Stage
At the end of 2014, Theater Artists Olympia produced a musical comedy called The Head That Wouldn't Die! which was probably the biggest hit of the season if not the biggest hit of TAO's entire history. In my Dec. 9, 2014 review I wrote: Theater Artists Olympia's original musical The Head That
Stage
Calendar Girls, adapted by Tim Firth from the movie of the same name, is a sweet and frothy comedy with a heartfelt underlying theme of self-acceptance and caring for others. Chris (Kathy Harris) and her best friend, Annie (Jane Brody), are fed up with the leadership style of the president of
Arts
If there are noticeable similarities between the works by the half-dozen artists now on view at Fulcrum Gallery, it is because they are friends who met while living in New York in the early 2000s and have continued to influence each other since - Patrick Berran, Ben Grasso, Jean Pierre
Arts
This year's faculty and staff art exhibition is one of the better shows they've had in quite some time and the best faculty exhibition since I've been reviewing them. The first thing to strike the eye when entering the gallery is Joe Batt's installation, "Oculus." It is a dramatic, inventive and
Arts
I regret that I did not get to see more work by Betty Sapp Ragan or get to know her personally before she died in May 2014. I reviewed a couple of group shows she was in, and I had the pleasure of visiting her studio during last year's Tacoma
Arts
The Squaxin Island Tribe‘s "Home of Sacred Belongings" Museum Library and Research Center in Shelton will hold its 16th annual Native art auction and dinner, Sept. 19, on site at the museum. Billed as "an experiential evening," the affair will feature Native delicacies, including moss pudding, wild game, carrots or huckleberry
Stage
Not enough people south of the King-Pierce County line know about Centerstage in Federal Way. I could not count the times over the past 13 years I've been writing theater reviews that I've recommended a play at Centerstage only to discover the person I'm talking to has never heard of
Arts
1. The collaborative team of Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora C. Mace were pioneers of early contemporary glass but have never been as widely celebrated as their contemporaries Dale Chihuly and William Morris. Until now. Welcome to Every Soil Bears Not Everything, a retrospective of works by Kirkpatrick and Mace. Every
Military Life
It's no secret that there are gay, lesbian, and transgender soldiers on post at Joint Base Lewis-McChord; however, despite the repeal of the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, many of them are still closeted. "I knew from active-duty there were LGBTs on post," said retired Sgt. Dana McCormick, president of
Stage
To celebrate a local treasure, the city of Lakewood has proclaimed Sept. 18 Lakewood Playhouse Theatre Day. The day will include a special ribbon-cutting ceremony presented by the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce a reception with food provided by Carr's Restaurant and a house full of local dignitaries and actors from
Arts
The difference between what B2 Gallery is calling it's "Pop-Up" shows and its regular shows is 1) the Pop-Ups don't run as long and 2) the art is more reasonably priced. As for the quality of the art, there is little or no difference. The "Pop-Up at B2" running through Sept.
Arts
It's been a long time since I've seen art by Marty Fehl, and his new show, Psycho-Moto-Psycho, at Brick & Mortar Gallery is quite a departure from the paintings I saw years ago - a good and exciting departure. Fehl's new work consists of paintings and installations based on motorcycles and
Military Life
Dana McCormick is president of PFLAG-Olympia, an organization for the parents and friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people. The retired Army sergeant is married to Sgt. Jason McCormick. They have a gay son, Robert Kowalski, a recent graduate of North Thurston High School in Lacey. In October 2011,
Arts
The line between art and craft is blurred, beautifully blurred, by Chris Maynard's feather designs, a dozen of which can now be seen at Childhood's End Gallery. To my way of thinking, they are craft - beautiful, sensitive, delicate and exquisitely crafted. Maynard collects bird feathers from aviaries, cuts them into
Stage
This summer's Shakespeare in the Park by Animal Fire Theatre tackles one of the bard's lesser known plays, King John. It is a difficult play to follow, primarily perhaps, because it is little known. Since plays such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet are so celebrated, it is much easier to
Arts
Selections from the Aloha Club Collection now showing at the Tacoma Art Museum includes 21 diverse works in painting, printmaking, ceramics, photography, jewelry, and textiles by well-known regional artists described in the press release as "emerging artists in new media" and "historically important yet overlooked Northwest artists." The Aloha Club is
Stage
Eight plays by local playwrights, seven directors, and a dozen actors. What could possibly go wrong? Very little. This cadre of local talent pulled together by Theater Artists Olympia in collaboration with the Northwest Playwrights Alliance is offering a marvelous evening of entertaining one-act plays at the Midnight Sun. Improbable Peck
Stage
From the fringe theater company that brought you the provocative Miss Julie and staged readings of David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago and Neil Labute's Reasons to be Pretty, comes 9 Circles by Bill Cain, another one-night-only staged reading performed at Tacoma Little Theatre, Aug. 16. A psychological thriller based on
Arts
The exhibition "Wunderkammer: Artifacts, False Memories and Projections" is so uniquely integrated into the projects and collections at the Foss Waterway Seaport that separating the exhibition, curated by Lisa Kinoshita, from the maritime museum's collections is a scavenger hunt filled with delightful surprises. The show is a collection of Wunderkammers created
Arts
I'm so tempted to make a play on words from the title of this show, but gallery owners Gary and Deborah Boone beat me to the punch. "Driven to Abstraction" showcases the works of three painters whose common thread is abstraction but whose approaches to art are quite diverse. One of
