by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Bryan Willis’ I Love You, Flavilla–playing for one night only Sept. 19, International Talk Like a Pirate Day–might sound a bit over the top. “It’s a story about the meanest pirate in the history of the world,” the Olympia playwright said. “It’s about a bully who meets his match …
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS An Improbable Peck of Plays turns five this year, presented by Theater Artists Olympia (TAO) and the Northwest Playwrights Alliance in the Midnight Sun. Created in 2012, this annual event offers a series of locally written and produced short plays. This fall’s lineup includes eight productions, helmed by directors …
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS Actors Frank Kohel and Micheal O’Hara are household names in Tacoma theatrical circles. They’ve already performed two-man musical The Story of My Life at two Gritty City venues, and now Olympia Little Theatre (OLT) audiences get a chance to enjoy the show. Kohel cast O’Hara, whom he’d known for …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Olympia Family Theater’s “Let’s Play Daytime Shows” are interactive shows for young children, performed on the first Monday, Wednesday and Friday of every month. All shows this season are adapted and directed by Kate Ayers. They’re performed by local actors and are generally about 30 minutes long. “We have …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Two decades after he last directed The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Scot Whitney of Harlequin Productions is at it again. This show, featuring costumes and sets that call to mind the art of Maxfield Parrish, runs through Oct. 16. He has a new take on the early Shakespearean comedy …
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Opening the 2016-2017 season at Olympia Family Theater (OFT) is Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” Parents and young children will undoubtedly be familiar with Piggie and Gerald, the starring duo in author, illustrator and Caldecott Medal-winner Mo Willems’ easy-reader series. Stephanie Claire is the musical director. …
As OLY ARTS reported in August, Theater Artists Olympia (TAO) is in dire need of monetary donations to help launch its 2016-2017 season and maintain the scrappy troupe’s home, the Midnight Sun Performance Space. TAO has created a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds toward a desired nest egg of $30,000. The group has also announced …
Theater Artists Olympia (TAO) will present an evening of science fiction in the Midnight Sun Performance Space. This event marks the sixth installment in the ongoing series Words, Words, Words, a sardonic quotation from Hamlet. Full disclosure: This collection of sci-fi classics was curated by OLY ARTS‘ managing editor, Christian Carvajal, himself a published author …
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS Theater Artists Olympia (TAO) has announced its fall 2016 stage offerings exclusively to OLY ARTS. As it has for the past four years, the end of summer will bring An Improbable Peck of Plays to the Midnight Sun Performance Space, TAO’s home since April 2014. This evening of short, …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The Last Five Years, opening Aug. 18 at Harlequin Productions’ State Theater, tells the story of a relationship told from beginning to end—and from end to beginning. The Jason Robert Brown musical opens with Cathy (Katherine Strohmaier) singing about the end of her marriage. Then Jamie (Aaron Lamb) sings …