The sharp wit of playwright Gary Ray Stapp's dialogue goes a long way to overcome the occasional humorless spots in the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's production of Love Thy Neighbor. And when the cast is delivering Stapp's most amusing banter, director Eugenia Giebel's presentation titillates sometimes to the point of tears, particularly as Jan Golz's self-important, riff-raff-hating busybody Leona Crump squares off against Diane Greenwood's dolled-up, somewhat pompous Tupperware and Avon saleswoman Ava. The two create sparks of entertaining disdain for each other, and best suggest the overall tone Stapp apparently intended for his play.
Quad City Music Guild's production of 9 to 5: The Musical is flat-out fun, with loads of laughs and major amusement delivered throughout the two-and-a-half-hour presentation. Friday's performance, for me, was one of the most enjoyable stagings of the summer, with exceptional performances from the musical's three main actors as well as several supporting cast members. The pit band, under the music direction of music Gregg Neuleib, didn't seem to miss a note during their dynamic accompaniment. And Erin Churchill's peppy choreography seems of a higher level of difficulty than is customary at Music Guild, but in a welcome way, as the show's ensemble proved up to the task. With its perfect pacing and high energy, and under the capable direction of John VanDeWoestyne, I'd say Music Guild has a definite hit on its (stage)hands.
It only takes the jurors of the District Theatre's 12 Angry Men an hour to deliberate and arrive at a verdict in the play's murder trial, but director Tristan Tapscott's production in no way feels rushed or stunted. Instead, Thursday's 60-minute trip through this classic piece of theatre did a fine job of showcasing the excellence of playwright Reginald Rose's script. Plus, purists be damned, Tapscott's decision to cast women in what's traditionally - even titularly - an all-male drama proves not at all problematic, and allows for the inclusion of Patti Flaherty, and her infusion of humorous personality traits, in the role of Juror Four.
This year's end-of-season Greek comedy by Genesius Guild, The Acharnians, is high on political humor, musical numbers, and sharply funny barbs at the expense of local organizations - especially Genesis Health System and Trinity Regional Health System (now UnityPoint Health) - and the cities of Moline, Davenport, and Rock Island. And I was smiling from ear to ear during almost the entirety of Saturday's performance, tickled by the clever jokes, amusing songs, and even the groan-worthy puns.
It's always a pleasure to be able to laud the chorus members of a production, and that's certainly appropriate for Genesius Guild's presentation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus; the crowd scenes involving the Roman citizens - a group made up of 15 actors - are some of the most dynamic moments in co-directors Bryan Woods' and Don Wooten's production. Usually seen angrily protesting something, there's a palpable energy in these performers' collective presence as the group storms the stage and creates a general hubbub in the background, adding more realism than would be on display had they merely stood in place and interjected occasional comments. Stirring things up beginning with the opening scene, and appearing multiple times throughout the course of the play, this charismatic group sets the stage for what proves to be an entertaining evening.
The Playcrafters Barn Theatre's production of The Fox on the Fairway is a bit of a conundrum, as the script isn't as consistently funny as much of playwright Ken Ludwig's other fare, specifically Lend Me a Tenor and Moon Over Buffalo. But his tale of rival golf clubs duking it out at their annual tournament remains riveting nonetheless. While the laughs were there during Friday's performance - and those laughs were oftentimes hearty, if not as plentiful as they could've been - it was the uncertainty regarding which direction Ludwig's tale would go, and the outcome of his plot, that maintained interest in this story.
So far as melodramas go, The Curse of an Aching Heart: Or, Trapped in the Spider's Web is, for me, one of the more tolerable and entertaining works in its genre. Not being a fan of this brand of comedy, I still laughed quite a bit during Thursday's performance at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, as playwright Herbert Swayne's clever wit and director Tom Morrow's pleasingly on-the-verge-of-over-dramatic tone made for an amusing night of comedy.
Les Misérables is an epic musical, and Countryside Community Theatre should be commended for its noble effort in staging the multi-layered, much-loved piece by composer Claude-Michel Schönberg and lyricist Herbert Kretzmer. Director David Turley and his cast treat the material with the respect it deserves. Friday night's performance, however, was still riddled with problems, many of them of a technical nature.
Playwright Aaron Randolph III has, so far as I know, effectively captured the mental workings of a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in his new drama A Green River. A representation of the chaotic, haunting thoughts likely experienced by some soldiers with PTSD, his play takes us through the memories of a single soldier - from childhood to falling in love to combat to his return home - while the young man revisits his favorite quiet place along a river. And as if the proceedings in Randolph's story weren't enough, he also includes a stunningly moving finale that packs such an emotional punch that I'd be surprised if most, if not all, of Saturday's audience members for the QC Theatre Workshop production aren't still reeling from it.
Costume designer Gregory Hiatt's creations for the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's family musical Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type were, for me, the highlights of Saturday morning's performance.Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts
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