Our music critics have already chosen the 27 best concerts in Seattle this week, but now it's our arts critics' turn. Here are their picks for the best events in every genre—from Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrors to Rough Draft Whiskey Dinner to Ijeoma and Ahamefule Oluo in Conversation. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar.

Get all this and more on the free Stranger Things To Do mobile app—available now on the App Store and Google Play.


Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday

MONDAY

FOOD & DRINK

ToMayTo vs. ToMahTo - Chef Battle #4
Two mkt. chefs will battle to see who better serves that ambiguous fruit, the tomato. Their theater of war: your taste buds.

READINGS & TALKS

Betsy Hartmann: The America Syndrome—Apocalypse, War and Our Call to Greatness
Historian and public policy advocate Betsy Hartmann has written a book about America that stretches back to our Puritanical roots, exploring the enduring obsession with doomsday and the apocalypse. She'll also examine the impact of that fixation, including "inequality, permanent war, and the exploitation of natural resources." Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Kai Bird writes that The America Syndrome is "a timely debunking of anti-intellectualism in American life and of all those demagogues who have stoked American nativist paranoia."

MONDAY-TUESDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Bastille Café & Bar Rooftop Dinner Series
Enjoy the warm summer weather (and clear views of the Ballard ship canal, mountains and the sound) at Bastille's twice-weekly rooftop dinner series. There will be twenty-four Monday and Tuesday evening dinners between June and September, each starting with a rooftop garden tour and featuring a multi-course, family-style meal with wine pairings. The groups are small—under 10 guests—and the food is super local, often harvested directly from the rooftop garden.

TUESDAY

READINGS & TALKS

Arundhati Roy
It's true that The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is the first novel Arundhati Roy has published since her 1997 Booker Prize–winning blockbuster The God of Small Things. But Joan Acocella's incredible New Yorker review of the new book reminds us that the author has written nearly 20 books of nonfiction about economic inequality in the "New India" and state violence against poor people. Those decades of study and reportage work their way into Roy's new novel, which begins with a lyrical story about hijras, "a long-recognized subculture" of Indian transgender people, before morphing into an epic about the Indian Army's atrocities. If you missed out on the reading Roy gave almost exactly 20 years ago, be sure to make this one. RICH SMITH
Tickets are on standby.

Charles Johnson in Conversation with Garth Stein
National Book Award-winner Charles Johnson (Middle Passage) will speak about his new book of meditations on the written word, The Way of the Writer, in conversation with Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain, A Sudden Light).

Robert Lopez and Sam Ligon
Robert Lopez's All Back Full is a theatrical novel consisting of three extended conversations that happen between just three characters. Publishers Weekly writes, "Fans of Lopez’s previous work will enjoy his latest, as will patient newcomers with an interest in drama and metafiction." Lopez will be joined at this reading by Sam Ligon. Ligon's new thriller, Among the Dead and Dreaming, was described by Jess Walter (extremely accomplished author and A Tiny Sense of Accomplishment co-host) as "a wildly original love story, a ghost story, a tense and suspenseful story in which the wickedly talented Ligon channels voices—of the lost, the longing, and the damned."

RESISTANCE & SOLIDARITY

Flights & Rights #5
Back again for June, this session of Flights & Rights will include ACLU staff attorney Prachi Dave, who'll give you information on debtors' jails in Washington (believe it or not). Meet people who are passionate for civil rights and sip beer from Stoup.

TUESDAY-SUNDAY

THEATER & DANCE

Dreamgirls
Village Theatre presents Tony- and Grammy Award-winning musical Dreamgirls (not officially about the Supremes' rise to fame, but containing many parallels) which was made extremely popular by the 2006 film starring Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and the inimitable Queen B. Come for Motown tunes, commentary about celebrity, dramatic ultimatums, and flashy dance numbers.

