Olympia funnyman to make first national TV appearance

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published November 08, 2009

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Olympia resident and stand-up comic Gabriel Rutledge will appear on nationwide television for the first time at 11 p.m. Friday.

Rutledge – who won the Seattle International Comedy Competition in 2004 – taped an appearance for Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham” this summer.

“It’s kind of a blur. I found out I was doing it about a month before the taping. I got booked from a tape I sent in, which I didn’t even think happened,” Rutledge said in a news release. “So I really felt like I got hit by lightning in a good way. I just walked around for a month going ‘Really?’”

“Live at Gotham” features comedians doing stand-up at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. Other headliners this season include Tacoma’s Jo Koy, Doug Benson, Judah Friedlander and Charlie Murphy.

READER SHOUT-OUT

The grim economy is prompting more and more unlikely homeowners to turn their extra rooms into cash. Have you recently taken on a housemate – or moved into someone’s home – to save money? If so, how has it gone? What advice would you give others about making a housemate situation work well? Send your comments to ddemarest@theolympian.com by 10 a.m. Nov. 16. Please include your name, age, town, and the best way to reach you. Your submission may be published in any form.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

WEDNESDAY

Sacred Music Concert: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Saint Martin’s Abbey Church, 5300 Pacific Ave. S.E., Lacey. The Saint Martin’s University Chorale will celebrate the Feast of Saint Martin at its seventh annual Sacred Music Concert. The concert will include African-American spirituals, traditional African songs, traditional Spanish folk songs, arrangements of traditional American hymns, songs from the Ozarks, and 21st century compositions written with contemporary harmonies in the likeness of early Latin traditions. Free. For more information, call 360-438-4581.

THURSDAY

Tumwater High School Thunderbird Theatre presents “Anatomy of Gray”: 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Tumwater High School’s Performing Arts Center, 700 Israel Road S.W., Tumwater. A tale of love, loss and healing. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors. Call 360-709-7655.

North Thurston Theatre presents the Edgar Allan Poe plays “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Nov. 19-21, North Thurston Performing Arts Center, 600 Sleater-Kinney Road S.E., Lacey. $7. For details, call 360-412-4530.

Warren Miller’s “Dynasty”: 8 p.m. Thursday and 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. S.E., Olympia. Narrated by skiing icon Jonny Mosley and presented in high-definition, Warren Miller’s “Dynasty” takes you on a global tour of some of the world’s most impressive skiing terrain in Alaska, Norway, California, Colorado, China and British Columbia. Tickets are $17.50. Call 360-753-8586 or go to www.washingtoncenter.org.

SATURDAY

“Laugh 4 Life” benefit performance by Debbie Wooten: Doors open at 7 p.m. Saturday, Tyee Event Center, 5757 Littlerock Road S.W., Tumwater. Dinner and comedy to benefit the Breathe 4 Tomorrow Foundation, which helps cystic fibrosis patients. Tickets are $30. Call 360-556-5180 or go to www.breathe4tomorrow.org.

Toast For Tails fundraising event for Concern for Animals: 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Thurston County Fairgrounds Expo Hall, 3054 Carpenter Road S.E., Lacey. The benefit features eight local wineries and breweries, food and gift vendors, live music, pet adoption and a silent suction. Concern for Animals is a non-profit group that helps pet owners with vet bills, food and supplies, and spay and neuter costs and has recently started an adoption program. For details, go to www.concernforanimals.com.

Today in History

In 1889, Montana became the 41st state.

In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as the “Beer-Hall Putsch.”

In 1929, New York’s Museum of Modern Art first opened to the public at its original location in the Heckscher Building on Fifth Avenue.

In 1994, midterm elections resulted in Republicans winning a majority in the Senate while gaining control of the House for the first time in 40 years.