Head to the theater to catch whimsical ‘Amelie’ or gory horror in Olympia this weekend
SPSCC stages fanciful ‘Amélie’
A musical version of 2001 French film “Amélie” — a much-loved fantasy rom-com that has invited comparisons with pastry and souffle — is on stage now at South Puget Sound Community College. Jesse Morrow, often seen on local stages, plays the title character, a quirky and childlike dreamer/dreamgirl who spreads joy as she looks for love. Also in the cast are Jamie Flynn Keenan-deVargas, Mike Gregory, Sara St. Clair, Nathan Groome, Ed Thorpe, Christine Goode, Madeleine Roy, Catherine Ricalde, Naliya Rubin, Alex Goodrich, Adrian Roberto and Juliann Boling. “Translating the magic of the film to the stage is both challenging and exhilarating,” said director Lauren Love, the college’s drama professor. She and her crew used both puppets and projections to create Amélie’s whimsical world on stage. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 24-25, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 26, at the college’s Minnaert Center for the Arts, 2011 Mottman Road SW, Olympia. Tickets are by donation, with $15 suggested; students, faculty and staff are admitted free.
Horror on screen and off
The Olympia Film Society, well known for its horror marathon All Freakin’ Night, brings the blood into springtime with a multimedia celebration of frightful film and music. On Saturday, May 25, the society is screening the 1976 bloodbath “Deep Red” and hosting a pre-film concert of European horror-movie music by Portland’s The Bavarians, which includes members of The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, among others. “Red” is a classic of Italian giallo, a genre known for its extreme violence. The film includes “brutal over-the-top gore” and extremely creepy images of mutilated dolls. The action begins at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, with doors opening at 7. Tickets are $12-$15.
Another helping of horror
If that doesn’t satisfy your appetite for bloody entertainment, we suggest Theater Artists Olympia’s “The King in Yellow,” by Olympia’s own Xander Layden. “King” is part Oscar Wildean comedy of manners and part weird and disturbing horror tale. There’s lots of fake blood involved along with a knife-wielding nun (played by Kate Ayers) and yet another doll, this one a creepy ventriloquist’s dummy. The show, directed by Pug Bujeaud, wraps up its run with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 24-25, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 26, at OlyTheater in the Capital Mall, 625 Black Lake Blvd., Olympia. Tickets are $10-$20.
Don’t say that freelance writer Molly Gilmore didn’t warn you. 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.
