Submitted by Washington Center for the Performing Arts
The Washington Center for the Performing Arts is bringing some hot shows to Olympia to warm up your February! International Guitar Night and the return of the talented and witty Sarah Hagen kick off the month followed by Comedy Underground featuring Bo Johnson, Black Box Jazz with Michael Powers Band, Storm Large, STOMP and the annual “Center Salon.”
February 1 at 7:30 p.m. International Guitar Night
“International Guitar Night” brings you the world’s best guitar musicians on one stage together! This year, the lineup includes three International Guitar Night favorites and an exciting newcomer. Italian acoustic rock sensation Luca Stricagnoli returns to our stage, along with progressive fingerstyle guitarist Thu Le from Vietnam, and Marco Pereira, the award-winning master composer and performer from Brazil. This year we welcome Australian Minnie Marks, the irrepressible blues slide guitarist and singer on her North American debut. The sound of four exceptionally gifted guitarists on one stage will leave audiences feeling lifted and inspired. An experience of sound!
February 3 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sarah Hagen – “Wonder Women! A Celebration of Female Composers”
Our patrons loved Sarah Hagen when she was here performing “Perk Up! Pianist!” We are excited for her new show! In “Wonder Women!,” pianist and humorist Sarah Hagen delves into the remarkable stories and piano music of forgotten female composers from the classical repertoire. This recital will highlight piano works by 18th and 19th century composers including Clara Schumann, Cécile Chaminade, Delphine von Schauroth, and others. There will also be stunningly gorgeous music by Marianna Martines, who lived in the same circles as Haydn and Mozart, and often joined Mozart in piano duets at the musical soirées she and her sister held in their Viennese home.
February 8 at 7:30 p.m. Comedy Underground featuring Bo Johnson
Bo Johnson is a comedian from Seattle. He can be found headlining clubs, breweries, and appropriately sized theaters across the United States and Canada. His stand-up has been featured on Netflix Is A Joke Radio, season two of “Kevin Hart Presents: Hart of the City” on Comedy Central, “Don’t Tell Comedy Secret Sets,” & “LOL Live!” at the prestigious Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. He was a finalist in the 39th annual Seattle International Comedy Competition and is a regular at festivals including Bumbershoot, SF Sketchfest, the Double Down Comedy Experience sponsored by Zappos, Life is Beautiful in Las Vegas, Rifflandia in Victoria BC, Prizefest, and Big Pine Comedy Festival in Phoenix. With a growing online audience Bo’s jokes have been viewed millions of times online.
February 9 at 8 p.m. Black Box Jazz: Michael Powers Band
Michael was born in New York City in 1960, but grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. His musical career began as therapy, when at the age of 15 he took up strumming the guitar to strengthen his wrist after a skateboard accident. Following his graduation from Berkeley High School when he was 15½, he moved to Seattle. In 1982 he graduated from Seattle’s prestigious Cornish College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Composition and Performance.
On stage, Michael has shared performed with, recorded with, or shared billings with piano giant Herbie Hancock, classic Jazz saxophonist Eddie “Clean Head” Vinson, B3 master Dr. Lonnie Smith, Ronnie Cuber, Gil Scott Heron, Keiko Matsui, Nancy Wilson, Les McCann, Najee, Tommy Davidson, Dr. Cornel West, the legendary Ray Charles, Afro-pop star King Sunny Ade, Grammy award-winning vocalist Diane Schuur, R&B greats Gladys Knight and the Pips and Atlantic Starr, contemporary Jazz artists Ronny Jordan, Tom Grant, David Benoit, sax great Ernie Watts, the Yellowjackets, and the duo of Tuck & Patti. “It’s hard to categorize my music, although it usually ends up in the Jazz record bins,” says Michael. “If I had to put a label on it, I would call it contemporary instrumental music. It’s a sound rooted in the Jazz tradition that keeps pace stylistically with Pop, R&B, and Blues; with Blues being at the core of my inspiration.”
February 15 at 7:30 p.m. Storm Large
Storm Large: musician, actor, playwright, author, awesome. She shot to national prominence in 2006 as a finalist on the CBS show “Rock Star: Supernova,” where despite having been eliminated in the week before the finale, Storm built a fan base that follows her around the world to this day. She was seen on the 2021 season of “America’s Got Talent.” Storm made her debut as guest vocalist with the band Pink Martini in April 2011, singing four sold-out concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She continues to perform with the band, touring nationally and internationally, and she is featured on their album Get Happy.
Recent engagements include performing her one-woman autobiographical musical memoir “Crazy Enough” at La Jolla Music Society and Portland Center Stage, debuts with the Philly Pops, members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony, as well as return engagements with the Houston, Detroit, Toronto, and BBC Symphonies; the New York Pops; and the Louisville Orchestra, with whom she recorded the 2017 album All In. Storm continues to tour concert halls across the country with her band Le Bonheur and as a special guest on Michael Feinstein’s Shaken & Stirred tour. Alongside Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey, Storm joined Michael Feinstein as special guest with the Pasadena Pops. Storm has also sung with k.d. lang, Kirill Gerstein, John Doe, Rufus Wainwright, and George Clinton.
February 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. STOMP
STOMP is explosive, inventive, provocative, witty, and utterly unique—an unforgettable experience for audiences of all ages. The international percussion sensation has garnered armfuls of awards and rave reviews and has appeared on numerous national television shows. The eight-member troupe uses everything but conventional percussion instruments – matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, hubcaps – to fill the stage with magnificent rhythms. Year after year, audiences worldwide keep coming back for more of this pulse-pounding electrifying show. As the Boston Globe says, “If you haven’t seen STOMP, GO! If you have seen it, take someone and share the pleasure!” STOMP. See what all the noise is about.
February 24 at 7:30 p.m. The “Center Salon!”
Embark on a journey into boundless creativity at the exclusive 7th Annual “Center Salon!” Where poets weave verses, authors paint landscapes with words, illustrators bring dreams to life, musicians strike chords that resonate deep within, and playwrights transport you to alternate realities. The Center Salon is more than an event– it’s an opportunity to spark your own creativity and elevate your artistic appreciation. Created and curated by Bryan Willis and Jill Barnes and set in the intimate Black Box Theater. Don’t miss this chance to experience the artistry of local and regional talents like never before.
In the Gallery
“Art in Isolation” by Gary Rubin
Now through March 3
While in isolation for two years, the artist’s connection with the outside world was primarily through the art they created. They selected subjects that inspired them – that evoked an emotion or tapped into one of the many feelings had, fueled by the challenges of the COVID and racial injustice pandemics. The subjects all lived within the frame of my television. And, from these subjects, they created compositions with a sketchbook, set of pencils, and an eraser that all reside on a TV tray. The artist never knows what the finished product will look like until they stop drawing. And when they stop, it’s because it feels complete and incomplete at the same time. It is not only what is drawn but also what isn’t, allowing the negative space to complement and oppose the graphite. The artist has created over 1200 works over the past 36 months.
To purchase tickets, visit the Washington Center website.
Box Office Information
- Box Office hours are Tuesday through Friday 12:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
- For ticketing questions or more information about upcoming events please visit the Washington Center for the Performing Arts website or call the Box Office at 360.753.8586.
- Details on current COVID protocols can be found here.
