is a progressive Christ-centered faith community committed to providing a nurturing environment for individual & community growth thru Jesus Christ while celebrating unity in diversity. MCC is Seattle’s oldest Gay-friendly church. (206) 325-2421, www.mccseattle.org.

Lotus Sisters Guided Meditation. 11am-1:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Meets 2nd Sunday each month. Senior students lead the meditation, provide dharma talks or reflections & lead discussion. (206) 329-5908; www.LotusSisters.org; www.sasgcc.org (Meets in 2nd floor meeting room; no elevator.)

Meditation for GBT Men. 11am-1pm. Cal Anderson House, 400 Broadway. Suitable for beginning & experienced meditators. Sponsored by Dharma Buddies.

community calendar

Contact Forrest Rode, (206) 920-6117, or Doug Allison, doug.l.allison@gmail.com. Find us under “Dharma Buddies” under Meetup.com or DharmaBuddies.org. (Women may wish to contact our sister meditation group at www.LotusSisters.org.)

Imperial Court of Seattle Voting Day. 12noon-5pm.

Bishop’s Barber Shop, 1200 E Pike St. All King County residents are invited to cast their ballots for the Court of Seattle’s Candidate Olympia 47 Drew Paradisco and Candidate Rainier 44 Paul Paradisco and . Bring your ID to confirm your King County residency. (Coronation is February 17.)

Just for Today. 12-1:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Sunday. Drop-in 12-step (Narcotics Anonymous) group open to anyone in recovery.

Paths to Recovery Al-Anon Family Group. 12-1:30pm. Seattle University Student Center, 901 12th Ave, Room 122. Every Sunday. LGBTQ supported. The Al-Anon Family Groups are a fellowship of relatives & friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength & hope in order to solve their common problems. We believe alcoholism is a family illness & that changed attitudes can aid recovery. Greater Seattle AIS 24-hour number (206) 625-0000; www.seattle-al-anon.org

SLAA New Beginnings. 12 noon-1pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E #201, O’Neil Room. Meets daily (except Saturday). SLAA is a 12 Step/12 Tradition-oriented Fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope to overcome sex and love patterns of addiction. www.sasgcc.org

No Safeword Writers Group. 1pm. See website for location. Meets 2nd & 4th Sunday each month. NSWG exists to provide mutual support for members’ efforts. Support is in the form of critique & commentary on each other’s work, information about publishing opportunities, & discussion of issues facing writers. NSWG’s primary focus is erotic writing - but they welcome anyone who writes. The only requirements are to write, to attend, & to be respectful. For info & location, www.nosafewordwritersgroup.org

Orca Swim Team Workout. Sun: Afternoon; Mon/Weds/ Fri: Evenings; Tues/Thurs: Mornings. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. Preregistration required. Orca Swim Team workouts are for both competitive & recreational swimmers. www. orcaswimteam.org

Rain City Soccer Club - Kickabout. Sunday afternoon usually at 3pm. Location varies. Join us for Seattle’s mostly-weekly mostly-LGBTQ pickup soccer game. We play an organized, 2-hour scrimmage on nice fieldturf

