Wacky ‘Book Club,’ sophisticated salon and tribute to Led Zeppelin among weekend options
Little Theatre’s ‘Book’ opens
Olympia Little Theatre’s “The Book Club Play,” opening Friday, March 21, finds the titular group turned upside down when the book club becomes the subject of a documentary film and gains a new member who has some surprising book selections. The 2009 comedy by Karen Zacarias is described on the playwright’s website as “ ‘Lord of the Flies’ with wine and dip”. Kathy Dorgan directs the show, performed by Sophie Bustetter, Christine Goode, Jerry Romasco, Andrea Weston Smart, Emma Sorensen, Alex Tracy, Anne Tracy and Doug Zhang. Performances are at 7:25 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 21-22, plus March 28-29 and April 3-5; and 1:55 p.m. Sunday, March 23, plus March 30 and April 6 at the theater, 1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia. Tickets are $10-$16.
Center Salon offers music, art and comedy
The eighth Center Salon, happening Saturday, March 22, is the first to feature comedy — offered by Olympia’s own Sam Miller — along with music, art and literature. The event, which showcases mostly local talents in the Washington Center for the Performing Arts’ Black Box, is presented by the center and the Northwest Playwrights Alliance. Jill Barnes, the center’s executive director, hosts and co-curates the event and sings, accompanied by Jennifer Hermann, the center’s director of education and community engagement. Also performing are conceptual artist Lynette Charters, guitarist/songwriter Robert Hunt, poet Janet Seward and singer/songwriter Kat Eggleston, who’ll share a song from “The Fall & Rise of Oscar the Bird King,” a play by Bryan Willis, who curates the event with Barnes. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. in the center’s Black Box, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $25-$39.
Led Zepagain
Led Zepagain, the aptly named Led Zeppelin tribute band, will performing Monday, March 24, in Olympia. And the Ventura, California-based band has more than a great name going for it. Turns out that the quartet won the approval of Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who attended one of the group’s shows back in 2004. According to Zepagain’s publicity material, Page said, “It’s as close as you’ll ever get to the real deal.” In 2009, Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, sat in with Zepagain for a performance of “Rock and Roll”. Time was that the cover band thrived on iTunes and Spotify — until the original Zeppelin’s music became available on those streaming services. But after 33 years as a band, Zepagain is still re-creating the tunes live on stage. The Olympia show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $25-$39.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore, who’d love to join a book club, 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.