by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Next up at Olympia Little Theatre is the comedy with a message, Butterflies are Free, by Leonard Gershe, winner of two Tony Awards. Unusual for any play, this one has two directors: Barb Matthews and Allison Gerst. Gerst says. “Many times we casually said, ‘We work well together, maybe …
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS Not today, Satan! God is coming to Olympia, and she is looking fabulous. In early March, the Washington Center will host Mike Delamont’s award-winning, one-queen show, God Is a Scottish Drag Queen. “I’m very excited for the show to play in Olympia,” said Delamont. “Sometimes the title scares folks …
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS In March, Harlequin Productions will bring to the stage “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” a play based on Garth Stein’s New York Times bestselling novel. The show will run at Harlequin from March 1 to 24. “The Art of Racing in the Rain” has a unique narrator: a …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Tennessee Williams’ classic drama “The Glass Menagerie” is coming to South Puget Sound Community College in March, to be presented by student actors and directed by Lauren Love. It is the tragic story of Amanda Wingfield — who lives in poverty in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS “3 Impossible Questions” at Olympia Family Theater is a world premiere play based on beloved Islamic folk tales and stories that have been passed down generation to generation about the wise Mullah (teacher or master) Nasreddin. Olympia writer, actor and director Christian Carvajal* says he was inspired …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Olympia Family Theater premieres a new play by local actor, director and playwright Christian Carvajal based on ancient Muslim legends of the Mullah, or master, Nasreddin. This entertaining play for all ages tells the tale of when three wise men challenge Nasreddin to answer three impossible questions. While …
by Tom Simpson for OLY ARTS The classic play about the life of Helen Keller and her faithful educator, Annie Sullivan, is brought to life this month on stage at Olympia High School. “Miracle Worker” is being staged over the first two weekends of February, under the direction of Julliard fellow and Olympia director Kathy …
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS Time is of the essence in English playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s 1995 thriller Communicating Doors, opening this weekend at Olympia Little Theatre. The title is a British phrase meaning a passage between two adjoining hotel suites. The story begins 20 years from now, when executive assistant Julian procures the services …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS I carried delicious anticipation and a measure of trepidation to the opening of American Idiot at Lakewood Playhouse – anticipation because it is such a highly praised musical, and trepidation because what little I had heard of Green Day’s music seemed ear splitting with garbled lyrics. I …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Harlequin Productions will bring Doug Wright’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play I Am My Own Wife to Olympia for their first play of 2018. It is the true life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, an eccentric and elegant German transvestite who hid from the Nazis in plain sight by presenting as a …