Dead Man’s Cell Phone at OLT

Theater, from the beginning, has been a space for confronting death, and life’s existential questions. Shakespeare, in Julius Caesar (currently on the boards at Ashland), has much to say about both: “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him,” quoth Marc Antony, “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” Fast forward to the current zeitgeist, and the evil that men, mostly men, are doing, from one side of the earth to the other—climate derangement, a new ICE age, nuclear proliferation, war crimes and lawlessness from sea to shining sea—looks very much like it will have enduring if not undying consequences.
Now comes Olympia Little Theatre’s production of Sarah Ruhl’s quintessentially quirky comedy, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, directed by Kendra Malm and Toni Holm.

No Exit at Olympia Little Theater

‘No Exit’s’ famous aphorism “L’enfer, c’est les autres” generally translated as “Hell is other people,” has become common parlance for the tiresome behavior of human beings, but it’s worth remembering this was written in occupied France, where the native Parisians referred to the invaders in their midst as “les autres,” or “the others.” When you’re surrounded by Nazis and potential collaborators, it’s no surprise you’d get jaded about humankind — and the alternate version “Hell is the Nazis occupying your beloved city” might have gotten Sartre in big trouble. ‘No Exit’ plays at Olympia Little Theatre Jan. 31 to Feb. 16.

2024 Summer Theatre

This is on page 16-17 of OLY ARTS Summer 2024 print edition. ANIMAL FIRE THEATRE COMPANY WHAT: Shakespeare’s Henry IVWHERE: Wonderwood Park, 5304 32nd Ave SE, LaceyWHEN: Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from July 5-28HOW MUCH: FreeLEARN MORE: animalfiretheatre.com BALLET NORTHWEST WHAT: Young Choreographers ShowcaseWHERE: Capital High School Performing Arts Center2707 Conger Ave NW, OlympiaWHEN: …

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A New Season of Resilience for Live Theater in Olympia

Harlequin Productions calls its 2023 season a “Resilience Season.” That appellation could well apply to all local live theater after more than two years of Covid. Here’s a great season preview for all local theaters, including Harlequin, Olympia Family Theater, Olympia Little Theatre, Broadway Olympia, and SPSCC.

REVIEW: Life Is Complicated at Olympia Little Theatre

By Alec Clayton Life Is Complicated at Olympia Little Theatre is a play of firsts: a first-time writer and a first-time actor, the best actor in the play in this reviewer’s opinion. Kendra Malm, OLT board president and artistic and production manager, wrote and directed Life Is Complicated. She had never attempted writing a play …

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Debbie Sampson and Jeremy Holien in Falling

REVIEW: Falling at Olympia Little Theatre

Falling, now playing at Olympia Little Theatre (OLT), is 70 minutes of edge-of-your-seat intensity, a roller coaster of love, fear and laughter with no intermission. If there were an intermission, the audience’s total immersion into the Martin family would be weakened; if it were any longer than 70 minutes, the actors would be physically exhausted and the audience emotionally so. As it is, the time flies by at warp speed and the audience is left depleted, yet thoroughly satisfied.

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