David Sedaris, The Nordic Lights Film Festival, La Traviata, And More
by Stranger Things To Do Staff
The holidays may be over, but, in Seattle, January is full of plenty of excellent theater, film festivals, readings, and other arts and culture events to help take your mind off the freezing weather outside. We've already compiled our critics' picks for the first week of the month to help you get started, but now it's time to look ahead to all of the other events you have to look forward to in January. Some events (like An Evening with Ira Glass and Kathy Griffin's "Like a Boss" tour) are already sold out, but tickets are still available for the events below, including the Nordic Lights Film Festival, Spectrum Dance's Shot, David Sedaris's manuscript workshop, and the 8th Annual Belgian Beer Fest. For even more options, check out our list of 80 January concerts to buy tickets for now, or our complete Things To Do calendar.
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JAN 6-14
1. 14/48: The World's Quickest Theater Festival
In a tradition that has lasted nearly 20 years, theater teams put together seven new shows in 24 hours—and then repeat the experience the following week. This means that shows are written on Thursday and performed on Friday. Watch the grueling but exciting birth of new theater.
JAN 6-29
2. Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie
Folk legend Woody Guthrie mixed his progressive politics with his music in a way that elevated both enterprises. He scrawled "This Machine Kills Fascists" across his acoustic guitar, wrote about Trump's housing discrimination and racist slumlordery back when he was living in a tenement owned by the president-elect's father, and acknowledged the oppression of Native Americans and other subjugated peoples even as he celebrated the beauty and promise of the US in songs such as "This Land Is Your Land." (He wrote a whole mess of songs about this part of the country, too! If you haven't already, check out The Columbia River Collection.) This show, directed by Nick Corley, presents a musical portrait of his life, with David Lutken in the leading role. RICH SMITH
JAN 10-15
3. Finding Neverland
Learn about the story behind Peter Pan in Finding Neverland, a musical about the life of playwright J.M. Barrie.
JAN 11
4. 2016 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour
An indie short showcase from none other than Sundance, featuring 95 minutes of new works that may well launch a few filmmaking careers. The styles range from "wild comedy to reflective poetry" in animation, documentary, and fiction storytelling.
JAN 12
5. Art Collecting 101
SAM Gallery and Shop Manager Jody Bento will go over the basics of beginning an art collection at this popular, free workshop.
6. Pause & Draw: Spice World
At this screening of Spice World (a '90s celebration of Britpop, exposed midriff, and unapologetically crude femininity) they'll periodically pause the movie so you can draw a picture of the scene. You'll leave with giggly memories and some rad Spice Girls fan art.
JAN 12-15
7. By Heart
This performance art/theater show created by Tiago Rodrigues is inspired by this quote from George Steiner: "Once 10 people know a poem by heart, there’s nothing the KGB, the CIA or the Gestapo can do about it. It will survive." In the show, 10 people must memorize a Shakespeare sonnet (on stage, in real time) as "an act of political and artistic resistance."
JAN 12-16
8. Nordic Lights Film Festival
The Nordic Heritage Museum will take you on a cinematic tour of Scandinavia with films from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and even the Faroe Islands. Come for the opening night party after a screening of the Icelandic film Reverse and meet its director, David Hansson. See films from up-and-comers or big names like Thomas Vinterberg (who did The Hunt and Festen) and Tobias Lindholm (director of A Hijacking, writer on Borgen; his film at this festival, A War is Denmark's 2016 submission to the Oscars).
JAN 12-MARCH 16
9. Viva Italia! Italian Film from Neorealism to Fellini
Revisit the greatest works of mid-century Italian cinema with works by Monicelli, Rossellini, Fellini, and other masters of postwar Neorealism and the more stylized movements that followed.
JAN 13
10. The Seattle Process with Brett Hamil
Described as "Seattle's only intentionally funny talk show" and "a mudpie lobbed into the halls of power," the Seattle Process with Brett Hamil offers politics, exasperation, information, and comedy. This edition will feature "badass women who are smashing back against the toxic global patriarchy," including Stranger Genius Award-winning filmmaker Tracy Rector, #ShoutYourAbortion founder Amelia Bonow, and singer JusMoni.
JAN 13-14
11. Nomads
Dancers will make shapes with their bodies to communicate the shapes humans create on landscapes—cities, highways, and the "constructed environment." Featuring music by local musicians Serge Gubelman and Erin Jorgensen, and New York sound artist Stephen Vitiello.
