STAGE
Not since SCTV’s Bob and Doug McKenzie sketches has Canada so overtly and hilariously subverted its image as the world headquarters of bland affability as in the TV mockumentary series Trailer Park Boys, which since 2001 has revealed life in the white-trashiest corner of Nova Scotia. The series’ stage-show spinoff brings Ricky, Julian, Bubbles, and Randy for an uncensored evening of comedy, music, and drinking. (Actor John Dunsworth, who played skeevy park manager Mr. Lahey, passed away last fall, forcing the Boys to postpone and rename their “Dear Santa Claus, Go Fuck Yourself” tour. He’s still around, though, in the series’ 12th season, which launched last Friday on Netflix.) The Paramount, stgpresents.com. $29.50–$49.50. 8 p.m. Thurs., April 5.
Many Seattleites discovered Jerick Hoffer’s talent in Balagan Theater’s 2012 production of Spring Awakening or in The Moore’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch the following year, and the rest of America caught up when Hoffer’s drag persona Jinkx Monsoon won Season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Jinkx is back with a cabaret evening, The Ginger Snapped, but the price of fame has been steep; can her accompanist Major Scales get her through the show without a breakdown? The Triple Door, thetripledoor.net. $35–$75. 7 & 10 p.m. Sat., April 7.
CLASSICAL, ETC.
Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski is exploring beyond the traditional repertory by including a solo-piano transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a splashy orchestral showpiece based on the exotic tales of A Thousand and One Nights. He’ll also play Grieg’s Holberg Suite, a delicious bouquet of pastiches of baroque dances. Meany Center, meanycenter.org. $47–$55. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., April 5.
BOOKS
Few authors handle their characters with the compassion that seems to come naturally to Jonathan Evison. The Seattle novelist’s latest work, Lawn Boy, explores the struggles of the modern American Dream through Mike Muñoz, a young Chicano landscaper in Washington state. He feels stuck in a post-high school rut of menial work, and efforts to get out only make him further question if prosperity is really possible for him. Evison heads to the U District to discuss the new coming-of-age story shortly after its April 3 release date. SETH SOMMERFELD UW Bookstore, ubookstore.com. Free. 7 p.m. Tues., April 10.
MUSIC
From the opening moments of “In Undertow,” it became readily apparent that Alvvays’ Antisocialites was far and away the dreamiest release of 2017. Led by the sweet, weightless sway of Molly Rankin’s cooing vocals, the Canadian indie pop quartet’s detail-rich second album captures the frustrated lovesick sincerity of peak ’90s twee and gives it a stunning hi-fi production polish. Alvvays puts on pitch-perfect live shows, making it incredibly easy to get lost in the ethereal haze. Don’t fight the undertow’s pull; let it drag you under. SS Neumos, neumos.com. Sold out. 8 p.m. Fri., April 6.
VISUAL ART
It’s still a big deal for an artist to have their own gallery show, so taking over three galleries simultaneously should be telling. With a career spanning six decades, Michael Spafford has become a fixture of Northwest painting through works that explore Greco-Roman mythology with a starkly simple yet powerful approach to form. They express legendary tales in a basic but instantly recognizable and human way, like painted memories of projected shadows à la Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. This June, the UW professor emeritus will have his career images compiled in the book Michael C. Spafford: Epic Works. As a precursor, Greg Kucera Gallery (focusing on detailed, large-scale oil-on-canvas paintings), Woodside/Braseth Gallery (colorful woodprints on paper), and Davidson Galleries (black-and-white paper woodprints) have banded together to show the diverse breadth of Spafford’s representations of The Iliad, Medusa, and more. SS Greg Kucera Gallery, gregkucera.com, April 5–May 26. Woodside/Braseth Gallery, woodsidebrasethgallery.com, ends May 26. Davidson Galleries, davidsongalleries.com, April 5–28.
Save the Date
Social Distortion Showbox SoDo, June 5
Stars The Neptune, June 13
The Mighty Might Bosstones The Neptune, June 24
Bill Clinton McCaw Hall, June 30
The Posies The Neptune, July 7
A$AP Ferg Showbox SoDo, July 8
Panic! at the Disco KeyArena, August 10
Rodriguez The Moore, August 12
