Reopening events bring Seattle theater, art, and music lovers together again

We are into the full swing of summer in Seattle, and there's a lot going on. We’ve been gathering arts recommendations from people who track the scene here. Margo Vansynghel covers arts and culture for Crosscut. She shared her picks with KUOW’s Kim Malcolm.

The Comedy of Errors

Usually, every summer the Seattle Shakespeare Company performs in parks across the region, for free. That did not happen last summer. It’s back, and in a non-socially distant way. You might sit actually pretty close to people, but outside.

They are performing The Comedy of Errors. It's called Shakespeare's joke play for a reason, because it does not take itself seriously. It's a bit over the top, I would say, but I feel like comedy may just be what we all need right now.

Golden Eyedrops and Blue Ether

My next recommendation is a visual art show at Chophouse Row on Capitol Hill. You walk through to this gallery in a central courtyard. In one of the showrooms, the artwork is laid out on a huge platform in the middle. You have to get low to get close to the pieces of art. There are marble sculptures and pieces of art painted on paper.

What I really like about it is that it combines these traditionally high-end materials with found materials. There's an artist who paints on an envelope or a piece of plastic that he found, and someone else who embroiders handkerchiefs. Some of this work is also funny. I feel like people always get this idea about art that it has to be really somber or serious. That’s definitely not the case here.

Digable Planets headline free Sunset Concert at Westlake Park

This is part of the Welcome Back concert series, on Sunday at Westlake Park at 8 p.m. The hip-hop band Digable Planets is performing. They're a really influential band, thanks to this great way in which they blend spoken word, hip-hop, jazz, Afro-Futurism.

They’re not technically, totally from Seattle. I think we claimed them because one of the band members is Ishmael Butler, who also fronts Shabazz Palaces.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.