Tickets for all shows are $12.00. Seating is General Admission. You can buy tickets at the door for each show's performance, or you can visit Buy Olympia and search out the show on the Events Page.
The Tempest
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Theater Artists Olympia isn't known for serving bland theatrical dishes so that people leave with that not-so-full feeling. It goes for a pinch more spice and zest than most theaters. Yet, it falls short of adding too much pepper, thus alienating audiences. TAO is what it is, and I cherish its niche in the theater landscape of the South Sound. When audiences go to TAO shows, they expect to see shows that step over social lines and do jigs on social taboos in a tastefully artistic and wholly irreverent way.
Such is the case with its current production, "Cannibal! The Musical," at the Kenneth J. Minneart Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College.
The show was written by Trey Parker, one of the dudes responsible for "South Park," the adult-cartoon about a gaggle of potty-mouthed children. "Cannibal!" can best be described as the love child of "Little Shop of Horrors" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" with a bit of "Lilly, the Felon's Daughter" thrown into the mix - or maybe "Oklahoma!" meets "Not Another Teen Movie."
The emerging cult classic follows the story of Alferd Packer (played by Robert McConkey), a mountain man turned guide who becomes the focus of a trial when everyone in his party happens to get eaten en route to town. Along with chowing down on his chaps - literally - this Colorado cowboy runs into transvestite "Indians" and a gaggle of fur trappers with a knack for song-and-dance numbers.
Elizabeth Lord ties the whole show together as the tux-clad narrator, who walks into the scene from time to time to fill in the gaps. Another performance of note was landed by Kimberly Holm as Packer's less-than-faithful horse.
Other members of the cast include: Heather Christopher, Mark Bujeaud, Russ Holm, Paul Purvine, Gabe Hacker, Dennis Worrell, Dennis Rolly, Nat Rayman, Joel Lehner, Tom Sanders, Jacob Austin, George P. Dougherty, Elizabeth Yates, Bill Plenefisch, Erin Hoke, Jake Winer, Carver Maneese, Lisa Foster, Joshua Behn, Ryan Richardson, Raychel Wagner, Beth McCoy, and Bobbi Jemelka. The director is Pug Bujeaud with musical direction from Josh Anderson and choreography by Christina Walker and Beth McCoy.
The show lacks a pit orchestra, which is sort of a drag for a musical. And it has very little staging to speak of - just some painted landscape scenes and a few folding flats to illustrate a Wild West town. Overall the show is a bit low budget, but it all seems to work to some degree because the show is just witty enough to work without the flash of big sets and booming instruments. All those would have added to the show, but they weren't deal breakers. This show is not for everyone. It is campy. It's a bit racy. It doesn't particularly sit in the annals of high theater. But it is a fun show all things considered. Cult classic shows have their place in theater. Nothing is serious. Everything is over the top. Stereotypes abound, and jokes rattle off like an AK-47 at a Baghdad street market. The trick to keeping up with the jokes is to listen to every word. This is not a show to watch passively. It must be absorbed.