Silent Movie: Chaplin’s The Gold Rush

Experience silent films the way they were meant to be seen and heard, accompanied by Dennis James on our 1924 Wurlitzer organ! The Gold Rush is one of Charlie Chaplin’s most celebrated films. In the film, a prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune and is …

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The Capitol Fools

The Capitol Fools hold up a mirror to our crazy political culture, providing hilarious song parodies and foolish reflections that inspire belly-laughter as both sides of the aisle get skewered. Cast members from past seasons of the Capitol Steps perform all the beloved bits, the mind-boggling backward talking spoonerisms, break-neck costume changes, over-the-top impressions, and …

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Sam Miller’s Letters from Jail

Comedian Sam Miller and his mother, Mary Soehnlen, performed “The Jail Letters Project” several times in 2017, when Miller was doing standup locally and hosting a comedy open mic. They’re revisiting it now because Stand Up Records, which produced Miller’s 2023 Round Trip, is working on a documentary about him. “I’m used to standup, and I’m good at standup,” he said. “Even though I’ve done this show before, it is more challenging. … The thing about my drinking and using that I am most ashamed of is how I treated my mom. Doing a show with my mom about that time is the hardest thing.”

TAO Revives The HEAD That Wouldn’t DIE!

Theater Artists Olympia’s “The HEAD That Wouldn’t DIE!” at Lakewood Playhouse is a takeoff on one of the worst B movies ever, “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die,” with additional dialogue and lyrics by the TAO collective. It is two hours of camp and insanity, not recommended for children younger than 13 according to a warning posted in the theater and not recommended for people who don’t get satire according to this reviewer.

The Center Salon Lights Up the Washington Center

Speaking of the Center Salon at The Washington Center, Jill Barnes, executive director of the center, said, “It’s really fun to see so many different genres of art in one night. It’s pretty special. The center hosts touring artists from all over the world, and this event showcases our homegrown talent. It complements the rest of our programming and who we are and what we do.” Co-curated by Olympia’s own, Bryan Willis, the Center Salon will fill the center’s black box on the evening of Saturday, March 22.

O Christmas Tea: A British Comedy at the SPSCC Minnaert Center for the Arts

“Think Mamma Mia with The Three Stooges, plus audience interaction at The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” “Theatre is in its essence an exercise in imagination,” says Alastair Knowles, who plays the eccentric Jamesy. “O Christmas Tea is exactly that, an exercise in imagination, on steroids.” At SPSCC’s Minnaert Center for the Arts on November 25th.

Winners of the 2023 Washington Center Arts Awards

Comedian Gabriel Rutledge and Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia founders Greg and Krina Allison are winners of The Washington Center for the Arts’ annual arts awards, and will be honored on June 29.

Gaxiola’s Duo Finelli Serves Up Slapstick

Luz Gaxiola and Molly Shannon of Duo Finelli will perform their slapstick sister act Friday, March 24th at Airbound Arts in Olympia.
The Friday show is Shannon’s Olympia debut and the first local opportunity to see Duo Finelli, which has performed nationally and internationally. Also on the bill for the all-ages performance: Dulcito (aka Jonathan Anaya Paredes of Kent), a fourth-generation circus artist from Peru.

Some Stars Landing at the Washington Center

Four Native American comedy storytellers carrying on the Native American trickster tradition share their comedic take on life at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts.

REVIEW: Murder for Two at Harlequin Productions

Strap in for Murder for Two at Harlequin Productions, 90 minutes of mayhem and laughter — not to mention singing and a lot of amazing hijinks on the piano. Two actors, Jon Lutyens and Katherine Strohmaier, play more than 13 characters in a tour-de-force escapade for both.

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