While You’re In: Behold bananas, and tune into talent
Going bananas? Maybe thinking about that sweet, creamy yellow fruit will provide a distraction. Slow Food of Greater Olympia suggests giving a listen to Throughline’s “There Will Be Bananas,” a 56-minute podcast about an entrepreneur who created both the American banana industry and the infamous banana republics. The fun food podcast Gastropod’s episode on colors, dubbed “Eating the Rainbow,” includes tasty tidbits about oranges, M&Ms and the mysterious blue raspberry as well as a little something about those a-peeling yellow fruits. And then there’s the early ’90s Australian kids TV show “Bananas in Pyjamas.” You can watch full episodes online — if you don’t mind risking getting the theme song stuck in your head.
Talented types alone together: You know those videos where a bunch of people sheltering in place team up to dance or sing or play music, as the Olympia Symphony Orchestra recently did with Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance”? Although they were a thing before attempts to slow the spread of the coronavirus made them one of the few options for group performances, such collaborations are now a major trend. And you never know what you’re going to see next. For something completely different, check out what might be the world’s first socially distant fight scene, coordinated by Lucas Dollfus, the director of Campus Univers Cascades in Vaureal, France. Bonus: The video includes a banana. Viewed more than 6 million times on Twitter, the creatively staged scene might not be as inspiring as some of the other team efforts, but it sure is fun to watch and could provide an opportunity to fantasize about how you’d like to treat that guy who ran by one foot away from you as you were walking unmasked in your generally uncrowded neighborhood. If you’d rather forget about that guy, check out the one where a bunch of animals team up to moo and meow their way through Erik Satie’s “Gymnopédies.”
Local talents: While Olympia is staying home, you still can enjoy the work of artists and actors. Childhood’s End replaced its Arts Walk show — featuring such local big names as Chris Maynard and Nikki McClure — with a window display that will be up through the end of May. It’s on view and illuminated night and day at the gallery, 222 Fourth Ave. W., Olympia. And Animal Fire Theatre’s Shakespeare 101 series of readings wraps up this week with a reading of “Much Ado About Nothing,” which the company performed in 2017. Among those reprising their roles are Brian Hatcher as Benedick and Rachel Permann Fitzgerald as Beatrice, a couple whose bickering turned to romance. Watch the comedy unfold beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday on Zoom or streaming live on the company’s Facebook page. It’s free, with donations to local theater companies encouraged.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore can come up with another song that will get stuck in your head if you prefer an alternative to “Bananas in Pyjamas.” Click http://youtu.be/XqZsoesa55w if you dare. Listen to her talk about entertainment with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.