Arts Briefs | August 14, 2025 | Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

Senior center art

Art by islander Susan Lowrey is on display at the Vashon Senior Center through August in a charitable show supporting the Senior Center’s work.

Large prints of her work are being sold at a suggested donation of $100, with reasonable offers welcome, according to the Senior Center. All proceeds from sales will go to the Senior Center.

“I find drawing the human body is the most effective way for me to communicate and I hope to have been successful, often using humor to interest the viewer,” Lowrey said of her work. “Creating images is always thrilling and often surprising, meanings becoming apparent later that were not the conscious intention. To capture others, I must first be captured.”

Next to Normal

Vashon Repertory Theatre’s youth production of the musical “Next to Normal” will continue its run of performances Thursday-Sunday Aug. 14-17, at the Vashon Grange Hall, at 10365 SW Cowan Rd.

“Next to Normal,” a musical that explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness, won three Tony awards in 2009, a 2010 Pulitzer for Best Musical Score, and has received critical acclaim from the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine.

The musical was chosen by the youth involved in the production for its relatable and sometimes searing themes.

Cast members include Lidea Bojko, Cal Brown, Ari Anderson, Ruby Johnson, Moss Star D’Artell, Aaron Hansen, Amelia Stone, Jerry Wang and Janus Corriston. The show is choreographed by D’Artell and Corriston, and stage managed by Mira Stone and Maarten Ribalet-Coesel. Mateo Grey is the show’s technical director.

All performances, excluding a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee on Aug. 17, will begin at 7 p.m. Get tickets and find out more at tinyurl.com/34djjmn6, which includes content advisories for the show, which is not recommended for young children.

Concerts in the Park

The Sweet Lillies, a genre-bending quartet, will take the stage in Ober Park for Vashon Park District’s popular free Concerts in the Park series, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14.

The band brings heartfelt storytelling and vibrant collaboration to their signature style dubbed “String-Americana.” Featuring guitar, viola, upright bass, drums, and dreamy harmonies, their music fuses folk, rock and even hip-hop into rich songs born from shared life experiences.

Mickey Fontaine, a Vashon youth musician who — among other achievements — plays six-string electric bass in local theater productions and with rock and jazz groups, will open the show.

To find out more about the concert series, visit vashonevents.org.

Willy Wonka Kids

Vashon Center for the Arts’ musical theater campers will perform “Willy Wonka, Kids” at 7 p.m. Friday, August 15, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at VCA.

This adaptation of author Roald Dahl’s fantastical tale features enchanting songs from the 1971 film starring Gene Wilder, in addition to many new songs.

Reserve tickets ($18 general, $16 senior and free for youth) at vashoncenterforthearts.org. Adults must accompany youth ages 12 and younger.

Summer Arts Fest

The final round of Vashon Summer Arts Fest, exclusively featuring works by local artists, will have an opening reception from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

The show will run through Aug. 31, and includes work by Beverley Hill; Claire Putney; Darsie Beck; Deb Blume; Denise Dion; Donna Liberty; Rachel La Roche and Rosalie Miller. VCA’s gift shop will continue to showcase the handcrafted jewelry of Christine Penning.

With each of its three rounds, Summer Arts Fest has spotlighted a rotating cast of island artists working in a wide variety of mediums and styles — from emerging voices to well-established creators.

Ciscoe Morris Talk

Attend a garden talk by Ciscoe Morris, a famed horticulturist in the Pacific Northwest, from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, at Vashon Theatre.

The talk is being presented by Vashon-Maury Island Garden Club. Club members will be admitted free; tickets for non-members are $10.

Family Day

The Vashon Heritage Museum’s next family day will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16. Bring the kids for a scavenger hunt, crafts and a chance to play with historical objects in the Betty Olson Education Collection. The museum is located at 10105 Bank Rd. Admission is free.

Standing Nation

Island theater-maker Mik Kuhlman’s “The Standing Nation: Remembering Our Kinship with Trees” will return for four performances on August 22, 24, 30 and 31. The solo immersive outdoor theater piece will be performed in forests on Vashon. During the performances, Kulhman will be assisted by stage manager and technical director West McLean.

“Standing Nation,” first performed by Kulhman in 2022, is a flexible outdoor theater experience, with recorded music composed by Max Sarkowsky.

The event can be staged at private homes and on behalf of community organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

“Trees, our partners in breath, have a bittersweet existence with humans right now,” Kuhlman said. “It’s time we all remember how to listen.”

Email mikshowtix@gmail.com for reservations and information about times and locations of performances. There is limited seating for each show.

Sister Act

Tickets are now on sale for Drama Dock’s production of the hit musical, “Sister Act,” which will feature an all-star cast of local performers. Find out more and get tickets to the show, running Aug. 21-24 at Vashon Center for the Arts, at dramadock.org.

Rizo and Making Movies

The showstopping chanteuse Rizo and the band Making Movies will appear together at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, at Open Space for Arts & Community.

The New York Times has called Rizo’s act “a fierce but kindhearted fusion of comedy, burlesque, performance art, and rock and roll.” Making Movies, a Latin Grammy-nominated band founded by Enrique Chi, is rooted in the rich traditions of Panama’s vibrant and diverse demographic of people from many different backgrounds and cultures.

Find out more and get tickets at openspacevashon.com.

Amanda Knox

The first two episodes of Hulu’s “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox” will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, at Vashon Theater as a fundraiser for the Washington Innocence Project.

Amanda Knox and her husband Christopher Robinson will be on hand to talk about the new series and answer questions from the audience. Knox and Robinson are executive producers for the eight-episode series, along with Monica Lewinsky and Warren Littlefield (“Handmaid’s Tale,” “Fargo” and “Dopesick”).

“Twisted Tale” tells the story of Knox’s wrongful conviction and imprisonment after the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007. The series then follows the public scrutiny that Amanda endured after she returned home and builds to her extraordinary return to Italy in 2022 to meet with her Italian prosecutor, Guiliano Mignini.

Liangong

Island performer, dancer and movement teacher Arlette Moody will offer a series of 12 classes, from 6:40-7:35 p.m. on Thursday nights, beginning Sept. 4, on Liangong, a health excercise practice developed in China in the 1970s. Participants will learn the first 18 exercises of the practice, which will address aching neck and shoulders, healing backaches and strengthening hips and legs. The classes will be held at Tree of Life Wellness Center.

Find out more and register at arlettemoodymovement.com.

Multimedia works by (left to right) Claire Putney and Rachel LaRoche are included in the final round of Vashon Summer Arts Fest, opening on Aug. 15 at Vashon Center for the Arts. (Courtesy photos)