/cities/seattle/Entertainment-and-Arts/ Judy's Book - Latest reviews - Entertainment & Arts - Seattle, WA en-us help@judysbook.com http://images.judysbook.com/members/judysbook.png /cities/seattle/Entertainment-and-Arts/ Reviews - Movie Theaters Gale P.
Review of: Unexpected Productions

I'm a long time fan of improv and comedy writing. It's painfully obvious someone from Jet City wrote those negative reviews about Unexpected Productions who is by far the superior company when it comes to actually improvising. Unexpected Productions revolutionized improv in Seattle. They are the reason companies like Jet City Improv exist! Whenever I'm in Seattle (which isn't as often as it used to be) I try to see an improv show. Unexpected Productions Theater Sports show is the one I recommend, hands down! Especially if you're an adult, although I've seen this group handle an audience with kids in it too. The last time I saw it there was a birthday party of kids and a birthday party for a 40 year old along with two bachelorette parties. The Theater Sports cast handled everyone with professionalism and showmanship, being sure to tease everyone as well. They even ripped into an obnoxious heckler in a very entertaining way by shutting him up and getting his friends to laugh at his stupidity! I will always be grateful to Unexpected Productions for the years of great memories they've given me and will hopefully continue to give me in the years to come.
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/99702/posts/2008/7/531661/ Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:22:05 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/99702/posts/2008/7/531661/ Reviews - Movie Theaters Gale P.
Review of: Unexpected Productions

I'm a long time fan of improv and comedy writing. It's painfully obvious someone from Jet City wrote those negative reviews about Unexpected Productions who is by far the superior company when it comes to actually improvising. Unexpected Productions revolutionized improv in Seattle. They are the reason companies like Jet City Improv exist! Whenever I'm in Seattle (which isn't as often as it used to be) I try to see an improv show. Unexpected Productions Theater Sports show is the one I recommend, hands down! Especially if you're an adult, although I've seen this group handle an audience with kids in it too. The last time I saw it there was a birthday party of kids and a birthday party for a 40 year old along with two bachelorette parties. The Theater Sports cast handled everyone with professionalism and showmanship, being sure to tease everyone as well. They even ripped into an obnoxious heckler in a very entertaining way by shutting him up and getting his friends to laugh at his stupidity! I will always be grateful to Unexpected Productions for the years of great memories they've given me and will hopefully continue to give me in the years to come.
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/99702/posts/2008/7/531661/ Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:22:05 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/99702/posts/2008/7/531661/ Reviews - Art Museums cat c.
Review of: Seattle Art Museum

With the new addition on Union Street of the Washington Mutual Tower, the Seattle Art Museum adds two floors of galleries to the original (ca. 1994) post-modernist building by architect Robert Venturi. And the surprise is that what used to be a fairly limited collection now has covers most areas of world art, including first and foremost American modern and contemporary art. Unfortunately, when I went Edward Hopper's "Chop Suey" had not been installed. But there was a representative Georgia O'Keefe as well as paintings by other major names (Jasper Johns, Motherwell, Rothko, Pollock, de Koening). And a "Bird in Motion" by Brancusi, that I believe I saw 30 years ago at the Seattle Center annex. In view towards the $1 billlion in artworks promised to the Museum on the eve of its 75th anniversary, there are various "stations" where one can see a continuous closed circuit of videos with some of the major donors/collectors. And in a nod to American colonial art, a Samuel Singleton Copley (this is not even Boston or Philadelphia!) painting hung pride of place at the entrance to one of the rooms devoted to American art. What was pleasantly surprising to find were two medium-to-large Italian Renaissance tondos, one by Botticelli, "Madonna of the Magnificat" (a version on loan from the Paul Allen collection, the more famous version is in the Uffizi in Florence), with superlative bright deep cerulean blues and crimson reds and jewel-like clarity of design. The significance of--the iconography of--this painting is not explained in the label. http://www.wga.hu/fram... Nice, too, to have small but fascinating collections of Egyptian, Roman and Islamic art. I'm not whether the famous Japanese "Deer Scroll" or the Black Crows (on a gold background) folding screen are on "short-term loan" from the Seattle Asian Art Museum. And what ever happened to the Grand Staircase (with Chinese Ming dynasty rams and warriors) in the Venturi building? One criticism I have is that the organization of the two floors is confusing. As the museum does not have separate wings to house the different "departments," one wanders from room to room without a sense of connection or flow.
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/7/523130/ Sun, 08 Jul 2007 01:27:00 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/7/523130/ Reviews - Art Museums cat c.
Review of: Seattle Art Museum