JAN 13-15
12. RustyCon 34
A science fiction and fantasy convention that spans writing, science, art, costuming, and gaming. Look forward to nightly movie screenings, multiple dances, a masquerade, concerts, casinos, and special guests like Robin Hobb, Michaela Eaves, and Bill Doran.
JAN 13-30
13. Every Five Minutes
Every Five Minutes by Scottish playwright Linda McLean (known for her celebrated debut work, Any Given Day) examines the lasting effects of prolonged torture. Presented by Washington Ensemble Theatre and directed by Ryan Purcell.
JAN 14
14. Odd Babes Present: Amy Miller with Val Nigro and Special Guests
Miller, recently seen on Last Comic Standing, was recently named "Portland’s Funniest Comedian" in Helium Comedy Club’s contest. Witness her "alpha female" comedy as presented by Seattle Comedy Nest's founders, Odd Babes.
15. Tyler Nordgren: Sun Moon Earth
You need to start making plans for August 21, 2017. On that day there's going to be a total eclipse of the sun, a celestial effacement that hasn't occurred in over 40 years. You need to prepare in a number of ways. (1) Reserve a campsite on a mountain. You'll going to want to be in the "path of totality" so that you can see the full eclipse, and you'll going to want to be high up so you can have the best view. (2) Lube up. There's going to be a lot of people flying in from places that aren't in "The Path," lots of hippy outdoor parties, and lots of witchy orgies. (3) Go to this talk and listen to astronomer Tyler Nordgren read from Sun Moon Earth, a new book about the way ancient and modern scientists from all over the world view this awe-inspiring phenomenon. RICH SMITH
JAN 14-20
16. David Sedaris: Manuscript Workshop
After his yearly reading at Benaroya, the witty, self-deprecating, hilariously judgmental David Sedaris will return to Seattle to workshop his new manuscript, Theft by Finding. His work will probably be polished and beautifully performed, with perfect timing and absurdly funny material. Feel lucky that he chose our town, and help him out by being a responsive, honest audience.
JAN 14-28
17. La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi's classic tale of a courtesan who finds love gets the full stage treatment this season with the Seattle Opera. This production will be performed in the original Italian, with English subtitles.
JAN 15
18. Writers Resist: A Celebration of Free Speech
This is the first installment of an exciting new series called Writers Resist, which is dedicated to resisting inequity in all of its forms through language. The inaugural event aims to extol free speech, and everyone who you should be reading will be reading everyone who you should've already read. State-approved literary ambassadors including Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall, Seattle City Poet Claudia Castro Luna, and Youth Poet Laureate Angel Gardner will read selections from MLK (it IS his birthday), Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Paine, Angela Y. Davis, Susan Sontag, Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, and others. Other notable writers will help out, too, including Stranger Genius nominee Robert Lashley, Jess Walter, Imani Sims, Elissa Washuta, G. Willow Wilson, Jane Wong, the list goes on. There will be bar, in case you need any more fuel for for your righteous flame. RICH SMITH
JAN 17
19. The Stranger's Blabbermouth Podcast Live
Well, it happened. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million, but the Electoral College failed. The Hamilton Electors failed. The Democrats failed. The Never-Trumpers failed. The pollsters failed. Cable news peddled false equivalency after false equivalency, and now Trump is going to be elected president in a matter of days. WHAT WILL WE DO? What can be done? And what should our theme song be? The Stranger's Pulitzer Prize-winning Eli Sanders, Celebrity Prize-winning Dan Savage, Non-Prize-winning Rich Smith, and a bunch of guests will tell you at this live recording session of Blabbermouth. RICH SMITH
JAN 18
20. Showgirls with David Schmader — A Benefit for Planned Parenthood
David Schmader's legendary screening with commentary of the acclaimed Vegas disaster film Showgirls is back at the Triple Door for one night only, as a benefit for Planned Parenthood.
JAN 19
21. Campout Cinema: "Singles"
Ensconce yourself in a sleeping bag to watch Cameron Crowe's 1992 ode to Seattle grunge (featuring Eddie Vedder, Alice in Chains, and others), and double it up with free entry to the exhibit Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses.
22. Cocktail Theatre: Guilty Pleasures Style
Everything from the great literary classics of the world to pulp fiction will be cheerfully mangled into camp theater at this one-night-only event featuring "grown-up goodies galore," including “adult goodie bags” provided by Babeland.
23. The Pajama Game Spotlight Night
Get a preview of upcoming musical The Pajama Game with scenes from the play and talks on its context, history, and the 5th Avenue Theatre's current production.
