Cultural and fun events this week in Thurston County

Jan. 17 to Feb. 8

A farce within a farce

“Noises Off,” opening Friday at Harlequin Productions’ State Theater, has been described as the funniest farce ever written. It’s about a theater company’s on- and off-stage antics during the run of a show. It takes hard work to pull off a farce, said Lisa Viertel of Seattle, playing the easily confused Dotty. “From the audience, it looks like all-out craziness, but … you have to be so in the moment and in tune with everybody else and play it exactly right or it just seems forced,” she told The Olympian. That’s a particular challenge with “Noises,” in which the actors perform three very different versions of the first act of the play within the play, a sex farce called “Nothing On.” Opening weekend performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the State Theater, 202 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, and the run continues through Feb. 8. Tickets are $20-$36. Get details at harlequinproductions.org, or call 360-786-0151, and get the actors’ take on the show at https://youtu.be/1555yhO2STY.

Jan. 17-20

Weekend forecast: There’ll be ice

The Olympian doesn’t employ a meteorologist, but ice is a certainty this weekend, the season’s last for the temporary Oly On Ice. Get out for a glide at the ice rink, open 3:30-10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday (the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday). The rink is in Isthmus Park, 529 Fourth Ave. W., Olympia. Admission is $3-$12. Find out more at olympiawa.gov/city-services/parks/recreation/oly-on-ice.aspx.

Jan. 18-20

Things will be icy indoors, too

The Hands On Children’s Museum has ice on tap this weekend. The museum plans a three-day weekend of frosty fun, including dry ice demos, costumed ice princesses, ice shaving and a black-light ice cave. The museum also is hosting an indoor sock-skating rink — a less risky and warmer alternative to ice skating. The Ice Adventures activities will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the museum at 414 Jefferson St. NE, Olympia. They’re free with museum admission (free-$14.95). Get details at hocm.org, or call 360-956-0818.

Jan. 18-19

War rages on

Though it’s more than 2,000 years old, Homer’s Trojan War epic “The Iliad” has resonance and relevance that will end only when war does. That’s the idea behind the modern adaption “An Iliad,” on stage this weekend in Olympia. In the local production of the 2012 play, Animal Fire Theatre’s Scott Douglas plays an unnamed poet fated to tell and retell the brutal truth about war, with multi-instrumentalist Nancy Davis serving as his musical muse. This “Iliad” — directed by Vietnam veteran James O’Barr and produced by Animal Fire and Joie de Puget Productions — debuted last month and will be back on stage at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Olympia Family Theater, 612 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia. Tickets are $20 and are available in advance at brownpapertickets.com/event/4494206.

Jan. 20

Escape winter’s chill with sounds of Brazil

Acclaimed Brazilian composer/musician Jovino Santos Neto and his Quinteto will play Monday in Olympia. The Seattle based combo, which has an enthusiastic Olympia following, has been nominated for a Latin Grammy, and the Seattle Symphony has played Santos Neto’s compositions, which are inspired and informed by the rich musical traditions of his native country. The concert, sponsored by Olympia Jazz Central, will happen from 8 to 10:30 p.m. at Rhythm & Rye, 311 Capitol Way N., Olympia. Suggested donation is $5-$25. For details, call 360-705-0760.

Jan. 20

What’s happened to his dream?

Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a more perfect union. More than a half-century after King’s assassination, where are we? On Monday — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — author and speaker Rich Benjamin will be in Olympia talking about King’s legacy. Benjamin, author of “Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America,” has reflected on King’s words and work on National Public Radio and in The New Yorker. His Olympia speech will begin at 7 p.m. at the Minnaert Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College, 2011 Mottman Road SW, Olympia. Tickets are $8-$11. Get tickets and more information at washingtoncenter.org, or call 360-753-8586.

Jan. 21

Telling stories about death

StoryOly, Olympia’s monthly story slam, is starting the year with a tough topic: death. The slam, where storytellers get the opportunity to tell true stories on stage, happens from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday (and the third Tuesday of every month) at Rhythm & Rye, 311 Capitol Way N., Olympia. A $5-$10 donation is suggested. Find out more at storyoly.com, or call 360-705-0760.