Don’t let the name scare you Another side of the Holocaust Warm up for winter Chihiro in Wonderland Jazzy Matassa Big Baby Comic timing

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published November 19, 2009

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“Koyaanisqatsi” is a mouthful. (It’s a Hopi word meaning “crazy life.”) But the 1982 Godrey Reggio film is not difficult to understand. It’s a visual poem composed of photography of landscapes, set to the music of pianist Philip Glass. In preparation for Glass’s concert April 1 in Olympia, The Washington Center for the Performing Arts will screen all three “Qatsi” movies. See “Koyaanisqatsi” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the center, 512 Washington St. S.E., Olympia. Tickets are $3.75-$7.50. Call 360-753-8586 or go to www.washingtoncenter.org. “Bent,” the current production of South Puget Sound Community College’s drama department, takes audiences into the nightmare of life as a gay man in Nazi Germany. The intense drama continues with performances at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Minnaert Center for the Arts at SPSCC, 2011 Mottman Road S.W., Olympia. Tickets are $12.50 general admission, $10 for students and SPSCC faculty and staff, $2.50 for SPSCC students. For tickets, call 360-753-8586. For more about the production, call 360-596-5411. Snow is falling in high altitudes. If that doesn’t seem like good news, Northwest Snowboards’ winter video premiere might change your mind. And if you don’t like snow, don’t worry. Videos will include skateboarding. The premiere is at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. S.E., Olympia. Tickets are $7 at the box office, $6 in advance at Northwest Snowboards, 2413 Harrison Ave., Olympia. Show is for all ages with a beer garden for ages 21 and older only. Call 360-754-5378. Hiyao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” is an animated adventure that echoes “Alice in Wonderland.” Although a 35-millimeter print of the 2002 movie is this month’s offering in Olympia Film Society’s Kids and Family Film Series, “Spirited Away” is not just kids’ stuff. “Think you’re too hip for Japanese animé about a lost 10-year-old girl whose parents turn into snorting pigs? Get over it,” Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers wrote in his four-star review. The film screens at 4 p.m. Saturday at Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. S.E., Olympia. Tickets are $7, $4 for OFS members, $3 for kids. Call 360-754-5378. Seattle jazz singer Greta Matassa has been named the top jazz vocalist in the Northwest by Earshot Jazz four times. “If Greta Matassa is not a jazz star outside of the Seattle area, it’s only because Matassa hasn’t performed much outside of the Seattle area,” Marty Hughley wrote of her in The Oregonian. Fortunately

for South Sound jazz buffs, Seattle isn’t far. Matassa and saxophone man Gary Scott will perform at Dockside Bistro from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday. The restaurant is at 501 Columbia St. N.W., Olympia. The concert is free; dinner reservations are required. Call 360-956-1928 or go to www.docksidebistro.com. Whimsical old-timey musician Baby Gramps, left, is a favorite at Traditions Cafe. The musician cooks up a stew of blues, hillbilly, ragtime and old-time music and seasons it with whimsy. Praising the musician as “a deep original with a rooting in blues,” Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote, “If you feel like being amazed, he’s a much better bet than most.” He plays at 8 p.m. Saturday at Traditions, 300 Fifth Ave. S.W., Olympia. Tickets are $12 general admission, $8 for students and those with low incomes. Call 360-705-2819 or www.traditionsfairtrade.com. Why did actor Corey Moore want to direct Larry Shue’s “The Nerd”? Because he could hear the timing of the lines as he read the play, and he wanted to see it done just that way. “I knew if I were in it, I wouldn’t be able to keep my mouth shut,” Moore said. He praised the late playwright’s humor. “He doesn’t waste any moments. He doesn’t pad anything. There’s no moment where you say, ‘This should have been left on the cutting-room floor.’ ” The Olympia Little Theatre production continues with performances at 7:55 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Nov. 27 and 28, and 1:55 p.m. Sunday at1925 Miller Ave. N.E., Olympia. Tickets are $10 for Thursdays, $12 for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Call 360-786-9484.