With the new addition on Union Street of the Washington Mutual Tower, the Seattle Art Museum adds two floors of galleries to the original (ca. 1994) post-modernist building by architect Robert Venturi. And the surprise is that what used to be a fairly limited collection now has covers most areas of world art, including first and foremost American modern and contemporary art. Unfortunately, when I went Edward Hopper's "Chop Suey" had not been installed. But there was a representative Georgia O'Keefe as well as paintings by other major names (Jasper Johns, Motherwell, Rothko, Pollock, de Koening). And a "Bird in Motion" by Brancusi, that I believe I saw 30 years ago at the Seattle Center annex. In view towards the $1 billlion in artworks promised to the Museum on the eve of its 75th anniversary, there are various "stations" where one can see a continuous closed circuit of videos with some of the major donors/collectors. And in a nod to American colonial art, a Samuel Singleton Copley (this is not even Boston or Philadelphia!) painting hung pride of place at the entrance to one of the rooms devoted to American art. What was pleasantly surprising to find were two medium-to-large Italian Renaissance tondos, one by Botticelli, "Madonna of the Magnificat" (a version on loan from the Paul Allen collection, the more famous version is in the Uffizi in Florence), with superlative bright deep cerulean blues and crimson reds and jewel-like clarity of design. The significance of--the iconography of--this painting is not explained in the label. http://www.wga.hu/fram... Nice, too, to have small but fascinating collections of Egyptian, Roman and Islamic art. I'm not whether the famous Japanese "Deer Scroll" or the Black Crows (on a gold background) folding screen are on "short-term loan" from the Seattle Asian Art Museum. And what ever happened to the Grand Staircase (with Chinese Ming dynasty rams and warriors) in the Venturi building? One criticism I have is that the organization of the two floors is confusing. As the museum does not have separate wings to house the different "departments," one wanders from room to room without a sense of connection or flow.
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/7/523130/ Sun, 08 Jul 2007 01:27:00 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/7/523130/ Reviews - Theater Ticket Agencies cat c.
Review of: Benaroya Hall-Bh Music Center

Looks like it belongs in Los Angeles. But I'll have to admit that it adds a lot to a Third Avenue that prior to the construction of Benaroya Hall was getting very down at the ears. Nice to hear a waft of classical music--although it has become more and more pop-sounding--for those people waiting to catch a bus on Third Avenue. The acoustics are supposedly very good--but I have a "tin ear" but such things. Have been to only three concerts or recitals here since it opened, the first marred by a gentlemen who obviously was not there for the experience of a live classical recital: he thumbed through a magazine, loudly, the whole time, rarely looking up. It was a wonderful idea to build a symphony hall right in the heart of downtown. The Nordstrom Recital Hall is for recitals--chamber music, principally. The Grand Lobby is glitzy-ritzy. Behind Benaroya Hall is a Garden of Remembrance, with its dark granite wall dedicated to war veterans and its discreetly placed, well manicured shrubbery and gently cascading pools of water--all fairly close to an entrance to the Metro Tunnel. And across Second Avenue is the post-modernist Robert Venturi (with its giddy art deco references, etc.) addition to the Seattle Art Museum.
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/10/526811/ Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:50:28 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/10/526811/ Reviews - Theater Ticket Agencies cat c.
Review of: Benaroya Hall-Bh Music Center

