I spent last week in the skin of a monster. I'm playing Roy Cohn, the very real attorney who guided the knife point of Sen. Joseph McCarthy's Red Scare, then adamantly denied his own homosexuality even as he was dying of AIDS. He's a character in Tony Kushner's landmark, two-part play Angels in America, directed by Nic Olson for Olympia Little Theatre. The show is challenging for both actors and audiences, and it inspires bizarre moments on stage.

OLT's new artistic director Kendra Malm was delivering Thursday-night house announcements when suddenly, a stack of boxes that forms a set wall leaned over and collapsed. The destruction of that wall, and the emergence of an angel through the breach, mark the climax of Part 1, Millennium Approaches. "I don't think that was supposed to happen," Malm announced accurately. No one was standing anywhere near the structure, which remained upright for 21 hours prior to the fall. This sort of thing makes actors believe in theater ghosts.

We performed for a larger house on Friday. As per OLT custom, we greeted departing guests as they passed through the lobby after the three-hour show. An audience member (and frequent OLT actor) came over to shake my hand. "Hey, do you watch that show Breaking Bad?" she asked. I replied it was one of my favorites. "Your Cohn kinda reminds me of that lawyer," she mused, meaning Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). I threw my arms in a V and claimed victory for the night. Last Friday, at least, I won Angels in America. That may be my favorite audience compliment ever.

By Saturday we were inured to the occasional walkout. (This show pushes people's buttons.) We agree it was our finest performance of Millennium Approaches, and the crowd responded warmly. Sunday? Not so much. An audience member shook my hand and asked, "How do you do all that yelling?" Another complimented each of us in turn before arriving at the last actor in line, Anthony Neff. Instead of praising Neff's performance as Joe, he announced, "You need to speak up more," then strode out the door.

Still, you have to hand it to any audience member who sits through, and tracks with, an epic night of theater that makes David Mamet sound like the Disney Channel. Even a brief male-male sex scene, which caused pandemonium in the college theater where I played Louis 22 years ago, rose nary an eyebrow over the weekend. A number of patrons vowed they'd be back for Part 2. I hope they will. It'd be a shame to play one of the worst guys in history for my own amusement. Actually, I'm not sure what that'd say about me at all. If you're curious about the show but missed Part 1, give it a go. You can always ask the house manager for a recap as we patch up the ghost-demolished set.

ANGELS IN AMERICA, PART 2: PERESTROIKA, 7:55 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 1:55 p.m. Sunday, through March 1, Olympia Little Theatre, 1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia, $8, 360.786.9484

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25 2015 >>>

1. If you were drinking a cocktail with the floral notes of a rainforest, the aroma of banana and lime flowers, the earthiness of sweet red peppers and the saltiness of oysters, you'd be drinking cachaca (pronounced ka-SHA-sa), a Brazilian spirit distilled from sugarcane juice. Suffice it to say that, if you enjoy rum, you'll enjoy cachaça. Until recently, the only cachaças available in the States were the industrial style, made in a column still and full of harsh, unrefined flavors. Today, with the upswing in premium-spirits appreciation, high-quality, artisanal cachaça (both aged and unaged) is now easily accessible outside of Brazil, including a new brand of cachaca: Novo Fogo, which translates to "New Fire" in Portuguese. Every week or so, Novo Fogo Cachaça Empresários take over a hot bar somewhere in this country for a few hours of "Brazilian Zen." From 6-9 p.m., Team Novo Fodo - Leroy Thomas and Jim Romdall - visit Hilltop Kitchen to deliver South American alegria in the form of delicious cachaça cocktails and happy times.

2. This week in "Humans and Other Animals," Dr. Erin Colbert-White of the University of Puget Sound will be giving a talk entitled, "Evidence for Language-Like Conversational Strategies by an African Grey Parrot," in which she'll discuss evidence that parrots can pay attention to social contexts and take turnsduring conversations. Check it out at 12:25 in Dougan 201 on the University of Washington Tacoma campus.

3. Several brewer's nights are doing down tonight. Check it.

4. Vince Brown is no stranger to string swing fans in the Northwest. He plays western swing style take-off guitar with Red Brown & the Tune Stranglers; strums guitar and tenor banjo with the gypsy swing band Hot Club Sandwich; he's half of Red and Ruby - a swing duo project with vocalist LaVon Hardison; performs mandolin and tenor banjoist with the old timey outfit Deaf Lester; and the guitarist with the modern jazz/lounge group The Greta Jane Quartet. Brown's nimble fingers have delighted audiences for more than 35 years. Catch his solo jazz guitarist downstairs at Swing Wing Bar & Cafe, the converted bungalow overlooking Capitol Lake in Olympia, from 6-8 p.m.

