What to do this holiday weekend? Here are some ideas for entertainment

Molly Gilmore
·3 min read

Going, going …

If you haven’t stepped into a local theater this month, you’ve been missing out on shows that have audiences buzzing — and this weekend is the last chance to check them out. Only two performances remain for Harlequin Productions’ “Hundred Days,” a concert-style play that rocks out while tackling big themes and big emotions. Locals who know theater are raving about the show, which showcases musical-theater favorite Amy Shephard and rocker Denim Protégé of Denim and the Deep Pockets. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, May 25-27, at the State Theater, 202 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia. Tickets are $35-$50.

Also wrapping up their runs:

• Theater Artists Olympia’s “The Half-Life of Marie Curie,” which tells the story of the Nobel Prize winner’s friendship with fellow scientist Hertha Ayrton. Olympia actor Kim Holm described the show as “hauntingly beautiful.” Remaining performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 28, at OlyTheater, near the cinema in Capital Mall, 625 Black Lake Blvd., Olympia. Tickets are $20.

• Olympia Family Theater’s original musical adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland,” which adds catchy tunes and facts about climate change to the familiar story. It’s on stage at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27, and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 27 and 28, at the theater, 612 Fourth Ave. E, Olympia. Tickets are $5-$35, with a limited number of free tickets available at the door. The show is recommended for ages 5 and older, and masks are required at Sunday performances.

Paige Doyle (left) and Heather Christopher star in Theater Artists Olympia’s “The Half-Life of Marie Curie,” closing Sunday, May 28.
Paige Doyle (left) and Heather Christopher star in Theater Artists Olympia’s “The Half-Life of Marie Curie,” closing Sunday, May 28.

Got disco fever?

For those with fond memories of John Travolta’s white-suited dance-floor turn, Saturday, May 27, is your chance to revisit “Night Fever” and other classics of the era: The tribute band Bee Gees Gold is “Stayin’ Alive” with a show focused on the look and sound of the big-haired brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The band will play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $30.15-$69.

Bee Gees Gold, a tribute act focused on the Gibb brothers’ 1960s and ’70s hits, will perform Saturday, May 27, in Olympia.
Bee Gees Gold, a tribute act focused on the Gibb brothers’ 1960s and ’70s hits, will perform Saturday, May 27, in Olympia.

Kick back with jazz

Pianist/composer/singer David Lee Joyner and trumpet player and composer Jared Hall and his quartet are headlining The Washington Center for the Performing Arts’ Black Box Jazz on Friday, May 26. The cabaret-style concert begins at 8 p.m. in the center’s black box theater, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $32-$39.

‘Sunday in the Park’

The Stephen Sondheim musical “Sunday in the Park with George” opens Friday, May 26, at South Puget Sound Community College. Pointillist painter George Seurat’s best-known work, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” inspired the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical. The cast of the SPSCC Theatre Collective production includes familiar local actors as well as students. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, May 26-27 and June 2-3, and 2 p.m. Sundays, May 28 and June 4, at the college’s Minnaert Center for the Arts, 2011 Mottman Road SW, Olympia. Admission is by donation ($15 suggested) and is free for students, staff and faculty.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore talks about what’s happening in Olympia and beyond with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.