April 22nd, 2014 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For Immediate Release:  Due to unprecedented demand, eight performances were added to TCR's Les Misérables production schedule; one to benefit Cedar Rapids Washington High School "Patrons for the Performing Arts" group.

Scheduled to open on June 20th with a special Gala performance to celebrate the final production of TCR's blockbuster 80th season, the production will feature a cast of local talent who were among the 300 that auditioned for a chance to perform in the hit musical.

When asked what is most exciting about the prospect of adding so many performances, Artistic Director Leslie Charipar said, "It is outstanding to know so many people not only want to see Les Misérables, but are truly excited to see our unique production. Adding this many shows is a testament to the demand for big budget musicals in our community, just as it is a reminder that TCR consistently produces new or unique works to satisfy the spectrum of theatergoers in the Creative Corridor." 

To Charipar's point, an adult comedy play that is set to open on Friday April 25th in TCR's 90-seat Grandon Studio just added three performances to satisfy demand. The production of God of Carnage originally had eleven performances, but just recently increased that number when performances began to sell out.

When asked if adding so many performances is common, TCR Sales & Marketing Director Richie Akers said, "Earlier in the season, Studio productions of Jake's Women and For Colored Girls required added shows, just as the big musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar and Spamalot did. Five productions this season alone added performances to meet demand, but not quite on this scale. We anticipated a lot of people would want to see Les Misérables, but we haven't seen anything quite like it since we produced the musical Rent four years ago. We are all just thankful that we have the opportunity to tell our stories to more people than anticipated, and look forward to the many opportunities we'll have to repeat it in our next season."

Theatre Cedar Rapids is the first local organization in Iowa's Creative Corridor to produce the musical that first debuted on Broadway twenty-eight years ago. With nineteen scheduled performances open to the public, the production is expected to draw over 8,000 patrons during its six week run. Added performances with the best current availability are highlighted in red. Tickets for all performances can be purchased at www.theatrecr.org/onedaymore
  • Friday June 20th at 7:30 pm
  • Saturday June 21st at 7:30 pm
  • Thursday June 26th at 7:30 pm
  • Friday June 27th at 7:30 pm
  • Saturday June 28th at 7:30 pm
  • Sunday June 29th at 2:30 pm
  • Thursday July 3rd at 7:30 pm
  • Saturday July 5th at 7:30 pm
  • Sunday July 6th at 2:30 pm
  • Friday July 11th at 7:30 pm
  • Saturday July 12th at 7:30 pm
  • Sunday July 13th at 2:30 pm
  • Friday July 18th at 7:30 pm
  • Saturday July 19th at 7:30 pm (Washington HS PPA benefit)
  • Sunday July 20th at 2:30 pm
  • Thursday July 24th at 7:30 pm
  • Friday July 25th at 7:30 pm
  • Saturday July 26th at 7:30 pm
  • Sunday July 27th at 2:30 pm


TCR's production of  Les Misérables is sponsored by Great America Financial Serivces, and part of the CRST Broadway Series. God of Carnage is sponsored by KDAT and part of the Grandon Series.

About Theatre Cedar Rapids
Among the region's largest and longest-operating community theatres, Theatre Cedar Rapids is located in the Iowa Theater Building in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Founded by regionalist artist Grant Wood, TCR is a nationally-recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit community theatre in its 80th season of quality local programs that reach more than 60,000 eastern Iowans of all ages.  Core goals of the organization center on the quality and accessibility of programs.  During the August to July season, the 12 full-time staff, part-time help and contract artists fill more than 3,000 volunteer placements and work together to create an ambitious lineup of musicals, comedies, dramas and classics in addition to providing theatre education programs. The mission of Theatre Cedar Rapids: "Together, we create the magic of live theatre."

Quick Facts:
  • 47,000 hours volunteered last year
  • Over 60,000 patrons and participants last season
  • Founded by artists Grant Wood and Marvin Cone in 1925
  • An independent certified public accountant audits the theatre annually
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Theatre Cedar Rapids
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Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
April 8 2013 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  For Immediate Release: Theatre Cedar Rapids Announces 80th Season Lineup of Productions.

With great anticipation and several shows projected to play to sell-out crowds, we are proud to announce our 80th Season lineup. Current Members and Subscribers are able to purchase a full season subscription now via mail-in form or the TCR Box Office. In an effort to embrace new technology, current Members and Subscribers will also be able to complete subscription orders online starting May 1st, as will the general public starting June 1st. There has never been a better season to be a subscriber and a donor at one of the nation's top community theatres. Let the magic begin!

