Terry Teachout, the theater critic for the Wall Street Journal recently wrote about the underappreciated state of local theater concluding that “…most of the best live drama in America is to be found in what Variety still insists on calling ‘the stix.’”He goes on to say that most cities can boast at least one high-quality repertory company. You don’t need to go to Broadway to enjoy great theater.

Our local community boasts a bountiful treasure chest of high-quality, live performance theaters with illustrious histories and bright futures. New performing arts groups have recently arrived offering even more diversity in production theme and style. Highly respected Broadway and regional actors are appearing frequently on our local stages. 

This past October, Olympia joined with cities across the nation to celebrate live theatre and make live performance more accessible to the community. Our local Live Theatre Week was highlighted by free tickets to performances by Capital Playhouse and Harlequin Productions along with special free events sponsored by Olympia Little Theater, Olympia Arts Commission, POSSCA and Harlequin. This successful week-long event was possible due to the strength and quality of live theater in Olympia.

While our northern metropolis can offer some quality theater it can be expensive, time consuming and “I-5 nerve wracking” to do the commute.  Being able to go downtown, have a fine meal and attend a great show at half the cost while being home within 20 minutes – priceless!  

Our local community built this cultural treasure through years of subscriptions, contributions and volunteered services. We thank you for making live theater “hot in the stix.”

Jay Goldstein, Jeff Kingsbury, Todd Monohon, Renee Ries, Dan Weiss

Arts Alliance of Downtown Olympia