Submitted by Rebekah Finn for Harlequin Productions
“There are two fully produced musicals opening within a block of each other in downtown Olympia, and we want you to see them both!” says Kyle Murphy, Managing Director of Broadway Olympia Productions, in a recent social media post.
This week, in partnership with these new friends, Harlequin Productions is celebrating Opening Week by offering an unbeatable deal on this weekend’s tickets. On Thursday, August 16, 2018, Harlequin opens Ruthless! The Stage Mother of All Musicals, an off-Broadway musical by Marvin Laird and Joel Paley, at the historic State Theater on 4th Avenue. Also on Thursday, Broadway Olympia, a brand new performing arts company, debuts with Legally Blonde the Musical at the Capitol Theater on 5th Avenue.
In a mutually beneficial move, both theater companies are offering 10% off their opening weekend tickets to any customers who bring in ticket stubs from the other company’s show. What that means is that if you go to see Ruthless! on opening weekend at Harlequin then you’ll get 10% off your tickets for Legally Blonde on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (including matinees!). Or, go to the Capitol Theater on Thursday or Friday night and get 10% off tickets at the State Theater on Saturday or Sunday. Either way, see one downtown Olympia musical and get into the other one for 10% off!
Why the partnership instead of giving in to neck-and-neck competition?
“One of the most valuable things we can do as an arts organization,” says Harlequin Box Office Manager Ashley Chandler, “is support other arts organizations.” Success requires teamwork and continuing the tradition of world-class art in downtown Olympia will most certainly take collaboration.
Fortunately for local audiences, the collaboration of our downtown performing arts geniuses means more fun for us! For starters, Ruthless!—The Stage Mother of All Musicals—features a fabulous cast of local veterans and Harlequin newcomers, plus a highly talented lineup of musicians.
The show centers around eight-year-old Tina Denmark who will go to any lengths to secure the part of Pippi Longstocking in her school musical. Charlotte Darlington, who plays Tina’s mother Judy Denmark, explains in a recent interview that this show maintains a level of ridiculousness that allows performers “to be over the top all the time,” making for an incredibly fun experience for everyone involved.
The New York Times calls it a “spoof that has enough absurd plot twists and multiple identities to fill several old movies…The fun comes from the sheer brazenness!”
Variety says, “A wonderfully smart and funny send up of every Broadway brat from Gypsy to The Bad Seed…loaded with campy wit and charm.”
Directed by Harlequin veteran and newly minted Associate Artistic Director, Aaron Lamb, Ruthless is sure to be one for the books at Harlequin Productions.
Call the Box Office at 360-786-0151 or stop by at 202 4th Ave. E in downtown Olympia to get your tickets for Ruthless!, running August 16 through July 21, 2018. Visit harlequinproductions.org for more information.
For tickets to Legally Blonde, head over to broadwayolympia.com or visit the Capitol Theater box office at 206 5th Avenue SE, Olympia, WA 98501. Legally Blonde The Musical runs for one weekend only, August 16-19, 2018.
