UMO’s Squeeze

Vashon’s UMO Ensemble’s run of its latest production, “Squeeze,” continues through Sunday, April 13, at Seattle Public Theatre, located at 7312 West Green Lake Dr N, in Seattle.

The play, written in collaboration with award-wining playwright Trista Baldwin and directed by Elizabeth Klob, features performances by Terry Crane, Emma Curtiss, Rhys Daly, and UMO Ensemble members Meghan Ames, David Godsey, Janet McAlpin and Lyam White. The show’s design is by Max Sarkowsky, a rising theater-maker who grew up both in Seattle and on Vashon before launching his career.

In the production, five characters search for connection, space, and freedom in a world constrained by fear, loneliness, scarcity, and greed — exploring the uncertainty of the present time with humor, pathos, and acrobatic physicality using ladders and platforms reminiscent of Buster Keaton.

Founded in 1989, UMO Ensemble has performed more than 30 original productions that have been seen in theaters and festivals throughout North America and Europe.

The show’s estimated run time is 75 minutes with no intermission, with the audience invited to join in conversation with the ensemble after the show. Get tickets and find out more at tinyurl.com/ywbtuhzw.

“Forty Bouts in the Wilderness”

A launch of “Forty Bouts in the Wilderness,” by island poet by Katy E. Ellis, will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at Vashon Bookshop.

The book is Ellis’ second, full-length poetry collection about returning to difficult places, either by choice by what seem like fateful accidents.

The book, named first runner up to the 2024 MoonPath Press Sally Albiso award, was released in March. Other books by Ellis include the prose-poetry-novel “Home Water, Home Land” (Tolsun Books), and an award-winning chapbook, “Night Watch” (Floating Bridge Press). She has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Learn more at katyeellis.com.

Margaret Roncone, Vashon’s beloved poet laureate, will open the event by reading some of her new work.

Havurah concerts

The Vashon Havurah, 15401 Westside Hwy SW, will host two Celtic music performances this spring.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 11, Bangers and Blunders, a young, Colorado-based traditional Irish music duo, will take the stage. Members Shannon Muenchow and Graeme Danforth originally met at Irish sessions in the Denver/Boulder area and are now bringing traditional tunes to life with twin-fiddle melodic interplay and driving rhythmic renditions on fiddle and Irish bouzouki. There will be an Irish music session after the concert, so bring your instruments. A $20 donation is requested at the door.

Renowned Scottish guitar master, Tony McManus, will play in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, with a $25 donation at the door.

Hailed by John Renbourn as “the best Celtic guitarist in the world,” McManus has also been listed as one of the “50 transcendent guitarists of all time” by Guitar Player magazine. His music draws on traditions from the entire Celtic world, along with still further-ranging flavors including jazz and eastern European music. Long applauded for his ability to transpose the delicate, complex ornamentation characteristic of traditional bagpipe or fiddle tunes onto his own six strings, McManus is increasingly acknowledged as a pioneering figure in bridging the realms of Celtic music and other guitar genres.

Reservations are recommended for both shows — email janstrolle@comcast.net.

Amanda Knox book launch

Just days before islander and author Amanda Knox stages a book reading event in Seattle, she will make an on-island appearance to read passages from and answer questions about her much-anticipated new book, “FREE: My Search for Meaning.”

At the Vashon event, she’ll sit in conversation with Voice of Vashon’s Jeff Hoyt at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at Puget Sound Zen Center, at 18005 Vashon Highway. In addition to the reading and Q&A, Amanda will sign copies of the book that will be for sale at the event. Tickets are $15 and go toward the $30 book purchase price. (Couples will get one free book for two ticket admissions.)

Reserve seats for this event, presented by Knox-Robinson Productions and Debra Heesch, at brownpapertickets.com.

Duende Libre

Duende Libre, an award-winning jazz trio whose original music combines jazz virtuosity with roots rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, and West Africa, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 18, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Each member of the acclaimed trio has apprenticed with direct descendants and master musicians of these traditions; they consider themselves disciples of their teachers. The result: A euphoric new jazz that honors its historical roots opening the boundaries of genre to invoke a powerful sonic freedom.

Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Bachelors of Broadway

Bachelors of Broadway, a trio of dashing gentlemen who bring soaring harmonies from Broadway and the silver screen to new heights in concert, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

Their catalog includes songs from “Wicked,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Jersey Boys,” “Dear Evan Hanson,” “Les Miz” and many more beloved musicals.

Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Nathan & Jessie

Island presenter Debra Heesch will bring Nathan & Jessie — a jazzy country duo on resonator guitar and accordion that blends male and female voices in English, Spanish and French — to Snapdragon’s stage for two shows on Saturday, April 19.

The first show that night runs from 6-7 p.m.; the second from 8-9 p.m.

Nathan Rivera and Jessie Andra Smith hail from Temecula, California. Their performances include all-original music, stories of their travels and interactions with the audience that make for an warm experience. Love of sharing their music has taken Nathan & Jessie all over the world, frequenting places throughout the Pacific Northwest and other locales including Mexico, Canada, France and New Orleans.

“Wild Cucumber” launch

Vashon’s Inaugural Poet Laureate Ann Spiers will launch her new book “Wild Cucumber/New and Selected Poems” at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 27, in the Land Trust Building’s back garden, located at 10014 SW Bank Rd.

Publishers John Pierce and Holly J. Hughes will be celebrating and selling books.

Calls for artists

All island artists are invited to enter the 2025 Vashon Island Visual Artists members’ show, “Our Island, Our Home,” at Vashon Center for the Arts, May 2–25.

The show is open to all current VIVA members — join or renew now to participate. The deadline to enter is April 11. Visit vivartists.com for more details and to enter.

Vashon Center for the Arts also has two calls out for artists. The first, with a deadline of May 4, is for “The Secret Garden,” an exhibit of work suitable for display in gardens and patios. The exhibit, in VCA’s gallery, will run June 4-29 — a month that includes VCA’s annual Garden Tour.

VCA’s second call is for art to be displayed in its annual Summer Arts Fest — a extravaganza of rotating art exhibits opening on July 3 and running through Aug. 31.

Find out more at gallery.vashoncenterforthearts.org.

The Bachelors of Broadway perform on April 19 at Vashon Center for the Arts. (Courtesy photo)