This Month in the South Sound: Fall Shows For Every Mood
There’s a rich crop of shows happening in the South Sound this season. Here’s a look at October shows around Tacoma and Olympia — including why it was picked and what about the production might surprise you, straight from the source.
Ticketing links for most shows can be found on the Performance Calendar page. For South Sound area performances only, use the filter here.
The Secret Garden @ Olympia Family Theater
Performs through 10/16. In Olympia.
A world-premiere, modern-day twist on the classic novel. Set in the Pacific Northwest, this new adaptation is a tale of friendship and the healing that happens when we reconnect with nature. Written by Mabelle Reynoso, directed by Emily McHugh.
Production Q&A with OFT:
What is the mood of this show?
The Secret Garden is magical, melancholy and ultimately full of family, friendship and the healing power of nature.
Who will love it?
Perfect for audiences of all ages, our production will be especially relevant to anyone who has ever dealt with grief, growing up, and the complexity of family relationships.
Why did you select this show for your season?
The Secret Garden was selected by community vote at our spring fundraiser, and many of the themes (healing, connecting with nature, isolation) are especially relevant as we move through the pandemic.
What might surprise people about the show?
You’ll be surprised to know that our production is not a Victorian tragedy — it’s a modern day, Latinx retelling with magic, punk music, and puppets galore!
Financial accessibility: Pay-what-you-choose tickets available for every performance. (All OFT shows are offered as Access for All, with a limited number of free same-day walk-up tickets, and all advance tickets on a choose-your-price basis of $5-$35 online.)
Browse show times and find tickets here.
Fun Home @ Harlequin Productions
Performs 10/6-29. In Downtown Olympia.
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison Bechdel dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires.
Winner of five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes. Book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, music by Jeanine Tesori; based on the graphic novel memoir by Alison Bechdel.
Production Q&A with Harlequin:
What is the mood of this show?
Bittersweet: There are moments of pure joy in Fun Home (“Ring of Keys,” “Changing my Major to Joan”), moments of great sadness (“Days and Days”), tragedy and comedy, just like real life.
Who will love it?
Everyone! As director Michael Jenkinson wrote in the program note, delving “deeper into both the graphic novel and the play itself, it becomes radically clear that this story’s impact is universal, and not isolated to one community’s voice.”
Why did you select this show for your season?
This season was about celebrating and promoting unsung, often marginalized voices and letting those stories be told by the artists for whom they were written. Fun Home, a unique coming-of-age musical told from a queer, female perspective, caps the season.
What might surprise people about the show?
This production stars Deaf actor Michelle Mary Schaeffer in the role of Joan, who will sign her lines, and her songs will be sung by another actor as she signs them.
(This is the second time Harlequin has cast a Deaf actor in a key role. The first was in 2019’s ‘Man of La Mancha’, in which Deaf actor Monique Holt played Aldonza. Holt’s songs in that show were sung by Cassi Q Kohl, who plays the lead role in this production.)
Financial accessibility: Pay-what-you-choose tickets available for 10/15 (Saturday matinee), 10/21 (Friday night), and 10/27 (Thursday night) performances.
Browse show times and find tickets here.
The Ghost Train @ Centerstage Theatre
Performs 10/7-30. In Federal Way (Dash Point).
Who doesn’t love a good mystery? How about one set in a remote railway station in Maine, with stranded passengers, superstitious villagers, and a phantom locomotive rumored to bring death in its wake? A long-running comedy thriller, The Ghost Train was written in 1923 and first produced on Broadway in 1926. It has delighted audiences for almost 100 years with creepy thrills, eerie chills, and a sublime sense of humor. Written by Arnold Ridley.
Production Q&A with Centerstage:
What is the mood of this show?
It begins light and comedic but has a trajectory that pulls you into the eerie, then straight up spooky, and an action-oriented finale — it’s a ride!
Who will love it?
Anyone who likes supernatural mysteries, cozy mysteries with a bit of edge, a good jump scare, or to watch their friends get got by a good jump scare.
Why did you select this show for your season?
It’s a rare period mystery that takes place in the United States (the woods of Maine) instead of England, and it’s also really fun — it brings the perfect amount of chills for a suspenseful show in the month of October, but you’ll laugh a lot, too.
