Seussian show blends film, live music and storytelling
Vashon Theatre and Vashon Film Society will present Morgan Taylor’s “Gustafer Yellowgold” at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 5.
The show, which just finished a hit run off Broadway, combines live music, original animation and storytelling in a high-energy blend The New York Times called “a cross between ‘Yellow Submarine’ and Dr. Seuss, filtered through the lens of the Lower East Side.”
Gustafer Yellowgold is a character from the Sun who befriends otherwise friendless beings such as an eel, a flightless pterodactyl, a crying green bee and a dragon who makes his home in a fireplace.
The show has toured extensively in the United States and Europe and played as an opener for the bands Wilco and The Polyphonic Spree.
It is recommended for children of all ages. Tickets are $10 general, $8 for kids and seniors and free for ages 2 and under.
Laugh at your neighbors at a second comedy night
Get some bite-sized comedy Friday night when Steffon Moody puts on “Comedy Extravaganza II,” a series of 10-minute or less comedic performances by some of the Island’s funniest guys and gals.
The show begins at 8:30 p.m. at the Red Bicycle Bistro & Sushi. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance.
The show will include a veritable who’s who from Vashon’s comedy circuit.
Among the performers are Jeff Hoyt, Arlette Moody, Chris Ott, Linda Severt, Michael Ates, Harris Levinson, Troy Kindred, David Weinberger, Darryl Caldwell, Anders Blomgren, Per Lars Blomgren and Marie Koltchak.
Moody, a very funny guy himself, urges Islanders to turn out and laugh at some of these people.
“This evening is built on the idea that the only thing more entertaining than seeing people you know being funny is seeing people you know trying to be funny, which is hilarious — or sometimes painful,” he said. “But seriously, we’re all just ‘comic cooks’ throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks.”
Moody said he gave the performers only one directive: Be funny in 10 minutes or less. All comedic forms are on the table, he added.
The show will likely have adult content.
To purchase tickets, call the Bike at 463-5959, or just show up.
Travel the world at the Bike
Take a musical trip to other parts of the world this weekend when two very different bands with music from two far-flung corners of the planet land at the Red Bicycle Bistro & Sushi.
First up is Correo Aereo — or Air Mail — an award-winning, multi-instrumental and vocal trio that will perform traditional and original music of Latin America — primarily Venezuela, Mexico and Argentina.
They will play at the Red Bike at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, April 4. The show is for ages 21 and up; there is no cover charge.
Abel Rocha, Madeleine Sosin and Evan Flory Barnes combine an array of string and percussive instruments with vocal harmonies that The Austin Chronicle described as “locked in carnal embrace.” Rocha plays harp, guitar, cuatro and quinta huapanguera. Sosin plays violin, maracas, bombo and jarana. Barnes adds hot standup bass.
Correo Aereo has performed at festivals, theaters and music venues throughout the United States and abroad, including Holland’s prestigious Moondive; an international media project/concert produced by VPRO Television-Radio Amsterdam, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Austin Music Hall, the EMP Seattle and the Knitting Factory in New York City.
Their music has been featured on NPR Radio programs Latino USA and All Things Considered and Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now.
On Sunday, visit another part of the world when Tan Cahill, a renowned Islander who spent five years in the Australian Outback, brings Tribal Voices to the Bike.
The group will perform from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. It’s an all-ages show, with no cover.
Tribal Voices is “an improvisational, constantly evolving musical think tank,” said Rod Smith, an Islander who plays music with Cahill. “Those playing and those listening learn to adapt and to thrive in new and novel tonal and rhythmic situations.”
The band has performed at Bumbershoot and Folklife and has opened the Sealy Stage at Seattle Hempfest for 13 years running.