surface. Sometimes there is a brief training/practice session before we play. Usually there is a “one-beer” after the scrimmage. To sign up visit www.raincitysoccer.org Dignity/Seattle. 6pm-Prayer Service. Ravenna United Methodist Church, 5751 33rd Ave NE. Meets 2nd Sunday each month. Dignity/Seattle is the local chapter of the nationwide organization of GLBT Roman Catholics. “We celebrate our inherent dignity with pride in liturgy, mutual support, work for justice, & social activities.” Gender-inclusive & relationship affirming liturgies & prayer services. All welcome. (206) 325-7314. Shame to Grace Sunday SAA. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Sunday. SAA is a fellowship of men & women who share their experience, strength & hope with each other so they may overcome their sexual addiction & help others recover from sexual addiction or dependency. Seattle SAA helpline (206) 237-8828, SAA International Service Organization 1-800-477-8191. Ski Buddies Monthly Potluck. 6-8:30pm. Check website for details. Meets 1st or 2nd Sunday each month (Oct-Feb). Come & hear about all the great ski trips & winter activities Ski Buddies has planned. Whether you snow board, downhill, cross-country, or telemark, there are trips & events for you. Bring a potluck dish to share. Ski Buddies is a non-profit GLBT & GLBT-friendly club which meets regularly thruout the fall & winter, offering camaraderie & deeply discounted skiing adventures for all levels of skiers & snowboarders. www.skibuddies.org Crystal Meth Anonymous. 6:30pm. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also Mon @ 6:30pm, Thurs @ 6:30pm, Sat @ 10:30am. crystalmeth.org. Pride League Bowling. 6:30pm. West Seattle Bowl, 4505 39th Ave SW. Every Sunday. Regular league bowling. Jeff, (206) 932-3731; leagues@wsbowl.com. [EXCEPT no bowling June, July & August.] Integrity/Puget Sound. 7pm Worship & Fellowship. St. Mark’s Cathedral, Thomson Chapel, 1245 10th Ave E. Integrity is an international ministry of Gay & Lesbian Episcopalians, their friends & families, dedicated to education, support & service within the Church & the GLBT community. (425) 226-2746.

MONDAY - February 12

SOBER - On Meds. 1-2pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Monday. 12-step group open to anyone in recovery & living on a medicine regimen. www.sasgcc.org

Strength Over Speed. 2-3:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. FREE drop-in support group (not a 12 step) for Gay & Bi men who desire recovery from meth. www. strengthoverspeed.org.

February 10 thru February 18

Crystal Meth Anonymous. 6:30pm. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also Thurs @ 6:30pm, Sat @ 10:30am, Sun @ 6:30pm. crystalmeth.org. Orca Swim Team Workout. Evening. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See Sunday afternoon listing.)

Freely Speaking Toastmasters. 7pm. Seattle Unity Church, 200 8th Ave N. Every Monday (except holidays & the last Mondays in August & December). Seattle’s only LGBT speaking club. www.FreelySpeaking.org PFLAG/Seattle Monthly Meeting. 7-9pm. Seattle First Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Ave. Meets 2nd Monday each month. (206) 325-7724 or info@pflagseattle.org; www.pflagseattle.org. PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality.

PFLAG/Skagit County Monthly Meeting. 7pm. Skagit Valley Food Co-op Bldg, Room 309, 202 South 1st St., Mt. Vernon. Meets 2nd Monday each month. Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays is a national support organization for parents, spouses, & families of GLBT persons, as well as those minorities. PFLAG/Puget Sound: (206) 325-7724.

Trans Youth Group. 7-8:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every Monday. A chance for youth to talk with others about their experiences & concerns related to identifying as Transgender. www.lamberthouse.org Lambert House Art Night. 7:30-9:30pm. 1818 15th Ave. Every Monday. Bring your ideas & let’s have some fun. (206) 322-2515, www.lamberthouse.org

Unity Gay Men’s AA Group in Tacoma 7:30pm. New Heart MCC, 759 S 45th St. Tacoma. Every Monday. (253) 474-8897.

Washington Gender Alliance Support Group Meeting in Shoreline 7:30pm. Center for Human Services, 17018 15th Ave NE, Shoreline. Every Monday. www. washingtongenderalliance.com

Queers, Crackpots & Fallen Women AA. 8-9pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Monday. Open women only AA group. www.sasgcc.org

TUESDAY - February 13

Orca Swim Team Workout. Morning. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See Sunday afternoon listing.)

LGBTQ+ Group. 1:15-2:15pm. Orion Center, 1828 Yale Ave. Every Tuesday. A group for LGBTQ youth ages 13-24 & their allies. Sponsored by Youthcare. (206) 622-5555.