5. Positive Rising - a Seattle-based reggae band whose members have been rooted in the reggae community for over 10 years - strive to bring a positive message put to catchy hooks and danceable grooves. They have shared the stage with such acts as Natural Vibrations, Easy Star All Stars, Josh Heinrichs & Skillinjah, Kyle & C-Money of Slightly Stoopid, Tomorrows Bad Seeds and Josh Fischel as well as other local acts such as Valley Green, The Approach and Tribal Order just to name a few. Catch them as part of Jazzbones' One Love Wednesday music series at 9 p.m.

TUESDAY, FEB. 23 2015 >>>

1. Even though you don't live in one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, dining at King's Landing is a bucket list item for any die-hard Game of Thrones fan. While you won't exactly get the chance to "do what queens do," fans of the show will get the chance to dine on A Feast of Thrones and let their imaginations do the ruling. Bayview School of Cooking instructor Caroline Willard will prepare a feast worthy of the capital of the Seven Kingdoms at 6 p.m. From The Wall, to Highgarden, and across the Narrow Sea, taste dishes taken straight from the pages of George R.R. Martin's hugely popular book series. Spicy Dornish Stuffed Grape Leaves begins the culinary journey, followed by Highgarden Medieval Poached Pears with Cheese, both accompanied by a Honey Citrus Wine from across The Narrow Sea. The main course is Winterfell Beef and Bacon Pie served with a Salad at Castle Black. Sansa's beloved Lemon Cakes from King's Landing are the sweet finish to the menu. Complementary wine pairing, of course! Nothing goes better with Game of Thrones than many swigs of complementary wine - just ask the constantly imbibing characters. RSVP at 360.754.1448.

2. United States Geological Survey specialist Carolyn Driedger will present an eye-opening investigation of the history of volcano study in Washington state at noon inside the Washington State History Museum. Part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," Washington's mountains are both beautiful and deadly, making the area a key location for early warning technology and observation. Be sure to check out the "Living in the Shadows: Volcanoes of Washington" exhibit before or after the lecture.

3. If you've resolved this year to get your brain, as well as your body, limber, the pub quiz is a great start. This athletics of the mind can be highly rewarding, both tangibly (winning nets you cash prizes, swag and gift certificates) and intangibly (finding an outlet for such mental detritus as the name of the group that sang "Walking on Sunshine" is surprisingly fulfilling). Treos in Old Town Tacoma offers a weekly Tuesday trivia game to up your cultural literacy. Expect three rounds with prizes beginning at 6:30 p.m.

4. Jerry Miller was named one of the top 100 guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone above Eddie Van Halen, Johnny Winter and Randy Rhoads. The Tacoma native has enjoyed a rich career sharing the stage with countless musicians including members of the Doobie Brothers and Carlos Santana. Miller hosts an open jam at 7 p.m. in Dave's of Milton.

5. Hungry Skinny perfect a kind of dirtbag glam befitting their Northern California roots. What initially sounds like the same sort of garage pop that comes from Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin eventually reveals itself to be impeccably assembled rock that draws from the sloppy blues-rock of '60s mods like the Rolling Stones and the Kinks. Filled to the brim with untold amounts of swagger and spit, Hungry Skinny effortlessly recreate the days when the musicians in bands were more totems than men: shorthand in human form for the carefree living and drinking rock 'n' roll supplies in spades. Catch the band with the Loud Potions and Phil Taylor at 7 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

MONDAY, FEB. 23, 2015 >>>

1. Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries' seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once. At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking. Until one day, he does. ... This is how author Holly Black thinks. She discusses her new fantasy novel The Darkest Part of the Forest at 7 p.m. in the University Place Pierce County Library.

2. The Evergreen State College Tacoma will offer a four-session life enrichment course called "Intro to Urban Gardening," Monday evenings, Feb. 23-March 16, from 6 to 8 p.m.  The class costs $100, which includes materials and a home consultation with course instructor Dean Jackson, who is executive director of Hilltop Urban Gardens, a food sovereignty and social justice organization in Tacoma. Jackson has been growing food in urban settings for 10 years and is a master gardener in Pierce County. Course topics will include site selection, building a raised bed, starting a planting calendar and creating proper soil for plant health. During the first session, students will start seeds indoors that will be available as transplants at the end of the class. This non-credit course is geared toward the general public and beginning gardeners with an interest in growing their own food.

