by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS Harlequin Productions has recently been posting behind-the-scenes updates with the hashtag #BestCrewEver. There’s justification for these humblebrags. In 2016, the backstage crew at Harlequin, headed by technical director Marko Bujeaud, was fortunate to add the very capable Bruce Haasl as assistant technical director. Haasl is an accomplished actor who …
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS During World War II, a young Jewish girl managed to document her survival and endurance through the travails of wartime Germany. Across five years and seven Nazi labor camps, Sala Garncarz Kirschner wrote over 350 hidden letters and kept them hidden. Sala kept hiding those letters for over 50 …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Bryan Willis’ I Love You, Flavilla–playing for one night only Sept. 19, International Talk Like a Pirate Day–might sound a bit over the top. “It’s a story about the meanest pirate in the history of the world,” the Olympia playwright said. “It’s about a bully who meets his match …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Two decades after he last directed The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Scot Whitney of Harlequin Productions is at it again. This show, featuring costumes and sets that call to mind the art of Maxfield Parrish, runs through Oct. 16. He has a new take on the early Shakespearean comedy …
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS Theater Artists Olympia (TAO) has announced its fall 2016 stage offerings exclusively to OLY ARTS. As it has for the past four years, the end of summer will bring An Improbable Peck of Plays to the Midnight Sun Performance Space, TAO’s home since April 2014. This evening of short, …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The Last Five Years, opening Aug. 18 at Harlequin Productions’ State Theater, tells the story of a relationship told from beginning to end—and from end to beginning. The Jason Robert Brown musical opens with Cathy (Katherine Strohmaier) singing about the end of her marriage. Then Jamie (Aaron Lamb) sings …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Apple Tree Productions’ summer season offers two musicals that aim to create a professional-theater experience for young actors and audiences alike. Seussical, based on the works of Dr. Seuss and starring youth aged 5-18, is the season’s big offering. “It’s really bright and fun,” said Apple Tree founder Heidi …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS This summer marks the 36th season of children’s theater programs and performances by Creative Theatre Experience at Olympia High School. The program is run by Kathy Dorgan, drama director at OHS. Classes are offered in art, drama, music and other aspects of the performing arts. “CTE’s mission,” said Dorgan, …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Other Desert Cities, a family drama from Pulitzer-Prize-nominee Jon Robin Baitz, opens July 8 at Olympia Little Theatre. Other Desert Cities tells the story of Brooke Wyeth (played by Silva Goetz), whose conservative Hollywood family gathers for a Christmas reunion in Palm Springs with her father (a former Western …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Other Desert Cities, a family drama from Pulitzer-Prize-nominee Jon Robin Baitz, opens July 8 at Olympia Little Theatre. Other Desert Cities tells the story of Brooke Wyeth (played by Silva Goetz), whose conservative Hollywood family gathers for a Christmas reunion in Palm Springs with her father (a former Western …