Fox Theater adds Pink Martini to the June menu

Pink Martini, the wildly popular world-music-meets- cocktail-lounge-meets-classical “little orchestra” from Portland, is heading back to Spokane.

The Spokane Symphony is bringing the group in to play the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox on June 27, 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale to symphony subscribers on Nov. 10 and to the general public on Nov. 13.

This group, the brainchild of leader Thomas Lauderdale, has a repertoire that ranges from French art songs, to Argentine tangos to jazzy renditions of Ravel’s “Bolero.” They have proven to be a sold-out draw in their three previous Spokane appearances, the last one in 2004.

Tickets are $37, $62 and $85 (the latter including a meet-and-greet reception), available by calling the symphony box office at (509) 624-1200.

Farewell to Weaver

Michael Weaver, a prime creative force in Spokane theater for 22 years, is moving to Seattle to seek acting and directing work.

“There’s more work there and more opportunities to audition,” said Weaver.

He has played more than 50 roles on Spokane stages, beginning in 1986 at Interplayers, Spokane’s professional theater. He has also directed dozens of plays.

In 2003, he left his job as Interplayers’ associate artistic director to form his own theater company, Actors Repertory Theatre (ARt), in 2004. ARt folded in September for financial reasons.

He’ll move to the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle soon and try to open a new chapter in his professional life. Meanwhile, he has already snagged an acting gig in December at The Little Theatre on the Square in Sullivan, Ill., playing the narrator in “A Christmas Story.” Have acting skills; will travel.

Will we ever see him on a Spokane stage again?

“I’ll try to keep a presence in Spokane,” he said. “This has been my home for more than 20 years.”

A shiny new Gonzaga space

Gonzaga University’s theater has received a facelift. The venerable old Russell Theatre now has an updated lobby (complete with gas fireplace), a new heating and cooling system and modern seats with plenty of leg room.

Harry and Colleen Magnuson of Wallace, donated $1 million toward the renovation of the theater, which explains why it has now been renamed the Harry and Colleen Magnuson Theatre. Harry Magnuson is a member of the Gonzaga board of trustees.

This was the first phase of the renovation project; further upgrades to the mechanical, electrical, lighting and sound systems will be completed by next fall.

You can experience the improvements by checking out the current show, “Curse of the Starving Class,” by Sam Shepard, which has its closing performance this afternoon at 2 p.m. Call the box office at (509) 313-6553 for ticket information. Coming up later in the season: Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale,” Jan. 23-Feb. 1, and “Urinetown: The Musical,” in March and April.

Live theater alive at SFCC

Speaking of college theaters, please don’t get the impression that theater is dead at Spokane Falls Community College’s Spartan Theatre.

The SFCC theater program, under the direction of Bill Marlowe, is about to launch a season that includes: Gogol’s “The Government Inspector, Nov. 6-16; Shakespeare’s “Othello,” March 5-15; and Reed McColm’s “The Hole in the Sky,” May 28-June 7.

To sum up: The professional Actor’s Repertory Theatre, which formerly shared the Spartan Theatre with the SFCC program, is dead. But the SFCC theater program is alive and thriving.

The radio ratings

The new Arbitron radio ratings are out and KHTQ-FM (Rock 94½) is sitting atop the heap. This station mixes current rock tracks (think Tool and Godsmack) with classic rock (Pink Floyd and AC/DC). Veteran Spokane personality Gary Allen, aka G.A., anchors the morning show.

Here’s this quarter’s Top Five, based on quarter-hour share, copyright Arbitron Inc.:

1. KHTQ-FM, active rock, 7.8.

2. (tie) KKZX-FM, classic rock, 6.5.

2. (tie) KZZU-FM, hot AC, 6.5.

4. KDRK-FM, country, 6.4.

5. KIXZ-FM, country, 5.7.

‘Christmas in Wales’

Here’s advance notice of a Spokane holiday staple: The Connoisseur Concerts family holiday show at St. John’s Cathedral, this year titled “Christmas in Wales,” on Dec. 7.

The concert will include Welsh-related Christmas music, including “Lulla Lulla (The Coventry Carol),” and “Deck the Halls,” performed by the Spokane Youth Orchestra and the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus.

A “Christmas in Wales” skit, written by Lydia Newell, will be performed by Patrick Treadway.

It will run at 4 and 7 p.m. on Dec. 7 at the cathedral. It’s free.

Youth symphony opener

Speaking of the Spokane Youth Symphony, it opens its season today, 4 p.m., at the Martin Woldson Theatre at the Fox.

You’ll hear all four of the SYS orchestras – the Intermediate String Orchestra, the Junior Orchestra, the Junior Symphonic Orchestra and the Spokane Youth Orchestra –performing music ranging from Bach to Bartok to Barber to Borodin. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors, $10 for youths age 17 and younger, available at the door or by calling (509) 624-1200.

A Lunt-Fontanne fellowship

Spokane’s Dan Donohue, one of the star actors at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, has won one of 11 inaugural Lunt-Fontanne Fellowships.

Donohue won a cash award and the opportunity to attend a weeklong master-class taught by Lynn Redgrave (among others) at Ten Chimneys, the Wisconsin estate of the late Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.

Donohue has played 30 roles at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, including Iago in a recent “Othello.” For those of you who don’t catch much Shakespeare, you might also have seen him in a 1999 episode of “The Drew Carey Show.”

Thanks, guv’nor

The Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre has won one of Idaho’s 2008 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts.

Artistic director Roger Welch accepted the award from Gov. Butch Otter during a ceremony recently in Idaho Falls. This professional summer stock theater outperformed its usual high standards this year, producing “Les Miserables” and “La Cage Aux Folles,” among others.

A blues legend

Blues sax legend Eddie Shaw, former Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters collaborator, is coming to Bluz at the Bend, 2721 N. Market, Nov. 12 and 13, 8 p.m., with his band the Wolf Gang.

Shaw, originally from Mississippi, became an important part of the Chicago blues scene in the 1950s and 1960s.

And here’s some good news: There will be no cover charge.