24. Re:definition 2017 1st Exhibit Launch Party
The Seattle Theatre Group has transformed the lobby of the Paramount into a socially conscious art gallery space and will celebrate with free drinks, snacks, and music. The first exhibit will feature indigenous artists chosen by Tracy Rector, 2016's Stranger Genius Award winner in film.
25. Totally 90s Sing-Along
Charge up your Tamagotchi, frost your tips, and Hammer-dance your way to Central Cinema, where you can snack and sing along with the ninetiest of tunes. Try not to spray crumbs on your neighbor; it's not a good substitute for body glitter.
JAN 19-21
26. Adept: A Sick & Disabled LGBTQ Show
Hear from Seattle LGBTQ+ people with sicknesses and disabilities: they have "poetry, storytelling, dance, comedy, music, and JOY" to share. The subtitled show is accessible for deaf and blind people. Gay City invites you to cross the gap of ableism with Mateo Cruz, Fatima, Tara Hardy, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Nic Masangkay, billie rain, and E.T. Russian.
27. John Caparulo
The host of the Domestic Disputes podcast and actor on Chelsea Lately will show his comedic range.
JAN 19-FEB 4
28. Shot
Shot is an exploration of police brutality and racism through dance theater, presented as part of Spectrum Dance's season examining American identity, race, and culture.
JAN 19-FEB 11
29. Mothers and Sons
Terrence McNally's Mothers and Sons is a Tony Award-nominated play about queerness, AIDS, family, and romance. It's a drawing room drama, showing just an hour and a half of the characters' lives, and is about a woman visiting her late son's former partner.
JAN 19-FEB 18
30. Proof
Strawshop honcho Greg Carter directs Proof, David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play about Catherine, the daughter of a late University of Chicago professor and mathematical wizard of prime numbers. Catherine is a math genius herself, and she worries she's inherited her father's mental illness along with his smarts. Invariably, one of Seattle's theaters produces this contemporary classic each year, but Carter's sure to pull out the political fire burning just beneath the play's surface. RICH SMITH
JAN 20
31. Company Wayne McGregor: Atomos
Atomos is an ambitious show by British choreographer Wayne McGregor, who is known for incorporating various artistic representations (especially visual art) into modern dance performance. Featuring a cast of 10 dancers, lighting design by Lucy Carter, film by Ravi Deepres, and described as "sculptural, rigorous, jarring and hauntingly beautiful."
32. The Fighter & The Kid
See a live version of this comedy podcast about martial arts, hosted by former UFC heavyweight Brendan "Big Brown" Schaub and Bryan "the Kid" Callen.
33. Pink Carpet Project
On Trump's inauguration day, revel in music, food, art, and performance while raising money for (and celebrating the existence of) Planned Parenthood. The Pink Carpet Project promises "burlesque performance by the inimitable J Von Stratton, inspirational words from our keynote, Amelia Bonow from #ShoutYourAbortion, music by DJ Lady Coco, delicious appetizers from Madres Kitchen, cocktails by The Rhino Room, and booth installations of art, fashion, conversation curated by BadWill Market, featuring various woman owned businesses and artists. There will also be a silent auction where participating vendors will create and donate a one of a kind piece towards the cause." All proceeds from ticket sales and the silent auction, plus a portion of bar profits, will go towards Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest.
34. Post-Election Town Hall
After the inauguration, meet Planned Parenthood for a panel discussion on the new administration and its effect on the community.
35. Salon de la Résistance: An Anti-Inaugural Ball
Fight despair with fellow resistants on Inauguration Day! Buy some cool posters at the pop-up shop: all proceeds from the shop and the bar will benefit the ACLU and El Centro de la Raza. Dress fancy, "whatever whatever that means to you," and prepare to be enlightened by activist Elmer Dixon and poet Elisa Chavez. Featuring DJ Gene Balk of the Emerald City Soul Club and other DJs TBA.
36. Voices of a People's History of the United States
Hear stories from history that your textbooks may have neglected, unless you had a super cool history teacher who made you read Howard Zinn. Readers include sometime Stranger vidéaste Bret Hamil, Marcus Harrison Green, Jarrell Davis, Claudia Castro Luna, Valerie Curtis Newton, Carlynne Newhouse, Shontina Vernon, and others. Learn about those who fought against Jim Crow and the killing and displacement of Native Americans; celebrate early proponents of women's rights, LGBTQ+ advancement, and the working class.
JAN 20-22
37. Trixie Mattel: Ages 3 & Up
Meet a crowd favorite from RuPaul's Drag Race (season 7, to be exact): Miss Trixie Mattel. Trixie's show Ages 3 and Up, they say, is "packed with plastic and heart!" Fall in love again with her Barbie strut and original songs.