3. Get out your dancing shoes and join in the whimsy of a country western shuffle dance, hosted by the Evergreen Country Dancers. The shuffle is sometimes called double two-step or traveling swing, for it also uses components of two-step and the popular East Coast swing. The hoedown begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Olympia Elks Lodge.

4. Throughout the Makedonians' rollicking, energetic set of traditional Balkan music at 8 p.m. in Rhythm and Rye, you will be treated to lessons in Greek musical geography, five-tone scale harmony (most "western" music uses the seven) and how to count some of the more unusual time signatures, ranging from 5 to 25 beats in a measure.

5. Blues trio Audio Elixir performs at 8 p.m. in The Swiss Restaurant and Pub.

SUNDAY, FEB. 22 2015 >>>

1. Thanks to The Grand Cinema in Tacoma and Olympia Film Society in Olympia, you can not only stroll the red carpet in your Sunday finest, you might also win one of several fabulous prizes. Show up to Theatre on the Square in a movie costume (Death to Smoochy, anyone?), and you could snag 250 bucks. That'd buy a crap ton of popcorn! Another prize up for grabs is a "Golden Ticket" good for movie admission any time till the next Oscar ceremony. Both events feature great food and drinks, and remember, your odds of winning an Academy Award of your own this year are exactly as good as Jennifer Aniston's or Daniel Oyelowo's! You'll be in beautiful company, in more towns than one. Megastar selfie! Read Christian Carvajal's full feature on the 87th Academy Awards parties in Tacoma and Olympia in the Music & Culture section, then arrive at the Theatre on the Square or Capitol Theater at 5 p.m.

2. Nena Curley was 14 years old when she performed the role of Sarah, one of the blind girls, in the Lakewood Playhouse 2003 production of The Miracle Worker. Twelve years later, Curley is the stage manager and production manager for the theater company's current production of The Miracle Worker, William Gibson's inspiring 1959 drama about blind, deaf and mute child Helen Keller and teacher Annie Sullivan's extraordinary efforts to communicate with her, which hits the stage at 2 p.m.

3. The Gig Harbor Film Festival folks are also hosting an Oscar Party at 4 p.m. in The Hub in Gig Harbor. Dinner will be served as well as red carpet pictures and a champagne toast. The Hub will have a big screen and all the other dialed into the red carpet and the Oscar ceremony. The Gig Harbor Film Festival will have film directors on hand and other local celebrities. Your $50 ticket helps finance this year's Gig Harbor Film Festival.

4. Seattle radio personality Bob Rivers will host a night of Northwest comedians at 8 p.m. in the Tacoma Comedy Club.

5. If you are looking for a crunk, trapped out, hustle-music haven then check out Champions every Sunday at 9 p.m. DJ Qualifi keeps the beats bangin' - deep bass, booty music, trap music, D-Boy/Girl music. ... All. Night. Long.  This is officially one of the spots to hit if you want to appear like you're in a 2015 rap video. Twerkin' will happen. Yeah, Champions is a hole in the wall type bar/club, but it is where Tacoma rocks on a Sunday.

Red Williamson and Newspin Photography changed the hip-hop game in Olympia by opening up shop for local hip-hop artists to step their YouTube game up. For the past couple of years, the accomplished photographs - and Sasquatch Music Festival documentarian - has been making quality music videos for the Olympia hip-hop scene.

Williamson was on the scene Wednesday night when "Sugar" - a female hip-hop night - launched at the Eagles Club in downtown Olympia. Presented by Heddie Leonne with special guest DJ OND4, hostess The Illustrious Ms. Hattie Hotpants and performers Corina Corina, Garlic Man & Chikn, The Muzes and Night Fox, the rumor is Sugar could be a regular thang.

"There is an incredible amount of talent in these MCs," says Williamson. "You could feel the excitement. It was basically one bad ass, sexy righteous dance party. Celebrating these powerful ladies was quite a way to get the (Eagles) club going up on a Wednesday."

Below are a few of Williamson's snapshots of the night, plus, of course, a video. ...

For more of Williamson's awesome photos of the night, click here.

