Need a laugh? Comedy tonight and tomorrow at The Admiral
When we ran a quick clip of last week’s “Ladies of Laughter” headliner a few hours before she performed at the Admiral Theater, we prefaced it with something like, it’s been a week with a lot of gloomy news, so maybe you could use a laugh. And here we are a week later, and things really didn’t get much cheerier. So we hopped over to the Admiral this afternoon to talk for a moment with Susan Rice, who’s the last “Ladies of Laughter” performer, tonight and tomorrow at 10 pm at the Admiral ($25 with $5 going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer fund). We asked her how can you … or do you … come up with humor at a time like this; she answered wryly, but also thoughtfully. Read more about her here (by the way, she’s a native of Longview); tickets are available here.
Big changes at the Admiral, report #2: What’s ahead
As we reported yesterday, the “new” operator of the Admiral Theater – who’s also one of its “old” operators – spoke with WSB and provided information we’re writing up in two reports. The first one yesterday focused on the fate of the donations solicited by the historic theater’s former manager (read that story here); this morning, our second report has the details on what the new operator plans to do next – including a relatively quick timetable for a key decision on the Admiral’s future:Read More
Who needs the overpass, when there’s the Admiral marquee?
Got this photo from Admiral Theater employee Brandon, who says Sam asked for the prom-proposal space and they said, sure. We just drove by and it’s still up, but Brandon tells WSB it’s coming down around 9 pm. No word yet whether the would-be prom date has seen it and/or accepted! 9:39 PM UPDATE: Brandon just sent word that Stephanie said yes – and that he got a video interview with the happy couple a little while ago; he promises to send us the link when it’s uploaded.
Cheap comedy for WSB’ers, and other Admiral events
Didn’t know about this till it landed in our inbox but we of course have no choice but to let you know: Admiral Theater boss Steve Garrett 
is offering WSB readers a discount at this Friday night’s comedy performance by Dante (from “Last Comic Standing“) — according to Steve, “Tickets are normally $15 in advance, $20 at the door, but we are extending this to West Seattle Blog viewers: Come into the theater before the show and mention that you saw it on the blog and receive comedy tickets for only $10.” Also mentioned in the latest Admiral bulletin, this Saturday night’s the monthly “Rocky Horror Picture Show” extravaganza, and next Wednesday night @ 7, the 75th anniversary showing of “Duck Soup,” which Steve says “will be introduced by Frank Ferrante, world-class Groucho impersonator.” (Dante’s show Friday is at 10 pm, according to the Admiral website; you can find out more about him on his MySpace site, which includes clips.)
West Seattle last-minute gift idea (add yours!)
Out of the WSB inbox, from Annie:
Just thought I’d give a shout-out for a last-minute gift idea that is a win-win for all. I just visited the Admiral Theater and contributed to their adopt-a-seat campaign. It’s the perfect gift for many folks — especially movie lovers, but also the person who has everything. For a $40 donation, my gift recipient will have a name plate on a new seat and will also receive two movie passes and a VIP invitation to a private show once the new seats are installed.
The Admiral’s open for matinees today (2 & 4 pm) and evening shows tomorrow (7 & 9 pm). Got another last-minute gift suggestion that’s unique to West Seattle? Leave a comment here.
Ways to get in a wintry mood
TONIGHT: Another indie movie is having its Seattle premiere at Admiral Theater – with a bonus offer: Admiral manager Steve Garrett says every paid admission to “Sentimental Values,” a snowboarding movie, gets a free lift ticket to Stevens Pass. Tickets for tonight’s show at 10 pm are available online in advance ($8; go here) or $10 at the door.
TOMORROW: With only 7 1/2 weeks till Christmas, you can start stockpiling decorations at the various bazaars around WS (check our Weekend Lineup for the latest) and by stopping at the West Seattle Kiwanis booth on the east side of the Farmers’ Market tomorrow. WSB reader Bonnie e-mailed to let us know they’re selling ornaments to benefit the West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival, best known for all sorts of summer fun from The Parade to Concert in the Park and a whole lot more.
The ornaments are $25 each and, as supplies allow, will be sold at the Kiwanis booth for the next two Sundays, as well as at the West Seattle Moms’ Holiday Bazaar next Saturday (11/10), 2 pm-5 pm (address is on the WSB Events page).
Saluting the Admiral
We’ve been tracking the Admiral Theater‘s evolution in recent months (scroll down its category page for archived posts); today, there’s a nice feature about the Admiral in the P-I. Reporter Kery Murakami had asked us, while working on the article, if we had any Admiral memories; as we told Kery, unfortunately we don’t — unless you count having watched “Garfield The Movie” there a few years back and almost fainting with laughter at the clumsy product-placement overkill — but we’re glad Kery found some West Seattleites who do. The Admiral will be jumping tonight, by the way, with the “Rocky Horror” Halloween bash, featuring live music from Sister Hyde, 9:30-2 am, $15.