LGBTQ Questioning & Allied Youth Drop-in Group in Renton 6-8pm. Renton Area Youth Services (RAYS), 1025 S 3rd St, Renton. Every Tuesday. Confidential. Snacks provided. Bring friends or come alone - anyone 12-18 is welcome. Questions? Call Sarah Hardin, (425) 271-5600 ext 155, or email sarahh@rays.org

Strength Over Speed. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. FREE drop-in support group (not a 12 step) for Gay & Bi men who desire recovery from meth. www. strengthoverspeed.org.

ALISS - Aging Lesbians in South Seattle Evening Gathering. 6:30-8pm. Southeast Seattle Senior Center, 4655 S Holly St, Rainier Ave S & S Holly St., Social Hall. Meets 2nd & 4th Tuesday each month. This is a group primarily for Lesbians but all are welcome to attend. Facilitator: Fai Coffin; Cost: FREE. Metro route 7. Wheelchair accessible. Kate, (206) 722-0317; www.sessc.org. Alzheimer’s Association’s LGBT Caregivers’ Support Group. 6:30-8pm. Elderhealth Northwest, 6555 Ravenna Ave NE (entrance on NE 68th St). Meets 2nd Tuesday each month. A free information and support group for care partners, family members and friends of individuals with dementia. For more information, contact group facilitator Caila Nickerson, (206) 781-248-3524 (cell) or email: cailanickerson@gmail.com

Diverse Harmony. 6:30-9pm. Seattle First Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Ave. Every Tuesday. Diverse Harmony is the nation’s first Gay/Straight Alliance Youth Chorus. Youths ages 13-22 are welcome regardless of sexual orientation. www.diverseharmony.org

LGBTQ MS Connection/National MS Society. 6:308pm. Swedish Conference Center, Cherry Hill Campus, James Tower, 550 17th Avenue, Room E, 1st Floor. Meets 2nd & 4th Tuesday each month. MS Connection is a support group with the goal of providing a safe environment for the LGBT community to express their experiences and the impact of MS on their lives and the lives of their loved ones, as well as provide support for one another. Contact Shelly at (206) 250-5002 or LGBTMSConnection@gmail.com.

Queer Young Females Group - For Female-Identified Youth, Ages 22 & Under. 6:30-7:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every Tuesday. Topics range from family issues to school happenings to like/lust/love relationships. All Queer females welcome. Come discuss how smart. strong Queer women live their lives. (206) 3222515, www.lamberthouse.org

Tuesday Night Sex Addicts Anonymous (GLBTQI). 7-8:30pm. All Pilgrims Christian Church, 500 Broadway E (enter at 509 10th Ave E; buzz in, Dickson room). Every Tuesday. SAA is a fellowship of men & women whose primary purpose is to stop addictive sexual behavior & help others recover from sexual addiction. Seattle SAA helpline (206) 237-8828. SAA International Service Organization 1-800-477-8191. Different Drummers. 7:15-8:30pm. Every Tuesday. Hand drumming classes for Gay men. It’s easy, it’s fun

see the GSBA Guide or visit www.thegsba.org or call Lifelong AIDS Alliance, (206) 328-8979. Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle & the Olympic & Rainier Empire - www.facebook.com/ISCSORE; www. imperialcourtofseattle.com

Lambert House - (206) 322-2515; www.lamberthouse. org

LGBT Library - 517 E Pike St. Open Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. A wide range of fiction and non-fiction for the LGBT community and allies can be borrowed free of charge.

LGBT MS Connection - (206) 250-5002; LGBTMSConnection@gmail.com. Support group for LGBT persons with MS and their partners and their caregivers. Sponsored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Lifelong AIDS Alliance - (206) 328-8979, www.lifelongaids alliance.org

Lion’s Main Art Collective - www.lionsmain.org

MEN: Gay City: (206) 860-6969, www.gaycity.org; Knights of Mantra: (206) 329-0886, www.jetchapterkofm.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Northwest Bears: www. nwbears.com; The Olympians: www.TheOlympians. net; POZSeattle: www.pozseattle.org; Q-Squared: www.qsquared.org; Rain City Jacks: www.raincityjacks. org; Seattle Gay Couples: www. seattlegaycouples. org; Seattle Men in Leather: www.seattlemeninleather. org; Seattle Prime Timers: Gay & Bi men 40 & over, www.seattle primetimers.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www.tacomaolderlgbt.org. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

MUSIC: Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; Rainbow City Band: 1-866-841-9139 ext 2126; rainbowcityband@onebox.com; www.rainbowcity band. com; Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus: (206) 388-1408, (206) 323-0750. www.seattlechoruses.org.

Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project - gayhistnw@aol.com

Northwest Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf - www. nwrad.org

Olympia/Thurston County - www.RainbowCenterOly. org

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates/Seattle Regional Affiliate supports the work of LGBT employees and the growing number of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) making a difference within local companies, including Alaska Airlines, Amazon.com, Amgen, AT&T, Bank of America, Deloitte, Macy’s, Microsoft, Russell Investments, Safeco Insurance, Starbucks Coffee, Xerox. www.outandequal.org/affiliates/seattle

Out & Proud Grays Harbor Coalition - http://outandproudgh.org

PARENTHOOD: Families Like Ours provides a gateway for LGBT families interested in adoption & provides a network of safe placement agencies, training, support & resources: (206) 441-7602, www.familieslikeours. org; Family Works offers support, information & activities for LGBT families: (206) 694-6727, www.familyworksseattle. org; Gay Fathers’ Association of Seattle offers support groups & social activities: www.gfas. org; Proud & Loud Families - Northwest, www.meetup.com/proudand-loud-families-northwest, plfnorthwest@aol.com; Queer Parent Networking Dinners: (206) 568-7777, qpnd@nwnetwork.org, www.nwnetwork.org; Rainbow Families of Puget Sound: www.rainbowfamiliesps.org PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality with chapters in Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, the Puget Sound region and across Washington state. PFLAG Seattle: (206) 325-7724, info@pflagseattle.org, and www.pflagseattle.org; PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside: (425) 483-6642, info@bellevue-pflag.org, http://community. pflag.org/PFLAGBellevue; PFLAG Pacific Northwest: www.pnwpflag.org; PFLAG Washington State: www. pflagwsc.org.

PEOPLE OF COLOR: AARTH (African American Reach & Teach Health Ministry), (206) 850-2070, www.aarth.org; Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Network Program at API Chaya, (206) 467-9976; Center for MultiCultural Health, (206) 461-6910, www.multiculturalhealth.org; Entre Hermanos, GLBT Latinos/as, (206) 322-7700, www.entrehermanos.org; Ile LaiLai, (206) 781-3565, iya@ilelailai.org; Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT), (206) 923-8313, macctseattle@yahoo.com, www.macctsea.org; Northwest Two Spirit Society, https://www.facebook.com/ groups/nw2spiritsociety/, Nubian Pride Productions, nubianpride@gmail.com; People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) offers rapid HIV testing, M-F, 10am-5pm, (206) 322-7061, www.pocaan.org and on Facebook; QBASS - Queer Black Alliance of the South Sound, (253) 256-1846, weareqbass@gmail. com; Sistah 2 Sistah, LBT women of African descent, (206) 322-7061, (206) 255-8951; Somos Seattle, somosseattle.org; Trikone-Northwest, GLBT South Asians, (425) 985-4376, www.trikonenw.org; Two-Spirit Honor Project, 1-866-685-0164; U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, www.utopiaseattlewa.org; VietQ Greater Seattle, vietqorganization@gmail.com Pierce County AIDS Foundation - (253) 383-2565; www.piercecountyaids.org Pride Foundation - (206) 323-3318; www.pridefoundation. org

Project NEON is a program of Seattle Counseling Service providing FREE information & services to Gay & Bi men to reduce health risks associated with methamphetamine use. (206) 323-1768. www.crystalneon.org Public Health-Seattle & King County Online Comprehensive Health Information for Sexual Minorities: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/ glbt.aspx

Q Law: The GLBT Bar Association of WA - (206) 682-6711; www.q-law.org

community calendar

Q Law GLBT Legal Clinic - (206) 235-7235. Queer Geek! - queergeekseattle.org

Resource & Referral Line can connect you to LGBTfriendly resources throughout Puget Sound and beyond. Call (206) 323-LGBT Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. At other times leave voice mail and your call will be returned. Or visit www.gaycity.org to view list of resources online or through Facebook.