Looks like it belongs in Los Angeles. But I'll have to admit that it adds a lot to a Third Avenue that prior to the construction of Benaroya Hall was getting very down at the ears. Nice to hear a waft of classical music--although it has become more and more pop-sounding--for those people waiting to catch a bus on Third Avenue. The acoustics are supposedly very good--but I have a "tin ear" but such things. Have been to only three concerts or recitals here since it opened, the first marred by a gentlemen who obviously was not there for the experience of a live classical recital: he thumbed through a magazine, loudly, the whole time, rarely looking up. It was a wonderful idea to build a symphony hall right in the heart of downtown. The Nordstrom Recital Hall is for recitals--chamber music, principally. The Grand Lobby is glitzy-ritzy. Behind Benaroya Hall is a Garden of Remembrance, with its dark granite wall dedicated to war veterans and its discreetly placed, well manicured shrubbery and gently cascading pools of water--all fairly close to an entrance to the Metro Tunnel. And across Second Avenue is the post-modernist Robert Venturi (with its giddy art deco references, etc.) addition to the Seattle Art Museum.
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/10/526811/ Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:50:28 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/10/526811/ Reviews - Other Rental & Leasing Nuncia A.
Review of: Tubs Seattle Inc

It's about time this closed. The tubs were not cleaned very often. The place had gone through a cosmetic renovation some time ago, but the rooms were starting to mold and peel. Their website is still up, but the phone line has been disconnected.
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/90472/posts/2007/10/526420/ Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:52:34 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/90472/posts/2007/10/526420/ Reviews - Zoos cat c.
Review of: Woodland Park Zoo

After a hiatus of about five or six years, as a member of the Woodland Zoo, I had some catching up to do. So I made a trip back on the second day of October 2007 to see what had changed. A new jaguar and one for the gorillas at the beginning of the Tropical Rain Forest were two of the most important additions. Also a "night" exhibition hall for those critters that tolerate very little light (I saw nothing myself, as I have poor night vision. Supposedly it takes 10 minutes to acclimatize to the darkness). Other than not, not that much had changed in terms of animals. Maybe it's my appreciation of the sheer beauty and fascination of the animals, that has changed. October 1 through April 30 constitutes the "winter" season for the Zoo, so I was able to wander about in serenity without having tons of screaming kids and their parent-chaperons. But the zoo closes early (4 p.m.), at which time all the indoor exhibitions are locked down. Visitors can apparently stay until about 5:30, depending on the mood which zoo staff they happen upon. Actually, it was better than when I used to remember it, mostly because it was the off-season. It felt like I had it to myself and a few other interested adult "naturalist"-types. Plus a few families ("o-o-h, see the jaguar. He is lonely. He doesn't have a mate"), a few tourists. The grizzly bears in the Northern Trail section were to use the too-often used adjective, "magnificent" in a way that makes Steven Spielberg seem all too Disneyland-ish. The Monorail, Columbia Tower, etc. seem strictly utilitarian, clunky, and boring by comparison with any of the denizens of this species. Nature wins hands-down. The giraffes, with their impossibly long, thin legs were still there, passing back and forth between their aluminum sheds and the very smallish, narrow quarters outside behind the wire fence. And in the African Savanna--probably the best of the "natural environments"--no rhinoceros, but, instead, I was able to catch a fleeting close-up glance of a male lion, truly regal, before he trotted back into the savanna. I suddenly had an insight as to how obscene hunting is, especially as it is considered a "sport" (?!) and has nothing to do with meeting real human needs, other than that of sheer (mistaken) ego. And a couple of Malayan sun bears were frolicking without self-consciousness in their own miniature neck-of-the-woods. With the improvement of the "natural habitats" of the past ten years (less of the "animals-trapped-in-cages" of earlier times), a trip to the zoo every year or two brings a kind of natural bliss. Just go in the off-season so that the families don't become the principal show. My main criticism of the Woodland Zoo remains the same, and could be directed probably at most zoos: the animals, though housed in relatively "natural" environs, are still, largely, part of a "show," without enough attention being directed towards providing a learning experience. The destruction of 1/3 of the Amazon River Valley in the past few years, the sharp declines in populations, as well as their natural habitats, along with their imminent or probable extinction is not stressed enough. Going to the zoo becomes a family outing no different from other entertainment: going to the movies, to the circus, shopping at Pacific Place, skiing, etc. On the other hand, admission, or a membership, to the zoo is at least a way of showing a little appreciation for all the other members of the Natural World that we take so often for granted and have as much right, if not more, of living on this increasingly crowded (by homo sapien!), polluted planet.
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/10/526381/ Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:02:50 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/10/526381/ Reviews - Zoos cat c.
Review of: Woodland Park Zoo

