The lasting cultural legacy of the 1962 World’s Fair was the city’s new civic hub, Seattle Center, home to world-class opera, ballet, theater, art; then, and now. Read more.
In April 2011, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved a Dale Chihuly glass art exhibition at the site of the Fun Forest—a space Chihuly’s work could occupy for the next 30 years. Read more.
To close its 48th season, Seattle Opera will rely on the young love of 15-year-old geisha Cio-Cio-San, the “delicate butterfly” who falls for a dashing U.S. Naval officer stationed in Japan. Read more.
With a whirl of the matador’s cape and a clack of the castanets, in comes the U.S. premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Quixote, Pacific Northwest Ballet’s largest-ever production. Feb 3–12 Read more.
Portland dance company Teeth dominated last year’s A.W.A.R.D. Show! with an interpretation of a long-term relationship. They return to OtB with a multimedia piece about obsession and anxiety. Mar 1–3 Read more.
After a winter spent performing the title role in Handel’s Rodelinda at the Met, world-class soprano Renee Fleming sings under the baton of SSO’s new conductor. Read more.
Those übertalented twentysomethings return to Benaroya in March for Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and again in May for an assortment of Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and Mahler. Mar 31 & May 25 Read more.
Composer Eric Banks and choreographer Olivier Wevers weave a new choral ballet based on the poetry of Constantine Cavafy; Saint Helens String Quartet and the Esoterics choir accompany. May 18–20 Read more.
Theater and art collide in the Bagley Wright Theatre, where Denis Arndt will star as Mark Rothko, and rising Seattle actor Connor Toms makes his Seattle Rep main-stage debut as Ken. Read more.
Seattle Shakespeare Company takes its first crack at a George Bernard Shaw work—his much beloved, oft adapted story of Professor Henry Higgins and Cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle. Feb 23–Mar 11 Read more.
Before they were the Beatles, they were just a few floppy-haired Liverpool teens. Dutch director Moniek Merkx tells the story of the days before their big break. Apr 12–May 13 Read more.
Myra Platt’s stage adaptation of Garth Stein’s best-selling novel presents a dog’s-eye view of life, love, and family. Apr 17–May 13 Read more.
Village Theatre hosted an early version of this Tony-winning, Broadway musical about a legendary Sun Studio session with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. May 15–20 Read more.
This multimedia performance brings a beatboxer, dancer, and visual artists Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Theaster Gates together to muse about environmental justice. May 31–June 3 Read more.
Tut’s record-setting attendance was challenged—twice—in the past year by 150 Picassos at SAM, and Harry Potter film props and costumes at PSC. Only time will tell if mummies can compete with Muggles. Read more.
In Susie J. Lee’s solo museum debut (marking the departure of Frye curator Robin Held), one of Seattle’s most innovative mixed-media artists restages an immersive electronic rainstorm. Feb 18–Apr 15 Read more.
A three-exhibit series presents 129 years of American World’s Fairs, artifacts from MOHAI’s Seattle 1962 collection, and photography by the Young Social Entrepreneurs. Apr 21–Oct 21 Read more.
Tucked into the National Film Festival for Talented Youth is a two-day event featuring speakers, workshops, and panels for filmmakers and film lovers interested in talking shop. Apr 27 & 28 Read more.
The 38th-annual cinema smorgasbord—showing nearly 400 films to over 155,000 attendees—returns with more shorts, docs, features, and celebrity appearances. May 17–June 10 Read more.
With the use of a nineteenth-century wet-plate photo process that requires subjects to sit for one (very) long minute—Seattle photographer Daniel Carrillo creates timeless portraits. May 17–June 30 Read more.
Critics are calling Anthony Gonzalez’s latest work “an electro-pop dream,” and the “best M83 record yet.” Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, with all its soaring synth refrains, commands your attention. Apr 26 Read more.
After taking over a decade off from his trademark synth sound, Stephin Merritt goes crazy on the keys for the 10th and latest album by his indie pop band, Love at the Bottom of the Sea. Mar 19 & 20 Read more.
Just days before headlining the two-weekend Coachella Music Festival in California, Thom Yorke and crew try out their latest album of moody alternative rock, The King of Limbs, on Seattle. Apr 9 Read more.
The Grammy-winning pride of Ohio shares a blues-rock bill with the UK’s Arctic Monkeys. Both bands are at the top of their game, and their fans are rabid; buy tickets immediately. May 8 Read more.
Seattle kinetic sculptor Trimpin—he of Fire Organ fame—showcases his instruments-as-art in The Gurs Zyklus, a new libretto based on found letters from a Jewish internment camp. May 17–20 Read more.
Too many big-name acts skipped Seattle in the past year (Prince, Jay-Z). Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and the Rolling Stones are all considering KeyArena in 2012. Coldplay comes April 25 Read more.