What might surprise people about the show?
Browse show times and find tickets here.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot – Tacoma Arts Live Regional Theater @ Tacoma Armory
Performs 10/13-23. In Downtown Tacoma.
An immersive theatre experience mixing both comedy and drama amidst a time-bending world between heaven and hell.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot reexamines the fate of the New Testament’s greatest villain, a traitor, who betrayed his Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Set in a Purgatory courtroom, Judas is brought to judgment to determine if he is guilty of the greatest betrayal of all time. Whether Judas enters through the gates of Heaven or burns in Hell rests upon the testimony of saints and sinners, including Pontius Pilate, Mother Teresa, Sigmund Freud, Satan, and others. Through outrageous comedy and deep pathos, this play challenges audiences to reflect upon their own beliefs and their own sin, and to reconsider what they know about forgiveness, faith, and the human inside one of the history’s most infamous figures. Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Production Q&A with TAL Regional Theater:
What is the mood of this show?
As any good story told from the confinement of Purgatory, this show is funny and moody and balances the beautiful and daunting aspects of the lives we live, the decisions we make, the relationships we build, and the possibility of what comes after.
Who will love it?
Audiences who find dark humor suits them best, those who enjoy modern spins on classic tales, and who enjoy a good moral quandary in an immersive setting.
Why did you select this show for your season?
We wanted to challenge the way we presented stories and invite our audiences to lean in with us in an immersive, thoughtful, and meaningful way.
What might surprise people about the show?
This production is different than any theatre we have produced before – partially because this is the premiere of the Tacoma Armory as our new permanent home, this is the first theatre performance presented in this 110-year-old space, and we’ve engaged artists who specialize in immersive art to make this a full experience for all.
Financial accessibility: Preview performance on 10/13 (Thursday night) offers $12 tickets.
ASL interpreted performance: 10/23 (Sunday matinee)
Browse show times and find tickets here.
Java Tacoma: To Bean or Not to Bean @ Dukesbay Theater
Performs 10/14-30. In Downtown Tacoma.
Tacoma’s original sitcom for the stage, generously peppered with local Tacoma humor, returns for one last episode. Will episode 8 bring a happily-ever-after ending for all?
Life-long friends Jeri, Kate and Linda join forces one last time to commit comic mayhem over at Tacoma’s Perky’s Coffee House. This time, the ladies battle an unscrupulous real estate investor over the ownership of the historic building that houses Perky’s. Watch as the BFFs team up with family members and newfound friends to outwit the business mogul at his own double-dealing game. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Written by Aya Hashiguchi Clark, directed by Randy Clark.
Production Q&A with Dukesbay:
What is the mood of this show?
Java Tacoma is a sitcom for the stage.
Who will love it?
Anyone who likes silly TV sitcoms will love this show, especially the Baby Boomers, as the Java Tacoma series is written mainly about middle-age women and their friendships.
Why did you select this show for your season?
We selected this show because it is episode 8 of the Java Tacoma series, and our audience has been requesting to see another episode.
What might surprise people about the show?
While episode 8 is the farewell episode of this series (and some of its plot is an homage to episode 1), even those who have not seen episode 1 or any of the other episodes will enjoy the story, with no need to know plot lines from earlier shows.
Browse show times and find tickets here.
Peter and the Starcatcher @ ManeStage Theatre
Performs 10/14-30. In Downtown Puyallup.
This Tony Award-winning, imaginative play tells the story of an orphan boy who becomes the legendary Peter Pan. This journey of The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up is witty fun for the whole family.
No other information provided.
Browse show times and find tickets here.
Murder on the Orient Express @ Tacoma Little Theatre
Performs 10/21-11/6. In Tacoma (near Wright Park).
Eight suspects, one thrilling ride! Board the exotic and mysterious Orient Express as it takes off into the opulence and grandeur of the 1930s.
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of year, but by the morning, it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – in case they decide to strike again. Join Poirot as he battles the clock to figure out “whodunit” in this sleek, stylish, and surprisingly comedic murder mystery. By Agatha Christie, adapted by Ken Ludwig, directed by Melanie Gladstone.
Production Q&A with TLT:
What is the mood of the show?
