By MELISSA AVRIL HARRIS Loss of Mt. Rainer is the latest production from the Olympia Film Collective, a non-profit organization of talented local filmmakers aiming to produce features and shorts that reflect the beauty and vibrancy of the Pacific Northwest. The short film borrows from Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre short story entitled Loss of …
Theater Review by NED HAYES Harlequin’s summer revue — The Magical Mystery Midsummer Musical — has more depth to it than may first appear. The overarching thread is that of magic, and audiences might do well to think of themselves as being backstage at Queen Titania’s Royal Court of Fey, experiencing a midsummer amusement designed for the faerie. …
BBQ, Bands, and Family Fun at Rainier Vista Park by TOM SIMPSON On Tuesday, July 3, the City of Lacey hosts a pre-Fourth-of-July family event at Rainier Vista Park. The entertainment lasts from 4 p.m. until after the fireworks at 11 p.m. The afternoon and evening includes an oversized inflatable bounce house and slide for children, a …
By ALEC CLAYTON This summer Harlequin Productions celebrates 30 years of music by Bruce Whitney, who started as a rock musician and has arranged, conducted and performed music for the company since its beginning. “As of August this year,” says Harlequin cofounder and Bruce’s sister-in-law, Linda Whitney, “Bruce will have been composing music for theater …
By NED HAYES This summer, Pacific Northwest Theater will host summer-theater camps and workshops at a new venue. The camps and the two summer productions, Sleeping Beauty Kids and Legally Blonde Junior, will be showcased at the United Churches of Olympia. The change was made partially for financial reasons. PNT does its best to keep …
By TOM SIMPSON Late in June, Lacey in Tune hosts the 133rd Army Band’s rock group, Full Metal Racket, which performs Top 40 hits, classic rock, country, grunge, pop, hard rock and patriotic songs recompiled as rock medleys. Members of the 133rd Army Band range in age from the late teens to mid-50s. Among them …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL for OLY ARTS Every Fourth of July the city of Tumwater pulls out all the stops. Start with the obvious: The Thunder Valley Fireworks Show is, according to festival organizers, the biggest in Thurston County. It’s certainly impressive — but so are the entertainment and events that precede it. Littles will relish …
By TOM SIMPSON Musical Family Adventure The Harmonica Pocket is a family-friendly band from Port Townsend, Washington, that comes to Lacey in Tune as part of the Timberland Regional Library’s summer-reading program. Songwriter Keeth Monta Apgar leads the group with thick, jazz chord progressions and thoughtful, storytelling lyrics merged into songs that entrance audiences young …
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS The name Shawn Colvin is familiar to anyone who owned a radio in the summer of 1997, when her song “Sunny Came Home” was a top-10 smash that earned Grammy wins for best record and song. She’d already won “Best Contemporary Folk Album” six years prior for her debut …
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS OLY ARTS reported in June that The Evergreen State College was cutting heavily into staff and facilities that made theater possible at Evergreen. The Experimental Theater (COM 124, a 200-seat, black-box venue) and its costume and scene shops will close at the end of the spring 2018 semester. Faculty and staff members …