Entertainment

POSTED: Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007

Best Bets: Doc Severinsen at Mount Baker

Grammy winner Doc Severinsen, bandleader and trumpeter for late-night television’s The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” for 30 years, beginning in 1962, has been on the road with his big band since leaving the show, and he makes a stop in Bellingham at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at Mount Baker Theatre, 104 N. Commercial St.

The program includes Ellington and Basie standards, pop, jazz, ballads and “The Tonight Show” theme. Tickets are $20, $55 and $60; call 734-6080 or go to www.mountbakertheatre.com to reserve.

FIREHOUSE PRESENTS TWO PLAYS

Melissa Mock and Jeremy Flygare perform in Cindy Lou Johnson’s "Brilliant Traces," one of two plays performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Feb. 16-18, at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center, 1314 Harris Ave. The play, directed by Mark Kuntz, is about a romantic struggle between a couple who first meet in a cabin in Alaska during a blizzard. Also onstage is “Brian and Joe,” written and directed by Western Washington University student Steve Sherman, set in a chapel where a man with a suspicious-looking backpack encounters the janitor. The productions are being performed as preparation for the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, which takes place later this month. Tickets are $6, available in advance at Village Books. Call 758-7998 for details.

'BUDDY HOLLY STORY' COMES TO SEATTLE

Matt Weiner, from left, Billy Joe Huels and Mike Daugherty star as Cricket bassist Joe B. Mauldin, Buddy Holly and Cricket drummer Jerry Allison in "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," playing through March 4 at The 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave, in Seattle. The musical features four local musicians from the Seattle-based Dusty 45s and Casey MacGill’s Blue 4 Trio, who star as Holly, the Big Bopper and the Crickets. The play charts the meteoric rise of the legendary pop-rocker from his country roots in Lubbock, Texas, to his groundbreaking debut at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre in 1957 and, finally, to the fateful concert with the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in Clear Lake, Iowa. Also in the show are former Western Washington University students Billie Wildrick and Chad Jennings. Tickets range from $20 to $73 and are available by calling (888) 5TH-4TIX, online at www.5thavenue.org.

WWU DANCE LAB FEATURES ALUMNI

Western Washington University’s Dance Lab presents Dance Conspiracy’s "Modern Dance Hobbyist," with works by WWU alumni Gabriel Lukeris, Melissa Helzer Lukeris and other Bellingham-area performers at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16-17, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, at Ving!, WWU’s dance studio theater, 311 E. Holly St. Melissa Helzer Lukeris presents "Tea, Key & Me," which includes revelations about her dancing husband. Gabriel Lukeris offer several works, including the title piece "Modern Dance Hobbyist," which humorously presents some modern dance home projects in the form of a PowerPoint-like presentation. Tickets are $7 general, $5 students, available at WWU’s box office, 650-6146, and online at www.tickets.wwu.edu.

'GIANNI SCHICCI' AT WWU'S OPERA STUDIO

Ryan Allen and Jessica Lewis perform in the world premiere of Bellingham resident Jack Frymire’s adaptation of Giacomo Puccini’a short comic opera, "Gianni Schicci," presented by Western Washington University’s department of music opera studio at 8 tonight through Saturday, Feb. 15-17, at WWU’s Performing Arts Center Mainstage Theatre. The opera follows the medieval story of a man’s death and his family’s subsequent struggle for his estate. David Meyer and Jessica Riley direct. Tickets are $10 adults, $8 students, seniors and youth, available at WWU’s box office, 650-6146. A free student matinee, geared for ages 13-18, is presented at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 16 (call 650-2829 for reservations, which are required).

FLAMENCO GUITARIST PLAYS YWCA

Zach Van Lue, a Western Washington University graduate who has studied flamenco guitar in Spain and has performed in Bellingham clubs and restaurants for the past decade, performs in a benefit for the YWCA’s transitional housing project at 7 tonight, Feb. 15, at the YWCA Ballroom, 1026 N. Forest St. He’s joined by Bob Clifton of Corazon Flamenco and other guests. Van Lue leaves in March for Egypt, where he will continue his musical studies. The concert is sponsored by What’s Up magazine. A $5 donation is suggested. Call 734-4820 for more information.

'CARMEN' AT QE THEATRE IN B.C.

Ballet British Columbia dancer Stephana Arnold performs in choreographer Jean Grand-Maitre’s adaptation of Georges Bizet’s tragic opera, "Carmen," at 8 tonight through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15-17, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 600 Hamilton St. in Vancouver. The performance also features John Alleyne’s ballet “Scheherazade,” with music by Rimksy-Korsakov. A special student matinee takes place at 1:15 p.m. today. Tickets range from $23.50 to $73.75 through Ticketmaster. See www.balletbc.com for more information.