“Marvel Spotlight: Squirrel Girl Goes to College" at Davenport Junior Theatre -- April 22 through 30.
Saturday, April 22, through Sunday, April 30
Davenport Junior Theatre, 2822 Eastern Avenue, Davenport IA
The adventures of a comic-book sensation with wonderfully, and hilariously, unique powers will be presented as the final production in Davenport Junior Theatre's 2022-23 mainstage season, with Marvel Spotlight: Squirrel Girl Goes to College popping from the page to the stage in an April 22 through 30 run performed wholly by phenomenally gifted student actors.
In Squirrel Girl Goes to College, recent high-school graduate Doreen Allene Green arrives at Empire State University to make new friends – and protect them from super-villains – by keeping her superhero identity a secret. But when a beloved computer science professor suddenly disappears, can Doreen trust her friends with her inner squirrel so she can save the day? Karen Zacarias' play is based on the Marvel Comics figure created by writer Will Murray and writer/artist Steve Ditko, and she first appeared in the Marvel Super-Heroes Winter Special published in 1991. Murray created the character out of a desire to write lighthearted stories, in contrast to the heavily dramatic tales that were then norm in mainstream comics. Although distinct from Marvel's mutants, Doreen has a genetic anomaly which gives her the ability to communicate with squirrels, and she has been a member of both the Avengers and the Great Lakes Avengers, as well as a supporting character in stories featuring Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Doreen has also appeared in her own solo series, comics that have depicted her dividing her time between her superhero adventures and her work as a college student.
As Davenport Junior Theatre's season-closing mainstage season, Marvel Spotlight: Squirrel Girl Goes to College involves 37 students from all over the Quad Cities. These gifted students, who range in age from 10 to 18, are the show's actors, crew members, tech board operators, front-of-house team, and one of them at each performance will portray Junior Theatre mascot Showtime Pal. Directing the production in her DJT debut is Lily Blouin, who appeared as Maria von Trapp in the Sptolight Theatre's The Sound of Music, and whose dance and fight choreography has been seen in such area presentations as the Spotlight's Oliver! and Genesius Guild's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The show's set is designed by St. Ambrose University alum and frequent Circa ‘21 scenic painter Becky Meissen, with costumes by fellow St. Ambrose graduate Ellie Larson, and addition members of Blouin's creative team include Reader theatre reviewer Alexander Scott Richardson as lighting and sound designer and Sarah Greim as prop designer.
Marvel Spotlight: Squirrel Girl Goes to College runs from April 22 through 30, with performances on Saturdays at 1 and 4 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is free, though donations are encouraged and appreciated, and more information is available by calling (563)888-2227 and visiting DavenportJuniorTheatre.org.
