From the Wings: A week(end) of theater
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 10, 2026
With opening night of Hello, Dolly! on Friday, March 6, and The Tortoise and the Hare being staged at Montesano’s Simpson Elementary School and Stage West Community Theatre performing the Shootout Saloon at Oyhut Bay on Saturday, March 7, there were opportunities to attend a show last week. Here’s a recap of the theater happenings.
Opera featured at Lemon Hill Café and Bookstore Arts Night
For their first Wednesday Arts Night on March 4, Lemon Hill Café and Bookstore rearranged their seating area by the windows into a makeshift performance space for the Grays Harbor Opera Workshop. Jennifer Skoglund shared that she and her sister love opera, which was a reason for their inviting the workshop.
Over the course of the hour, and to a packed room, Danille Tobin, Kyle Sholinder, Megan West, Mardi Emard-Colburn, Joy Dorsh, Ian Dorsch, Toby Patterson and Todd Stark sang selections from Semele, A View from the Bridge, Cavalleria Rusticana, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, La Boheme and Patience, with Kira Miller providing piano accompaniment.
When introducing the selection he would sing “Jour et nuit,” which followed Joy Dorsch’s “Ave Maria,” Ian Dorsch said, “now from the sublime to ridiculous.” He selected an aria from a French opera because of Lemon Hill Café features French cuisine.
The performance concluded with songs from Patience, which was performed in December at the Bishop Center for Performing Arts.
Ian closed the night by thanking everyone in the filled room for coming and said, “we are so pleased to share music with you.”
Robert Gray Elementary performs Sleeping Beauty
On Friday afternoon and evening, Robert Gray Elementary students performed the Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) production of Sleeping Beauty to a full gym. This is the fourth year that MCT has visited the school, and students previously performed Jungle Book, Robin Hood, and Alice in Wonderland.
“Theater brings out different sides of kids,” said Mackenzie Ochoa, a kindergarten teacher at Robert Gray Elementary.
The school’s PTO oversees bringing MCT to the school, and teachers volunteer to help during the weeklong rehearsal, often staying until 7:30 p.m.
At the evening performance, Daniel Olson, principal of Robert Gray Elementary, told the audience, “I know you will be absolutely amazed by the talents at our school.”
Prior to the performance, the opportunity to watch the play in a front-row couch was auctioned off to a winning bid of $250; the money would go to the PTO to fund future activities.
With this year’s cast having nearly 50 students, the stage was quite full for the final song and closing lines.
Stage West Community Theatre performs Shootout Saloon
Following last year’s sold-out mystery dinner I Love You to Death that Stage West Community Theatre performed at Oyhut Bay, the theater troupe performed Shootout Saloon on March 6-7.
“Collectively, we said, ‘Let’s do this again,’” said Jason Meersman, the chief executive officer of Oyhut Bay. “We’d love to do another one.”
With last year’s show being sold out, Shootout Saloon was performed on two nights. Both guests of Oyhut Bay and local residents came out to attend, with many in costume.
“As director, the production was very busy and successful with only two weeks of rehearsal (we started rehearsals the day after closing Exit Laughing),” Pamela Nygaard shared via email; Nygaard is president of Stage West Community Theatre.
The Tortoise and the Hare staged at Simpson Elementary
The Everglades fauna of flamingos, manatees and gators, the astronauts at Cape Canaveral, and the tourists who descend upon Florida to sightseer — and of course the tortoise and the hare — were among the characters featured in the Missoula Children’s Theatre’s production of The Tortoise and the Hare that Montesano students performed on Saturday, March 7. The cast featured 51 students, from kindergarten to 10th grade.
“We are thankful to [have] received a grant from the Grays Harbor Community Foundation to provide this wonderful opportunity to our students,” Nichole Wilder, a speech pathologist at Simpson Elementary, shared via email.
Keeping with the science theme of Jean Goodall serving as the narrator and two of the characters named Professors Pumpernickel and Persimmon, the play’s dialogue featured the scientific names of the tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus, if you’re curious) and the hare, and facts about the animals, such as why flamingos are pink.
Similar to the MCT performances at Oakville School District and Robert Gray Elementary, there was live piano accompaniment, but this time, the pianist was two students: senior Sarah O’Hagan and fifth grader Oliver Criswell. For both students, this was their first time being an accompanist, and O’Hagan said she had fun playing.
Audition announcements
The Grays Harbor Opera Workshop will hold auditions for soloists and new chorus members on Wednesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Grays Harbor College’s Wellington Rehearsal Hall. Their spring performance will be on Saturday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bishop Center for Performing Arts, and will feature an assortment of beloved arias, choruses and scenes in the first half, and staged highlights from Bizet’s iconic opera Carmen in the second half. Auditioners may bring in an art song or aria of their choice, prepare one of the posted audition selections or simply come prepared to sing through some scales so the directors can get a feel for range and musical capability. For more information, please contact co-director Ian Dorsch at ian.dorsch@ghc.edu.
The Driftwood Players are holding auditions for the upcoming production of the brilliant dramatic comedy, What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck, directed by Steven Puvogel. This play is a playful and incisive analysis of the U.S. Constitution that examines how this living document could evolve to fit modern-day America, tracing its profound impact on four generations of women.
Auditions will be held on Saturday, March 14 at 10 a.m. and Monday, March 16 at 6 p.m. at Events on Emerson – 212 4th St, Hoquiam.
Audition Preparation: No preparation is necessary. Just bring yourself. We are casting the following roles: 1 woman (playing 40s-50s) 1 man (playing 40s or older) 1 teen (girl or nonbinary) – No acting experience is necessary for this role, but debate skills are a huge plus.
What the Constitution Means to Me will be performed Friday and Saturday, June 26, 27, and July 3, 4, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 28 and Saturday, July 4 at 2 p.m.
Those wanting more information should contact the director, Steven Puvogel, at steven@puvogel.net.
7th Street Kids is holding auditions for kids, ages 7-16 (as of June 15), for their summer production workshops. No previous experience or preparation is required. However, preregistration is required and opens on April 18. Auditions will be held on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31. Visit https://7thstreetkids.org/ for more information on the upcoming productions and to preregister for an appointment.
