Out and About: Sip Pink Martini, soak in Cuban music or dive into a virtual play

Pretty and Pink

Portland’s Pink Martini has built a devoted following with 28 years of globally influenced music that is as frothy, sweet and old-fashioned as a pastel cocktail garnished with an umbrella. Bandleader and pianist Thomas Lauderdale has said that if the United Nations had had a house band in 1962, Pink Martini could have been that band. The band, fronted by singer China Forbes, brings its eclectic multilingual oeuvre back to Olympia on Monday, Jan. 24. The concert, rescheduled more than once during the pandemic, is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $64-$129.

Viva Cuba

Warm up — in spirit, at least — with the island rhythms of Ann Reynolds and Clave Gringa, performing Friday, Jan. 21, in Olympia. The combo will play both classic Cuban tunes and Reynolds’ original compositions as part of The Washington Center for the Performing Arts’ Black Box Jazz Series. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. in the center’s intimate Black Box Theater at 512 Washington St. SE. Tickets are $32.

Online again

It’s déjà vu all over again for theatergoers, whose plans to see Harlequin Productions’ “Murder for Two,” Olympia Little Theatre’s “Clue” or Tacoma Little Theatre’s “Silent Sky” (directed by Olympia’s Pug Bujeaud) are now on hold. All three productions were set to open Friday, Jan. 21, and all three have been postponed due to the resurgence of a certain global pandemic. The Seattle Rep’s production of “Fannie”, a one-woman musical tribute to civil-rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, did open as scheduled, and you don’t have to drive I-5 to see it. The production is happening both in the theater and streaming on screens. The digital version is scheduled to debut within the next week, and tickets are $45.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore talks about what’s happening in Olympia and beyond with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.