‘Always Olivia’

MOSES LAKE — “Always Olivia,” the opening show of the Columbia Basin Allied Arts Premiere Series, will have a little something extra Friday. 

“We’re kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness Month with this awesome show,” said Shawn Cardwell, executive director of CBAA, “And, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, $2 of every ticket is going to the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation.” 

“Always Olivia” brings back the music of Olivia Newton-John, who passed away in 2022 after a long battle with breast cancer. Newton-John’s career spanned seven decades and included hits like “I Honestly Love You,” “Have You Never Been Mellow” and the provocative 1980 hit “Physical.” Perhaps her best-known role was as the good-girl-turned-gang-chick Sandy in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Grease.” 

“We have five costume changes, and we have video vignettes that orient people to kind of just some of the major milestones in her career,” said singer Annie Aiello, who portrays Newton-John. “And we also do a lot of fun crowd interaction and engagements, like we go out in the crowd during ‘Grease’, and we pull up some people to come up and dance with us.” 

Aiello discovered Newton-John’s music when her parents gave her a copy of the album “Have You Never Been Mellow,” she said. 

“My dad brought it home to me when I was 7 years old,” she said. “I was listening to Karen Carpenter and Donnie and Marie Osmond. But I put (the album) on and I was instantly fascinated by her voice and wanted to be her. She became my musical hero.” 

Aiello said her show will cover everything from Newton-John’s country catalog in the 1970s through her more mature work in the 2000s. 

“She got very much into how music can heal, because she was dealing with cancer, and so she wrote a CD called ‘Grace and Gratitude,' and I sang (the title) song, which a lot of people aren't familiar with. But I love her country era, “Please, Mister, Please,” and “If You Love Me Let Me Know.” We do a whole country medley in our show. 

“She’s a vocal powerhouse,” Cardwell said. “Really, she’s amazing, not only vocally but she also looks stunning. She wears some unmistakably Olivia Newton-John looks throughout the show, from ‘Physical’ to the transformation that Sandy goes through in ‘Grease.’ She rocks them.” 

Aiello credited her band with much of the show’s success. 

“The band is literally some of the most professional and well-known people in Chicago,” she said. “They've played for Oprah, they've played for ‘Jersey Boys,’ they've played for the Smothers Brothers, Mannheim Steamroller. They're real, real talented people … they make me look good.” 

Besides CBAA’s contribution to the CBCF, Aiello donates a portion of the proceeds from each show to battling cancer through the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre, she said. 

“Olivia had breast cancer, but the cancer center specifically is to help anyone journeying with this disease,” she said. “My father passed away of renal carcinoma at the age of 73. I lost a brother-in-law to a brain tumor at 53 and I lost my aunt to glioblastoma. Olivia lost her life to breast cancer, and her sister also to a glioblastoma. That’s why it has such a broad appeal; it’s something we can all relate to.”  

This is Columbia Basin Allied Arts’ 47th year presenting the Premiere Series, Cardwell said. There are three more performances waiting in the wings: “Murder at the Ballet” on Nov. 1, the Sphinx Virtuosi on March 1 and “A Room with a View” on March 28. Tickets are available at CBAA’s website for individual shows, but the best way to see them is with a season ticket, Cardwell said. 

“People save 20-30% and get the best seats, and the same seats each show,” Cardwell said. “Members get access to our members-only lines to get into the theater and get concessions, eliminating the long lines that people have been experiencing at our shows the last couple of years as our attendance has grown.” 

Tickets & information 

www.cba-arts.org
www.AlwaysOliviaTribute.com

    The tribute show “Always Olivia,” performed by Annie Aiello, will cover five decades of the star’s music, including her 1980 hit “Physical.”
  

    The role of Sandy in Grease, perhaps Olivia Newton-John’s best-known performance, will be reprised in Annie Aiello’s tribute show “Always Olivia.”