Stage
With apologies to director Kendra Malm, I'm obliged to venture into spoiler country to review her latest effort at Olympia Little Theatre, Goodbye Charlie. The curtain rises on a room full of actors waiting for something to happen, and for most of Scene 1, we're right there with ‘em. Charlie
Stage
For artists and actors known primarily for work with competing Olympia theater companies to band together, a show would have to be something special, and 8 by Dustin Lance Black is one of a kind. The single digit of its title refers to California's Proposition 8, which sought to revoke
Stage
Usually in the Fall Arts Guide, I highlight upcoming shows from Capital Playhouse, Harlequin Productions or the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Rest assured, these worthy organizations will be promoted below. But this year, the Oly troupe of note turns out to be Olympia Family Theater, a company with
Features
If there's a perfect time to ingest pizza studded with grubs and slugs, I can tell you it's not 8 a.m. on Labor Day morning. Brian D'millo and Briana McGee, owner/operators of Ah Badabing Pizzeria in Lakewood, have opened their doors early to introduce me to their most intimidating toppings.
Stage
There are two theater superstitions even non-actors know. First, "good luck" is replaced with "break a leg." We theater folk have no idea why we avoid the phrase - John Wilkes Booth is sometimes credited - but the taboo spans the globe. In Australia, the alternate blessing is "Chookas!" In
Stage
Before writing a critique, especially of a play I'm on the fence about, I'm tempted to find reviews of previous productions and see whether my response was unusual. That wasn't an option this time, as Harlequin presents the first full production of The Americans Across the Street, a dramedy by
Stage
When American playwright A. R. Gurney wrote his Tony-nominated play Love Letters in 1989, he knew it'd be a draw for name-brand actors. That's because the play is in epistolary form, meaning it's constructed as a series of letters in the manner of many 19th-century novels, thus requiring less rehearsal
Stage
Ralph Fiennes's recent movie version of Coriolanus is set in "a city called Rome" - a blasted hellhole that looks more like 1990s Belgrade. It allows Fiennes to contemporize the action; what's more, it sidesteps the spectacle of bloodbaths in togas. Similar motivations compelled director Pug Bujeaud to transport Theater
Schools
The Air Force Culture and Language Center recently added Introduction to China, Introduction to Russia Culture courses, and a video library to its newly updated, free Culture Guide mobile app. The addition of the courses moves lock-step with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown Jr.'s strategic initiative, Accelerate
Stage
I've spent much of the last few weeks slapping mosquitos and wrestling with iambic pentameter, all in service to a murderous king and his conflicted, unpredictable stepson. I'm referring to Hamlet, the third Olympia offering from a young but dedicated troupe known as Animal Fire Theatre. It's probably the finest
Stage
"Hey, man, is that Freedom Rock? ... Well, turn it up, man!"-TV ad (1987) Remember LPs? Remember lying splayed on an overstuffed bean bag chair, aromatic substances hazing both your consciousness and the atmosphere of your room, eyes closed as your latest album purchase made sweet, sweet love to your earholes?
Stage
Having completed its long run of Stardust revues, Harlequin shifts its focus to present-day holiday anxieties in A Christmas Survival Guide, opening Nov. 22. Such favorite noels as "O Holy Night" are sprinkled like holly berries into a musical comedy by James Hindman and Ray Roderick. "The 12 Days of
Arts
South Sound theater veterans Scott Campbell and Maggie Knott are having a baby. While that's not as juicy an item as it sounds, it's still terrific news for Tacoma. The newborn in question is a startup performance and education enterprise dubbed Tacoma Youth Theatre. Campbell was the (acting) managing director of
Stage
I could fill this 500-word review of Lakewood Playhouse's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with disclaimers and disclosures, but I'm obliged to review the play itself so I need to dispense with them quickly. First, I auditioned for Forum and made it as far as
Stage
It's harder to write effective farce than it looks. The difficulties of plot construction rival those of a time travel story. All those slamming doors and sexy misunderstandings demand twisted but understandable logic, so even as characters make foolish mistakes, we know why it seemed like a good idea at
Stage
It's easy to make fun of entertainment for toddlers. We've all heard Samuel L. Jackson or Betty White read the audio version of that potty-mouthed bestseller (you know the one) about a kid who's reluctant to go to sleep. As for Goodnight Moon, that 1947 classic on the same topic,
Stage
It's not always fun being a critic. Sure, I get to see everything for free, but I have to see everything. Think about that. Often, I find myself defaming the earnest efforts of friends. At auditions-I still act a few times a year-I'm competing against, and for, people who have
Stage
At rise in My Old Lady, now showing at Harlequin Productions, actor Jason Haws fidgets before one of three ornate doors on the set. His character, an American named Matthias, doesn't know he's been to this Paris address several times. He remembers nothing about Mathilde and Chloe Giffard, the mother
Stage
Before you ask, the answer is yes. Now: only three years after the 1997 film version, this musical version of The Full Monty made its debut in San Diego. Other than a transplant from Sheffield to Brooklyn, the story is pretty much what you recall from the Oscar-nominated movie: six average
Stage
I'm a Riot to Follow booster. I've always admired this scrappy little band of Evergreen theater students, especially their China Miéville-like quest to brave every possible dramatic genre. In fact, it was probably inevitable that they'd take on what critic Martin Esslin called "theatre of the absurd," a mid-20th-century collection
