The Record: Monday, April 9, 2018

More than 400 years after the bard passed away, two Shakespeare plays are stirring up controversy. Seattle Shakespeare Company is running “The Merchant of Venice,” and 5th Avenue Theater’s run of “Kiss Me Kate.” In 2018, what do we do with celebrated works that have deep strains of misogyny and bigotry? Is it ever time to retire a classic?

Tomorrow, Mr. Zuckerberg goes to Washington. The Facebook CEO is testifying before Congress, under oath, about recent data breaches on the social network. Slate Magazine’s Will Oremus tells us whether the hearings have any teeth.

Over the weekend, Reverend Samuel McKinney passed away. The longtime leader of Seattle’s Mount Zion Baptist Church was a strong advocate for civil rights reform, and hosted Martin Luther King Jr. on his one and only trip to Seattle. Arts advocate and former parishioner Vivian Phillips joined Marcie Sillman with a remembrance.

One local artist who’s very much alive is painter Michael Spafford. His work and career are being celebrated in a citywide exhibition called, fittingly, “Epic Works.” Artist and former Spafford student Barbara Earl Thomas shared the impact he had on her, and on the broader Seattle arts world.