Spotlight: CdA Summer Theatre tickets set to go on sale
Individual tickets for the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre’s new season go on sale Friday, which means you can get tickets to any of the four musicals this summer without buying a season subscription.
The lineup has some particularly well-known titles, starting with:
• “The Wizard of Oz,” June 9-19 – Yes, it’s the musical based on the 1939 film. Ellen Travolta has already been cast as the Wicked Witch and Jack Bannon as the Wizard.
• “A Little Night Music,” June 30-July 10 – One of Stephen Sondheim’s masterpieces, based on Ingmar Bergman’s romantic film.
• “Once On This Island,” July 21-31 – A calypso version of “The Little Mermaid.”
• “The Sound of Music,” Aug. 11-21 – The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic about the Von Trapp family.
Ticket prices are $39.95 for adults, $35.95 for seniors and $25.95 for children ages 6-12. All shows are at North Idaho College’s Boswell Hall, 1000 W. Garden Ave.
Call (208) 769-7780 or go to www.cdasummer theatre.com.
Jewish film fest
The Spokane Jewish Cultural Film Festival has become an annual tradition in the area.
Larry Weiser, a Gonzaga University law school professor, has been organizing this for several years. This year he assembled four films for screening at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave.
The first film, “Saviors in the Night,” was shown Saturday. But the other three are still to come:
• “Black Over White” and “These Are My Names” – today, 2 p.m. The first film is a documentary about the popular Israeli music group, the Idan Raichel Project, and its tour of Ethiopia. Music takes the center stage, but there are also revealing scenes about identity and heritage among the musicians. The second is a short film about Ethiopian Jews and their stories.
• “Seven Minutes in Eden” – Monday, 7:30 p.m. The story of a young couple on a bus, when a terrorist bomb explodes. The young woman attempts to stitch her life back together.
Tickets are $8 per session, at the door or through www.sajfs.org/ Jewish_Film_ Festival.html.
An art/music benefit for Japan
A collection of Spokane-area artists and musicians is banding together for “Spokane for Japan,” an effort to raise money for devastated northern Japan.
The first event will be April 29, 7 p.m. at the Nyne Bar and Bistro, 232 W. Sprague Ave. Local artists will create “live art, on the spot.” A full evening of music will be provided by an extensive lineup of local music acts including the Flying Spiders. A minimum $10 donation is requested.
The second event will be a silent and live art auction, with musical performances ranging from classical piano to hip-hop, on May 28, 7 p.m. at The Lincoln Center, 1316 N. Lincoln St.
Tickets to this event will be $15 in advance through TicketsWest outlets (800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com) or $20 at the door.
Keen an eye out for more details.
Seeking the Elephant
Does the name Seeking the Elephant ring a bell? This band was one of Spokane’s alternative mainstays in the 1990s.
Now they’ll be back to do a show April 29, 7 p.m. at the Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave.
The show will also feature Koreshakti Tribal Fusion and Nizana. Tickets are $10, through TicketsWest.
A kinetic art lecture
Angela White, who creates art installations involving movement and sound, will speak at three local locations this week as part of the Visiting Artist Lecture Series.
Some of her recent work involves using old turntables to move bits of glass and ceramic figurines, which are suspended from threads. When they move, they create a kind of music and dance of their own.
She’ll be speaking at the Eastern Washington University Art Department auditorium on the Cheney campus on Wednesday at 1 p.m.; at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture on Wednesday at 6 p.m.; and at Spokane Falls Community College, Building 24, Room 110, 3410 Fort George Wright Drive, on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
All events are free.
White’s kinetic sound installation, titled “do something,” will also be on display at SFCC’s Fine Arts Gallery, Building 6, from Thursday through May 14.
Tommy Emmanuel at the Bing
Another legendary guitar hero is on the way to the Bing Crosby Theater: Tommy Emmanuel, June 14, 7:30 p.m.
Emmanuel is an Australian finger-style guitar player, a disciple of Chet Atkins and one of the world’s acknowledged guitar masters.
Tickets are $32 and $39.50, on sale April 29 at 10 a.m.
This is the latest in an impressive line of guitar virtuosos to hit Spokane in 2011, including Adrian Legg, B.B. King, Robin Trower and Joe Satriani.
Jazzman Rex Richardson
Trumpeter Rex Richardson will be the guest artist in a fundraising concert with the Spokane Jazz Orchestra on April 21, 7:30 p.m. at the Bing Crosby Theater.
This will be a benefit for the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center in Spokane for its 40th anniversary. The Ferris High School Jazz Orchestra will also perform.
Tickets are $21, through TicketsWest.
Northwest Opera Works
Spokane’s latest opera company, Northwest Opera Works, will make its debut Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. at the McNally Recital Hall in Holy Names Music Center, 3910 W. Custer Drive.
This is a community opera group under the umbrella of Holy Names. It held auditions a few months ago and attracted 26 opera hopefuls.
Every one of them will be in this production, titled “Scenes and Arias,” consisting of selections from a number of operas. Most of it will be sung in English.
Don’t expect grand sets and costumes. The group is new, but hopes to expand.
A donation of $10 is suggested.
DanceFest 2011
Dancers – ballet, tap, jazz and hip-hop – from all over the Inland Northwest will gather at the Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Center, 1765 W. Golf Course Road in Coeur d’Alene, all day Saturday for DanceFest 2011.
This is the region’s National Dance Week event, featuring free performances from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and a public Learn to Dance Area. Last year, 4,500 people participated one way or another.
That evening at 7 p.m., a concert titled “JAZZ on TAPP” will take place featuring a group of dancers led by Katherine Kramer, with music by saxophonist Virginia Mayhew and trio.
Tickets to the concert are $10 for adults and $5 for children 11 and under, reserved by calling (509) 927-0972. The other events are free.