Subscription pricing for 8 shows:
  • Adult "Fantastic" Seating $238
  • Adult "Excellent" Seating $213
  • Adult "Great" Seating $173
  • Youth/Student Seating $128

TCR 80th Season MAINSTAGE MUSICALS

Jesus Christ Superstar
- Lyrics by Tim Rice, Music by Andrew Lloyd Weber. This groundbreaking rock opera explores the last seven days of Christ's life. Filled with struggle, love, faith, and music, this rock opera debuted on Broadway in 1971, and changed the face of musical theatre forever. Superstar was last produced at TCR in 1986.
  • Opens October 11, 2013 through November 2, 2013
  • Rated PG (Note: Some content could be intense for our younger audience members)

Monty Python's Spamalot
- Book and Lyrics by Eric Idle, Music by John Du Prez. Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a bevy of beautiful showgirls, killer rabbits, cows, and French people. Truly, one of the funniest shows to come out of Broadway in a long while. This is TCR's first production of Spamalot.
  • Opens January 24, 2014 through February 15, 2014
  • Rated PG (Note: Although funny, some mild questionable language, situations, adult humor)

Les Misérables
- Book by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. An international smash-hit that quite possibly is the most popular musical in the world, Les Misérables is the moving story of Jean Valjean and his struggle for redemption and peace. Set against the backdrop of 19th century France and the French revolution, this popular masterpiece promises to be one of TCR's biggest undertakings ever.
  • Opens June 20, 2014 through July 19, 2014
  • Rated PG (Note: Some content could be intense for our younger audience members)


TCR 80th Season MAINSTAGE PLAYS

Miracle on 34th Street
- Adapted from the novel by Valentine Davies and based on the Twentieth Century Fox motion picture. Based on one of the most heartwarming holiday films, Miracle on 34th Street follows a man who claims to be Kris Kringle while he works as Macy's Santa. Kris unleashes waves of good will with Macy's customers, and touches the heart of everyone he meets. However, not everyone believes in Santa Claus, and Kris ends up in court, where the Spirit of Christmas prevails. TCR last produced this classic in 1998.
  • Opens November 29, 2013 through December 21, 2013
  • Rated G (Note: Perfect for the ENTIRE family)

To Kill A Mockingbird
- Adapted by Christopher Sergel from the novel by Harper Lee. Based on the renowned novel by Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird is the story of Scout, a young girl in a quiet southern town in 1935, who, along with her older brother, is, being raised by her widowed, lawyer father, and their strong-minded housekeeper. As Atticus defends a young Black man wrongfully accused of a grave crime, Scout learns about prejudice, compassion, justice, and love. This play was last produced by TCR in 1999.
  • Opens March 21 , 2014 through April 12, 2014
  • Rated G (Note: Attention span for younger audience members)


80th Season GRANDON STUDIO PRODUCTIONS

Underground New Play Festival
- Playwrights TBA. This will be TCR's fourth Underground Festival and the third Underground New Play Festival. As we continue to produce this exciting showcase for new work, the submissions get better and audiences continue to clamor for these never-before-seen short plays, one-acts, and full-length productions.
  • Begins September 12, 2013 through September 22, 2013
  • Ratings TBA
Neil Simon's Jake's Women
- Neil Simon. Jake faces a marital crisis by daydreaming about the women in his life. The wildly comic and sometimes moving flashbacks played in his mind are interrupted by visitations from actual women. Jake's women include his dead first wife, his daughter now and back then, his bossy sister, his opinionated analyst, his soon-to-be-ex-wife, and a prospective third wife. TCR last did this show in 1997.
  • Opens November 1, 2013 through November 23, 2013
  • Rated PG (Note: Subject matter and attention span for elementary-aged audience members)
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf
- Ntozake Shange. This groundbreaking choreopoem is a spellbinding collection of vivid prose and free verse narratives about and performed by Black women. Capturing the brutal, tender and dramatic lives of contemporary Black women, For Colored Girls... offers a transformative, riveting evening of provocative dance, music and poetry. This is the first time TCR has presented this show.
  • Opens February 21, 2014 through March 15, 2014
  • Rated R (Explicit language and subject matter)
God of Carnage
- Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton. Winner of the 2009 Tony Award, this play is a brutally entertaining and hilarious story of two sets of Brooklyn parents brought together for a meeting regarding a playground altercation between their eleven-year-old sons. This is the first production of God of Carnage at TCR.
  • Opens April 25, 2014 through May 17, 2014
  • Rated R (Note: Explicit language and subject matter)

