Mike's adventure in art: Hedwig, Art Attack, and Ice Cream!

If you're looking for tips on how to experience art in the Seattle area, you're in the right place. In this weekly post, KUOW arts reporter Mike Davis has suggestions for what to do around Seattle over the weekend so you can have your own adventures in arts and culture.

Theater

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" is showing at Arts West. This is my pick of the week. I was familiar with the story of the gender-queer rock star before entering the theater, but this performance still left me with so many questions about love and acceptance and how important it really is to have someone love the whole you. In fact, this led me to reach out to Nicholas Japaul Bernard, who plays Hedwig, to explore these themes. That interview will air on Soundside next week.

Let’s talk about the production. The first thing I noticed walking into the theater was Kataka Corn. They played Dorothy in the 5th Ave Theater production of "The Wiz" last year. I had no idea they were in this play before I went, and seeing them made me excited. If you haven’t heard Corn sing in person yet, I encourage you to do so now. With a voice that powerful, and their ability to bring so much emotion into a role like this (they play Hedwig’s husband Yitzhak), Corn may not be on our local stages for long. My expectations were immediately raised, and Corn delivered!

The bulk of this production feels like a one-person play. Bernard, who plays Hedwig, an east-German rock artist, is performing a concert for us — the real life audience. Through the concept of this concert, we take a journey through Hedwig’s life. We see her childhood, we learn her deepest, at times traumatic, experiences. The way Bernard controlled the audience was masterful. In the moments when people were supposed to laugh, we laughed, when he sang upbeat rock songs, we danced (and sang along), and in moments of Hedwig’s despair, we felt her pain in our souls. The pacing of the play was near perfect. I remember a specific moment, when Hedwig is slumped on stage around a pile of disheveled garments and trash. The lights are turned down so the theater is dimly lit. There is an old-school television with black-and-white fuzz faintly illuminating the stage. Hedwig is experiencing emotional trauma (I won’t spoil it here), and has a bottle of alcohol in her hand. And she sits there. And we, the audience, sit there. In a moment that feels like forever, we feel what she feels, and the pause is agonizing.

This is a musical, and the songs are great. There are certainly times when we all had fun. But this production has a lot to say. About our society, about people like Hedwig who live among us with pain that many of us can’t imagine. But these people exist. And through Hedwig, they are not only seen, but felt. This production made me feel. That’s a hallmark of great theater.

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch", showing at Arts West until July 23

Visual Art

Art Attack is this Saturday in the Georgetown neighborhood. This is Georgetown’s version of an art walk and this event happens every second-Saturday. If you have not had the chance to visit Georgetown recently, this is a great way to get to know it. During Art Attack, over 20 neighborhood venues and art galleries are open to the public and many restaurants offer deals on food and drinks. And Georgetown has a ton of great food! So, if you are looking for some fun in the sun this weekend, in a place where you can see some great art and have some food, this is the place to be. And, it’s family friendly!

Art Attack, Georgetown Saturday July 8

Community Event

Scooped Ice Cream Festival will be at the Seattle Center. Yes, you read that right. There is an ice cream festival this weekend and once you are inside, it is all-you-can-eat! This is a great way to spend a summer day. Eating ice cream and hanging out in the Seattle Center, which is a great place to check out some local art. This festival features 75 flavors from a list of vendors that includes local favorite Full Tilt. There also will be DJs on site playing music.

Scooped Ice Cream Festival, at Fisher Pavilion in the Seattle Center July 8 - 9