After a hiatus of about five or six years, as a member of the Woodland Zoo, I had some catching up to do. So I made a trip back on the second day of October 2007 to see what had changed. A new jaguar and one for the gorillas at the beginning of the Tropical Rain Forest were two of the most important additions. Also a "night" exhibition hall for those critters that tolerate very little light (I saw nothing myself, as I have poor night vision. Supposedly it takes 10 minutes to acclimatize to the darkness). Other than not, not that much had changed in terms of animals. Maybe it's my appreciation of the sheer beauty and fascination of the animals, that has changed. October 1 through April 30 constitutes the "winter" season for the Zoo, so I was able to wander about in serenity without having tons of screaming kids and their parent-chaperons. But the zoo closes early (4 p.m.), at which time all the indoor exhibitions are locked down. Visitors can apparently stay until about 5:30, depending on the mood which zoo staff they happen upon. Actually, it was better than when I used to remember it, mostly because it was the off-season. It felt like I had it to myself and a few other interested adult "naturalist"-types. Plus a few families ("o-o-h, see the jaguar. He is lonely. He doesn't have a mate"), a few tourists. The grizzly bears in the Northern Trail section were to use the too-often used adjective, "magnificent" in a way that makes Steven Spielberg seem all too Disneyland-ish. The Monorail, Columbia Tower, etc. seem strictly utilitarian, clunky, and boring by comparison with any of the denizens of this species. Nature wins hands-down. The giraffes, with their impossibly long, thin legs were still there, passing back and forth between their aluminum sheds and the very smallish, narrow quarters outside behind the wire fence. And in the African Savanna--probably the best of the "natural environments"--no rhinoceros, but, instead, I was able to catch a fleeting close-up glance of a male lion, truly regal, before he trotted back into the savanna. I suddenly had an insight as to how obscene hunting is, especially as it is considered a "sport" (?!) and has nothing to do with meeting real human needs, other than that of sheer (mistaken) ego. And a couple of Malayan sun bears were frolicking without self-consciousness in their own miniature neck-of-the-woods. With the improvement of the "natural habitats" of the past ten years (less of the "animals-trapped-in-cages" of earlier times), a trip to the zoo every year or two brings a kind of natural bliss. Just go in the off-season so that the families don't become the principal show. My main criticism of the Woodland Zoo remains the same, and could be directed probably at most zoos: the animals, though housed in relatively "natural" environs, are still, largely, part of a "show," without enough attention being directed towards providing a learning experience. The destruction of 1/3 of the Amazon River Valley in the past few years, the sharp declines in populations, as well as their natural habitats, along with their imminent or probable extinction is not stressed enough. Going to the zoo becomes a family outing no different from other entertainment: going to the movies, to the circus, shopping at Pacific Place, skiing, etc. On the other hand, admission, or a membership, to the zoo is at least a way of showing a little appreciation for all the other members of the Natural World that we take so often for granted and have as much right, if not more, of living on this increasingly crowded (by homo sapien!), polluted planet.
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/10/526381/ Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:02:50 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/10/526381/ Reviews - Movie Theaters cat c.
Review of: Northwest Film Forum

