On Saturday, May 4, some of the Pacific Northwest's funniest people will take the stage at the Egyptian Theatre as part of The Stranger's Undisputable Geniuses of Comedy showcase. Andy Iwancio! Dan Hurwitz! Chris Mejia! Monica Nevi! Juno Men! Bernice Larson! Kermet Apio! And headliner Sam Miller! Plus, the whole night will be hosted by Emmett Montgomery, beloved weirdo, host of Friendship Dungeon and Joketellers Union, and one of 2023's Undisputable Geniuses.

It's going to be very funny! I hope you come! Tickets are available here! Exclamation points!

As we approach National Bike Month, I just want to issue a quick reminder to our car and pedestrian friends that they, too, must conduct themselves accordingly to avoid major road catastrophes. But most of all I would like to address the runners taking up the bike lane. 

Bike lanes are our only refuge. We don’t get the safety of sidewalks, roller-skaters also lay claim our lanes, and we’re risking our lives when we share the horribly managed roads with Seattle’s shite drivers. So, please, please, please leave them for us. 

Welcome to May, the homestretch of spring that brings with it a host of major local happenings, fun holidays, and chances to reap the bounties of April showers. To help guide you through all of the options, we've compiled a curated version of our top picks below—you can also browse a more comprehensive collection of this month's biggest offerings over on our May events calendar, but here, you'll just read about the things that excite us the most. Read on for options ranging from Kathleen Hanna - Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk to Pearl Jam and from the Seattle International Film Festival to Seattle Beer Week.

COMEDY

Ben Schwartz & Friends
Your first encounter with Ben Schwartz may have been his role as wannabe baller Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on Parks and Recreation. Since then, he's voiced Sonic the Hedgehog (a role that oddly suits his fast-paced comedy style) and starred in three Netflix improv specials. He'll drop by Seattle on the heels of last year's schlocky horror-comedy Renfield, in which he appeared alongside Nicolas Cage as Dracula. LINDSAY COSTELLO
Paramount Theatre, Downtown (Sun May 5)

Not to vilify the Seattle City Council, but on Tuesday they did some villain shit when they voted 7-2 to reject the Connected Communities Pilot program, which would have offered development incentives for low-income, community-centered housing at no cost to the City. The vote flies in the face of their campaign promises to “talk less, do more,” listen to stakeholders, and promote “gentle density” to avoid displacement in the quest to mitigate the housing crisis. 

Council Member Tammy Morales started working on her Connected Communities Pilot program more than two years ago. She introduced it to the previous council last Septemeber and then held five committee meetings with her new colleagues even though the council usually votes after just two. 

WEDNESDAY 5/1  

Fat Ham

(THEATER) I can’t tell you everything I want to tell you about Fat Ham. Maybe that James Ijames’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Hamlet—which moves the tragic story to a modern-day Southern family barbecue—won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for five Tonys is enough to convince you to see it. But if you, like me, never cultivated a deep love of—or even minor appreciation for—Shakespeare’s work then you, like me, might assume it’s not your ~vibe~. But dismissing Fat Ham would mean missing the emotional karaoke scene that melted my bitter Gen X heart into a puddle of weepy empathy for Juicy, the queer Black Hamlet of the story (powerfully portrayed by Taj E.M. Burroughs). You'd also miss hilarious performances from Chip Sherman (one-half of local drag duo LüChi) and Felicia V. Loud (of Seattle's own Black Stax). Worst of all, not seeing Fat Ham would mean not crying joyful tears when [redacted] struts onstage wearing a [redacted], launching the play into a [redacted] filled with [redacted] and [redacted]. (No spoilers!) Roll your eyes at Shakespeare all you want, but do not miss Fat Ham. (Bagley Wright Theater, 155 Mercer St, multiple showtimes through May 12, $20-$105) MEGAN SELING

On Saturday, May 4, some of the Pacific Northwest's funniest people will take the stage at the Egyptian Theatre as part of The Stranger's Undisputable Geniuses of Comedy showcase. Andy Iwancio! Dan Hurwitz! Chris Mejia! Monica Nevi! Juno Men! Bernice Larson! Kermet Apio! And headliner Sam Miller! Plus, the whole night will be hosted by Emmett Montgomery, beloved weirdo, host of Friendship Dungeon and Joketellers Union, and one of 2023's Undisputable Geniuses.

It's going to be very funny! I hope you come! Tickets are available here! Exclamation points!

Seattle City Council rejects more dense affordable housing: It would be cool if nonprofits and developers could build larger and taller buildings than zoning codes allow if they had affordable housing and/or community spaces, but only bill sponsor Tammy Morales and councilmember Dan Strauss voted to make that happen. The Seattle Times reports that some new council members said the city should address zoning as part of a larger planning effort instead of passing a lone bill. Before the vote, Strauss proposed a NIMBY-friendly amendment reducing the amount of additional density the bill allowed, but most of the council even rejected that.

ICYMI: Yesterday, I reported that Northwest Film Forum is struggling and cut nearly half of its staff to offset a financial deficit. The vital resource for Seattle filmmakers is not anywhere near closing, but it is enduring a hard time for nonprofits, especially for one that screens cool movies for a relatively niche audience.