Safe Schools Coalition - www.safeschoolscoalition. org; (206) 451-SAFE; (206) 451-7233. SEAMEC interviews, researches & rates candidates for public office on issues of concern to the LGBT community. www.voteseamec.org

Seattle Area Support Groups & Community Center (SASG) is a non-profit organization that builds community and cultivates powerful, healthy lives by providing emotional support and personal development services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, the Queer communities, and those who love them. Our work is done in a spirit of safety, trust, inclusiveness, and celebration of individual differences. (206) 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org

Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network - BiSeattle.wixsite. com/SBWN and on Facebook.

Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities is a community mental health service for GLBT persons & their families providing comprehensive mental health services on a sliding scale. (206) 323-1768.

Seattle LGBTQ Commission - (206) 684-4503.

Seattle Out & Proud - (206) 322-9561; www.seattlepride.org

Seattle Police Department Sexual Minorities Community Advisory Council: kim.bogucki@seattle.gov

Seattle PrideFest - www.seattlepridefest.org

Seattle Treatment Education Project (STEP) E-zine is an electronic resource distributed to people affected by HIV/AIDS, case managers, front line workers & other health professionals. Now a part of Lifelong AIDS Alliance, (206) 328-8979, www.thebody.com/step/ steppage.html

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - (202) 328-3244; www.sldn.org

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan - (206) 860-3666; www.theabbey.org

Snohomish Health District HIV/AIDS Program provides free confidential/anonymous HIV counseling & testing 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, until 7pm Tuesdays. (425) 339-5298.

South Sound Q Calendar - LGBTQ events in Tacoma,

Olympia & Sound Puget Sound area; www.SouthSoundQCal.com Spokane/Inland Northwest - www.outspokane.com; www.stonewallnews.net

SPORTS & RECREATION: Bent Car Guys: www. bentcarguys.org; Border Riders Motorcycle Club: www.borderriders.com; Bottom Dwellers Scuba Club: www.bottomdwellers.org; Capitol Hill Cyclers: join their Facebook group or email capitolhillcycling@ groups.facebook.com or jordan.l.simonson@gmail.com; Cascade Flyers: www.cascadeflyers.org; Different Spokes Bicycling Club: www.differentspokes.org; Emerald City Mudhen Rugby: www.mudhenrugby. com; Emerald City Softball Association: www.emeraldcitysoftball.org, www.eteamz.com/womensecsa; Ethyl Forever Car Club: ethylforever@hotmail.com; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes.com; Olympic Yacht Club: www.oycnw.org; OutVentures: outdoor education & recreation activities, www.outventures.org; Pacific Northwest Gay Rodeo Association: www.pacificnwgra.org; Puddletown Squares: www. puddletownsquares.org; Rain City Soccer: www.raincitysoccer.org; Rain Country Dance Association: a country-western dance organization catering to the LGBTQ community but open to all, www.raincountrydance. org; Sea Dawgs: LGBT ice hockey - SkateSeaDawgs@ gmail.com and on Facebook; Seattle Frontrunners: www.seattlefrontrunners.org; Seattle Gay Basketball Association: www.seattlegaybasketballassociation. com; Seattle Orca Swim Team: www.orcaswimteam. org; Seattle Otters Water Polo: www.otterpolo.com; Seattle Quake Rugby: www.quakerugby.com; Seattle Tennis Alliance: www.seattletennisalliance.org; Seattle Unified Bowling Association (SUBA): magee98106@ aol.com, www.teamseattle.org/bowling.htm, www. theprideleague.com, Century 21 League; Seattle Volleyball Club: www.seattlevolleyballclub.com; Ski Buddies: www. skibuddies.org; Team Seattle Gay Sports Network is an umbrella organization for a wide range of local GLBT sports activities, (206) 367-4064, www. teamseattle.org (see website for comprehensive list of sports clubs); Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek: recreational camping for GLBT folks. Must be 21; ID required. trc@camptrc.org, www.camptrc.org, 1122 E Pike St #1069, Seattle 98122-3934. Strength Over Speed - www.strengthoverspeed.org Tacoma/Pierce County - Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, a resource center for the LGBTIQA community of Pierce County, (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org

