John Longenbaugh

Critic’s Corner: Best Visual and Performing Arts of 2024

Many of the South Sound’s best theater and visual arts critics write for OLY ARTS. We asked six of them to highlight some of their favorite visual and performance art shows from 2024, and we congratulate and celebrate the Olympia and Tacoma-area artists selected. Due to the limitation we put on the critics of no more than two or three shows, we are aware of and acknowledge that many great shows and artists were not picked. We are lucky to live in such a vibrant creative community.

Nightmayor’s “The Oculist” at Wild Child

‘The Oculist’ by the two-person punk band nightmayor (Percy Boyle and Stella R.S.) is an irreverent retelling of the true story of John Taylor, an itinerant eye surgeon who traveled through Europe in the 18th century. See it at Olympia’s Wild Child November 14 through 24.

Phantom of the Paradise Restaged

The operatic scale of “The Phantom of the Paradise,” with that awful scarred hero-villain, his teeth metal and his eyes mad, screaming into the night as he watches the seduction of the woman he loved … if all of this is getting your midnight cult classics motor revving, there might not ever be a better time to see it than on November 8th at the Capitol Theatre, where for its 50th anniversary it will be accompanied with a live band and an actor-adjacent performance on the stage.

OLY ARTS Summer 2024 Print Edition

You can read the articles that are in OLY ARTS Summer 2024 Print Edition from links on this page, and you can read and download the PDF version linked in the website’s sidebar.

LoveOly SummerFest 2024

By John Longenbaugh This is on page 8-9 of OLY ARTS Summer 2024 print edition. Ah, summer. The time of year when what you want isn’t just one good thing, but a bunch of them sort of bumping into each other in an exciting fashion. Take the words “Love,” “Oly,” “Summer” and “Festival”— four fine …

Read more

LoveOly SummerFest 2024

At “LoveOly SummerFest 2024” running June 21-23, there are family-friendly activities like the much-beloved Pet Parade and live performances from Oly Family Theatre. There’s an impressive line-up for the music stage featuring two days of more than a dozen local and regional bands and musicians.

OLY ARTS Spring 2024 Print Edition

You can read the articles that are in OLY ARTS Spring 2024 Print Edition from links on this page and you can read and download the PDF version linked in the website’s sidebar.

Processing the Procession

A Talk with The Procession of Species founder and “Director Guy” Eli Sterling about the return of the Procession after a four-year hiatus. If you’ve never attended, you might assume it’s a classic small-town parade with an environmental vibe and plenty of costumes, masks, puppets, music and dancing — and you’d be sort of right.

Getting to Know Olympia Film Collective

There’s one group that’s been working to build a professional infrastructure for filmmakers in Olympia: the Olympia Film Collective, which since 2012 has helped create a steady production of short films by local filmmakers, often shot in and around well-known Olympia locations and businesses.

© Copyright Oly Arts, all rights reserved 2015-2025
Skip to content