Fall Arts Guide 2019
It’s all too easy these days to fall into a pattern of flopping down on the couch and flipping on Netflix (or Hulu or Amazon Prime …).
Why, after all, would you want to deal with the traffic and the parking and the unpredictability and the annoying other people involved in getting out of the house and going to an arts event?
And yet, isn’t there something magical about experiencing a concert, a show, an art exhibit live — an immediacy and communal joy, a thrill at possibly seeing something transcendent — that can’t be replicated sitting at home?
In the stories below, we’ll explore that theme, and offer recommendations for the most interesting arts and entertainment events to go to this fall, from concerts to performances, art exhibits to family-friendly fare and more. So that you, too, might experience that thrill. (And, for those who still love more housebound pursuits — yes, we have recommendations for books and TV shows too.)
May this serve as your guide to falling for, or falling more deeply in love with, the arts.
— Janet I. Tu, assistant features editor
Illustration by Gabriel Campanario, news artist
Theater
7 best bets for theater this fall in the Seattle area
Why go to the theater? It’s inconvenient. It can be uncomfortable. And here’s why I love it.
Music
Top 10 Seattle music events for fall 2019, from Lana Del Rey to The Who
9 Seattle-area classical music performances to go to in fall 2019
Movies
The most anticipated movies of fall 2019
A whirlwind of fall film festivals — 14! — will hit the Seattle area and beyond
Books
10 new releases our critic Moira Macdonald thinks book lovers will enjoy in fall 2019
More
9 Seattle-area art experiences you won’t want to miss this fall
Get ready to LOL with these 8 comedy events this fall
6 dance performances to catch this fall
What to watch on TV, from shows with Seattle ties to the best new series
9 best arts and entertainment events to take kids to this fall
Cellphone use during a movie. Clanking ice at a show. What should we do about annoying audience behavior?
This is a call to action: Let’s go out and experience art and entertainment together, whenever and wherever we can. And let’s just, when we do that, think about the person next to us.
What to watch on TV this fall, from shows with Seattle ties to the best new series
A number of TV shows featuring local ties (including "Survivor," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Watchmen") are set to debut or return this fall. Here's what to keep an eye on.
10 new releases our critic Moira Macdonald thinks book lovers will enjoy this fall
Fall is the time to cozy up by a fireplace and dive into a good book. So our books critic Moira Macdonald did some advance scouting to deliver her recommendations for some of the best books coming out in the next couple of months.
The most anticipated movies of fall 2019, including ‘The Goldfinch’ and ‘Downton Abbey’
It's that time of year when a glut of good (we hope!) movies hit the multiplexes. Here are the ones we're looking forward to the most.
A whirlwind of fall film festivals — 14! — will hit the Seattle area and beyond
The season kicks off in earnest Friday, Sept. 20, with Northwest Film Forum’s 22nd annual Local Sightings Film Festival. Here's a rundown of what's coming.
Why go to the theater? It’s inconvenient. It can be uncomfortable. And here’s why I love it.
Compared to an evening of Netflix and Uber Eats, theater is downright risky. But it's also an immediate, communal experience that can flirt with the sublime.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ijeoma Oluo, David Sedaris and Rachel Maddow top the list of authors who'll be speaking in Seattle this fall
Fall brings a vast crop of authors to town; here are just a few mark-your-calendar names.
Here are the best Seattle-area arts and entertainment events happening this autumn
It's all too easy these days to fall into a pattern of flipping on Netflix (or Hulu or Amazon Prime …) and vegging out. And yet, isn't there something magical about experiencing a concert, a show, an art exhibit live? Here's your guide to experiencing that magic this fall.
Top 10 Seattle music events for fall 2019, from Lana Del Rey to The Who
With a number of highly anticipated tours, club fests and limited-run collaborations gracing the Emerald City in the coming months, here are 10 of this season's biggest gigs.
6 dance performances to catch this fall in the Seattle area
Here are a few highlights of the fall dance season, from a classic pointe-shoe ballet to a weekend of work examining masculinity, queerness, race and gender.
9 Seattle-area art experiences you won’t want to miss this fall
From the Burke Museum reopening to a new creative glass festival, here are some great possibilities for local encounters of the aesthetic kind.
9 Seattle-area classical music performances to go to this fall
From a concert by pianist Lang Lang to a "Cinderella" opera, here are the best classical-music bets for fall.
Get ready to LOL with these 8 Seattle-area comedy events this fall
From Demetri Martin to the Seattle International Comedy Competition, here are some of the best acts coming to town.
7 best bets for theater in the Seattle area this fall
The fall theater season is looking a little feisty this year, from a play about a megachurch pastor who's suddenly not so sure about that whole hell thing, to a rumination on the still-shocking works of Robert Mapplethorpe.
9 top entertainment events to take kids to this fall
From movie music to a Minecraft exhibit, the fall arts-and-entertainment calendar for kids is both educational and entertaining.
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.