My niece is part of a middle school orchestra that performs here every few months. They have real…read moreauditorium seats where the seats lift up when you stand up to make room for people to walk sideways in front of you. The seats aren't comfortable, but it's much better than those folding chairs you see at the local school's gym where everyone has to pitch in to set up and tear down. They need more parking, considering a lot of parents are separately attending these events so they're bringing two cars per family, but hey, what're you gonna do?

If you love community theater and an intimate setting, OLT is for you! Between the two of us, we've…read moreseen several plays and always look forward to returning with each new season! It's great to share with family & friends and especially if you throw dinner or dessert in to continue the joy!!!!

The shows at the Olympia Little Theater are well-prepared and definitely has good value. The…read moreactors are very serious with their craft and the audience members are most of the time supportive and respectful of the shows. Attending the theater shows in Olympia is always very inspiring and interesting as this theater has a variety of plays for all ages and interests. This is truly a hidden gem in the Olympia - Lacey area. Performers are truly motivated to hone and show their craft.

Oh so bad every way. For the price we paid (80.00 per ticket) we thought we were getting a…read moreprofessional production. Nope. It's a children's recital and the children were not very well rehearsed. The costumes were so cheap and the set was very bland. It's a Christmas party! Decorate and dress up! And teach the children how to dance! My granddaughter, who is one, loves live production. She is enthralled. O bought tix for me, my daughter and my son-in-law and assumed she could sit on out laps. Nope. She needed her own 80.00 ticket. It was cheaply done, the dancers were terrible, and all I got was k owing I paid 240.00 for someone else's child's tuition while my son-in-law stayed on the lobby with my granddaughter. Expensive lesson. ​​​

We watched the Haunted Ballet and it was the perfect Halloween event. The performances were short…read moreand sweet. They invited the kids to sit up front which was nice since there is no stadium seating. My 3yo was very engaged. At the end they encouraged the kids to come and have a dance party with the Ballet cast. It was great. I might make this a yearly tradition! The theatre was intimate, charming, and clean. The staff was friendly. I would definitely come again.

This is my first theater I performed at when I moved to Seattle. I've done shows in L.A.,…read moreDisneyland, etc...so I quit my travel job to pursue my love for musical theater. I missed it so much. I heard TMP was casting for South Pacific so that was my intro to meeting Jon and Jeff. I played Bloody Mary in South Pacific, I was part of Wedding Singers ensemble plus I played Imelda Marcos, I played Madame Liang in the reboot version of Flower Drum Song. I also did shows with the Children's Theater at TMP. I played The Sour Kangaroo in Seussical, and Princess Lucille in Junie B Jones and a little monkey business. I did a couple shows outside of TmP, and also invited to audition on Broadway. But after a few deaths in my family I decided to take a hiatus from doing shows. I'm still on a long hiatus. Actually at my age I don't think I could keep up with the young ones. Like any theater it had some improvements needed. Which TMP has done over the years . I've tried to support when I could. It's not very close to where I live. It's about a 30 minute drive. After all these years I'm just now writing this review because I regret not auditioning or even performing at TMP. I always tell people life is too short don't wait. Well recently we lost Jon who was co-founder, director, and choreographer of TMP. He and his partner Jeff were a big part of the Tacoma area arts. I do hope his legacy lives on. RIPARADISE Jon!

I haven't ever walked into Tacoma Musical Playhouse after living in Tacoma for quite a while until…read morerecently. I have driven by it enough times and some of their productions caught my eye more than once but what brought us here was for a production of Xanadu. Xanadu is a movie which stars Olivia Newton John and Fred Astaire makes an appearance in it as well. The movie was a real slog for me even though the movie is a cult classic and I love those types of movies... but "cult classic" is a very broad range and not all have the same appeal. The musical play is a spoof of the film and I knew it would have a brisker pace than the movie and I enjoyed it a lot! It was lots of fun and the songs sung served as a reminder of what's in the movie and had more of a positive earworm than a slog. The performers were great and they successfully cast a positive and feel good charm which was much needed. The Playhouse is also getting The Wedding Singer from the 80's inspired movie which I know would be a lot of fun and in this case I enjoyed the film much more!

