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Want more? Here’s everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, This & That.
OUT THERE, Velocity Dance Festival
Oct 2–11
As Lady Gaga once said, “Category is dance… or die.” So go see some experimental, existential, “f*ck shit up” kind of dance at Velocity’s new OUT THERE festival. Each weekend pairs two 30-minute works with DJ sets before and after. The first weekend (Oct 2–4) showcases Seattle’s maia melene d’urfé’s a crisis of standing and LA’s Jobel Medina and Elliott Sellers’s IMMDED IMMGEWD. The pairing will be an intricate testament to the skill and challenges of having a body within our current, chaotic world. The second weekend (Oct 9–11) features ALAN by Seattle’s Jordan MacIntosh-Hougham and Jesse Freitas, as well as BLOT by Vancouver’s Vanessa Goodman in collaboration with Tonga Collective from Poland. That weekend will get your mind reeling about AI ethics, pondering how chemistry and engineering fit within dance, and questioning where the human ends and the science of it all takes over. As Alan, a chatbot you might meet at the festival, says, “We are all born in the matrix, and the rest is drag.” (12th Avenue Arts, 6 pm DJ set, 7:30 pm dance show, 21+) NICO SWENSON
Eiko Otake & Wen Hui: What Is War
Oct 9–11
Choreographers, performers, and filmmakers Wen Hui and Eiko Otake first met in 1995 at an experimental theater festival, sparking a collaborative relationship that would span decades. Eiko grew up in postwar Japan and now resides in New York, whereas Wen Hui was raised in China during the Cultural Revolution and currently lives in Germany. In January 2020, Eiko went to visit Wen Hui in China for a monthlong artist fellowship, and the two began to excavate the war-related memories stored in their bodies. Throughout the pandemic, they worked together remotely on the documentary No Rule Is Our Rule, which explores their history, friendship, and trauma. This powerful dance performance, which the artists forged together in residencies, expands on that conversation—the women share their somatic stories through a “complex tapestry of language, movement, and video” and prompt the audience to question their own relationship to war. (On the Boards, 8 pm) JULIANNE BELL
Atsuko Okatsuka
Oct 11–12
You might know Los Angeles–based comedian Atsuko Okatsuka from her iconic signature bowl cut or her viral #dropchallenge, which she coined by dropping it low to “Partition” by Beyoncé in a video with her grandmother (a frequent subject of her stand-up). Her most recent special Hulu special, Father, had me in stitches with her absurdist takes on topics such as her secret past as a high school cheerleader, her shared made-up language with her husband, and the realization that she has the exact same body type as her estranged dad. She’s sure to serve up more of her hilariously off-kilter worldview at her show at the Moore Theatre for her Big Bowl Tour. (Moore Theatre, times vary, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
‘The Little Foxes’ by Lillian Hellman
Oct 15–Nov 2
Set in a small Alabama town in 1900, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes follows Regina Giddens as she manipulates her way into receiving a hefty family inheritance in an era when sons were considered the only legal heirs. The story is the perfect example of how a lack of women’s rights can lead to a multitude of women’s wrongs—it’s the ultimate “good for her!” story. Since its original stage production, starring Tallulah Bankhead in 1939, the leading role has been revived for stars like Bette Davis (in the 1941 film adaptation), Elizabeth Taylor, Stockard Channing, Laura Linney, Cynthia Nixon, and more. This group of actresses alone speaks volumes about the drama and camp of this theater masterpiece. (Intiman Theatre, various times, all ages) AUDREY VANN
Jimmy O. Yang
Nov 1
Hilarious Asian-millennial perspectives spill forth from Jimmy O. Yang at a rapid pace in his stand-up performances. Sure, the actor and former strip-joint DJ covers some familiar ground: relationships, parent-child interactions, the importance of friendships, how different cultures talk about money, media representation of his people—and the pressure he feels as a high-profile Asian to do his tribe proud. But the Chinese American comic also tackles some less common subjects, such as the feet etiquette of different cultures, the limited options for Halloween costumes among Asians (“I was Bruce Lee for six years.”), whether it’s okay for Asians to say the n-word when singing along to rap songs, as well as an advanced lesson on how to tell Asians apart by the sound they make when they’re disappointed. He also does the best tai-chi joke I’ve ever heard. With his acting chops honed in TV comedy shows such as Silicon Valley and Space Force and the movie Crazy Rich Asians, Yang has become an efficient and super-expressive joke machine. (Paramount Theatre, 7 pm & 9:30 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL
More
Pacific Northwest Ballet Presents: Jewels Through Oct 5, McCaw Hall, various times
The Roommate Through Oct 19, ArtsWest, various times, all ages
Demetri Martin Oct 4, Moore Theatre, 6:30 pm, all ages
Stereophonic Oct 7–12, Paramount Theatre, various times, all ages
RuPaul’s Drag Race Werq the World Tour 2025 Oct 14, Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm
This Is Halloween: The Live Music and Dance Multimedia Spooktacular Oct 16–Nov 1, Triple Door, various times, age restrictions vary
Shrew Oct 18–Nov 2, ACT, various times, all ages
The Pirates of Penzance Oct 18–Nov 1, McCaw Hall, various times
Chicago Oct 22–Nov 2, 5th Avenue Theatre, various times, all ages
Hidden Nature: The Spectre of the Potato Oct 24–25, Base: Experimental Arts + Space, various times, free
Adam Sandler: You’re My Best Friend Oct 29, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, 16+
International Ballet Theatre: Dracula Oct 29, Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages
C.S. Lewis: The Screwtape Letters Nov 1, Moore Theatre, 4 pm & 8 pm, all ages
Early Warnings
Nate Bargatze Nov 6–7, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages
Aya Ogawa: The Nosebleed Nov 13–15, On the Boards, 8 pm
Conner O’Malley Nov 20, Neptune Theatre, 7 pm & 9:45 pm, all ages
Penelope Nov 28–Dec 21, ArtsWest, various times
In Tandem: A Trio of Duets Dec 18–20, On the Boards, 8 pm