TRANSGENDER: Emerald City Social Club: (425) 827-9494; Gender Alliance of the South Sound: www.SouthSoundGender.com; Gender Diversity: www.genderdiversity.org; Gender Justice League: www.genderjusticeleague.org; Gender Odyssey: www.genderodyssey.com; Hermanos Trans Latino & Foreign-Born Support Group: (206) 322-7700; Ingersoll Gender Center: (206) 329-6651, www. ingersollcenter.org; Lion’s Main Art Collective: www. lionsmain.org; The New BoyZ Club: www.olympiaftmgroup.webs.com; Olympia Trans Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/pages/Olympia-Trans-DiscussionGroup/262449878114; [trans] ACTION: Trans* & Gender Non-Conforming Sex Workers’ Support Group - a safe, peer-led space. mail@utopiaseattle.org; TRANSform Washington: transformwashington.com; Trans Resource & Referral Guide: kctransguide.org; Washington Gender Alliance: (360) 445-2411, www. washington genderalliance.com WOMEN: Aging Ballard Lesbian Exchange (A.B.L.E.): We are Lesbians 60 years (generally) and up, living (mostly) in the north half of Seattle. The purpose of the group is to connect, socialize and support each other. ruthemilyvogel@gmail.com; Aging Lesbians in South Seattle (ALISS) - Lesbian Group at the Southeast Seattle Senior Center. This is a gathering primarily for Lesbians but all are welcome to attend. Kate, (206) 722-0317; www.sessc.org; BABES: support groups for HIV+ women. (206) 720-5566, 1-888-292-1912; Coming Out Women Support Group of Tacoma: www. comingoutwomen.org; Festival of the Babes: www. festivalofthebabes.com; Lesbians Over 40: (206) 7220729; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Puget Sound Old Lesbian Organizing for Change: http://psoloc.org, (253) 7773357; Older Lesbians Organizing for Change/WA State Chapter: gloria@oloc.org, mary@oloc.org, www. oloc.org; Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives: www. pnwlesbianarchives.org; RainshadowWomen: RainshadowWomen@aol.com; Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network: BiSeattle.wixsite.com/SBWN; Seattle Girls of Leather: www.sgol.org; Tacoma Lesbian Concern (TLC): www.tacomalesbianconcern.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www.tacomaolderlgbt.org; Women of West Seattle (WOWS): a fun, member-driven social group for Lesbians, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/womenofwestseattle; YWCA Women’s Health Outreach: providing low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible 40+ LBTQ individuals. Follow us at http:// lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot.com, twitter.com/ingridWHO or email lbthealth@ywcaworks.org, (206) 461-4493. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