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
Watching Romy and Michele's High School Reunion: The Musical is like eating cotton candy. It's light, stupid, colorful, and clearly not good for you, but sometimes that's exactly what you are in the mood for. I was in the mood for it. There's nothing profound about it, but nobody turns to Romy and Michele's High School Reunion for profundity. Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino are not in it, but Courtney Wolfson and Stephanie Renee Wall have the airy affect down flat, they are funnier and more charming than photos suggest, and their chemistry and comic timing are unbelievably good. I can't fully explain why the show worked so well for me, except that it's glossy and exuberant in its theatricality, and it's as funny as the movie is, and it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

WEDNESDAY

COMEDY

The Shadow Council
The "mudpie lobbed into the halls of power" known as Brett Hamil's Seattle Process show has been so successful that it now has a spin-off: the Shadow Council's panel will lead the "people's legislative body" to vote on proposals, which will be submitted afterwards to elected officials.

READINGS & TALKS

Inye Wokoma in Conversation
This event promises an "interactive experience" based on Inye Wokoma's An Elegant Utility, an exhibit that merges Wokoma's personal memories with the history of the Central District. Afterwards, Wokoma will give a talk that will incorporate audience responses to the artwork—as well as featuring "key local artistic luminaries" and the 2017 Dr. Carver G. Gayton Youth Curators.

Jess Arndt: Large Animals
Jess Arndt will share his debut collection of short stories, Large Animals, which Kirkus describes as "deeply transgressive" and "riveting," while investigating "narratives of the queer body."

WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY

The Realistic Joneses
The Joneses have a lot in common. They both, as the title suggests, have the same last names—Pony and John Jones; Bob and Jennifer Jones. They've both moved out to the desert to work on their marriages, which are both being tested by communication issues. Bob has recently been diagnosed with "Harriman Leavey Syndrome," a fictional nerve disease that forces him to speak only in the most concrete of ways, sort of autistically, I guess. Jennifer has given up her job and is trying to be a good caregiver, but she struggles to figure out how to give care to someone whose so verbally careless with her feelings. John also plays the role of the caregiver in his relationship with Pony, who self-describes as impulsive and childlike. Go because it's cathartic to watch people wonder whether it matters to finish a sentence, or announce a feeling, or work on something as insignificant to geological history as a marriage. Go because for some reason—maybe not a very good one—it does, and plays as fresh and bizarre and linguistically inventive as this one provide some evidence of that. RICH SMITH

WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY

Welcome to Braggsville
Here's the very strong premise: A diverse group of UC-Berkley college freshman decide to stage a lynching during a Civil War reenactment in Braggsville, Georgia. The idea, which was developed during a class about the history of activism, was to trigger a racist reaction among the small town Georgians in order to reveal to them how racist their annual ode to Dixie really is. When this theater of would-be civil rights activism meets the theater of America's racist past/present, everything goes horribly wrong. Credit here due to fine acting, but mostly to Aeseng's and Arrindell's adaptation of Johnson's story. Adapting a novel of this quality without losing its best qualities is a heroic task, but this team has managed to accomplish it. RICH SMITH

THURSDAY

FILM

Movie Night: Nuclear Lands
Mount Baker's Meaningful Movies series and the South Seattle Climate Action Network present Nuclear Lands: A History of Plutonium, a documentary on three spots in the world where plutonium is used or processed—one of which is Washington State's Hanford facility. After the film, the director of Hanford Challenge health advocacy group, Tom Carpenter, will inform you of recent Hanford-related updates.

FOOD & DRINK

Pike Place MarketFront Grand Opening Celebration
You've been hearing all the hubbub about our most famous market's upcoming expansion for months now, and with good reason—it's the first major expansion that the market has seen in 40 years. Soon you'll be able to experience it for yourself. Pike Place Market will celebrate the opening of its MarketFront expansion on June 29, complete with local bands, food and a "passport activity" designed to help guests explore the new space. New businesses include Old Stove Brewing Co., Little Fish, Honest Biscuits and indi chocolate.

