What's Up

Here are a few stills from Ovation! Musical Theatre Bainbridge’s current production of “Cabaret.” This weekend is your last chance to catch the dazzly musical: It runs at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday, July 30-31, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 1. Here’s a snippet from a piece What’s Up put together earlier this month, talking with director Ron Milton:

“I like the audience to realize they’re in the theater, I like them to feel the sweat from the performers,” he said. “Theater holds a crowning place in entertainment in that you can never recapture the ephemeral feeling of theater, because no two performances are quite alike.”

Enjoy the show. WU

(Photos courtesy Ovation! Musical Theatre Bainbride.)

The annual Kitsap Pride festival will celebrate the county’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and ally community in Bremerton’s Evergreen Park this Saturday, July 17. A marketplace of local vendors and community organizations, a kids’ bouncy house and “Cirque de la Queer” for teens (from The Q Center) will run from noon to 5 p.m. The Jbaum Band plays at 1 p.m., dueling pianos are fired up at 2:20 p.m. and Boy Blue and The Moon play at 4 p.m. In between, two drag shows take the stage, at 2 p.m. and 3:10 p.m. Later on, a Pride Party will be held at the Bremerton Eagles. Learn more at kitsappride.org.

It’s been a big few days at movie houses, with the controversial opening of cult favorite “The Last Airbender” and the descent of thousands of teenage girls crying battle between vampire and werewolf at “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” midnight premieres.
One of Kitsap’s smaller cinemas, The Historic Lynwood Theatre on Bainbridge Island, is marking its 74th anniversary this Monday, July 5, with a performance from house organist Dennis James and a showing of Cecile B. DeMille’s 1927 silent “Chicago,” starring Phyllis Haver and Victor Varconi.
“This film has been out of print for many years and it’s a rare treat in this day and age to experience film accompanied by a live organist,” said Jeff Brein, co-owner of the Lynwood Theatre, in a press release.
The Lynwood opened in 1936.
Showtimes are 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $12. Info: (206) 842-3080. Find the Lynwood at 4569 Lynwood Center Road.
This weekend, Kingston’s Firehouse Theater shows Hal Ashby’s “Harold and Maude” at 11:15 p.m. Saturday, July 3, and Sunday, July 4. If you haven’t seen the film, here’s a synopsis from the Firehouse:

In a broad sense, the film is a simple love story about how opposites attract — only, this time around, he’s 19 and she’s 79. Harold, played with deadpan humor by Bud Cort (M*A*S*H), is under extreme pressure from his overbearing mother, Mrs. Chasen (Vivian Pickles, in a performance that is a sheer delight), to enter the dating world. Unfortunately, the shy and morose Harold would rather spend his time attending the funerals of complete strangers. It is at one of these where he meets Maude (Ruth Gordon), who has the spunk and energy of a teenager. Maude is convinced that Harold needs to come out of his shell and enjoy life, so she brings him into hers. The taboo relationship between Harold and Maude, created by screenwriter Colin Higgins, embodied the spirit of an experimental generation guided by the mantra “If it feels good, do it.” The love affair between the film’s two eccentrics remains one of Hollywood’s most unexpected, but tender, romances. WU

Valentines Performing Pigs will skateboard, jump hoops and bowl at the gazebo in the Commons off Bay Street in Port Orchard at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 27, during the town’s Fathoms O’ Fun celebration. Trainers Steve and Priscilla Valentine, of Gig Harbor, have raised a handful of pigs, including Nellie, billed both as the world’s “smartest” and “greatest” pig. They’ve been featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America, Late Night with David Letterman, Oprah, The Today Show and Animal Planet, to name a few. The pigs live with the Valentines, and enjoy human comforts, such as their own beds, according to the website. Here’s a link to several features on the snouted performers and their trainers. Check out this video, in which Nellie bowls at the Letterman show while Dave jokes about BLTs. (For more on Fathoms O’ Fun, look here; read about this weekend’s Street Scramble in Port Orchard here.) WU

If you haven’t heard, funnyman Gallagher is bringing his political comentary and splashy show to the Admiral June 24. Learn more about it here, or visit the Admiral’s website.

Here’s a clip to tie you over until his performance. It looks … messy, and that’s some wild and crazy hair. WU

Thought I’d share a quick update on our local poker players, many of whom faced off at the Clearwater Casino for a bid to the Main Event at the World Series of Poker in Vegas next month. (See last week’s feature on the competition here.) I received this email from April Leigh, the casino’s media coordinator. She wrote this:

Quick Facts: 161 people entered the tournament. The top 16 finishers were paid. Payouts for the top 16 players totaled more than $33,000. In addition, Judy Vigoren (who was featured in the What’s Up story for winning a spot in the senior event) was also in this tournament. She took 5^th place (that means she beat out 156 other people and was the only woman at the final table). The tournament lasted approximately 12 hours. It started at 11am and the last hand was dealt at 11:15pm.

