While You’re In: Vote for art, hear a radio show and kick back with a musical mystery

Vote (or vote again) for your favorite sculpture

In a year when there’s much ado about the reliability of mail-in voting, a system that’s worked well here in Washington, the city of Olympia has had a problem with online voting. Fortunately, the affected election wasn’t a political one. Rather, it was the selection of the winning sculpture in the annual Percival Plinth Project public art contest, which invites the public visit the sculptures on Percival Landing then choose the piece the city will buy for its permanent collection. “We had some glitches with our new voting system,” said Angel Nava of the city’s Parks, Arts and Recreation Department. “There were duplicate votes showing up.” So the city is starting the election over. You have until 4 p.m. Oct. 30 to vote (or vote again) for your favorite of the 17 sculptures — and incentive to take a waterside stroll past every sculpture if you haven’t done so already.

Thought-provoking theater

This week, Harlequin Productions’ radio theater series is taking listeners to 1930s Berlin with a production of “A Bright Room Called Day,” by Pulitzer-winning playwright Tony Kushner, famous for “Angels in America.” The play follows a group of artists and activists through the rise of the Third Reich. When it debuted in 1985, “Day” drew some criticism for drawing comparisons between that time and Reagan-era America. “The changes the world order has undergone in the past 30 years transform the piece into a breathtakingly prescient warning,” Harlequin artistic director Aaron Lamb wrote in his director’s notes. Kushner rewrote the play in 2018, adding contemporary references and himself as a character, but Harlequin’s production is of the original script. “There’s quite a kerfuffle over this play right now, as many theaters are wanting to produce it, and Tony is more interested in replacing this with the new version,” Lamb told The Olympian. “He and his agent pulled the rights across the country very recently. We petitioned his agent, as we already had announced our radio production, and we are one of the few that have been granted permission in this time period.” The online production — with Lamb as the mysterious Gottfried Swetts — continues at 7:30 p.m. daily through Saturday, Oct. 10. It’s free, with registration required and donations appreciated.

In search of a song

There are plenty of mysteries in the world right now. When will the coronavirus be under control? Why do so many Americans prefer bluster to kindness? Will we ever be able to hear live and in-person concerts again? “Reply hazy,” the Magic 8-Ball might say. “Try again later.” In the meantime, it might help your state of mind to spend an hour listening to a pleasant mystery about a silly pop song: “The Case of the Missing Hit.” This episode of the podcast “Reply All” — which The Guardian describes as “an unfailingly original exploration of modern life and how to survive it” — finds host PJ Vogt trying to help a man obsessed with the memory of a song he knows by heart, a song he heard on the radio years ago, a song that he cannot find on the internet. This twisty treat has been called possibly the best podcast episode ever. Do yourself a favor and listen — and whatever you do, don’t read any articles about it until after you’ve heard it.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore thinks “kerfuffle” would be a great name for a cat. She discusses local arts, entertainment and more with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.

This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 5:45 AM.