Bob Hanske, Doug Adkins, Gary Adkins, and Stephen Laurel in PeaceSomewhere near the midpoint of Genesius Guild's Peace, the leading character Trygaeus - as characters routinely do in Lincoln Park's late-summer slapsticks - suddenly realizes that the play he's in doesn't really have a plot. One of his scene partners, though, tells him that perhaps that's a good thing. After all, if they don't have a plot, "maybe we won't get reviewed." Nice try, Guild.

Howard Eckdahl, Michael Callahan, Mischa Hooker, Kristan Mitchell, and Nathan Windt in Gianni SchicchiSaturday's performance of Genesius Guild's and Opera @ Augustana's Gianni Schicchi was rained out, which presented a dilemma: Do I act responsibly and attend and review Sunday's performance instead, or do I make an excuse so that I can watch the season finale of Game of Thrones? I chose the former, and while it was difficult to avoid spoilers from what I hear was a shocking finale, I do not regret attending the opera instead.

Jessica Holzknecht, Rowan Crow, and Keenan Odenkirk in As You Like It; photo courtesy of Augustana Photo Bureau/Nadia Panasky '17Director Jennifer Popple's decision to set her Augustana College production of As You Like It in the 1960s is one of the most appropriate changes in time-setting for theatrical material I've yet witnessed. Such shifts sometimes seem gimmicky, or are better in concept than execution, but here it works, and works well.

Calvin Vo and Bryan Woods in The AcharniansThis 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.

Calvin Vo in The Bock EyeFriday's world-premiere performance of playwright Tommy Smith's The Bock Eye - a modernized adaptation of Euripides' The Bacchae - seemed much longer than the 60 minutes it runs from beginning to end. That's not, however, because the piece is dull, or because director Saffron Henke's pacing is too slow. It's because the production is so packed with entertainment and clever and hilarious lines that it seems too much to be contained in just one hour. I enjoyed Augustana College's presentation of this new work so greatly that I was a bit exhausted at its end, and gasped when I looked at my phone and saw that it was only 8:30; I was shocked that I could laugh so much in so little time.