YOUTH: B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Questioning Adolescent Drop-In Group): Youth Eastside Services offers many programs for GLBT youth, including B-GLAD, (425) 747-4937; Coyote Central: www.coyotecentral.org; Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; GLSEN/Washington State (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) & Washington State GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network: GLSEN works to create safe schools for LGBT students. WA GSA Network supports youth-led GSA’s to fight harassment & homophobia in Washington state schools. (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa. org; www.wagsa.org. GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): a support group & HIV/STD prevention program for GLBTQ youth, 14-20, in Everett, (425) 263-2908, www. globeyouth.org; It Gets Better Project: www.itgetsbetter.org; Lambert House: an activities & resource center for LGBT youth, 14-22, in Seattle, 1818 15th Ave @ E Denny Way; (206) 322-2515, www.lamberthouse.org; Lifelong HEYO (Health Education Youth Outreach): for LGBTQ youth, ages 16-24: (206) 957-1665; www. llaa.org/HEYO; www.MatthewsPlace.com; The Mockingbird Society: (206) 323-KIDS (5437), www.mockingbirdsociety.org; Oasis Youth Center: for GLBTQ youth, ages 14-25, in Tacoma, (253) 671-2838, www. oasisyouthcenter.org; OUT There Adventures: www. outthereadventures.org; Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)/Puget Sound: (206) 3257724, www.seattle-pflag.org; Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets (PSKS) Drop-In Center & Young Adult Shelter: 1609 19th Ave @ E Pine St., (206) 7268500; www.psks.org; Pizza Klatch: weekly lunchtime support groups for LGBTQ youth in Thurston County, www.pizzaklatch.org; Prism: for LGBTQ youth, 14-21, in Puyallup - Cherise.Alexander@ multicare.org; www. facebook.com/PuyallupPrism; Proud Out Wonderful (POW!): for LGBTQ youth, 13-21, in South King County, (206) 326-9112, www.facebook.com/proudoutwonderful; Q Youth Resources: in Kitsap County - (360) 698-3335; www.kchaf.org; Renton Area Youth Services (RAYS): LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth drop-in group, ages 12-18 - Sarah Hardin, (425) 271-5600, ext 155; sarahh@rays.org; Roots Young Adult Shelter: 1415 NE 43rd St., (206) 632-1635; www.rootsinfo.org; Safe Schools Coalition: www.safeschoolscoalition.org; (206) 451-SAFE, (206) 451-7233 (non-emergency), 1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) (crisis line); Seattle Young People’s Project (Queer Youth Resource Board): (206) 860-9606, www.sypp.org; Street Youth Ministries (SYM): (206) 524-7301 ext 111; www. streetyouthministries.org; Teen Link: (206) 461-4922, 1-888-431-TEEN; The Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor; www.thetrevorproject.org; True Colors - Connecting LGBTQ Teens: in Shoreline, (206) 362-7282 x 8018, lbagley@chs-nw.org; Vista Youth Center: for LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth, ages 14-21, in Kennewick, (509) 396-5198, www.vistayouthcenter.org; YouthCare/ Isis Program (Transitional Living Home for LGBTQ Young Adults, 18-22): (206) 522-8412; YouthCare/ Orion Center Young Adult Shelter: 1828 Yale Ave @ Stewart St. (206) 622-5555; Youth in Focus: (206) 723-1479; www.youthinfocus.org; Youth Suicide Prevention Program (OUTLoud-GLBTQ): (206) 297-5922, ext 116, 1-800-273-TALK, www.yspp.org

SILVERHAWK SERVICES

General Contractor SILVES*835KH Licensed Bonded & Insured

I do pool painting, interior/exterior painting, remodeling, fire damage, water damage. 34/3 David - 206-465-6639

20 [HEALTH & WELL-BEING]

ENERGY/BODYWORK

CHUCK'S HANDYMAN SERVICE

Painting / Decks / Fences / Drywall / Miscellaneous Jobs. Over 20 years exoerience in the West Seattle area. References. 206-935-6730. 38/6

Looking to clean beautiful homes. Attention to detail and hardworking. References available upon request. Jeffrey, 206-919-0194. jeffhealea@gmail.com 48/3

Therapeutic massage. 30 years experience. Relaxation, major/minor injuries, chronic muscle pain. Small Queen Anne home office/studio. Massage table or massage chair. Convenient parking. (I’m a Gay-friendly straight male graphic artist, web author.) First session 50% off = $45/1.5 hours (travel extra). By appointment only. References available. Chris Pringer, Reiki Master, 206-286-0899. If you get a voice message mentioning “extension #,” please hang up and call back again. Brochure, testimonials, etc. via chalicebridge.com/ BMI-Brochure.html. 44/21

PETS OF THE WEEK

Adoption Center

Sunday – Wednesday | 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Thursday

13212 SE Eastgate Wy, Bellevue, WA 98005 (425) 649-7563 | adoption@seattlehumane.org

Is your life missing a furry friend? Now is the perfect time to open your world to a pet in need. Coldwell Banker’s Homes for Dogs program with Adopt-a-pet.com has helped place 20,000 dogs into homes across the country. Could your place be the next happy ending for a pet in need? Make your house a home by visiting the shelter and bringing back the pet of your dreams.