Hats off to Judy, who has only been playing poker for a few years and seems to be quite the natural. The photo below shows the event’s winner, Rick Larsen, who gets to compete in Vegas in July. The second gives you an idea of just how packed Clearwater’s poker room gets when a ticket to the Main Event is on the line. WU

An old-fashioned BBQ, a raffle and a mini-auction ring in the 4th annual family-friendly Theatre School benefit fundraiser at Bainbridge Performing Arts, which takes place at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 18. The fundraiser boasts some good entertainment too: The Edge Improve will perform, and kids in the audience are invited to join in their fun.
Tickets, $35 for adults and $20 for kids 18 and under, can be purchased online at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, by phone at (206) 842-8569 or in person at 200 Madison Avenue North, Bainbridge Island. Currently enrolled BPA Theatre School students get in free when accompanied by a paying adult.

Congrats to the Bremerton Community Theatre, 599 Lebo Blvd., Bremerton, which broke ground on its new Robert B. Stewart Performance Hall this past weekend. The new hall, which will be built with funds from its benefactor namesake, will be a black box second stage to the theater’s main stage. Stewart is a long time Bremerton resident and founder of the original Olympic Savings and Loan. He donated $250,000 to the theater — enough to also provide a wider array of services, events and programs. We’ll keep you updated as to when the wing will be complete. (Also, stop by and watch “Cactus Flower,” why not?)

Update: Judy Nichols, the theater’s president, said she anticipates the black box will be up and running by May 2011.

Tonight marks the start of a whirlwind music series at the Hi-Fidelity Lounge, 2711 6th Street, Bremerton. Adam Arcuragi, Shenandoah Davis and Buffalo Death Beam kick off a 5-night, 15-act marathon for the lounge. Cost for tonight’s show is $5, must be 21+. Starting tomorrow night, all concert proceeds will benefit the lounge’s music program, which hopes to continue providing live shows. Here’s the lineup, beginning Thursday, June 10:

‘Precious Arbor’ at Gallery at Grace

Elizabeth Reed Smith shows “Precious Arbor,” works that include trees engraved into copper, silverpoint drawings and mixed media with gold leaf, through the month at The Gallery at Grace, 8595 NE Day Road, Bainbridge Island.
“I have always been intrigued by the way the structure of a leaf allows it to fold against the weather and how shoots become saplings and, in turn, trees,” said Smith, in a press release. “This love of nature’s giants coupled with a fascination for the drawn line in the books of my English childhood led me to delineating trees in all their intricate detail.
“Nature is ever moving, the seasons dictate and trees change color and eventually, shape. My drawings too take different forms, sometimes drypoint engraving, sometimes the pristine copper plate. These changes of direction are always punctuated by a return to my first love, the fine line of pen and ink.”
Learn more by calling (206) 842-9997 or visiting elizabethsmithprints.com or gracehere.org.

Nature’s architecture at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts

Seashells, eggshells, and nutshells are Nature’s architecture. Bainbridge Arts and Crafts artists explore these portable homes as sculpture, painting, photography, and metaphor in an exhibition that runs through Tuesday, June 29. Visit www.bacart.org to learn more. Bainbridge Arts and Crafts is located at 151 Winslow Way E.

The Island Gallery goes to the Animals

Artists have long held a special relationship with other creatures on Earth, says The Island Gallery. Artists draw inspiration from the mystery, beauty and humor of animals, so much so The Island Gallery features an online exhibit of that very connection this month. Find it at www.theislandgallery.net/shop/.

Coplan talks women’s lit, Pennington makes a thrifty kitchen at eagle harbor books
Bainbridge Island author Elizabeth Coplan shares from “When One Door Closes,” a collection of true short stories and poems written by more than 50 women, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 17, at Eagle Harbor Book Company. The personal essays and poems in the book focus on turning points in one’s life, major decisions and big changes. It includes stories from women who have learned how to face transitions, to cope with loss, to forgive, to find love, and to let go, and in the final analysis the women discover their true selves and find peace within. Some proceeds will be distributed between five non-profit women’s agencies that assist women on global, national and local fronts. “Urban Pantry: Tips and Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable and Seasonal Kitchen,” is a smart, concise guide to creating a full and delicious pantry. Find out more about it and author Amy Pennington when she presents at Eagle Harbor Book Company at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 13. “Urban Pantry” covers kitchen essentials and recipes that adapt old-fashioned pantry cooking for a modern audience. Pennington covers canning, pickling and food growing in small spaces.

Comedy Night
Get your dose of the best medicine around at a comedy night to raise funds for the Kitsap County Domestic Violence Task Force. Held at the Cloverleaf, 1240 Hollis Street, Bremerton, and hosted by “The Great Cris” and his funny friends, the show begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 12. Tickets cost $15. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the force, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a community free of domestic violence. Info: (360) 377-8516.

‘Summer Nights’ at the Admiral
Wildly popular film “Grease” will play at the Admiral Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 11. The 1978 flick stars a duck-tailed, leather-jacketed John Travolta as Danny and pop darling Olivia Newton-John as Sandy, who parlay their 1950s summer flirting into a clique-challenging romance. General admission is $7. Runtime: 110 min. Info: admiraltheatre.org. WU