Psychic Comedian Peter Antoniou returns to 18th & Union with a brand new show.

For one night only, in this work-in-progress show, Peter’s latest psychic demonstrations will test his skills to the limit. Watch as Peter explains what it’s like being a psychic, the various ways he’s used his skills to pay the bills, and what his powers can reveal about you. Peter can peer inside your head, fondle your frontal lobe, tickle your funny bone, and reveal just what you are thinking. Inclusive, entertaining, interactive, and unforgettable, he will leave you asking, “Is your mind safe?”

His Offenses carry their own Punishments.

From the very first scene, I knew that A Christmas Carol at Harlequin Productions was not going to be just another Christmas cash cow, but was going to be an amazingly interesting adaptation. My initial perception was confirmed! Director Aaron Lamb’s adaptation was indeed unique and elevated the story beyond just a Victorian morality play. Even if you have seen A Christmas Carol umpteen times, this production is well worth a drive down to Olympia.

What do they want from my poor soul?

Says the character Akentiy Ivanovich Poprischin, when he becomes incarcerated after descending into insanity, Dana Kaufman’s operatic adaption of Nikolai Gogol’s short story Diary of a Madman, which opened Thursday at 18th and Union, produced by Lowbrow Opera Collective.

Animal Saints & Animal Sinners 2

The ancient oral tradition of storytelling, despite the invention of the printing-press, film, TV and social media, is still a vibrant relevant art form as practiced by three Seattle storytellers, Scot Auguston, Kelleen Conway Blanchard and Bret Fetzer, currently performing at 18th and Union.

A Casualty

Until the Flood, a series of monologues, by observers of the Michael Brown protest in Ferguson Missouri, opened this week at Harlequin productions in Olympia. Written by Dael Orlandersmith, it was a collage of insightful, eloquent uniformly well-delivered monologues from a diverse group of residents of the Ferguson area, each giving their heart-wrenching reactions and perspectives. They were not always pretty, but they were always informative.[caption id="attachment_12559" align="aligncenter" width="279"] Michael Brown poses for a photo in his cap and gown taken in March 2014. Brown was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Mo.[/caption]

Moments both Tender and Not So.

Tenderly,by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman, is not only the name of one of Rosemary Clooney’s hit song,s but of a musical, in which she recounts her life from her psychiatrist’s office, after suffering an onstage nervous breakdown in 1968. It chronicles her abandonment by her mother and then her alcoholic father in suburban Cincinnati, her highs and lows as a big star in Hollywood to her resurgence as a performer and recovered addict.

A Tango of Connecting and Repelling.

A brilliant production of The Woolgatherers, by William Mastrosimone, opened this weekend at 18th and Union. This two person play, taking place in a one room apartment in South Philly, a mostly Italian working class, 19th century, row house dismal neighborhood, demonstrates that two lonely depressed people can manifest their external symptoms in diametrically opposite ways, yet ultimately connect.

Halloween weekend was the perfect occasion for some very eerie dramatics at the cozy 18th and Union venue. K. Brian

Lady Day not only Sings the Blues but Makes us Laugh…and Cry.

A fabulous show, Lady Day at the Emerson’s Bar and Grill, depicting one of the last “performances” of Billie Holiday, the great Jazz singer, opened this past week, at Harlequin Productions in Olympia. Interspersed with some of her greatest hits, such as “Somebody’s on my Mind,” “What a Little Moonlight can do,” “When a Woman Loves a Man,” “Ain’t nobody’s Business” etc, were monologues about her childhood, her musical influences: Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, touring the South with Artie Shaw (a white band leader) her unfulfilling love life, and skirmishes with the law.