10 Jun 2013

Sister Aloysius Beauvier Explains It All for You: "Doubt," at the District Theatre through June 16

By Thom White

Anoinette Holman and Susan Perrin-Sallak in DoubtThe District Theatre's Doubt may be the most exceptionally performed, strongly directed production I've yet seen in the Quad Cities. Saturday night's flawless performance left me in awe, particularly for the production's perfect casting, and for how well director James Fairchild highlights playwright John Patrick Shanley's humor.

04 Feb 2013

Reasons of Love: "Rent," at the District Theatre through February 24

By Thom White

Chris Causer and Kelly Lohrenz in RentI cannot praise Bryan Tank enough for his take on composer Jonathan Larson's Rent, as the director's concept renders the much-loved Broadway hit an even more cohesive ensemble piece than any production of the musical I've yet seen. Friday's District Theatre performance left me with a renewed love for Larson's material and, in what may be the highest compliment I can give in regard to the emotionality of the presentation, it left my rarely-moved-to-tears partner Matt in tears - twice.

08 Mar 2012

"Spring" Time: The Center for Living Arts Produces the Controversial Musical "Spring Awakening," March 23 through April 7

By Mike Schulz

Benjie Lewis, Aaron Lord, Max Moline, and Andrew Bruning in Spring AwakeningDino Hayz is the creative director and co-owner of the Center for Living Arts, the Rock Island-based venue that, since 2006, has offered music and theatre (and musical theatre) classes for ages 18 and under, and has produced such stage presentations as Schoolhouse Rock Live! and Disney's High School Musical.

Consequently, Hayz says that he and his performers have a pretty fair idea of how patrons might react to the Center's latest theatrical offering.

"When we're in rehearsal," says Hayz, "at the end of Act I, we always say, 'A-a-and ... blackout. Actors off, lights up, a good third of the audience walks out the door ... ."

06 Jul 2011

Bursting at the Seams: The Harrison Hilltop's Tristan Tapscott Discusses Big Musicals in Small Spaces

By Mike Schulz

Jesus Christ Superstar in rehearsalOdd as it may seem now, there actually was a period in the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's history - a run of 12 shows, to be precise - in which the company didn't produce any musicals whatsoever. Yet after staging a dozen plays between June 2008 and May 2009, co-founders Tristan Tapscott and Chris Walljasper chose to open the theatre's second season with a production of Jonathan Larson's rock musical tick ... tick ... BOOM!

09 Aug 2010

Happy Feet / Glum Defeat: "Step Up 3D" and "Charlie St. Cloud"

By Mike Schulz

Step Up 3DSTEP UP 3D

From its opening, outdoor melee, in which we're assaulted by soap bubbles and multi-colored balloons, to its jaw-dropping dance-off finale, which suggests a mass seizure titled Attack of the TRON Clones, Step Up 3D is proudly, even profoundly, ridiculous.

21 Jul 2010

Rollin' on the River: "Show Boat," at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre through July 24

By Thom White

Jennifer Noble is in the wrong role in the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's production of Show Boat. That's to say, she's so good in the role of Julie that the part seems woefully small. It is, however, impossible for Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II to write more songs and dialogue for the character, so we must be content to enjoy what we can during Noble's time on stage. And enjoy it I did. Immensely.

21 Jun 2010

Frayn-ed Nerves: "Noises Off," at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre through June 27

By Thom White

At the end of Act I at Saturday's Clinton Area Showboat Theatre presentation of Noises Off, the couple sitting next to me said they weren't going to stay for the remainder of the play. (They, along with the rest of the audience, hadn't laughed all that much during the first portion of this comedy.) Apparently, however, the two changed their minds during intermission and did stay - and it was a good choice, as the show grew progressively funnier over the next two acts.

12 Apr 2010

Bohemian Rhapsody: "Rent," at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre through May 1

By Thom White

Tristan Tapscott and Steve Lasiter in RentIn the program's director's notes, Matthew Helton reveals that he stepped into the role of director for the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's production of Rent hours before the first rehearsal, not giving him enough time to do much more than reproduce the Broadway staging of the show. The replication is arguably forgivable, given his time constraints, but also unfortunate, as little of the performance possesses the mark of being the local theatre's own take on composer Jonathan Larson's work. That being said, however, the production lives up to and even exceeds expectations, due to the singing ability of its cast, and the high energy of its band.

22 Feb 2010

Demigods and an Acting God: "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" and "A Single Man"

By Mike Schulz

Brandon T. Jackson, Logan Lerman, and Alexandra Daddario in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning ThiefPERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF

Just because the title is rather unwieldy, and the film is about an adolescent with otherworldly abilities, and this kid has male and female tag-along pals with powers of their own, and there are a lot of CGI effects on display, and the director is Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets helmer Chris Columbus, don't think that Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is necessarily indebted to J.K. Rowling. The latest Harry Potter movie, after all, found its hero contending with a Half-Blood Prince. This adventure, on the other hand, finds its son-of-Poseidon protagonist attending Camp Half-Blood. See? They're not even remotely similar.

12 Jul 2009

Amüsing Enüf: "Brüno," "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," and "I Love You, Beth Cooper"

By Mike Schulz

Sacha Baron Cohen in BrünoBRÜNO

Returning with a comedy in a vein similar, re-e-e-eally similar, to that of their 2006 smash Borat, director Larry Charles and co-writer/star Sacha Baron Cohen now present us with Brüno, another mock-doc based on one of Cohen's famed Da Ali G Show characters. With a storyline that you can easily summarize in three words - Borat gone gay - it's the pair's latest attempt to shock the masses into spasms of outrage and gales of uncontrollable laughter, and I'll readily admit that the movie is pretty funny, and sometimes awfully funny.

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