Olympia Family Theater

Last night, we had the pleasure of attending the Olympia Family Theater's performance of James and the Giant Peach. Olympia Family Theater is Olympia's newest live theater and is currently in its second season. They specifically have the goal of presenting affordable live theater for younger audiences. It's the perfect place to introduce young ones to live theater because the shows are designed for them, making them and their noise, welcome.

James and the Giant Peach was put on at the Sound Puget Sound Community College Center for the Performing Arts because they do not yet have their own building. It is a very nice, modern theater. Costumes were cleverly done. The set and props were minimal and simple. Even without elaborate set design and props, the show was terrific.

The play followed the book's storyline pretty well (much better than Tim Burton's movie which destroyed the story). There was a huge chunk of the story missing (the part involving the cloud men) but I think that was probably due to the difficulty of portraying that in live theater and to keep the player shorter for the young audience.

Each person in my family enjoyed the play. My daughter's favorite character was Ms. Spider and the Ladybug. My son hopped around in his seat, shouting out at appropriate moments. He loved the centipede and the poor, lowly, miserable earthworm. I loved the earthworm. The actor really portrayed his character well. My husband enjoyed the play, laughing out loud at times. My baby even enjoyed parts, clapping at times. After the show, the characters were available for greeting and autographs. It was a great night. This is definitely a theater I'll be keeping my eye on next season.

If you live locally and want to see it, there is still time. The play runs through April 6th with both evening (7pm) and matinee (1pm) shows. Tickets run $15 for adults, $12 seniors, $10 students, and $8 for children under 12 years. For more information, see their website.