1. The Pine Hearts, with their mandolin and banjo and guitar are super easy to listen to. Bluegrassy with some earth tones and a little nod towards simpler times, The Pine Hearts go great with beer, BBQ and friends. 9 p.m., free, The Pig Bar (South Bay BBQ,) 619 Legion Way, Olympia, (360) 943-6900.

2. Join in the laughs at the 2nd Annual Grit City Comedy Contest! You will see 8-10 comics go head to head with their best 10 minutes for your votes. The audience will vote for their top three comics to move forward for the finals on Saturday. Make plans now to come for two great nights packed with comedy! To help you with that, those that come to tonight’s show will be given a chance to purchase discounted tickets on site for the Saturday show for $10. 9 p.m. $13.70 Grit City Comedy Club, 445 Tacoma Ave. South, Tacoma, (253) 961-4262, www.brownpapertickets.com/event/275084.

3. “8” is the new play by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J. Edgar, Big Love.) The play chronicles the historic trial in the Prop 8 federal case for marriage equality in California. Come hear exactly what the court transcript says – hear both sides! Each performance features great actors from every stage in the South Sound. Following each performance, there will be a Q&A with Washington State Representative Chris Reykdal and other marriage equality advocates. 7:30 p.m., $10, Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St SE, Olympia, (360) 753-8585.

4. This musical vaudeville is set in roaring twenties Chicago - chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband Amos to take the rap...until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess" Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the "American Dream": fame, fortune and acquittal. This sharp edged satire features a dazzling score that sparked immortal staging by Bob Fosse. 8 p.m., $20 - $29, Tacoma Musical Playhouse Narrows Theater, 7116 6th Avenue, (253) 565-6867.

5. Grindhouse Theater Presents, on rare, glorious 35 mm film, The Return of the Living Dead. When a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to re-animate as they go on a rampage through Louisville, Kentucky seeking their favorite food - brains. 9 p.m., $9, The Grand Cinema, 606 South Fawcett Avenue, Tacoma, (253) 593-4474.