I feel so spoiled to be in the Olympia area and able to enjoy such a stellar group like the Olympia…read moreSymphony Orchestra. The new director, Alexandra Arrieche, is just great! She is so spunky, has a lot of energy, and I love how she is so animated when she directs. Not too bad that I'm partial to strings, Berstein and more contemporary pieces, but also in the last concert, they had a "mystery song" on the program. In about 3 notes, I recognized it as Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" which brings me to tears anyway, but to see a guest violinist and a full orchestra playing such a great piece was fantastic, and the subtle rainbow lights (part of the song, if you don't know) just really hammered it home for me. I'm also an LGBTQ ally so love anything with rainbows, but congrats to the organizers, musicians, director, guests and sponsors for bringing youth and contemporary stuff into the fold. I know people at work who aren't classical music enthusiasts but they started coming, so yay! Keep music and the arts alive in this community. Thank you for helping me have a big girl cry.

I was in High School when I played with the Olympia Symphony under Ian Edlund long ago. He made…read morethe Olympia Symphony something the community can be very proud of, and event got that building built that they are playing in. I love you guys!

Once upon a time, I fell in love with a photograph of this exotic, lovely, dark belly dancer. Years…read morelater, I found out her name, and then I looked up her style/type of belly dancing. Her name isn't important here, but as I started to read her biography, I knew she studied American Tribal Style (ATS) as a big part of her bellydance fusion baseline. I read further and found that she had studied Fat Chance Belly Dance (FCBD) ATS in particular. I went to a restaurant up in Seattle to see some bellydance performances...I knew there would be more traditional styles represented, but it seemed like a fun thing to do. Then this trio of dancers came into view. A tall woman with great poise, a tiny woman with an imp-like smile, and a man....a genie!! Yes, there was a genie on the dance floor! I had never seen ATS in person, and I was flat-out AMAZED. I loved their style, their pose, their HUGE smiles and the fun they were having! Afterward, I spoke to them (and Nancy Brown, unbeknown st to me) about classes. I started looking into instructors in the Seattle area because there weren't FECUND ATS in my South Sound area, and stumbled into one of Nancy's Seattle classes, with a couple references from other area (both professional and student) dancers. Since day one I was hooked! I don't know whether to start with the style itself, the costuming or the class's style is a codified set of cued movements drawn from many other styles of dance. This enables dancers to have a mealtime "discussion" while dancing with one another, even up to dancing in large groups, with different people taking the lead position and "leading the conversation". It's a very interesting dynamic that I enjoy very much and keeps my mind engaged. The costuming is modest but beautiful and lavish as well. Exotic, sultry, and not outside my comfort zone! As time has continued, Nancy has added Tacoma classes, which is really nice for the South Sound students. I usually attend the Seattle classes due to a schedule conflict, but there is no quality difference between the two, just some different students. I do try to get a Tacoma class when I can though doesn't need more dancing in their life? Everyone is very supportive of one another. This is very important for me; I do not learn well in a negative environment and Ucanto is far from that. Every Sunday I look forward to the smiling faces, the laughing, the dancing, and the learning that occurs. My boyfriend, a professional performer himself, loves to watch us dance. Others tell us how much they love to watch us dance too. I've asked them why. The answers are mostly about how pretty we are (costuming), how pretty our dance was (technique and style), but more often than not the comments focus on our smiles and genuine fondness for one another. This is my dance family, come join us.

I have never been as comfortable in my own skin while dancing as I have been since starting lessons…read morewith ucanto bellydance. I have taken bellydancing lessons from other teachers and I always felt awkward; that I didn't understand how to properly move. Nancy, of uncanto bellydance, helps break down the moves so you can learn them easily. She is always willing to take time out to answer questions and help you with your body position and technique. Because of her instruction, I have really learned that You Can Too (ucanto) bellydance.

I've seen a handful of plays here and I've even auditioned for one here years ago! While I didn't…read moreget the part when I auditioned, I've enjoyed coming here to be an audience member when they put on productions that capture my interest! My mother and I watched Carrie the Musical last night and it was fantastic! If Stephen King were in the audience, I think he would be proud! The acting and singing was great and really brought the classic horror story to life! I hope in the near future they'll put on productions of Phantom of the Opera, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Evil Dead the musical as those are all shows I've yet to see that I have been dying to watch (no pun intended)!!!

Wow!! What a phenomenal show. I couldn't be more pleased to have this gem here in Lakewood. Ticket…read moreprices are very reasonable, the staff is wonderful, and the acting was fantastic. What a gift! Can't wait to see another show here soon.

Tacoma Opera's Madam Butterfly was the best production that I have ever seen. Great cast, and they…read morehad the local ballet school in to do the overnight vigil, and led lit butterflies, etc. It was an immersion experience for those of us in the front row and we loved it.

Saw "Carmen" today. Beautiful sets and wonderful voices/acting. However the sexuality and…read moreviolence towards women was graphically portrayed to an extent that was just unnecessary. Yes, it is a tragic story, but this was gratuitous. Very disappointed in the Tacoma Opera.