Weekend brings Shimabukuro holiday show, symphony concert for kids, new theater group’s scary play
Celebrate the season with Shimabukuro
Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro returns to Olympia on Friday, Nov. 15, with his popular holiday concert. “We had ‘Holidays in Hawai’i’ on our season a couple of years ago, and we sold out so quickly because it was out at the Minnaert Center,” said Jill Barnes of The Washington Center for the Performing Arts. “It was so well received. He’s an amazing musician and person.” This time around, Shimabukuro is playing at the Washington Center, 512 Washington St. S.E., Olympia, and the show will include not only his most popular songs and takes on holiday favorites (often mashed up with rock tunes) but also selections from his 2023 album, “Grateful,” a series of duets with his friends and mentors from Hawai’i. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25-$79. The center is also hosting a pre-concert Sip and Strum, where fans can bring their own ukuleles and play along with Shimabukuro. It starts at 6 p.m. in the Black Box. Tickets to the Sip and Strum are $23, including a cocktail or mocktail.
Nightmayor theater company spins disturbing tale
Local theater company Nightmayor, which offered its first production in February, is back with “The Oculist,” described both as an original musical comedy and a tale of “utmost depravity” and “pure evil.” The show, based on the story of an 18th-century eye surgeon and charlatan, will be performed at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 14-15, and again Nov. 21-24 at Wild Child (formerly Wild Man Brewing Co.), 414 Fourth Ave E, Olympia, with doors opening at 6:30. Tickets are $20.
Orchestra offers playful performance
The Olympia Symphony Orchestra aims to introduce youngsters to classical music with “The Orchestra Games,” happening Sunday, Nov. 17. The concert (lasting a compact 50 minutes) showcases the personalities of the strings, woodwinds and brass instruments in an Olympics-inspired format. The percussion section serves as “judges,” and a narrator takes the role of the official. The concert concludes with “Super Mario Suite.” Seattle Symphony Associate Conductor Sunny Xia is the guest conductor. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for youths and free for children 5 and younger.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore had a great time at Shimabukuro’s “Holidays in Hawai’i” in 2022. She talks with DJ Kevin the Brit about what’s happening around town on KGY-FM’s “Oly in a Can,” airing at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Fridays.