As I watched Olympia Little Theatre's production of Educating Rita, a show it essentially ported over from Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia, I was reminded of both Oleanna and another play in love with English poetry, Margaret Edson's Wit. In this production, John Pratt (Premiere!) embodies Frank. Kaaren Spanski-Dreffin, one of Pratt's former students in real life, plays Susan; and for two and a half hours, it's just them and Russell's words. That makes their memorization incredibly difficult, so yes, I did catch a few bobbles here and there. It's also absorbing, for both actors and audience, and I found this show clever and deep - a combination few scripts manage to pull off.

Read Christian Carvajal's full review of Educating Rita in the Music & Culture section.

EDUCATING RITA, 7:55 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 1:55 p.m. Sunday, through Feb. 23, Olympia Little Theatre, 1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia, $10-$14, 360.786.9484