My hands hurt while John Waters and David Schmader talked about filth and made Town Hall attendees laugh. I fell and scraped my hands right before I heard Waters christen the barely-two-weeks-new remodeled space with riffs on Hollywood money, free porn, the Democratic presidential field, art as magic, Hairspray sequels, all genres of music, graveyard graffiti, and “ample women.”
A Spellar Performance
Every year, Town Hall hosts the King-Snohomish County Regional Spelling Bee. The winner of this heated trial of vocabulary moves on from local to national, joining the ranks of spellers competing in the Scripps Bee. This year representing Seattle was Nidhi Achanta, who knocked it out of the park and advanced to Round 3 of the Scripps Bee.
Singing to the Choir
Town Hall’s marketing manager, Jonathan Shipley sat down with Seattle Girls Choir Artistic Director Jacob Winkler to discuss choral music, pursuing a degree in biology, and Simon and Garfunkel.
The Titans of ‘Canto General’
What writer could possibly write a poetic history of the entire American Western Hemisphere from a Hispanic perspective? The Nobel Prize-winning Chilean writer Pablo Neruda. Who could possibly put Neruda’s poems appropriately to music? The Lenin Prize-winning Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis.
What Are People Doing?
On the cover of the May 24, 1919 edition of the Town Crier was Mme. Borgny Hammer. Mme. Hammer and her husband Rolf were coming to Seattle to perform at Norway Hall. They were going to perform Henrik Ibsen’s play, The Master Builder.
Henry, Sandy, and a Commissioned Painting
What do happy squirrels, paper bag sing-alongs, and wall-to-wall murals have in common?
Music as a Bridge
With our Great Hall reopening, we’re excited to get back into our historic home and see what the space can do. To help put the Great Hall through its paces and show us a truly unique musical experience, composer and Fremont Bridge Resident Paurl Walsh is coming to Town Hall on May 23 to present his incredible concert Bascule.
What Are People Doing?
A frequent advertiser in the Town Crier was Rippe’s Cafe—and the May 17, 1919 edition of the paper was no exception. Rippe’s touted itself on being “a small house with a big reputation.”
Moby’s Not Complaining
Last Friday, Town Hall hosted Moby, the famed singer-songwriter, musician, DJ, and photographer. We invited local writer Katharine Walker to sit in the audience and share her thoughts.