Young actor readies for encore in ‘The Music Man’
February 5, 2013
Josh Feinsilber rehearses at The 5th Avenue Theatre as Winthrop Paroo in ‘The Music Man.’ By Jeff Carpenter/The 5th Avenue Theatre
River City, Iowa — a Main Street, U.S.A., hamlet created as the setting for Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man” — is almost home for performer Josh Feinsilber.
The fledgling actor and Pacific Cascade Middle School sixth-grader portrayed shy Winthrop Paroo in a July 2012 youth production at Village Theatre and is poised to return to stage in the role as The 5th Avenue Theatre rolls out “The Music Man” on Feb. 7.
Josh, 12, is eager to slip into the role again after a turn in Village Theatre’s “Fiddler on the Roof” — a record-setting smash for the Issaquah playhouse.
Beat blues with brews at Gilman Village
February 5, 2013
There is a solution to chase away the doldrums of a rainy, cool Issaquah winter, and if the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce is correct, it comes pouring from your favorite wine or pilsner glass.
The chamber will host its inaugural Beat the Winter Brews Fest, complete with spirit, beer and wine tastings, food and music, all scattered along the storefronts and boardwalk of Gilman Village on Feb. 26.
“We were looking to do something in the winter, when people are saying there is nothing to do, and we came up with this unique adult-friendly event,” said Robin Kelley, director of festivals for chamber.
‘Fiddler on the Roof’ sets Village Theatre sales record
January 29, 2013
Eric Polani Jensen stars as Tevye in Village Theatre’s record-setting production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ By Jay Koh/Village Theatre
Theatergoers embraced “Fiddler on the Roof” and propelled the classic musical to a Village Theatre sales record.
The spectacle centered on the godfearing milkman Tevye played at the downtown Issaquah theater through November and December, and then shifted to the Everett Performing Arts Center.
In Issaquah, a record 32,726 audience members attended the show, including more than 14,000 single-ticket buyers — a significant number for a playhouse reliant on seasonal subscribers.
In Everett, “Fiddler on the Roof” set more milestones. The show reached the revenue goals before opening night — a first for Village Theatre’s Snohomish County stage — and broke the sales record for single-ticket revenue two weeks before “Fiddler on the Roof” closed Jan. 27.
Organizations host father-daughter dances for Valentine’s Day
January 29, 2013
Dads, it’s time to ask your daughters to dance.
Liberty High School is inviting elementary school students and their fathers to a Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance in the Liberty Commons on Feb. 8.
Cheers! Downtown Issaquah wine celebration returns
January 29, 2013
Revelers can sip, snack and shop as the Downtown Issaquah Wine Walk series returns.
The popular winter and springtime event launched last February to attract people to downtown merchants even as the weather turns gray and soggy. Organized by the Downtown Issaquah Association, merchants host musicians, and offer sips from Washington vintners and hors d’oeuvres, during the monthly event that launches Feb. 1.
Though the event is designed to appeal to oenophiles — the 1-ounce wine pours remain limited to the 21-and-older crowd — creativity is showcased in arts-focused downtown, too. Highlights at the opening event include demonstrations by master glass blower Lenoard Whitfield at artbyfire and artEAST’s latest exhibit, “Stitch,” at UP Front Gallery.
Forecast for Issaquah film series includes ‘Rain’
January 29, 2013
Hollywood legend and “Mommy Dearest” subject Joan Crawford is in the lineup as the Issaquah Train Depot film series continues.
Crawford stars in “Rain” as Sadie Thompson, a prostitute marooned on a tropical South Pacific island with a conservative preacher, played by Walter Huston, and his wife.
The free film plays at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at the historic train depot, 50 Rainier Blvd. N.
Village Theatre sets intriguing drama in ‘The Mousetrap’
January 22, 2013
Mysterious guest Christopher Wren, played by Quinn Armstrong, passes his dark coat, light scarf and felt hat to Monkswell Manor’s proprietor Mollie Ralston, played by Hana Lass. By John Pai/Village Theatre
To enjoy some of the finer things in life, there are rules. For example:
- The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club.
- What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
- And, do not reveal the plot of “The Mousetrap.”
Each has its own reason to remain spoiler free. Village Theatre hopes its patrons adhere to the latter so subsequent audiences can enjoy its latest production, Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.”
What started as an 80th birthday tribute written for Queen Elizabeth in 1947, Agatha Christie thought her radio broadcast, “Three Blind Mice,” adapted for stage would have an uneventful eight-month run, tops.
Poll: Northwesterners divided on belief in Sasquatch
January 22, 2013
Many Northwesterners believe Sasquatch is more than a myth, according to the latest PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll.
By the numbersPEMCO Insurance surveyed Washington and Oregon residents about routine driving habits, and also asked respondents whether they believe Sasquatch exists. Do you believe it is possible that Sasquatch exists? Washington April 2012
King County April 2012
Do you know of anybody who has ever seen Sasquatch? Washington April 2012
King County April 2012
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Seattle-based PEMCO Insurance surveyed Northwest residents about the hairy hominid and found 33 percent believe Sasquatch possibly exists, and about one in 10 respondents claimed to have actually seen Sasquatch or know somebody who did.
Oregon residents seemed less convinced, though, than Washington counterparts. Overall, more than half of Portlanders — 55 percent — doubt the creature exists. Still, more than a quarter of respondents polled in Portland — 28 percent — embrace the possibility of Sasquatch.
Washingtonians continue to believe. The poll first asked Washingtonians about Sasquatch in 2009, and more than one-third of respondents maintain the view of Sasquatch as real.
The respondents included 159 people in King County. The sample size for Issaquah is too small to offer much data.
“People might wonder, ‘Why is an insurance company even bothering with something so silly?’ Is PEMCO pondering Sasquatch-protection coverage? No. Does it matter to our business if they exist? No. Is it a fun and whimsical topic for a survey? Absolutely! Especially here in the quirky Northwest where, Sasquatch is part of our culture,” PEMCO spokesman Jon Osterberg said.
PEMCO Insurance commissioned the independent survey to ask Washington drivers several questions about driving habits and attitudes about current Northwest issues. The sample size included 629 respondents in Washington and 400 respondents in the Portland, Ore., metro area.
Believers have reported Sasquatch sightings near Issaquah and in East King County.
In 1982, a father and son out for a hike on Squak Mountain ran into a giant, muscular creature and then fled, a user recounted to the Bigfoot Encounters website.
A sighting at Rattlesnake Lake occurred in August 2000, a supposed eyewitness recounted to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. The creature stood more than 7 feet tall, moved in a manner similar to a human and sported dark fur.
Swingin’ in Vienna moves to new venue, date
January 15, 2013
In 1998, the Evergreen Philharmonic Orchestra created a renaissance in dancing that crossed generational divides with its surprisingly popular Swingin’ in Vienna.
The semiformal affair, featuring ballroom and swing dancing, returns next month for its 15th year to new digs and a new night.
Longtime orchestra Director Doug Longman said it was a natural transition to move the popular event.
Young Issaquah poet earns national acclaim
January 15, 2013
Issaquah resident Madeleine Dike’s poem ‘1942’ placed in the top 10 in the Communication Summer 2012 Poetry Contest. Contributed
Madeleine Dike, 13, was selected out of thousands of entrants for the Creative Communication Summer 2012 Poetry Contest for writing one of the 10 best poems in the United States and Canada among her age group in grades 7 to 9.
Poems were selected for literary merit, creativity and social significance.
Madeleine received special recognition and a cash prize. In addition, her poem “1942” has been published in the poetry anthology, “A Celebration of Poets.”