JAN 20-28
38. Whim W'Him presents SENSATION
SENSATION promises a variety of new works from exciting choreographers, including Larry Keigwin (Keigwin + Company), Penny Saunders (Hubbard Street Dance Chicago), and, of course, Olivier Wevers (Whim W'Him artistic director).
JAN 21
39. Cornish Presents: Concrete - Lines - Fluid - Curves
Spotlighting five new compositions for chamber jazz ensemble, this performance, curated and composed by Chris Stover, incorporates spoken word, found sounds, and dance in a spread inspired by the Brazilian poets Ana Cristina Cesar, Angélica Freitas, and Augusta de Campos.
40. Pozole-Making Class
Yum, pozole! Learn how to make this Mesoamerican celebratory stew out of classic ingredients like chile, maize and meat. You will acquire an exciting culinary skill, and your dollars will benefit El Centro's Senior Nutrition & Wellness Program.
41. The Rain Run
It's time to stop complaining about the rain. Get out there and show it you're not intimidated by a few drops! Run a half-marathon with other hardy Northwesterners and receive a finisher's medal, raffle ticket, cupcakes, and even a Rain Run blanket.
JAN 21 & 23
42. Inherit the Wind
See a new and timely production of the play about the 1925 Scopes trial, Inherit the Wind, written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee in the 1950s in defense of "the right to think." The Scopes case, in which a schoolteacher accused of violating the Butler Act by teaching evolution, revealed the fault lines of religious fundamentalism and modernism in Tennessee; the ban on teaching evolution was only repealed in 1967.
JAN 22
43. NFFTY Annual Fundraiser
Meet the new moviemakers showcased at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth ("the world's largest film festival for emerging directors") at this fundraiser party, which will include film screenings from the festival's 2016 edition, as well as a live auction. Music by DJ WD4D.
JAN 22-24
44. National Geographic Live: Point of No Return
Join the National Geographic team in their trek across Burma’s highest peak, Hkakabo Razi, captured on film by photographer Cory Richards’s dramatic stills and in Renan Ozturk’s documentary, Down to Nothing, the expedition film about the search for Hkakabo Razi. These performances will be scored by the Seattle Symphony.
JAN 23
45. Michael Eric Dyson
Michael Eric Dyson, sociology professor at Georgetown, will speak about his book on a pressing subject: how "whites who care about real social progress must face difficult truths, including being honest about how black grievance has been ignored, dismissed, or discounted." Learn about what he has to say in his thought-provoking new book, Tears We Cannot Stop.
JAN 24
46. Boys Count: Uncovering the Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Boys and Young Men
Stolen Youth, an organization advocating for exploited children, will explore how male victims of sex trafficking can be helped.
47. Closing Up Shop? The Uncertain Future of Seattle's Art Galleries
It's no secret that galleries in Seattle have been struggling. Hear about why and how—and prepare to have some of those preconceived notions about the art world shaken—at this panel moderated by Gage Artistic Director Gary Faigin, and featuring four amazing people leading the arts scene in Seattle: gallery owners Greg Kucera and Mariane Ibrahim, artist (and Stranger Genius) Mary Ann Peters, and The Stranger's own awe-inspiring art critic Jen Graves.
48. Startup Stories with the Seattle 10
John Cook, co-founder of GeekWire, will lead a conversation with starter-uppers Leen Kawas (M3 Biotechnology), Matt Oppenheimer (Remitly), and Kieran Snyder (Textio) to tease out why some start-ups fail and others thrive. They will write down their ideas on colossal napkins for posterity and the MOHAI's collection (true).
JAN 24-FEB 3
49. The King and I
STG presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical The King and I, a Tony Award-winning production featuring songs like "Getting to Know You," "Something Wonderful," and "I Have Dreamed."
JAN 25
50. Arisa White, Anastacia Tolbert, Natasha Marin & Naa Akua
Renowned local poet Anastacia Tolbert will head this night of work by female and genderqueer writers of color along with Arisa White, Naa Akua, and Natasha Marin. Hear them address hate speech, feminist and racial struggles, and more.
51. Laser 2016: In Memoriam
Celebrate the music of artists who passed in 2016 (including songs by Prince, David Bowie, A Tribe Called Quest, and George Michael) and cry silently as you watch the intricate projections and animations fill the ceiling of the laser dome.