Yesterday the Northwest Film Forum laid off nearly half of its small staff. Executive director Derek Edamura confirmed the cuts and said the nonprofit is struggling, but not closing.https://t.co/UUpPI7BG0F

— The Stranger 🗞 (@TheStranger) April 30, 2024

If you’re in Interbay on a Thursday or Friday evening, in the sidewalkless industrial district just southwest of the Ballard Bridge, you might spot a sandwich board that promises a tasting room serving locally made amaro. It’s a little tricky to find, but let the sandwich boards guide you: toward some warehouses, through a parking lot down by the train tracks, and to a specific door. Look for the neon sign that depicts a bowtie made of recycle arrows. Okay, they’re supposed to be hearts. That’s the SennzaFinne logo.

Does it feel weird to just walk into some warehouse with no concierge, like someone will yell at you and ask what you’re doing there? Yes. But listen, it’s cool. Enter the building beneath the recycle bowtie, and continue past the coffee roasters on the left and the motorcycle… welding… workshop… on the right. Proceed toward the Christmas lights at the end of the fluorescent corridor. Narrow your eyes. Oh my god, it’s true. There’s a little cocktail bar in the distance. 

Northwest Film Forum laid off nearly half of its employees yesterday.

Executive director Derek Edamura confirmed that management told the small staff about cuts over Zoom calls on Monday. Five people were laid off immediately, and two more will be laid off in the next three months, adding up to about 50% of staff. 

In a Tuesday phone call, Edamura told The Stranger that the Forum is not at risk of closing. He said the “hard” decision to cut staff is a short-term strategy to avoid long-term financial deficits and any cuts to programming this year. 

On Saturday, May 4, some of the Pacific Northwest's funniest people will take the stage at the Egyptian Theatre as part of The Stranger's Undisputable Geniuses of Comedy showcase. Andy Iwancio! Dan Hurwitz! Chris Mejia! Monica Nevi! Juno Men! Bernice Larson! Kermet Apio! And headliner Sam Miller! Plus, the whole night will be hosted by Emmett Montgomery, beloved weirdo, host of Friendship Dungeon and Joketellers Union, and one of 2023's Undisputable Geniuses.

It's going to be very funny! I hope you come! Tickets are available here! Exclamation points!

Jim Mayhew is doing something no Democrat has done in recent memory: run to represent the 12th Legislative District in the Washington State Senate. Though Republicans have held the seat since 1969, analysts say 2024’s court redistricting process painted the district purple, placing it within reach of a Democratic candidate. If the voters of the newly drawn district see Mayhew as that candidate, his election could help bring more social and transit services to the area while also helping Dems clinch a supermajority that would empower the party to propose changes to the state constitution that could last generations. No big deal!

For his part, Mayhew, who served on the Snoqualmie City Council for six years, feels optimistic. “I think this is very doable. I’m extremely excited about it,” he said in a phone interview with The Stranger.

Good morning. The weather forecast today comes from the National Weather Service, because I refuse to be a corporate shill like some. Expect a 40% chance of rain after 3 pm today, and some clouds in the morning that our comrades at the weather services believe will dissipate throughout the day. Calm winds in the afternoon, high near 54 degrees. 

Speaking of corporate shills: In a dramatic speech, City Council Member Cathy Moore called out her "esteemed colleague" Council Member Tammy Morales for making Moore feel "evil" and like a "corporate shill" for not voting for Morales's Connected Communities bill. I skimmed multiple articles for what Morales said after the Council's land use committee voted down the bill and I still have no clue what Moore saw that caused her to need to stop talking "because I'm losing my temper." Maybe Moore just has a guilty conscience.  

Council Member Cathy Moore scolds her colleague Tammy Morales for "vilifying" opposition to her Connected Communities bill in the media. Pro tip: You don't want to look like you oppose affordable housing, don't vote against it! pic.twitter.com/qR2YKUtGD0

— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) April 29, 2024

Position 8 City Council candidate Tariq Yusuf is an electric scooter-riding, cat-rearing tech bro, but don’t click out of this post! He just might be one of the Good Ones.

Yusuf joins two other progressives—homelessness policy wonk Alexis Mercedes Rinck and lefty organizer Saunatina Sanchez—in challenging controversial appointee Tanya Woo, who hopes to win her first election ever to defend the seat her corporatist buddies gave her as a consolation prize after her loss against the council’s only tried-and-true progressive. After even the labor-backed candidates rode the center lane to failures last cycle, the three left challengers feel like a breath of fresh air. 

I will begin by admitting I have never played the video game Fallout. Indeed, I have not indulged in video games since the old arcade days of Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Galaga, and the mesmerizing Battlezone. Console games are as foreign to me as electric unicycles. And so I'm indifferent to those who praise Amazon Studio's Fallout for its fidelity to its source. What matters instead is just the TV series. Is it engaging? Is it smart? Is it visually compelling? Is it conceptually interesting? Season 1 of Fallout, which is primarily directed by Westworld's Jonathan Nolan and set in a future that never deviated from the Atomic Age, meets all of my standards and then some. It's the best science fiction series since Disney's Andor. 

This post will express the author's admiration for Fallout in five short but packed theses. No other approach seemed more fitting than this, which was mastered and made fashionable by the German theorist Walter Benjamin.