By TOM SIMPSON Many music fans hear echoes of alt-rock and grunge when they listen to the musical landscape of the Pacific Northwest. However, this region has quietly begun to nurture a new generation of musicians in a hugely popular and uniquely American genre of music: country. In fact, in the last few decade, a …
By ALEC CLAYTON Every year, Capital Lakefair gives the South Sound its own royal court, chosen in the spring from among junior girls at local high schools. Here’s a look at the royal court for Capital Lakefair 2018: Lakefair Queen Juliet Huttar Juliet Huttar says she was shocked when given the title of Capital Lakefair …
Theater Review by NED HAYES Harlequin’s summer revue — The Magical Mystery Midsummer Musical — has more depth to it than may first appear. The overarching thread is that of magic, and audiences might do well to think of themselves as being backstage at Queen Titania’s Royal Court of Fey, experiencing a midsummer amusement designed for the faerie. …
By MOLLY GILMORE Melissa Etheridge is known almost as much for activism as for such hits as “I’m the Only One,” but when she plays July 17 in Olympia, the singer-songwriter plans not to educate or advocate but simply to rock. “We’re calling it ‘The Rock Show,’ because it’s rocking,” she said in a phone …
By ALEC CLAYTON This summer Harlequin Productions celebrates 30 years of music by Bruce Whitney, who started as a rock musician and has arranged, conducted and performed music for the company since its beginning. “As of August this year,” says Harlequin cofounder and Bruce’s sister-in-law, Linda Whitney, “Bruce will have been composing music for theater …
By NED HAYES This summer, Pacific Northwest Theater will host summer-theater camps and workshops at a new venue. The camps and the two summer productions, Sleeping Beauty Kids and Legally Blonde Junior, will be showcased at the United Churches of Olympia. The change was made partially for financial reasons. PNT does its best to keep …
By TOM SIMPSON Late in June, Lacey in Tune hosts the 133rd Army Band’s rock group, Full Metal Racket, which performs Top 40 hits, classic rock, country, grunge, pop, hard rock and patriotic songs recompiled as rock medleys. Members of the 133rd Army Band range in age from the late teens to mid-50s. Among them …
By REBEKAH FINN Olympia Family Theater has been inspiring young minds for over a decade. This summer that legacy continues with camps and workshops for every age, ranging from 5-year-olds to teenagers, first-time campers to seasoned theater veterans. “One of the things that always excites us is the mix of returning students and new kids …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL An audacious theatrical venture is about to debut at Olympia’s Capitol Theater. Under the guidance of impresario Kyle Murphy and artistic director Lexi Barnett, Broadway Olympia Productions plans a full season of five Broadway musicals derived from or popularized by cinema. The company’s mission statement promises “a sustainable program which operates on …
By Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Christopher Gerber, an aesthetic engineer with Artists With Ecology, sees the dilapidated old Olympia Brewery building in Tumwater as an eyesore and a blight on a beautiful area, and he wants to do something about it. His proposal is to beautify the abandoned brewery by replacing the broken doors …