Adam McKinney

posts by Adam McKinney

House Fire at Dukesbay Theater

In House Fire at Dukesbay Theater in Tacoma through March 29, what we’re seeing isn’t technically the afterlife, but rather a kind of purgatorial weigh station where Laurie finds herself after dying at the too-young age of 29. When the titular house fire ends it all, she says she was this close to changing her life for the better. And so, in this purgatory, Laurie is assigned three deceased people to take care of her “orientation” before she can move on to whatever the afterlife has to offer.

The Normal Heart at Lakewood Playhouse

Lakewood Playhouse has, again, after their recent productions of The Laramie Project and For Colored Girls…, staged a show that remains infuriatingly relevant many decades after its debut. Whether you want to focus on the abandonment of vulnerable populations, or the labyrinthine madness of the health care system, or the distracting infighting amongst like-minded activists, or the callous politicians who value their image over their morals —The Normal Heart, through March 8, touches on problems that feel as modern as they are depressingly timeless.

Black Artists Exhibition at Tacoma Community College

There are so many pieces to get lost in at the Black Artists Exhibition, nestled, as it is in the modest space of The Gallery at Tacoma Community College. Repurposed art, sculptures, loving portraits (Charles Conner’s warm rendition of comedian and activist Dick Gregory was a pleasant surprise), clothes and quilt-making — all to be discovered at this show which is open through March 13.

Matilda the Musical at Tacoma Little Theatre

Given the flights of fancy of both the Roald Dahl novel and the Danny DeVito film of Matilda, it seemed only a matter of time for Matilda to get the musical treatment, which it did in 2010 with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and book by Dennis Kelly. Now, Matilda the Musical is hitting Tacoma Little Theatre through December 28, directed by Jennifer York, with a sizable cast of child and adult actors, led by Hazel Barnett and Nell Edlund, trading off performances as Matilda.

Can you crack the case?

Tacoma Little Theatre’s Murder Mystery Dinners return with Knock ‘Em Dead.
If you fancy yourself a part-time gumshoe, you may be interested to know that the game is once again afoot. These evenings of interactive theatre began in 2017 as fundraisers for TLT before they broke out and became regular productions. TLT put on three of them a year until the COVID pandemic forced them to go on hiatus. 2024 saw their return, and November 20, 2025, marks the opening night of the first Murder Mystery Dinner of the season.

Patton Oswalt Presents Pig and McCabe & Mrs. Miller

These two films depict the Pacific Northwest in two radically different times. In Robert Altman’s classic revisionist Western, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Warren Beatty moves into a mining town in 1900s Washington, trying his best to become a big shot in the middle of a boom period. Michael Sarnoski’s new classic, Pig, explores the fringes of modern-day Portland, with Nicolas Cage starring as a reclusive former chef whose truffle pig gets stolen. The films – showing at Capitol Theater November 15 & 16 – showcase the Pacific Northwest’s natural wonders as an overwhelming force that has to be bent to, not conquered; and both films have an elegiac atmosphere that hangs over them.

Oly Arts Fall Winter 2025 Print Edition

The Fall/Winter print edition of OLY ARTS N0. 34 is published! Here is a list of the articles and where in the Olympia area you can pick up your FREE copy. Enjoy!

25 Years of Oly Ink

The Sunday, August 10 art show celebrating Spidermonkey’s 25th anniversary features artists that have become part of the Olympia tattoo circle over the past few decades, some stretching as far back as Bryan Childs’ early days over 30 years ago. As Childs says, these pieces will not be physical tattoos, but rather “a gallery of paintings that dream of being tattoos tailored for the back.”

Lynn Di Nino talks TRIPOD in Tacoma

Tacoma’s TRIPOD began more than five years ago, where Lynn Di Nino brings artists of all stripes around to show off what they’ve done, what they’re working on, and where they’re going. Artists will come up on stage, readied with a projector, and show off 50 images over 15 minutes, guiding the audience through a story, or just giving them an inside look at their creative processes. The effect is somewhere between a TED Talk, show-and-tell, and a friend sharing their vacation slides.

Oly Arts Summer 2025 Print Edition

The Summer print edition of OLY ARTS N0. 33 is published! Here is a list of where in the Olympia area you can pick up your FREE copy, and a link to the PDF file so you can read it online. Enjoy!

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