Roll out the red carpet: A premiere at the Admiral
As the new leadership at the Admiral Theater continues morphing it into much more than a second-run moviehouse, 
they’ve got local independent filmmakers premiering a movie there this Saturday. We talked (via e-mail) with co-director Damon Agnos of “Haymaker & Sally,” which he explains as: “If you liked ‘Starsky & Hutch’ but felt it needed more action; if you were thrilled by ‘Scarface’ but wished Tony would sponsor a Little League team; if you enjoyed ‘Serpico’ but wished he didn’t get shot in the face; if you always wanted ‘Miami Vice’ to do an episode where Crockett and Tubbs grill the kid behind the counter at the local Kinko’s, then ‘Haymaker & Sally’ is for you.” (Poster at right, designed by Andrew Miller.) So why premiere the movie in WS instead of the usual indy-film haunts (Capitol Hill, U-District, etc.)? Read on:Read More
Free tix, cool pix
There’s a new link in the gray navigation bar atop the Admiral Theater home page, enticingly titled FREE TICKETS. Click it and you’ll find this page about its restoration project. Donate $40 and they promise a name plate on a new seat, plus two tickets to any regular Admiral showing. Photos on the page include two historic pix, 1930 and 1949.
TONIGHT: Have fun, help fix up the Admiral Theater
Hot out of the WSB inbox: The Admiral Theater is having a “surprise midnight movie” TONIGHT (doors open 11:30), admission $5, all proceeds to the restoration project. The movie: “Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End.” Be there! Also from the Admiral Theater, two more items that are free to a good home, first come first serve according to the theater’s Steve Garrett: Glass-top display freezer, and upright “Pepsi refrigerator.” Steve says both “need to be charged.” Don’t wait till the midnight movie, call him now if you want either or both at 206-938-0360 theater, 206-856-9798 cell.
Admiral Theater wants you back in the balcony
More information from the folks at the Admiral Theater about plans for its latest round of renovations, previously mentioned here and here. Biggest news: the Admiral’s Steve Garrett says they have the OK to reopen the theater’s long-closed balcony “once certain work is done” — but first, he says, they want to do some restoration work, including painting a mural in the balcony area, and they are looking for bids and proposals. Click ahead for a little more on that, including how to reach Steve if you want to bid, plus news of a prestigious premiere coming to the theater:Read More
Free to a good home, from West Seattle’s Only Moviehouse
Hot out of the inbox. If you are interested in the free marquee but having trouble reaching Steve, e-mail us and we’ll send you his cell #; just didn’t want to put it out in front of thousands.
Hello from the Admiral Theater,
We are currently going through a restoration phase here at the Admiral and coming across items that may be of use to someone out there.
The first Item that we have come across is a:
12 foot long by 3 foot high double sided lighted marquee sign. It comes with more letter tiles than I care to count.
This sign is free to a good home, just come pick it up. I would hate to see it just be dismantled and thrown away.
Contact: Steve Garrett at 206-938-0360 (theater)
Admiral evolution
If you haven’t been to the historic Admiral Theater lately, you may not have noticed it’s starting to expand what it offers — such as, more midnight movies than just the monthly Rocky Horror Picture Show on Saturday nights …
… tonight, for example (as per the marquee above – though the rest of it’s a bit out-of-date since we took the pic at midweek), it’s the burgeoning cult fave “Harold & Kumar.” Then there’s a new series of Sunday morning classics kicking off 10 am tomorrow with “Casablanca” (also ahead: “African Queen” and “Singin’ in the Rain”). The Admiral website has been inconsistent lately (the link went to a parking page at last check) but there’s lots of info posted out front at the theater itself, including updates on the fundraising project for major interior fixes (such as, they hope hundreds of people will pony up $40 each so they can buy new seats, which aren’t covered in the types of government grants they’re pursuing for landmark restoration.
P.S. While fishing for Admiral Theater history, we learned that today is a notable anniversary for the Admiral District in general.
The hardiest souls in West Seattle
Forgot to mention the Admiral‘s monthly showing of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” in our weekend-events post. It fell so far off our radar that we were truly startled to walk out of a 9 pm-ish Admiral movie tonight and find the lobby full of chattering, creatively dressed RHPS fans. More startling still, two late arrivals whom we passed as they giggled and staggered toward the theater from the Safeway vicinity, both in black corsets and fishnet stockings a la Dr. Frank N Furter, as coatless as if they were strolling to a showing in Key West at 34 degrees C, rather than West Seattle at 34 degrees F. Never a dull moment!
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