Rough Draft # 7 with Woodford Reserve Whiskey
My enduring affection for anything and everything the trio of dudes behind the Rough Draft series do is no secret. I have a nearly standing order for tickets to their events, and I shamelessly endorse them in this paper at every opportunity. Speaking of that shameless endorsement, RD #7 is here. It's sponsored by Woodford Reserve this time around, which means the most seasonal, whimsical, brain-bending food you've had in a while, all paired with some damn fine whiskey. Plus, it's a mere $75, which is peanuts when you consider how liberal barman Nick Jarvis is with the booze and how astoundingly inventive Aaron Wilcenski and Erik Jackson are with the food. They didn't post a menu, and the only words I can make out on the notebook hiding behind a mostly empty bottle of Woodford rye in their event photo are fish, crème fraîche, and dandelion, but whatever preparations those end up in are sure to be fabulous. See you there, I hope! TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE

READINGS & TALKS

Ijeoma and Ahamefule Oluo in Conversation
The Oluo siblings have immeasurably improved the minds and hearts of this city. In addition to acting and writing and creating tremendously successful pop operas, Ahamefule plays trumpet in the Stranger Genius Award–winning group Industrial Revelation. Ijeoma runs the Establishment and occasionally breaks our website with insightful commentary, as she did most recently with her piece on Rachel Dolezal. If you want to learn to be even half as cool, thoughtful, creative, and politically engaged as these two are, then you should go hear them share their life stories. RICH SMITH

THURSDAY-FRIDAY

ART

Christopher Buening: New Work (Guerrilla Ceramica)
See a selection of brand-new drawings, paintings, and ceramics by artist Christopher Buening, much of which will be from his project Guerrilla Ceramica (a street art take on ceramics). Buening had a thoughtful, vulnerable show called Hunter < Gatherer at 4Culture in 2015. Former Stranger visual art editor Jen Graves described one of the featured pieces: "In It Was a Man's World, Buening used white-out to write those words in unmanly cursive on top of a found painting on a slice of wood. It was a man's world his father took him into all those years ago, so the piece is a nostalgic expression of a place from the past. But I also read it as a wish for a time when that past tense will apply to the whole world. A time when the relationships between women, men, and other animals are governed more by love than by power and dominion."

THURSDAY-SATURDAY

ART

Angelica Maria Millán Lozano and Sofía Córdova: Thrown
angelica maria millán lozano is a fibers and performance artist whose work questions the ethical implications of injustices that affect Latinas in the home, and Sofia Córdova is a new media artist concerned with the problems that face othered bodies in the context of global-industrial capitalism. Curated by Ashley Stull Meyers, Thrown is an exhibition of sonic and sculptural works by both artists, proposing new poetic language for de-colonized, de-gendered utopian futures. EMILY POTHAST

COMEDY

Adam Ray
Comedian Adam Ray (whose many credits include the role of "Slimer"—as well as the lead singer of that one band—in the new Ghostbusters movie) will perform stand-up.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY

THEATER & DANCE

(Im)pulse
The great and talented and Tony-nominated choreographer Donald Byrd has a knack for translating complex historical texts into visceral dance pieces that help us reckon with the present. Last year's A Rap on Race, a jazzy interpretation of an important conversation between Margaret Mead and James Baldwin, stands out in my memory as a tremendous testimony to that fact. This world premiere sees the mass shooting at Orlando Pulse Nightclub through the lens of the brilliant/brutal David Wojnarowicz, whose Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration should be on everyone's syllabus, and also playwright Brian Quirk. RICH SMITH

Kate Wallich + The YC and Madboots Dance: Split Bill
A little bit of intriguing "process as product" work here from Dance Church deacons Kate Wallich + The YC. Her troupe and NYC's all-male / totes gay MADBOOTS DANCE will each premiere a new work in Seattle "in dialogue" with one another. As both companies tour the country, each of the pieces will grow and change and adapt to their surroundings until the following year, when a new take on the old premieres will get some play back in the home country. I predict some mighty fine dancing about the toxic nature of restrictive gender norms! RICH SMITH

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
ArtsWest presents Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, a musical offering murder, cannibalism, and barbershops—plus songs that are creepy, catchy, quick, and witty.

