Ever Popular ‘Gypsy’ Struts Into Spokane
The Broadway musical “Gypsy” has been added to the Spokane Opera House schedule on Feb. 25.
Since this came out of the blue - it is not part of the Best of Broadway series - Mr. Spotlight decided to investigate and find out if we might be getting Tyne Daly, Bette Midler, Ethel Merman or any of the other big stars who have taken on the part of Mama Rose.
The answer: No.
However, here are a few more details: It’s a national touring show from New York.
It has no “name” performers, but it does feature Dawn Dos Santos, a veteran of many tours who is getting good reviews around the country.
It runs in Spokane one night only, Feb. 25.
Tickets went on sale Friday at G&B Select-a-Seat.
For the Broadway-impaired, “Gypsy” is the 1959 Styne-Sondheim musical based on the memoirs of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.
Spokane Digested
What are the odds of this?
The upcoming June volume of Readers Digest Condensed Books will feature two books by Spokane authors.
One is “Return With Honor” by Spokane flyboy/hero Scott O’Grady and the other is “Every Knee Shall Bow” by Spokesman-Review reporter Jess Walter.
Sadly, Ben Bradlee’s autobiography, “A Good Life,” will prevent it from being a complete Spokane sweep.
By the way, O’Grady’s book is now No. 10 on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list.
Temple Kung Fu
Let’s pause here to acknowledge that Temple Kung Fu wins the Spotlight award for the funniest television ads on Spokane TV.
Have you seen these? A couple of guys in robes stroll through a Japanese garden, where they run up against a wizened old master who might have stepped right out of the old “Kung Fu” TV series.
A narrator recites some Zen-like poetry, at which point the old guy proceeds to kick and chop and generally get medieval on the derrieres of the other two guys.
The first time I saw it, I thought it was a Monty Python skit.
Sellars in Seattle
Beth Sellars, the former art curator at the Cheney Cowles Museum, has curated a Seattle exhibit of Eastern Washington artists, titled “Interior Idioms: The Idiosyncratic Art of Eastern Washington.”
It features 45 artists, including Robert Helm, Gaylen Hansen, Larry Schmidt, Melissa Lang, Lee Ayars, Joseph Goldberg and Jane Orleman. The show is at the Seafirst Gallery in Seattle.
Seattle Times art critic Robin Updike begins her review by saying, “When it comes to art, Eastern Washington doesn’t get much respect, or even much attention.”
But by the end of her (mostly positive) review, she concedes that the exhibit is a “nice reminder that not all the art that gets made in the Northwest comes from Seattle and Portland.”
‘Inland Journal’ cutback
“The Inland Journal,” the local public-affairs program on KPBX-FM, Spokane’s public radio station, will be cut back to one half-hour show per week after the first of the year.
Presently, it runs four days a week. That daily grind has taken its toll on this tiny two-person news staff.
“You’ve got two very tired reporters, that’s all,” said KPBX-FM news director Doug Nadvornick. “Out of four shows per week, I’d feel really good about two of them, OK about one of them, and the fourth - well, I wanted to put my finger down my throat.”
The new schedule will give Nadvornick and reporter Lakshmi Singh a chance to do stories with more time and care, he said.
After Jan. 1, the show will air Thursdays at 6 p.m. and will probably be repeated on the weekends.
British Brass Band
Here’s a way to hear some unique Christmas brass music and help a good cause all at once.
The Spokane British Brass Band will perform Wednesday at 8 p.m. at The Met. Tickets are $14, $16 and $20, available through G&B Select-a-Seat outlets, 325-SEAT or 1-800-325-SEAT. All proceeds go toward homeless assistance programs in Spokane via the Windermere Foundation.
The band consists of 30 local musicians. Michael Warner is the conductor.
Bethlehem Revisited
There’s still time to catch the always-popular “Bethlehem Revisited” walk-through drama at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds.
This event, put on by Shadle Park and Manito Presbyterian churches, features live characters and animals, and a scene which depicts the baby Jesus in a manger.
The times are 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday. Admission is free.
, DataTimes