With the passing the same day on July 30, 2007 of film-makers Ingmar Bergman and Michaelangelo Antonioni it makes sense to remember that film both then AND now is largely a commercial enterprise targeted at the lowest common denominator: the masses largely interested in action--cheap thrills, empty spectacle, and stupefingly numbing cliches, one-liners, recycled gags, and loads of popcorn... http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/movies/05scot.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/movies/12scor.html Although I have only been there once or twice since it opened (it used to be at the Little Theater on 19th Ave. E. near St. Joseph's), I can attest to this being the least "commercial" movie theater in Seattle, with very fine, programming, including art, foreign, "independent,"experimental, documentary, and classic film. This may one of the very few non-commercial venue for cinephiles in Seattle (Seattle Art Museum also counts, I guess)... Hence, NO preliminary 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted cheesy, flashing, adrenaline-thumping previews, commercials, or announcements, as I recall, before a screening. Where else could we have seen the haunting, psychologically resonant neo-Italian-realist*** film version of Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera "The Medium"--directed by Menotti himself and with a radiant young Anna-Maria Alberghetti--think of "Turn of the Screw," and "Umberto D." (or an Italian Fascist film from Rome's Cinecitta studio**** all rolled in one, set to a modernist Puccini? How they pulled this forgotten gem out of some obscure vault is an open question. Or a few years, an exhibition/film festival/symposium on Slovene contemporary art (attended by the Slovene ambassador)? A strikingly original, funky space, with two very comfortable screening rooms, gallery, bar/cafe, large windows that look out onto the increasingly "in" 12th Ave. scene. This one-of-a-kind non-profit venue clearly stands head and shoulders above the Landmark Theaters (excepting possibly the Harvard Exit, Seven Gables, and Egyptian) in its selection of not-often-seen, mostly non-commercial fare. What about "revisiting" films by such cultural/intellectual luminaries and film-makers who have passed away recently, such as Susan Sontag ("Brother Carl,") "Duet for Cannibals"), Arthur Miller ("Playing for Time," "Misfits"), Gian-Carlo Menotti* ("The Medium"** or "Amahl and the Night Visitors," Bergman ("Cries & Whispers," "Persona," "Scenes from a Marriage"), Antonioni ("L'avventura," "Blow-Up", etc.? (Robert Altman, despite his iconic maverick status, worked within the Hollywood studio system, as far as I know). Or "one of its own," Elia Kazan (d. 2003), controversial for his role in the blacklisting of the McCarthy era but lauded for his "Streetcar Named Desire," "On the Waterfront," "Baby Doll." Seattle being a fairly important theater city--even though theater and cinema are in many ways antithetical media--it would also be interesting, for instance, to see a program of successful Hollywood film versions of Tennessee Williams's works (John Huston's "Night of the Iguana," Kazan's "Streetcar," the little seen "Glass Menagerie" with Gertrude Lawrence in one of her rare film roles), "Summer and Smoke" with Geraldine Page repeating the role that brought her fame in a Circle in the Square revival in New York), even though the number of bowdlerized, mediocre-or-worse versions makes up the vast majority (think of Eugene O'Neill, except for "Long Day's Journey into Night," or Arthur Miller). Or opera-on-film...Bergman's "Magic Flute," the ca. 1987 "Carmen," etc. (Maybe they have already had an occasional opera on film, rarely "a mini-series" or in repertory, to my memory...). [The Big Picture in Belltown used to be adventurous ("The Station Agent," the Robert McNamara documentary, "Fog of War," the documentary on the influential architect Louis Kahn, etc.). In the past year, it has turned to VERY standard Hollywood fare ("Dreamgirls," "Casino Royale") that could seen at ANY multiplex. This is a duplication of effort--the Meridian 16, that downtown rabbit-warren downtown due for demolition in the not too distant future, usually has "first dibs" on this sort of fare]. This and the Harvard Exit are my two favorite movie theaters in Seattle. *http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/arts/music/01cnd-menotti.html?ex=1327986000&en=7ef65dc15876a946&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss ** http://www.amazon.com/Menotti-Medium-Powers-Alberghetti-Schippers/dp/B00006ADF9/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_1/002-2763930-2716018 *** http://www.italica.rai.it/eng/cinema/cards/neorealism1.htm **** http://www.romefile.com/culture/cinecitta.php Also recommended: The Warren Report, in the old Carnegie Free Library in Ballard: http://seattle.thewarrenreport.com/default.asp
]]> http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/8/524433/ Sun, 05 Aug 2007 11:53:19 GMT http://www.judysbook.com/members/Catlover/posts/2007/8/524433/