[Certified Human] -- Human Intelligence™ 
SPSCC Theater Collective’s rock musical “Lizzie” about Lizzie Bordon, accused of the ax murder of her mother, assumes Lizzie’s guilt, according to its director. It also doesn’t shy away from suggesting that Lizzie’s relationship with her father included sexual abuse, a theme explored in the song “This Isn’t Love,” one of the 26 songs that tell Lizzie’s story.
Since 2017, the City of Olympia Poet Laureate has used the written word as a frame to explore timely topics, facilitate community conversations and revisit local landmarks and landscapes. This spring, the City of Olympia is searching for the next Olympia Poet Laureate and is inviting members of the public to submit applications for the position.
Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts supports experimental and experiential art. They have made themselves quite the legacy. They usually house group shows twice a year, with some solo shows in between when possible. The Spring Arts Walk show through May 24 is a local open call. The theme is Labyrinth, and it is a deeply intriguing show because of its multiple interpretations of this universal theme and the uses of varied materials and compositions.
In Tacoma Little Theatre’s production of Bug, Peter starts to see bugs in Agnes’ room, and soon enough, Agnes thinks she might see them, too. Bug, written by Tracy Letts, and directed for Tacoma Little Theatre by Blake R. York, has a reputation for its intensity, and it’s well-earned: once tensions begin to mount, they never let up, building to a manic crescendo as we helplessly watch two people spiral into madness. The play elicits plenty of nervous laughter from the audience, as they witness some truly horrifying events, but there are also audacious moments of humor.
Even contemplating the upcoming annual chaos known as Free Comic Books Day at Danger Room Comics on May 3rd elicits a hearty chuckle from Frank Hussey. “I like to say it’s my favorite holiday where I work all day long.” Hussey is the proprietor, and the garrulous mirror-universe twin of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. Instead of a sour-faced and patronizing comics geek, he’s a smiling and loquacious shopkeeper who’s equally informative and open-hearted.
Olympia Family Theater’s new Magic Curtain Morning shows engage and delight toddlers and preschoolers. Each show runs no longer than 30 minutes, providing littles a playful introduction to the magic of live theater. The first show is “Little Red and the Dancing Wolf,” offering a new take on the old tale, running April 18, 25, and 26.
Gallery Director Sean Barnes said of the 2025 Juried Invitational Exhibition at South Puget Sound Community College, “This show has this nice balance of kind of spirituality and observation of the natural world. We have these temples and this little chapel for (Charles Pitz’s) work and then a goddess dress, and they are surrounded by
representational images of nature. It really came together in an interesting way.”
Theater Artists Olympia’s “The HEAD That Wouldn’t DIE!” at Lakewood Playhouse is a takeoff on one of the worst B movies ever, “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die,” with additional dialogue and lyrics by the TAO collective. It is two hours of camp and insanity, not recommended for children younger than 13 according to a warning posted in the theater and not recommended for people who don’t get satire according to this reviewer.
Past and present blend together in “Bloomsday” at Dukesbay Theater through April 6. If you could talk to your younger self, would you try to change the past? Should you? Is it possible to turn back the hands of time and make things right with the one that got away? “Bloomsday” is a melancholy play, but not without its world-weary laughs. As the older Robert and Caithleen, Gonzales and Lockett are suitably impatient with their younger selves, lamenting their tastes in clothes, literature and partners.
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!