Bobcat Goldthwait

Bobcat Goldthwait at the Capitol Theater

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Early in his career, Bobcat Goldthwait was a scratchy-voiced comedian and actor with a penchant for screaming. Those of a certain age might remember him from such film roles as Zeb in Police Academy 2. For the past 25 years, Goldthwait has been quietly—relatively speaking—spending time behind the camera. …

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The Stardust Christmas Enchantment

Stardust Christmas Enchantment

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Forget the boughs of holly. Harlequin Productions greets the holidays with a liberal application of Stardust. The Stardust Christmas Enchantment, opening Nov. 25, is the company’s 21st original musical set at Manhattan’s Stardust Club. Enchantment takes place in 1960, setting the stage for such songs as The Drifters’ “This …

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Amy Shephard in OFT's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

A Double Shot of Overnight Plays

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Overnight theater festivals—for which playwrights, directors and actors create, put on and close a show in a single weekend—are popping up all over. This weekend, theater at light speed gets a twist when Northwest Playwrights Alliance (NPA) and Olympia Family Theater (OFT) team up to create children’s theater. “I …

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Sam Miller at Le Voyeur

Sam Miller in Seattle International Comedy Competition

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Olympia comedian Sam Miller will compete in this year’s Seattle International Comedy Competition. He’ll compete in the first round of preliminaries Nov. 2-6, and if he finishes in the top five among that group, he’ll advance to the semifinals, including a Nov. 17 show in Olympia. The host of …

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Ben Folds

An Interview With Ben Folds

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Ben Folds—he of the clever and oh-so-revealing lyrics and piano skill that’s earned the respect of Billy Joel and Elton John—will perform Oct. 26 in Olympia. And he’ll take requests. “People have been throwing paper airplanes with requests on them for the second half,” Nashville, Tennessee’s Folds said in …

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"Lord Franzannian," photo by Heather Schofner

Lord Franzannian’s Royal Olympian Spectacular Vaudeville Show

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Veteran vaudevillian Lord Franzannian is back in town. Franzannian is the host of Lord Franzannian’s Royal Olympian Spectacular Vaudeville Show, the 10th edition of which opens Oct. 14. He’s also the alter ego of storyteller/actor/director/producer Elizabeth Lord, transformed with rosy cheeks, a fake mustache and a big belly she …

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Vivien Greene, Toni Young and Giovanna Righini, 1981

Banned in DC Chronicles the Punk Scene

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The photo book Banned in DC, about the punk scene in the nation’s capital, was published in 1988—so quickly that some questioned whether it was too soon to document the scene. Nearly three decades later, co-author Cynthia Connolly has produced a seventh edition and is making stops around the …

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Christine Malek

Gallery Boom Explodes

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Gallery Boom, opening Oct. 1 in downtown Olympia, has come a long way. Geographically, it’s moved only four miles from its first home in the Fred Meyer parking lot in Tumwater, where it began two years ago as part of the city’s business incubator program. The big change: The …

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"I Long to Be Free From Longing," sculpture by Margaret Noble

Margaret Noble’s “Resonating Objects”

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS “Look, don’t touch” is a general rule with art. But “Resonating Objects,” at The Gallery at South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC), invites viewers to touch and then listen. The exhibition of Margaret Noble’s sculptures incorporating sound, along with a video installation, has its opening reception Sept. 23. Noble’s …

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Ryan Holmberg

A Pirate Play by Bryan Willis

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 …

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