Stephen Sondheim’s theatre-of-revenge “musical thriller” masterpiece, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is at Washington Center’s main stage. Working from Victorian popular fiction (“penny dreadfuls”) and Christopher Bond’s 1970 play, it is presented in a limited run on Oct. 11, 12, and 13 as a collaboration by Harlequin Productions, Olympia Symphony Orchestra, and Masterworks Choral Ensemble.
In Rex & Rose, a new coffee shop located in the beautiful and historic Security Building on 4th Avenue, you will see the works of two of the most prolific artists Olympia has to offer, Alec and Gabi Clayton. The art there until the end of October was chosen by co-owner Jay Michael Becker who curates the shows. This is the first time the Claytons have shown together other than in their home, and it is engaging to see how the two bodies of work interact with each other in such a beautiful setting.
Development of a centralized arts hub has been a longtime pursuit for the City of Olympia, with compounded enthusiasm from local residents and organizations. Valerie Roberts, building manager for the Olympia Armory, said the city has called for a community-centered art space since the 1990s, repeatedly citing the demand in city planning documents.
Oly Arts Walk * Bucoda Spook-Tacular * Anna Schlecht * Tacoma Film Festival * Enterlope * Eileen Bochsler * OFT & More! You can read our 31st print edition here. It is hot off the press and distributed free in the area plus available online!
Lakewood Playhouse’s production of Godspell brings the original conception into contemporary times and flows with lively good humor punctuated by moments pregnant with pathos. Throughout the performance, the audience comes to delight in and become cozy with the members of the cast.
The new play Our House by Olympia’s John Longenbaugh is a charming little ramble through the lives of the house and its imagined inhabitants over the course of close to a hundred years. Our House breaks the rules in its own way and enlarges what theatre can be. By all means, find your way to Our House.
Animal Fire Theatre has set its Uncle Vanya in and around Olympia’s Lord Mansion. It’s a setting that’s as enchanting as Anton Chekhov’s play is bleak. Theatergoers are part of the action, and moments of surprise and drama elicit jumps and gasps.
The setting of Our House, written by John Logenbaugh and co-directed by Logenbaugh and Bryan Willis, the stage, is an actual small house in which the story and the action take place. It’s located on the edge of a cemetery, in what was still country and farmland when the play begins in 1934 and Olympia had a population of just over 11,000 people. Produced in Olympia by Battleground Productions.
“One of the reasons that Olympia had such a great theater scene was due to the cross-pollination of companies, actors and theaters. With the loss of Capital Playhouse, and now Oly Theater, opportunities are dwindling.” – John Serembe
Inspired by a chance encounter with Japanese street theater, groundbreaking performance company One Table, launched in early 2024, bringing underground theater blending improv, comedy, and drama to Tacoma’s bars and restaurants.