By CASEY DEY   Tacoma’s theater district lit up the weekend of Oct. 25-27 with new renditions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Both were a spectacular reminder of why theater continues to dazzle audiences today. From its inception in 1879, Gilbert and Sullivan’s comedy operetta Pirates of Penzance has left audiences with happy ears and smiling hearts. Tacoma Opera’s rendition on Oct. 25 and 27 was no exception. Frederic is a young man mistakenly apprenticed to a band of pirates until his twenty-first birthday....

Student produced. Student written. Student directed. Student acted. Student run. The Town Crier theatre festival gives Puget Sound students a wonderful opportunity to gain experience in every aspect of theatrical production. Months of careful preparation culminated in the Seventh Annual Town Crier Speaks Festival on Oct. 10-12, divided across three evenings of laughter, tears, thoughtful reflections and glimpses into the vast realm of the theatrical experience. Go was about a failing show told from the perspective of the back-stage crew. A production of King Lear-in-space goes horribly wrong when sound...