FRIDAY, FEB. 20 2015 >>>

1. Strangely Alright is more than all right - the band is awesome. Its music is fun, timeless and real. The band can laugh, cry and flip people off all in one album, backed up by talent and experience. Fronted by longtime Tacoma musician Regan Lane (Baby Knockors, Strypes, Groovy Times in Babylon, BrokenNess), take the Beatles and Super Furry Animals sprinkled it with some Bowie, Traveling Wilburys and Elvis Costello and add confessional lyrics ala John Lennon and Bob Dylan and you have the five-piece power pop band Strangely Alright. "We'll perform new material I have written Friday," says Lane, "plus a Weezer-style cover of ‘Imagine,' some New York Dolls and Ramones." Our new single, ‘Come on,' will be released in a few weeks. In fact, we'll be releasing a new single and video every two months this year." Well, all right! Catch the band with SleepyPilot at 9 p.m. in The Swiss Restaurant and Pub.

2. Broadway Center for the Performing Arts presents Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo at 7:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater. Delicately stuffed into tutus and man-sized toe shoes, the gender bending all-male ballet company returns to deliver hilarious twists on classical ballet. A worldwide phenomenon, the comedy of "The Trocks" is only outmatched by their technical prowess. Performing en pointe, these "mallerinas" revel in buffoonery and antics with perfectly pointed toes and leap to the heavens with attuned choreographic precision.

3. Nena Curley was 14 years old when she performed the role of Sarah, one of the blind girls, in the Lakewood Playhouse 2003 production of The Miracle Worker. Twelve years later, Curley is the stage manager and production manager for the theater company's current production of The Miracle Worker, William Gibson's inspiring 1959 drama about blind, deaf and mute child Helen Keller and teacher Annie Sullivan's extraordinary efforts to communicate with her, which hits the stage at 8 p.m.

4. Weekly Volcano scribe Rev. Adam McKinney has long been in love with the fizzy, cartoonishly bright power pop of the Hoot Hoots. With their driving indie rock, dressed with colorful costumes and embellished with lyrics about robots and dinosaurs, the Hoot Hoots have embodied the height of blissful optimism for him in the Pacific Northwest. Seeing them live is a sweaty, exuberant joy. Read his full feature on The Hoot Hoots in the Music and Culture section., then catch the band with the Jesus Rehab, Fruit Juice and Trees and Timber at 8 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge.

5. Obsidian in downtown Olympia hosts "Invokation," a night of gothic, industrial, darkwave and electro tunes spun by DJs. Dress to depress for a night of classic bats-and-bondage soundscapes, beginning at 9 p.m. Bela Lugosi's dead - long live Bela Lugosi!

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17 2015 >>>

1. In the days before adulthood consumed Steve Stefanowicz, the "Human Jukebox" would perform seven days a week. Blind at birth, proficient on the guitar at 15, performing solo and in his band Blind Ambition, Stefanowicz could be seen nightly through the '80s and '90s, performing any of the 1,000 songs he memorized. When not in a club, he was on stage with Lou Rawls, Sam Andrews' Holding Company, Blue Spark, Junkyard Jane, The Groovin' Higher Jazz Orchestra, jazz guitarist Michael Powers, Savoy Brown, Kansas and Elvin Bishop. To this day, the most amazing version of "Sympathy for the Devil" we have ever seen was when Stefanowicz perform it at an open jam inside Cole's in Ruston. We have our fingers crossed for another version tonight when the blues/rock singer and guitarist hosts an open mic at the Harmon Tap Room beginning at 6 p.m.

2. Metro Parks Tacoma planners invite citizens to discuss the Point Defiance Park Master Plan at 6 p.m. in the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Education Building. This will be a chance for people to learn more about the new Pacific Rim aquarium and other capital projects and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

3. Holy North American Motor Highway (also known as Holy Motors, if you're into the whole brevity thing) make experimental chamber rock that comes steeped in an intangible feeling of dread. Their only release, Live at Paper Street, contains two epic-length songs recorded in a kitchen in Olympia. In the liner notes, the refrigerator's ever-present hum gets a credit. Catch the band with Sawtooth and the Loud Potions at 8 p.m. in Deadbeat Olympia record store.

4. Remember that SNL sketch with Will Ferrel as a gross homeless man posing for a sketch class? Insert "unsuspecting model" for "gross homeless man," toss in some craft cocktails and a jazz soundtrack and you have your night at Obsidian. Heather Yall and Joe Windslow will be spinning Jon Hassell albums, a little Bitches Brew and more beginning at 9 p.m., perfect music for you to work on your sketch art. Just pick an Obsidian customer and go to work. It'll just be our little secret.

5. Unified Culture - five Island boys, rooted from the Hawaiian Islands - perform a unique combination of roots reggae and dancehall, with an emphasis on wicked intros, mixes, heavy bass lines and catchy saxophone licks. Catch them as part of Jazzbones' One Love Wednesday music series at 9 p.m.

