Crosscut's guide to a culturally enriching weekend in the city. Or at least some fun.
Michio Kaku: Physics of the Future
Theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, “superhero of the incomprehensible” is neither Obi-Wan Kenobi nor Dr. Who, but he does know how to build lightsabers and travel to parallel universes. Well, in theory anyway. A professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York, Kaku broke several laws of physics with his warp-speed rise to the top of the popular science field and has more credits to his name than there are atoms in a gold medal.
Kaku is the co-founder of string field theory (a branch of string theory), the author of two New York Times bestsellers, and makes frequent appearances on radio, television, and film. In his latest book, "Physics of the Future," he describes a world in which we’ll go online by blinking, move martinis with our minds, and see chemotherapy the way we do last-century's leeches.
If you go: Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Avenue, Feb. 24, 7:30 pm, $5
Celebrate Asia
Seattle Symphony presents the fourth annual Celebrate Asia event, a program that combines musical traditions of Asian countries with Western classical music. Pre-show performances from community groups representing Puget Sound’s Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Indonesian communities will kick off the evening, which ends with a post-concert performance from Japanese Taiko drummers, One World Taiko.
The main concert, conducted by the dynamic Mei-Ann Chen, will feature works by George Gershwin, Cuong Vu, Zhou Long, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and, most importantly, Kay He, a young Chinese American composer and the winner of this year’s Celebrate Asia composition competition. Kay He spent time in Beijing, and her piece sings of the ancient legends drifting in the alleyways between the city's modern buildings. He's composition, "Legends of Old Peking," is “like telling an ancient legend from through the glass reflection of the skyscrapers above,” she writes in the program notes.
If you go: Benaroya Hall, 200 University Street, Feb. 24, pre-concert performances start at 6:30, concert at 7:30, $29-$74
Post Alley Film Festival: Women in Film
Women in Film’s annual helping of films “female centric and eccentric” is half a day’s journey through the vast and varying worlds of women. A few stops on this year’s itinerary: girlfriends in Tehran discuss body hair removal, a 70-year-old virgin hires a male prostitute, questions of privilege arise at an elegant ladies luncheon in Peru, and a young couple decides to separate after five years of marriage, despite still being desperately in love.
Broken into categories like “Family Ties,” “Passages,” and “Ms Ellaneous Food For Thought,” the works come from all genders, genres, and geographies, and the majority are already award-winners as well as Northwest premieres. The 7-hour marathon is sure to stretch your mind, and will be broken up by intermissions so you can stretch your legs and refill on snacks. Plus, it’s followed by an after-party and Q&A with the filmmakers so you’ll get a chance to ask about that weird scene with the bull.
If you go: SIFF Film Center in Seattle Center, on the corner of August Wilson Way and 2nd Ave N., Feb. 25, 12–6:30pm, after-party beginning at 7, $15, $12 for SIFF and WIF members, $10 for students and seniors.
The Young Man from Atlanta
Questions lurk in Stone Soup Theatre’s production of Horton Foote’s pulitzer prize-winning drama, "The Young Man From Atlanta." Set in 1950s Texas, affluent couple Will and Lily Dale Kidder are struggling with the slow deterioration of their American Dream. The play opens with Will losing his job and finding himself without savings, having just purchased a giant new house to distract his wife from the grief of their son’s recent and mysterious death. When an old friend of their deceased son comes to town, the couple questions not only what the stranger wants from them, but what truth they want from him.
Both subtle and unsettling, in the words of Crosscut reviewer Katherine Luck, “Foote’s play asks whether knowing the truth actually makes an untenable situation more bearable. Perhaps it’s better in the end to keep your illusions, both good and bad.” While the truth may not always help us, self-questioning certainly does, and "The Young Man from Atlanta" provides plenty of that.
If you go: Stone Soup Theatre, 4029 Stone Way N., Feb. 24-25, 8pm, Feb. 26 at 4pm, $16-$22, $14 for those under 30.
Seattle Food and Wine Experience
If you were to take a half ounce sip of wine from each vineyard in attendance at the Seattle Food and Wine Experience you would end up consuming a total of three bottles — not bad for a Sunday afternoon. And that’s just the wine. Sunday’s event also promises 14 breweries, 15 distilleries, and a whole lot of fine Northwest foods. Ever tried nitro poached honey seafoam? It’ll be there for your tasting pleasure, along with nutella brownies, coffee-rubbed filet, a mashed potato bar, and not one, but two dishes accompanied by celeriac purée.
To satisfy your intellectual cravings, the event also features chef demonstrations and countless exhibitors. Since no feast of the senses is complete without thoughtful news analysis, Crosscut will be there to test your wine and foodie IQ — prizes for the biggest gastronomical know-it-alls. Come say hello! Note: Pre-sale tickets are sold out, but a limited number will be available at the door.
If you go: Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, Feb. 26, 12pm–5pm, $60