FRIDAY

COMMUNITY & CIVICS

The "Ground Finale"
A whole goddamn year without Town Hall?! At least they aren't going without a sweet, free good-bye party before their building closes for a year of major renovation. As a temporary-farewell gift, Town Hall is throwing a free concert starting with slam poetry by world champion Buddy Wakefield, a performance by the Northwest Tap Connection, the best of Ignite Seattle open submission public speaking society, music by the cover band the Nines, and finally a Great Hall poem reading and champagne toast. Don't stop celebrating, because you'll cry.

Mayor Bingo and Trivia Night!
At Peddler Brewing, you can take part in a jovial refresher on the 21 (not just six!) candidates running for mayor. Drink beer, play bingo, and do your best at candidate trivia with Crosscut’s Knute Berger and David Kroman.

FOOD & DRINK

Friday Night Dinner Series: Olde Fashion BBQ
Join Delicatus and Girls Gone BBQ (owner Dana Neely is the real deal; she's from Arkansas originally) for a three-course barbecue dinner in Pioneer Square. The menu will include an amuse-bouche to start, followed by ribs, smoked sausage, beans, "Arkan-slaw," and potato salad. Dessert takes the form of a seasonal cobbler. Pro tip: don't eat anything all day prior to this spread.

THEATER & DANCE

Mark "Mom" Finley: Someone Get Me a Chainsaw!
Perhaps you've been fortunate enough to have been caught in the big gay whirlwind that is Mom Finley: a towering matriarch composed entirely of arched eyebrows and bons mots, she's as indelible a part of the Seattle landscape as one of those towering construction cranes, only with better angles. Her new show promises storytelling, songs, and maybe a little piano, which is all we could possibly hope for in a night of theater. Listening to Mom's stories is like riding a series of roller coasters, and at times you'll find them too outrageous to possibly be true—and yet also too good to possibly disbelieve. MATT BAUME

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

FILM

A Live Presentation of 2001: A Space Odyssey
I started college as an astrophysics major (big twist: I didn’t end college that way), and I spent an absurd amount of time absorbing movies, music, and literature that pertained to astronomy in order to bring a little levity into such daunting subject matter. One of the few things that space nerds stuck in a lab could agree on was that pop culture rarely represents space accurately both as a technical concept and an abstract reality. Therefore, we pivoted to pieces that legitimately reflect the feeling you have when you’re alone, gazing into a telescope as big as your apartment, charting the movement of comets for your absent TA. To date, 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the only films I’ve seen that encapsulates the vertiginous wonder and the encroaching psychosis of a brain struck by space—its expansion, its promise, and its inevitable bleakness. This film is a gift to us all, and a live score by Seattle Symphony and the Seattle Symphony Chorale will only build on its impact as a touchstone for faraway worlds and feelings closer to home. KIM SELLING

THEATER & DANCE

HANG TOGETHER: A Performance Farewell for John DeShazo
If you've worked in the Seattle theater world for any length of time, chances are you owe John DeShazo for something. He probably built a shelf for you, or reworked the electrical wiring in your newly acquired space, or built an entire set for you, as he did for the PALMS show at Northwest Film Forum, where he served on the board of directors for 17 years. He's a major pillar and pillar-builder in the scene, and now he and his equally talented partner, Susannah Anderson, are leaving town. Go say good-bye at this big old party, featuring performances by The Stranger's own Sean Nelson, the Vis-Ă -Vis Society, actor/storyteller Matt Smith, dancer/choreographer Paige Barnes, musician/performer Sarah Paul Ocampo, ChromaMatic (with spontaneous painting!), and "mad scientist"/animator Web Crowell. NWFF executive director Courtney Sheehan will serve as your host. RICH SMITH

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

ART

Cut Up/Cut Out
Organized by the Bay Area's Bedford Gallery, Cut Up/Cut Out is a traveling survey of international artists using decorative cutting and piercing to transform ordinary materials like paper, plastic, metal, and rubber into astonishing works of art. From the delicate Mexican folk art tradition of papel picado employed by Carmen Lomas Garza to the filigreed oil drums and land mines of Cal Lane, the range of scale, materials, and techniques exhibited make Cut Up/Cut Out a must-see for anyone who loves seeing impressive feats of creative labor. EMILY POTHAST
Opens June 30.

Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors
Interest in Yayoi Kusama’s work has been high in recent years, due in part to high-profile exhibitions at the Tate, the Whitney, and other major international institutions. When Infinity Mirrors opened at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, in February 2017, it drew more than 32,500 visitors in a week—the museum’s greatest attendance for those dates in decades. The show’s next stop is Seattle Art Museum, and anticipation is already running high in the city that hosted her first US exhibition 60 years ago. The playful accessibility of Kusama’s work, paired with its genuine expression of cosmic wonder, has made her one of the most successful and iconic contemporary artists in the world. Infinity Mirrors promises to be a blockbuster exhibition for SAM and one of the must-see experiences of the summer. EMILY POTHAST
Opens June 30.

THEATER & DANCE

Camptacular!
Drag burlesque duo Kitten 'n' Lou bring a (wet, hot, American) summer theater treat to Seattle with Camptacular! This performance will be a contemporary dance, drag, and burlesque Bomb Pop featuring Stranger Genius Award winner Cherdonna, contemporary dancer Markeith Wiley, ever-rising star Waxie Moon, and special guest Jeez Loueez, who, according to my extensive YouTube video searches, blends twerk and burlesque to great effect. Go. You'll be a happy camper. RICH SMITH

SATURDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Rosé All Day Saturdays
This summer, head to the Garden (Hotel Sorrento's outdoor dining area) for rosé all day on Saturdays. The deal includes $8 wine by the glass and $32 rosé bottles. Plus, there will be live acoustic guitar and live bands to set the mood. See the hotel's website for more information on the musician lineup.

QUEER

Open Photo Shoot
Take photos with the NOH8 campaign against anti-LGBT discrimination and "add your face to the fight for equal human rights." Wear white clothing and your best don't-fuck-with-us expression for your official NOH8 portrait ($40 single, $25 per person for a couple or group). You'll receive a digital copy of the photo after processing. The fees for the shoot will fund NOH8's media and awareness-raising programs.

Stripped Underwear Party with DJ Dana Dub
Shake and shimmy to DJ Dana Dub in your best panties at the Eagle with sexy gogo galore. There will be a clothes check, so go as ham as you want.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

Bowie by Mick Rock
The day after David Bowie died, Stranger music and arts editor Sean Nelson wrote the following: "Bowie’s music and presentation calibrated my consciousness to look beyond the obvious, to expect layers, to get that there should be something to get. My feeling for Bowie was never theoretical, as it is with a lot of artists I admire. It was love, though I didn’t ever believe that love was returned or acknowledged. Or needed. Which made it the correct response. Such was the power of his charisma, his talent, his utter commitment to the conception and performance of himself. What is not to love about the creation called David Bowie? In an age when the standing ovation has been devalued, it’s worth considering how few other artists have ever deserved one simply for existing so utterly for so long." As you wander through this collection of 65 photographs of David Bowie taken by renowned British photographer Mick Rock, rare performance footage, and oral history interviews, you can love David Bowie deeply. Just because you want to.
Opens July 1.

SUNDAY

THEATER & DANCE

RECLAMATION: A Benefit Dance Show For Syrian Refugees
Each choreographer at this fundraiser for Syrian refugees has been given a single word for inspiration connected to the tragedy of this mass forced migration in the Middle East. The organizers invite you to raise awareness of the refugee crisis and buy a ticket. Your money will benefit some of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees who have fled to Lebanon.