MONDAY, FEB. 16 2015 >>>

1. LaVon Hardison has never been any one thing. Although she's identified herself as a jazz singer, the classically trained vocalist has a broad range of sources, including gospel and blues. What comes through is a voice and this combination of something very hopeful and effervescent and sparkling and also some kind of melancholy. Hardison creates music that makes you sit up and take notice - a modern jazz singer who is redefining the genre. You could make a checklist of things that jazz vocalists today do, and she does a lot if not all of them. Pianist Dr. David Deacon, bassist Osama Affifi and drummer Jeff Busch - extremely talented musicians - will join Hardison at 8 p.m. in Rhythm and Rye.

2. Northwest Trek Wildlife Park hosts its annual Kids ‘N' Critters weekend at the wildlife park from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. You'll see bison, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose and deer roaming the 435-acre park. But, keep an eye out for those evil squirrels during your 30-minute tram rides. Bonus: Up to four children 12 and younger will be admitted free to Northwest Trek with each paying adult over the long Presidents Weekend. Expect story times, special workshops, moose crafts ... and squirrels.

3. Underwhelmed comes to us from Dick Rossetti (formerly of 107.7 The End and currently the frontman of the Jilly Rizzo) and Isaac Olsen. Olsen should be known to fans of local music and film as the director behind Quiet Shoes, Ich Hunger, and the Girl Trouble documentary, Strictly Sacred. The touch of Olsen can be felt in the hyper-kinetic editing of the show, which mirrors the energy shown in his movies. Assaultive radio stings come and go, framing a show that steers violently from tongue-in-cheek commentary to comedy sketches to readings of prison letters and - their favorite invention - a 10-song montage in five minutes. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Underwhelmed in the Music and Culture section., then catch the show from 6-7 p.m. at nwczradio.com.

4. Jazz and blues band Maia Santell & House Blend will perform at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

5. Rockaraoke at Jazzbones will either be your novel opportunity to act as frontman, or be completely intimidating. Perpetually packed with people, Rockaraoke boasts a unique twist for karaoke in Tacoma: instead of a backing track, you get a three-piece band playing behind you. Check it out at 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEB. 14 2015 >>>

1. When it comes to love, anything is possible. Love makes the world, and your heart, spin. Love makes the soul sing. When the subject is love, let nothing be in moderation. TUSH! Burlesque will present multifaceted emotions of passion, temptation and lust at 9 p.m. in the Capitol Theater. It's a valentine to the sights, sounds and sexiness of Olympia, featuring our readers' 2014 pick for Oly's best band, Full Moon Radio. Read Christian Carvajal's Q&A with the women of TUSH! Burlesque in the Music & Culture section.

2. Northwest Trek Wildlife Park hosts its annual Kids ‘N' Critters weekend at the wildlife park from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. You'll see bison, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose and deer roaming the 435-acre park. But, keep an eye out for those evil squirrels during your 30-minute tram rides. Bonus: Up to four children 12 and younger will be admitted free to Northwest Trek with each paying adult over the long Presidents Weekend. Expect story times, special workshops, moose crafts ... and squirrels.

3. The Harlem Globetrotters have come along way from traveling to their very first games in founder-coach Abe Saperstein's Model "T" Ford. Back in 1926, their astounding antics, athleticism, wizardry and hijinks won the world over from the start. Hmm, take the children to this: It's simply not acceptable for them to go around thinking the Nike ballers invented these amazing feats of dribbling. Catch the Trotters at 2 and 7 p.m. in the ShoWare Center in Kent. This is history, baby!

4. The Blackberry Bushes Stringband, Wild Rabbit and Renegade Stringband will bring their stringband mayhem to Rhythm & Rye at 9 p.m. - part of a larger tour, informally dubbed "The Winter Tour of Stringband Mayhem," which has the three bands visiting eight Northwest cities. There is a strong roots music scene in the Northwest that spans the whole spectrum from traditionalists to those using traditional elements in more modern pop or rock influences. The Blackberry Bushes (Seattle), Wild Rabbit (Bellingham) and Renegade Stringband (Portland) span that spectrum. The Blackberry Bushes perform mostly original material, but they'll keep a thread of bluegrass and old-time going through their show. Wild Rabbit is a little more pop. Renegade is a little more traditional.

5. Local gypsy guitar legend Neil Andersson of Pearl Django is joined by well known next generation heavyweights Josh Hegg and Cameron Arneson for an enchanted evening of Hot Club Jazz, Django style at 9:30 p.m. in Doyle's Public House.