Olympia Family Theater to premiere ‘The Hobbit’: Group to also announce 20th season lineup
Originally published on The JOLT News on May 13, 2026
The Olympia Family Theater (OFT) has so much to celebrate! This weekend will mark a historic opening of “The Hobbit” as the first community theater in the world granted permission to produce this particular version of the classic tale. This show is only running from May 14 through June 7. Click here to learn more and purchase your tickets.
In addition to this momentous occasion, OFT is making plans to announce their 20th season very soon — which I am excited to give you a preview of in this column.
'The Hobbit'
J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” has been a treasured story for many years, and it is both fun and valuable to see what nuances varied interpretations choose to embrace in their retellings.
Reflecting on why audiences continue to love this story, OFT’s Operations & Communications Director Vanessa Cat stated, “'The Hobbit' is all about friendship and the journey. The treasure is not the most important thing, even though that is what the characters concentrate on.”
Cat continued, “Every theater process, but especially this one as we have put this production together, has been very reflective of the sentiment of 'The Hobbit.' Putting on the play for audiences is awesome of course, but the community and relationships made by the cast, the crew, and creative team is far more valuable than the final product.”
OFT will be performing the play adaptation written by Greg Banks. What makes this particular interpretation perfect for the OFT stage is the way it fits such a large story into a shorter, comedic and accessible experience for families. Sometimes, plays that try to pack so much content into a short amount of time can feel overwhelming, but this quick paced play still maintains an enjoyable flow.
The cast contains 12 actors, five of whom will be playing several different characters.
“There will be trolls, spiders, goblins, elves, people of Lake Town, Smaug, Gollum and more,” Cat shared.
The company is also putting its final touches on the immersive special effects and set design. Audiences have much to look forward to.
Banks' play contains something else very unique to the way this story is told — written in music. Fans of Tolkin’s novel will be very familiar with the music and poetry written into the original work, and I love that this adaptation is carrying on that tradition.
Let me be clear, this production is not a musical, but will have moments where characters make music together. The music for the play was written by a 16 year old named Thomas Johnson. Never underestimate young musicians because their possibilities are endless.
My friend Heather Matthews, who has been interviewed for this column multiple times, is going to be the musical director which makes me very excited because they are a musical genius!
Purchase your tickets now before the show sells out.
The 20th season
While the full 20th season line up will be published online on June 1, Cat was able to give me sneak previews to share with all of you.
The 20th season will begin with the return of "Tales Told in Ten," which is a 24 hour play festival. Directors, writers and actors meet, are assigned to teams, and get to know each other before being given the prompt of the festival. Writers will spend that night writing the script, then actors and directors put the show together throughout the next day before the evening festival begins. Last year, I was honored to be a writer for the festival. I described the experience in this column.
The first full mainstage production will be an original play by Olivia Salazar de Breaux, who wrote the book “Sisters of Element.” Salazar de Breaux is an Olympia local who was commissioned to write a prequel story called “The Luna Sisters” which is also about magical sisters. “The Luna Sisters” will be the play OFT brings to the stage next season.
“It’s going to be really beautiful! It mixes Mexican American heritage with magic, community and family,” Cat shared. “It will be another hero’s journey — just like 'The Hobbit.'”
During our conversation, Cat described how OFT will be doing a collaborative mainstage production with the education department at OFT. This will be a stage experience crafted specifically for youths and will be directed by Education Manager Lex Langguth-Torres.
Everything else in the 20th season offerings will be featured online on June 1.
It does not matter how old you are — everyone from 1 to 101 can come to the Olympia Family Theater to smile, laugh and have their souls nourished.
I look forward to seeing all of you in the audience in the shows to come.