Real interrogation recreated, hometown comedian on stage and cats on film lead weekend options
Witness an interrogation
Harlequin Productions’ “Is This a Room,” opening Friday, March 7, recreates the 2017 FBI interrogation of a translator accused of leaking classified information. The 75-minute play — which New York Times critic Jesse Green called “one of the thrillingest thrillers ever to hit Broadway” — is taken verbatim from a transcript of the interrogation of Reality Winner (Olivia Finkelstein). Adding to the drama: Redacted material will be represented by sound effects and lighting changes. Harlequin’s production, which also features Scott C. Brown, Matt Shimkus and Ann Flannigan, is the regional premiere of the play, conceived and directed by Tina Satter. “Unless you saw the New York production — and even then, this is a very different production — you’ve never seen anything like this,” Harlequin’s Aaron Lamb, who’s directing, said in a promotion video. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 7-8, plus March 13-15 and 20-22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 9, plus March 16 and 23 at the State Theater, 202 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia.. Tickets are $33-$48.
Rutledge returns
Olympia’s own Gabriel Rutledge is back for a hometown show. The self-deprecating stand-up comedian, who won the Seattle International Comedy Competition in 2004, has risen to national prominence over the past couple of years, touring nationally, doing regular Vegas gigs and appearing on numerous TV programs — all of which means that he’s not seen around these parts nearly as often as he once was. He’ll perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Jess Everett, who finished in the top three in this year’s Seattle International Comedy Competition, is the opener. Tickets are $19.50-$75.
Furry film festival
Yes, it seems that you can watch cats online 24/7 without running out of content. In fact, lots of cat film compilations are made up mostly of an endless stream of those very same videos. But the New York Cat Film Festival, screening Friday, March 7, in Olympia, looks a bit more like a regular film festival, with a more sophisticated selection of shorts, including documentaries about cats and cat lovers, cat’s eye view news and weather reports, a film noir called “Mikey Hammer, Purrivate Eye,” and “Leonardo’s Last Luncheon,” an artsy entry by animator Joan Carol Gratz, who won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for her 1992 “Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase.” A portion of ticket sales will benefit Olympia’s Feline Friends. The festival starts at 7 p.m. at the Olympia Film Society’s Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $13.25-$16.25.
Though she is a fan of both cats and Gabriel Rutledge, freelance writer Molly Gilmore is particularly excited about “Is This a Room.” 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.