80th Season SPECIAL EVENTS at TCR

2013/14 TCR Curtain Raiser
A retrospective and entertaining evening, with a goal of "raising the curtain" while previewing the new season.September 6, 2013


DIVAPALOOZA: Estrogen Force Field
A new DIVAPALOOZA show you won't want to miss. Imagine Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, and Bette Midler all together on one stage. That, in a nutshell, is the experience of DIVAPALOOZA. The ladies in this trio have each garnered well-deserved comparisons to their more famous counterparts: Janelle Lauer tears it up as the explosive rhythm & blues powerhouse; Jane Pini is the embodiment of a true 60's rock & roll acid queen; Lynne Rothrock hits the perfect balance between elegant, beautiful vocals, and saucy, hilarious stage banter. A band of the finest musicians accompany this talented group. There is something for everyone - rhythm & blues, jazz, musical theatre, rock & roll, folk, and country. On stage at Theatre Cedar Rapids September 13 & 14, 2013


Music Man Concert with Orchestra Iowa
- Book, Music, and Lyrics by Meredith Willson. The Music Man follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boy's band he vows to organize - this despite the fact he doesn't know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian the librarian, who transforms him into a respectable citizen by curtain's fall. A full production of this show was last mounted at TCR in 1992. On stage at the Paramount Theatre September 26-29, 2013 Rated G (Note: Concert, perfect for the entire family)

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Theatre Cedar Rapids Announces
Disney's Camp Rock: The Musical 
August 9, 2012 - August 19, 2012

July 27, 2012 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Theatre Cedar Rapids is proud to announce the upcoming production Disney's CAMP ROCK: The Musical, opening the 2012-13 Season on August 9, 2012.  The production runs at 7:30pm on August 9,10,11 and August 15,16,17,18, in addition to 2:30pm matinees on August 12 and 19. Tickets are priced from $20 to $30 for Students and Adults, and can be purchased at www.theatrecr.org or via the TCR Box Office.
After the hugely popular success of Disney's High School Musical in 2008 (and later reprised in 2009) TCR is expecting sold out performances of this newer stage musical offered with the Disney namesake.  With an intense amount of dance choreography, the cast could be referred to as a "cream of the crop" of local high school show choir talent, representing lead soloists and dancers from Cedar Rapids, Marion, Linn-Mar, and surrounding communities. The "Camp Rockers" have been seen all over Cedar Rapids in recent weeks, on the Downtown Farmers Market stage, singing the National Anthem at the Cedar Rapids Kernels, and participating in several "flash mobs" at area downtown businesses.
The production is Directed and Choreographed by Cedar Rapids native Lovar Davis Kidd.  Mr. Kidd is no stranger to the stage; he most recently performed in the 2011-2012 National tour of the Tony award-winning musical In The Heights.  This production is Mr. Kidd's directorial debut at TCR.  The directorial team includes Alex Shields (Musical Director), Hannah Spina (Assistant Director), and Bentlee Birchansky (Production Assistant).  The set and lighting was designed by Derek Easton (Technical Director), sound by Shawn Poellet, and the costumes by Marnie Marshall. Scenic artistry and props for the production were designed by Daniel Kelchen.
Casting highlights include Timmothy and Emmy Palmersheim, a father and daughter from Cedar Rapids who have performed musical gigs locally as a duo, but will take the production stage together for the first time playing roles in Camp Rock.  TCR veteran alumni Tina Monroe is also a featured adult member of the cast. Several of the youth cast members were featured in last summer's successful production of 13, including Meredith Diebold, portraying the lead in the role of "Mitchie" in Camp Rock.

 

High-resolution promotional images for the production are available for download at the bottom of linked page.

 

Disney's CAMP ROCK: The Musical, based on the hit Disney Channel Original Movies Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (starring teen idols Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers) will fire up the stage with over a dozen songs, including "This Is Me," "Can't Back Down," "It's On," and "We Rock."   A classic story of rivalry and power, Disney's CAMP ROCK: The Musical opens with Mitchie and her friends arriving at Camp Rock, ready to spend another summer jamming out and having the time of their lives. But the new, flashy Camp Star across the lake now threatens Camp Rock's very existence. To keep the doors open, Mitchie steps up, rallies her fellow Camp Rockers, and gets them into top shape for the ultimate showdown!(MTIshows.com)

 

TCR's production of Disney's CAMP ROCK: The Musical is proudly sponsored by Penford Products and Wells Fargo Bank.