With no further ado, let's divulge Olympia's promising menu.

First, some sad news: as you may have heard, Capital Playhouse cancelled its mainstage offerings for the year. Between unmanageable debts and a trio of scandals, it tempted fate for CP to schedule anything called The Last 5 Years. The company hopes to rally in time for the summer of 2014, when it'll ease back into the market with a new round of Kids at Play youth shows.

Harlequin Productions got things rolling with its Aug. 22 production of Five Women in the Same Dress. Olympia Little Theatre reintroduced us to The Last of the Red Hot Lovers Sept. 6. Then it's back to Harlequin for Shakespeare's red-blooded historical drama Henry V Oct. 3. The next day brings Olympia Family Theater's presentation of C.S. Lewis' beloved fantasy The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Hey, y'know what kind of business does really well in Narnia? ... Narnia business! That's copyright 2013 Christian Carvajal, kids. Give credit where credit is due.

Prodigal Sun treats us to a second round of original one-acts, the Improbable Peck of Plays II. As OFT completes its Lewis run, OLT opens a well-regarded biographical drama about the author's romantic life, Shadowlands. Around this time, Theater Artists Olympia plays American Roulette, an anti-bullying drama. Then things get quiet for a month, until. ...

Nov. 29, the night after Thanksgiving, brings South Sound audiences a festive five-course feast of family frivolity. The same night Tacoma opens productions of Annie and It's a Wonderful Life, three more shows debut in Oly. Olympia Family Theater finds Lyle the Crocodile residing in urban New York, just as Michael from E.T. predicted. (Take that, Snopes.com!) Olympia Little Theatre yells Sorry! Wrong Chimney! to snap us out of our post-shopping lethargy, while it's back to that nostalgic nightclub for Harlequin's The Stardust Christmas Blizzard. Time to unpack your comfy Christmas sweaters!

Harlequin's first out of the 2014 gate with Jane Wagner's memorable comedy, Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Jan. 23. OLT and OFT follow two weeks later with, respectively, Educating Rita and The House at Pooh Corner. Harlequin's March 6 show is Tennessee Williams' scorcher Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and OLT flies the friendly skies of Boeing, Boeing on the 21st.

April 4, OFT launches the heartwarming Orphan Train. The first weekend in May brings Israel Horovitz's Fighting over Beverley from Harlequin and the marital revenge comedy Exit, Pursued by a Bear at OLT. Director Deane Shellman and a team of OFT puppeteers tell Three Tales with Eight Tails May 23, and Harlequin revives A Rock ‘n' Roll Twelfth Night June 19. TAO's hoping to Kickstart a sexy spring musical. Summer Shakespeare efforts include The Tempest at OLT and, we predict, an outdoor production from Animal Fire Theatre. Play on, Olympia!