It was difficult to go into Saturday's performance of New Ground Theatre's The Way West without high expectations given the cast of women involved. I've enjoyed all four of them in the past and was certain I'd be impressed yet again, and by the end of the night, my respect for their talents was mostly renewed due to each one's admirable characterization.

Daniel Pepper in Singin' in the RainLeaving Friday's Countryside Community Theatre performance of Singin' in the Rain, I overheard one woman say to another, "Well, that was a different take on it." Actually, I would love to see a different take on this classic musical written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown. But director/choreographer Christina Myatt's production is, instead, an homage to the original film with only-slightly-adjusted re-creations of Gene Kelly's original choreography, yet one boasting just enough beautiful, original touches to avoid direct mimicry of the movie.

In 1943, Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote Oklahoma!, and consequently created a new genre of theatre that combined elements of drama with vocals and a musical score. Nearly 70 years later, for the first time, I saw the musical performed on stage, in a production by Countryside Community Theatre. I expected antiquity, but instead found the songs inspiring, the relationships (relatively) fresh, and the dialogue surprisingly funny. While Countryside's interpretation of the production incorporates performers of widely varying ages and experience levels - a few of the younger performers were hard to hear at the Thursday-night preview - the show is an example of community theatre at its finest.

Michael Schmidt, Emily Baker, and Eric Reyes in SeussicalOn Thursday night, I attended Quad City Music Guild's preview performance of Seussical, and if you include St. Ambrose University's 2008 production of the one-act Seussical Jr. - and I most certainly do - it was the third time I'd seen this show in as many years. (Eldridge's Countryside Community Theatre produced its version in the summer of 2007.) If theatres would only oblige, I'm reasonably sure I could see it, and without any complaint, every year for the rest of my life.