Shelter Events:

2018 Olympics –Bring Home the Gold Feb. 9-11

Bring home the gold this weekend by adopting a pet from Seattle Humane! From February 9-11, you can score big with 20.18% off adoption fees in honor of the 2018 Olympic Games. Like Olympians, shelter pets will do their very best to become your champion. Let an adoption this weekend be the winter event to remember! See adoptable pets at Seattle Humane dot o-r-g and let the training and glory of pet ownership begin. There’s a gold medal -worthy pet out there for everyone!

Friday Furball Flicks Feb.9, 6-9pm (Ages 6+) $35 per child / Siblings are an additional $25

Join us for a fun night of games, pizza, animals and a movie! Seattle Humane will provide the following: animal visits, games, popcorn, pizza and drinks, and G or PG rated movies.

21

[LICENSED MASSAGE - NON-SEXUAL]

EXCEPTIONAL BODYWORK

Given by highly trained LMP. I specialize in injury treatment, acute, chronic, and repetitive stress motion. I have a studio on CapHill, and one just north of the UW. Insurance accepted. Matt Shafer, LMP, 206-2357766. 05/12

22 [FOR SALE] 36 [ESCORTS] 37 [BODYWORK]

EROTICALLY CHARGED nude full body rubdown from playful top, stimulating the senses. Get seduced. Incalls in Renton area. Scott, 206-355-4469. 40/3

GREAT MASSAGE

Given by highly-trained, clean-cut, handsome guy. I have two private studios, one on CapHill, and one just north of the UW. Call/text Matt, 206-235-7766. In/ out calls. 05/12

38 [MEN]

RAIN CITY JACKS

RCJ is Seattle’s private club hosting hundreds of group jack-off events since 2005. Hot, friendly, and genuine male bonding for men 18+ only. Email or visit our web site for information. info@raincityjacks.org; www. raincityjacks.org. 06/12

FREE & ANONYMOUS HIV & STD COUNSELING/TESTING Walk-In or by Appt GAY CITY HEALTH PROJECT 517 E. Pike St. M-F: 3pm-8pm; SAT: 12:30pm-5pm More Info & to Schedule Appt 206-860-6969

Cheddar

This pretty girl is Cheddar, a 4-year old dilute gray and cream short-haired kitty with a lot of love to share. She enjoys long back strokes and sweet talk but mostly Cheddar just wants a person of her own to love. She would be happy to be your best friend so please come meet her at Seattle Humane. Putting people and pets together is what we do.

As with all of our cats, Cheddar is spayed, microchipped and vaccinated. All of our cats have been tested for Feline Leukemia/FIV and go home with a certificate for an examination by a King County veterinarian and their very own identification tag and collar. PLUS, most cat adoptions include 30 days of pet insurance from Trupanion - a great way to start off on the right paw!

Patti Mayonnaise

Patti Mayonnaise is a 2-year-old Alaskan Husky mix who would love to meet you! Patti is sweet, gentle, and mellow. She enjoys going for walks and is very curious about what is going on around her. She's easy-going and happiest when she's receiving affection from people. Patti will be a wonderful addition to a loving family. Meet Patti Mayonnaise at Seattle Humane!

As with all of our wonderful cats/dogs, Patti Mayonnaise is spayed, microchipped, vaccinated, and behavior-tested. She will go home with a certificate for a complimentary veterinary examination and an identification tag. PLUS, most dog adoptions include 30 days of pet insurance from Trupanion and a training rebate when you complete a dog behavior course - a great way to start off on the right paw!

Introduce to children of all ages. Resident dogs are required to visit Patti prior to adoption. Cat-free home.