52. Peking Acrobats
The Peking Acrobats have been featured on TV, the stage, and the silver screen (you may have caught them in Ocean's 11). Watch the fabulous athletes do improbable feats with their bodies: human pagodas, somersaults, leaps, contortion, tumbling, and more.
JAN 26
53. Bassem Youssef
Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef hosted an incredibly popular—and notably controversial—satirical news show (Al Bernameg) and has been called "the Jon Stewart of the Arab world." He made international news when a warrant was issued for his arrest due to comments he made on the show. Now he's working on a project called The Democracy Handbook, which explores issues in the United States, and he's visiting Seattle for a night to make you laugh and make you think.
54. Urban Death Project
This Atlas Obscura event (a book, website, and event series about exploration and discovery) will focus on Katrina Spade's Urban Death project, which takes our local commitment to composting one step further: letting your loved ones rot and return to the earth after they've died.
JAN 26-28
55. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
In the continuing popular culture battle of the genders, the popular '90s self-help book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus is now a one-man traveling theatrical comedy show, full of sketches, tropes, gags, and novelty references.
JAN 26-29
56. The Bridge Project 2017
In Velocity's Bridge Project, four up-and-coming choreographers each create a new piece over four weeks. This year, see work created in a frenzy by Liz Houlton, Laura Aschoff, Renee Boehlke, and Esra Comert-Morishige.
JAN 27
57. Michael Lewis in Conversation with Steve Scher
Michael Lewis (author of bestselling books like The Big Short, Moneyball, and The Blind Side) will speak about his latest work, The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds. This new book explores the research-based collaboration between psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky that showed "the ways in which the human mind erred, systematically, when forced to make judgments in uncertain situations."
58. Tim Ferriss
In Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers, popular podcaster Ferriss reveals how bigwigs get where they've gotten. Hear him speak on his work, characterized as "the ultimate self-help book." Your ticket includes a copy of the book.
JAN 28
59. The 8th Annual Belgian Beer Fest
Hooray for Belgian yeast, enabling top Washington breweries to produce exotic tripels, dubbels, saisons, wits, abbeys, and lambics! Yes indeed: at this beer fest featuring over 100 brews, all beer have been made with imported Belgian yeast. Sample deliciousness from brewers like Fremont, Peddler, Magnet, Triplehorn, Flying Bike, Postdoc, Propolis, and many more. Ticket price includes 10 tasting tokens and a glass.
60. Jenn McAllister: The #IRLTour
McAllister, aka former teen YouTube sensation jennxpenn, author of Really Professional Internet Person, and star of the web series Foursome, wants to meet YOU in person. Here's her chance! The VIP ticket lets you meet her before the half-hour show and a poster, but all general admission attendees will get a chance to say hello afterwards.
61. The Pancakes & Booze Art Show
Yes, there is a free pancake bar at this extravaganza. Yes, it has booze and art from over 60 participants, including some creators working before your very eyes, and you even can become a living canvas. No, you can't come if you're under 21, alas.
JAN 28-29
62. Oil Pressure Vibrator
This has WTF sex vibes swirling all around it. Over the course of an erotic and humorous multi-media performance involving dance, video, and a CPR dummy, Korean artist Geumhyung Jeong confesses her love for an excavator machine. You know that monster Tonka truck thing that's digging holes all around Seattle right now? That thing. RICH SMITH
JAN 28-29
63. Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival
SIFF and MoPOP bring you the somewhat less pronounceable SFFSFF, 20 new sci/fi fantasy short films judged by a nationally assembled panel. There's an intermission after ten films and an award ceremony at the end. This one-day fest has been going on for 12 years; let this be the year you join the nerdy cinematic fun. The Jan 28 screening at Cinerama is sold out, but there are still tickets available for the Jan 29 encore screening at SIFF Cinema Uptown.
JAN 31
64. Ayelet Waldman: A Really Good Day
Ayelet Waldman—author of mystery novels, essays about motherhood, and more—is a funny if controversial internet presence (look up her New York Times Notable Book List rant/self-proclaimed "hissy fit" for an example). At this event, she'll speak about her new book A Really Good Day that explores mood disorders, LSD micro-dosing, and being a Jewish mom.
JAN 31-FEB 19
65. The Cherry Orchard
The Seagull Project and ACT Theatre present Anton Chekhov's last play, The Cherry Orchard, directed by John Langs. The play—a strange mix of humor and tragedy—is about a group of family and friends hiding out in a Russian country estate as the world they know is about to fall apart. Get all this and more on the free Stranger Things To Do mobile app—available now on the App Store and Google Play.