Jeremy Mahr in The Complete Word of God (abridged)In the beginning, Brent Tubbs directed a play. And the production was without form and void; darkness was upon the face of the show. And the spirit of Brent moved upon the three-person cast. And Brent said, “Let there be humor,” and there was laughter. And Brent heard the giggles, and it was good. And Brent said, “Behold, I have provided everything necessary for entertainment.” And he knew that it was heavenly … even though yours truly, on Saturday, missed out on several probably heavenly scenes.

Jake Walker, Stephanie Burrough, Chris Sanders-Ring, and Kitty Israel in Love's Labour's LostWhile waiting for the Prenzie Players' Thursday-night dress rehearsal of the William Shakespeare comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost to begin, I realized it had been a long time since I had seen one of the Bard of Avon’s plays performed live. I pondered whether I would be able to follow the plot and comprehend the dialogue. I worried that the show might be too stuffy for my unrefined sense of theatre. “Holy crap, I'm supposed to write a review – what if I don’t get it?” Yet as the show began, the Prenzies put my neuroses to rest very quickly.

Brody-Tucker Ford, Sam Jones, and Brooke Schelly in The PillowmanDuring Friday's performance, the QC Theatre Workshop's The Pillowman had me in stitches. While I didn't laugh loudly often, I did chuckle repeatedly throughout the performance, only subduing my laughs out of concern that the subject of my delight was too dark to be funny. But playwright Martin McDonagh's dark comedy is both unquestionably dark and outrageously funny. I mean, it has a young girl (Laila Haley) who considers herself Christ-like proclaiming, "I don't think I'm Jesus. I [effing] am Jesus!" That is some dark comedy.

Mike Schulz and Thomas Alan Taylor in A Steady Rain, photo by Shared Light Photography's Jessica SheridanI want to see Thomas Alan Taylor bomb on stage, and actually fail to portray a role well. This isn't said out of disdain or schadenfreude, but because, to date, I've seen no evidence that he can do any wrong as an actor.

Countryside Community Theatre presents Les Miserables"You know, it's been interesting," says Christina Myatt, president of the board of directors for the Eldridge-based Countryside Community Theatre (CCT). "Because we wanted to do something big for our 30th anniversary, and this is definitely something big. But when people hear what we're actually doing, they either say, 'That's really great!' or they say, 'You people are insane.'"

Thomas Alan Taylor and Mike Schulz in RedI went into Red, playwright John Logan's drama about abstract expressionist Mark Rothko and his young assistant Ken, with uncertainty about how to appreciate visual art beyond just liking pretty things I see. I left Friday's QC Theatre Workshop production with a better understanding of meaning and intent in art, while also feeling a disdain for abstract expressionism, particularly Mark Rothko's "color fields." And while I'm not certain that Logan's intent is for viewers to dislike Rothko or his paintings, I do think he wants audiences to walk away with emotion and opinions about the artist's creations - making my distaste for Rothko evidence that Logan's work is effective.

Eddie Staver III, Kimberly Furness, Mike Schulz, and Jessica Denney in Time Stands StillI quite appreciate the way Kimberly Furness and Eddie Staver III work with tension, using silence, emotional distance, anger, and passionate desire, among other acting tools, to portray the intensity (or lack thereof) in their onstage relationships. Their violent, sometimes stunted, oftentimes broken, yet undeniably sensual connection in both the Curtainbox Theatre Company's Danny & the Deep Blue Sea in 2008 and Fool for Love in 2010 was breathtaking to watch. And while their current efforts in Time Stands Still are much more subtle, they're no less dramatic. Instead of their stunning physical work in the previous two shows, Furness' and Staver's performances here rely on the verbal and emotional aspects of their relationship, one superbly crafted by these gifted actors.

Matthew Wiggin, Tom Taylor, Maeve Martin, Tommy McDowell, Marc Ciemiewicz, and Janos Horvath in Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad DayNot being a child myself, I can only imagine the delight that kids feel at seeing a much-loved book played out, on stage, before their eyes - which is what's currently happening in the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's production of Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. While I've personally never read author Judith Viorst's work, I do know it's a popular story among younger readers, and those in the audience during Saturday morning's performance certainly seemed to like what they were seeing. (They were also at least familiar enough with the source material to be able to shout out the show's title without a hitch... though I'd bet many could recite much more than that part of the book by heart.)

Kimberly Furness[Author's note: The following was written for TheCurtainbox.com, the Web site for our area's Curtainbox Theatre Company, of which I've been a proud member for nearly a year.]

 

Recently, Curtainbox Theatre Company founder Kim Furness and I sat down over a glass of wine - all right, maybe a couple of glasses - to celebrate her company's 10-year anniversary. She had recently taken over the directing position for the Curtainbox's latest production, Speed-the-Plow (in the wake of original helmer Philip W. McKinley's recruitment as new director of Broadway's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark), and during our conversation, was happy to share her thoughts on the company's history. (The David Mamet comedy Speed-the-Plow - featuring Erin Churchill, Dan Hernandez, and myself - runs at the Village of East Davenport's Village Theatre from April 10 through 23, with preview performances April 8 & 9.)

Jessica Stratton, Melissa McBain, and Jeremy Mahr in DoubtThere's a special thrill you get from a stage work that seems not just beautifully, but perfectly cast, and following the curtain call for the Green Room's Friday-evening presentation of Doubt: A Parable - currently playing at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre - that thrill stuck with me for the rest of the night, and into the next day.

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