See pop king LeRoy Bell and his band
LeRoy Bell, an accomplished and well-traveled singer and songwriter, will perform with his band at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, at VCA. As part of the duo Bell and James, Bell had a top-15 pop single, “Livin’ It Up (Friday Night),” and composed songs for Teddy Pendergrass, Gladys Knight, and two hit singles for Elton John. In 2020, Bell partnered with G.E. Smith (bandleader at SNL 1985 to 1995) to release an album as a duo, “Stony Hill,” on BMG.
Get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Jazz it up with Diane Schuur
Legendary jazz vocalist Diane Schuur will return to the island for a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Local jazz bassist Bruce Phares, in a duo with pianist Jeremy Bacon, will open the show.
Schuur has released more than 25 albums and her jazz repertoire spans essences of Latin, gospel, pop and country music. Her album, “Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra,” remained at #1 on the Billboard Jazz charts for 33 weeks. Her album with BB King also reached #1 on the Billboard Jazz charts.
She has won two Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, and scored three additional Grammy nominations for subsequent albums, “Pure Schuur,” and “Love Songs,” as well as for the individual track, “The Christmas Song.”
She has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the White House, and she was Johnny Carson’s guest on The Tonight Show at least 11 times. A respected educator conducting clinics and master classes for students of all ages, she has been awarded the Helen Keller Achievement Award by the American Foundation for the Blind.
Get tickets for the show at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Take in a play-reading at VCA
As part of its ongoing Incubator play-reading series, Vashon Repertory Theatre will present “Late in the Game,” a play by Northwest playwright Y York, at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, in the lobby at Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA).
The play, directed by islander Samantha Sherman, will star Mik Kuhlman, Tami Brockway Joyce, Toby Nichols and Matt Wilson. The performance is pay-what-you-will at the door, with a $10 suggested donation. All play-goers must present proof of COVID-19 vaccination, and wear masks.
Experience ‘The Exonerated’ at Kay White Hall
Vashon Repertory Theatre (VRT) will stage three performances of the play “The Exonerated,” which tells the stories of six people who collectively spent more than 100 years on death row before being exonerated for crimes they did not commit.
The production, co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice Action Team of the Vashon-Maury chapter of SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25 and 26, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27, in the Kay White Hall of Vashon Center for the Arts.
Each performance will be followed by a talkback with the audience.
On Friday night, the cast will discuss their connections with the characters. On Saturday night, Amanda Knox (see page 1), exonerated after four years in an Italian prison from a wrongful murder conviction, will discuss her work with “The Innocence Project.” Following the Sunday matinee, three experts will discuss the United States justice system. They are Michele Storms, executive director of ACLU Washington, David Heppard, executive director of the WA Freedom Project, and Lara Zarowsky, executive and policy director of the Washington State Innocence Project.
To guarantee seating to “The Exonerated,” patrons may purchase tickets in advance at vashoncenterforthearts.org. Walk-up admission is pay-what-you-will, with a suggested donation of $25, while seats remain. Patrons are required to show vaccine certification and wear masks. The play, according to presenters, is not suitable for children younger than 13.
Laura Veirs in Concert
Oregonian indie-rock artist Laura Veirs will play a show at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, at VCA.
Veirs’ 11th album, “My Echo,” is out now on Raven Marching Band records. She is known for her collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang on the “case/lang/veirs project,” has written a children’s book, and hosts a podcast about parenting and performing.
Get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
