ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS: Songstress opens the Cellar Door in Port Townsend to fresh jazz this Thursday . . . and other items

Published 12:01 am Saturday, September 19, 2015

PORT TOWNSEND — Songstress Jenny Davis and her sextet will bring abundant jazz to the Cellar Door, 940 Water St., this coming Thursday, Sept. 24.

There’s no cover charge and all ages are welcome for this concert, in which Davis will offer some new material from her forthcoming recording.

She’ll also do some arrangements Cornish College of the Arts professor Tim Carey composed especially for her.

The artist enjoys acclaim across and beyond the region: “Jenny Davis is the kind of singer that goes deep into the song . . . [she] makes you feel the lyrics,” a Jazz Times critic said.

The music will flow from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. courtesy of Davis on vocals, Seattle saxophonist Dave Carson, trumpeter Ed Donahue and her longtime musical partners Chuck Easton, Ted Enderle and Tim Sheffel.

‘Hound’ swan song

SEQUIM — “The Real Inspector Hound” and “The 15-Minute Hamlet,” two short comedies by Tom Stoppard, will leap onto the Olympic Theatre Arts stage for the last time this weekend.

Curtain times for these shows, which share a cast that includes Colby Thomas, Peter Greene, Jennifer Horton, Kai Lavatai and others, are 7:30 tonight and Saturday night and 2 p.m. Sunday for the finale.

Tickets range from $10 to $16 via OlympicTheatreArts.org and 360-683-7326. Any remaining will be sold at the playhouse door, 414 N. Sequim Ave.

Jess Walter, free

CHIMACUM — Jess Walter, the acclaimed author of the novel Beautiful Ruins among other books, is the speaker at the Jefferson County Library’s 14th annual Huntingford Humanities Lecture the night of Thursday, Oct. 1.

Walter will step up for his free, public lecture at 6:30 p.m. at the Chimacum High School auditorium, 91 W. Valley Road.

A Spokane native who still lives in his hometown, Walter does a podcast with fellow writer Sherman Alexie called “A Tiny Sense of Accomplishment” on American Public Media.

Among his accomplishments are his novel The Financial Lives of the Poets, which Time magazine and other outlets named one of the best books of 2009.

Citizen Vince, which won him 2006’s Edgar Allan Poe Award and his nonfiction work Ruby Ridge, the story of the Ruby Ridge siege in northern Idaho.

For details about Walter’s lecture and other library-sponsored activities, see www.JClibrary.info or phone 360-385-6544.

Paint, sip in Forks

FORKS — A “CreativiTea” get-together — part art class and part afternoon tea party — is set for 1 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Forks Library.

Painters ages 15 and older are invited to this free event, in which instructor Courtney Garman will provide the painting tips and supplies while the library brews the hot and iced teas.

Space is limited, so painters are urged to make reservations by contacting the Forks Library, 171 S. Forks Ave., at 360-374-6402.

More information also awaits at the North Olympic Library System website, NOLS.org, under “Events.”

Flamenco ‘Lights’

SEQUIM — Flamenco dancer Savannah Fuentes will bring her beloved art form — along with a singer and guitarist — to Sequim at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1.

In this, her Northern Lights tour, the Irish-Puerto Rican Fuentes will perform at Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave., with flamenco guitarist Bobby de Sofia from Bulgaria and singer Juanarito, who lives in Spain.

Tickets are $23 for general admission, $15 for students and low-income patrons, $35 for VIP seating and $8 for children via brownpapertickets.com (search for Savannah Fuentes).

Any remaining will be sold at the door. More information about the artists can be found at www.savannahflamenko.com.

Mamet in Victoria

VICTORIA — “Speed-the-Plow,” David Mamet’s scathingly comic look at Hollywood and the male psyche, is now on stage at Victoria’s Belfry Theatre, 1291 Gladstone Ave. Starring Celine Stubel and Vincent Gale from the Belfry’s “Venus in Fur” last season, the play also features Brian Markinson from television’s “Mad Men.”

In “Speed,” Hollywood producer Bobby Gould has just been handed a sure-fire hit that could catapult him and his old friend Charlie Fox into the big time.

Then again he could make the “important” art-house film that his oh-so-attractive office assistant is urging him to do. Savage comedy ensues courtesy of Mamet, who also wrote the screenplays for “Wag the Dog,” “The Verdict,” “Hoffa” and “Glengarry Glen Ross” among other films.

“Speed” runs Tuesdays through Sundays with matinee and evening performances; tickets range from $23 to $48. Discounted rush tickets are also sold at the door.

To find out more, see www.belfry.bc.ca or phone 250-385-6815.