Murder on the Orient Express sets the mood for the Halloween season as it takes you into a classic mystery.
Who will love it?
Fans of Agatha Christie and murder mysteries will love it.
Why did you select this show for your season?
Agatha Christie’s estate approached Ken Ludwig to write this first authorized adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, and we knew our audiences would love it.
What might surprise people about the show?
You’ll also be surprised by how the train comes to life on the Tacoma Little Theatre stage, and that the show brings some fantastic humor to the classic mystery.
Financial accessibility: Pay-what-you-choose tickets available for 11/3 (Thursday night) performance
ASL interpreted: 11/6 (Sunday matinee)
Browse show times and find tickets here.
The Haunted Theatre: Eerie Dances – Tacoma City Ballet @ Merlino Art Center
Performs 10/21-30. In Tacoma.
An annual production of short, seasonally themed ballets.
Production Q&A with Tacoma City Ballet:
What is the mood of this show?
The Haunted Theatre is a family-friendly production celebrating all things Halloween.
Who will love this show?
It is crafted for the whole family to enjoy.
Why did you select this show for your season?
Tacoma City Ballet performs The Haunted Theatre annually, and it has proven to be a beloved part of the production season since 2009.
What might surprise people about the show?
The entire Ballet School, which contains a fully functional black box theatre inside the 6,000-square-foot ballroom, is decorated; and one piece — No Bones About It! — is performed under black light and presents “flying skeletons.”
Browse show times and find tickets here.
Leaving Iowa @ Olympia Little Theatre
Performs 10/21-11/6. In Downtown Olympia.
Leaving Iowa is a toast to the idealism and character of the “Greatest Generation” and a little roast of their undying dedication to the classic family road trip. In the story of Don Browning, a middle-aged writer returns home and decides to finally take his father’s ashes to his childhood home, while remembering all the wonderful, and not-so-wonderful, family road trips.
Financial accessibility: All performances offer $11-$15 tickets.
No other information provided.
Browse show times and find tickets here.
Troy the Hillian @ University of Puget Sound Theatre Department
Performs 10/28-11/5. In Tacoma.
In a post-apocalyptic future after the Great Storm, theatre artists and scholars gather to re-stage August Wilson’s Fences, while struggling with approval and financing from a fundamentalist Court. Illusion and reality are blurred, and not everyone is who they seem to be.
This inaugural production highlights the ongoing development process of the script and reflects the collaboration between the playwright and the actors. It will be a script-in-hand performance — a snapshot of a point in its evolution. Written & directed by Wind Dell Woods.
Production Q&A with UPS Theatre:
What is the mood of this show?
Post-Apocalyptic
Who will love it?
Fans of August Wilson, people interested in the future of theatre, racial equity, and experimental theatre
Why did you select this show for your season?
Faculty written and directed, and will use a collaborative approach between student actors, playwright, and director
What might surprise people about the show?
Seeing a “happening” – a staged reading of a work in progress
Browse show times and find tickets here.
The Drunken Tenor’s Operapalooza Spectacular Shindig – Tacoma Opera @ Theater on the Square
Performs 10/29-30. In Downtown Tacoma.
Grammy Award-winning Metropolitan Opera tenor Robert McPherson serves up stand-up and sketch comedy shaken with beloved operatic favorites in The Drunken Tenor’s Operapalooza Spectacular Shindig. A cast of some of Tacoma Opera’s most-recognized singers will join him for high-art and hijinks in this world premiere.
Production Q&A with Tacoma Opera:
What is the mood of the show?
A combination of beloved operatic favorites with stand-up and sketch comedy — get ready for laughter!
Who will love it?
This show is geared for the opera lover and anyone who loves to laugh.
Why did you select this show for your season?
We wanted to welcome our opera patrons back with laughter and fun.
What might surprise people about the show?
It’s a comic cocktail of beloved operatic arias and stand-up.
Browse show times and find tickets here.
This list may be updated as more information is received.
Want to plan your show schedule further out? See NWT’s seasonal show lists — Fall (September & October) and Holiday Season (November & December) — which aim to list just about every theatre show in town.
Chase D. Anderson is Editor & Producer of NWTheatre.org.