91. Punch Gallery
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 621-1945
Address: 119 Prefontaine Place South (Central)
Description: PUNCH was founded in Mar 2006 by a group of artists eager to participate in the dynamic cultural exchange resulting from the emergence of other artist-run galleries in Seattle. PUNCH seeks to exhibit work that is honest, thoughtful, vocal, fearless, and fresh—it has some of the most looked-forward-to openings of any gallery in Seattle. The gallery maintains excitement in its exhibition schedule with a revolving roster of contributing member artists, guest artists, and curated group shows. PUNCH Gallery is located in the Pioneer Square area of downtown Seattle in the Tashiro-Kaplan building.
92. Roq La Rue Gallery
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 374-8977
Address: 2316 2nd Ave. (Central)
Description: This Belltown gallery delights in pushing the boundaries, with its unconventional openings of pop surrealism and contemporary underground art that feel more like rock shows. Roq La Rue delights in being provocative, exhibiting established artists in the genre as well as fostering emerging artists who offer fantastical imagery and visually dynamic narratives.
93. Richard Hugo House
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 322-7030
Address: 1634 11th Ave. (Central)
Description: Richard Hugo House is a home for writers and readers, a center for the literary arts that supports writers of all ages and backgrounds and promotes the creation of new writing. Hugo House nurtures writers and readers and brings innovative writing classes to people from every background. A new initiative was started in 2006, the Hugo Literary Series featuring brave new writing commissioned by Hugo House from some of the most exciting local and national writers and musicians working today.
94. Seattle Arts & Lectures
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 621-2230
Address: 105 S. Main St., Suite 201 (Central)
Description: In addition to presenting today’s foremost fiction and nonfiction writers, Seattle Arts & Lectures’ events and courses illuminate arts, culture, and a world of ideas. Programs include a Literary Arts Series, American Voices Series, Poetry Series, and Writers in the Schools. Visiting lecturers have included John Updike, Isabel Allende, Michael Dorris, and Louise Erdrich. Events are held at Benaroya Hall, with courses at the University of Washington and throughout various public schools in Puget Sound.
95. Seattle Opera
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 389-7676
Description: Founded in 1963, Seattle Opera is a leading American opera company. The company presents the classics of the European repertoire as well as new works of American opera, performing five operas per year. For a regional opera company, it is intrepid about tackling weighty and nontraditional works, and is noted for its innovative staging of the classics. Some of the top singers in the world have performed with the Seattle Opera, and its new Wagner productions are always eagerly anticipated. Most shows sell out early.
96. Seattle Symphony
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (866) 833-4747
Description: The Seattle Symphony has been an important part of Pacific Northwest culture since its inception in 1903. From its first performance on December 29, 1903, Seattle Symphony has held a unique place in the world of symphonic music. It is internationally recognized for its adventurous programming of contemporary works, its devotion to the classics, and its extensive recording history. Seattle Symphony has made more than 125 recordings, garnered 12 Grammy nominations and received two Emmy awards. The orchestra is also known for its extensive education programming, which annually serves 100,000 people of all ages.
97. On The Boards—Behnke Center For Contemporary Performance
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 217-9888
Address: 100 W. Roy St. (Central)
Description: This nonprofit contemporary performing arts organization located in the Queen Anne neighborhood introduces Northwest audiences to international innovators in contemporary dance, theater, and music, while developing and presenting new work by promising performing artists in the region. Showcasing artists and companies who are defining the future of dance, theater, music, and new media, OtB presents 70–80 performance nights each season as well as a host of outreach and educational programs. OtB features groundbreaking new work that would otherwise not be seen in Seattle. Performances are held in the 300-seat Merrill Wright Mainstage Theater and the intimate 84-seat Studio Theater.
98. Uw World Series
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 543-4880
Description: The World Music Series at the University of Washington brings musical, dance, and theater talent from all over the world, including theater artists, dance troupes, world music, pianists, and chamber music ensembles. Featured performers have included the very popular Emerson String Quartet, as well as Gamelan Çudamani, the Vienna Piano Trio, Compañía Nacional de Danza of Mexico, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Trio con Brio Copenhagen. Performances are held at Meany Hall on the UW campus.
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Address: 1308 5th Ave. (Central)
100. Act—A Contemporary Theatre
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 292-7676
Address: 700 Union St. (Central)
Description: ACT is housed in a wonderful space in a converted old building downtown and produces adventurous and avant-garde contemporary works. Its mission is to dare, excite, and enrich audiences, and it made history as the first theater in Seattle dedicated to producing contemporary plays. It believes in “theater of the moment” and seeks to create a conversation among those who experience it.
101. Artswest Playhouse And Gallery
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 938-0339
Address: 4711 California Ave. SW (South)
Description: ArtsWest is a cool, unique combination of a theater and art gallery. Its mission is to produce artistic events so compelling that they require conversation, improve the imagination, and promote cultural vibrancy as a core value for the communities of West Seattle. The auditorium is a three-quarter thrust with excellent stage views, which has presented plays by Andrew Lloyd Webber and performances such as The Vertical Hour and A Tuna Christmas. In addition to the theater, ArtsWest’s Seattle Playwrights Studio has established a studio space for local playwrights to develop works in progress. The gallery showcases stimulating visual art to go alongside the compelling performances, and has an artists’ association.
102. Book-It Repertory Theatre
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 216-0833
Address: 305 Harrison St. (Central)
Description: Celebrating twenty years of novel theater in 2010, Book-It is a nonprofit theater that transforms great works of literature into theater, with a mission of inspiring its audience to read and to nourish literacy and artistic vitality in the community. In King County, where illiteracy is an obstacle for one-third of residents, Book-It recognizes the need to go beyond mere entertainment in which the audience does not participate. The theater group creates adaptations of classic and contemporary literature for the stage, where the characters from the adapted works narrate the text. Some of the performances have included Emma, The Cider House Rules, Peter Pan, and A Tale of Two Cities. Book-It is located in the Center House Theatre at Seattle Center.
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Address: 201 Mercer St. (Central)
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Address: 911 Pine St. (Central)
105. Seattle Repertory Theatre
City: Seattle, WA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (206) 443-2210
Address: 155 Mercer St. (Central)
Description: One of the largest and most renowned regional theaters in the country, SRT produces a mix of classic comedies, Broadway hits, and cutting-edge new dramas. Some of the actors who have graced the stages here include Meryl Streep, Laurence Fishburne, Lily Tomlin, Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Chamberlain, Jessica Tandy, Richard Gere, and Christopher Walken. There are three separate theaters at the SRT, a lobby cafe, and the Rep Bar for a beer, cocktail, or glass of wine. Many shows offer preview dish sessions and postplay discussions, all of which are included with tickets. Performances are generally Wed through Sun, and parking is available nearby.