Iowa City, IA - Up next at Riverside Theatre is the area premiere of the gritty and complex Broadway thriller, A Steady Rain by Keith Huff, directed by Joseph Price.

A Steady Rain is about two Chicago cops, Joey and Denny, who are lifelong best friends and partners on the beat until a chain of events spirals out of control threatening their jobs, their friendship and their lives.

"Joey and Denny grew up together and have always lived 'back to back' knowing that they could rely on one another no matter the circumstances," Price said.  "We meet them in a sort of internal affairs purgatory...the men face a world where all seems lost and we witness their struggle to make sense of that world."

This gripping duologue features area actors Martin Andrews as Joey and Jim Van Valen as Denny.

A Steady Rain was performed on Broadway in 2009 and Huff is currently working on adapting the play for EON Films. Huff is a graduate of the UI's Playwright Workshop.

"The lives these characters live, what they see and are asked to do on a daily basis - it's slowly wearing them down - destroying them.  Both of them are looking for salvation.  Only one can find it. It's an exciting story to tell with complicated characters to explore," said Andrews.

Andrews is the Producing Director for Working Group Theatre and an MFA graduate of UI. He last appeared at Riverside Theatre in Working Group Theatre's The Toymaker's War and Riverside's All My Sons.

Van Valen is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Head of Acting at Cornell College and an MFA graduate of UI. He was last seen in Riverside's summer productions of Ah, Wilderness! and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

A Steady Rain also features lighting design by Bryon Winn, sound design by Katherine Horowitz, and costume design by Adriana Fernandez.

A Steady Rain contains strong language and adult content.

Tickets for A Steady Rain, March 30 - April 15, are $15-$28 with discounts available for those over 60, those under 30, and youth. $15 students rush tickets are available on a first come first served basis 20 minutes before curtain. Tickets are available by phone at (319) 338-7672, online at www.riversidetheatre.org or in person at the Riverside Theatre Box

Office, located at 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA.

Immediately following the opening night performance on Friday, March 30 there will be a reception and conversation with Huff in the theatre with a cash bar.

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Performance Schedule

Friday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m.*

Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 1 at 2 p.m.**

Thursday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m.

There will be no performance on Sunday, April 8.

*Reception and conversation with playwright Keith Huff in the theatre with a cash bar immediately following the opening night performance on Friday, March 30.

Re-Enrollment is on!  And there is a  F R E E Z E!

Schools across the state are invited to participate in Prepare for the Basics give-away.

DES MOINES, IA (03/07/2012)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald is offering free pencils to schools across Iowa for use in Kindergarten Round-Up through the Prepare for the Basics program. "Our schools know inviting families to check out their school six months before the school year begins will help kindergarteners prepare for their big transition," Fitzgerald said. "We offer the pencils as a small gesture of support for our schools." In addition to the pencil, this free program will provide information about College Savings Iowa, the state-sponsored 529 plan created to help Iowa families meet the increasing costs of higher education.

College Savings Iowa lets anyone - parents, grandparents, friends and relatives - invest for college. Iowa taxpayers can deduct up to $2,975 in contributions per beneficiary account from their adjusted gross income in 2012.* Investors do not need to be a state resident and can withdraw their investment tax-free to pay for qualified higher education expenses including tuition, books, supplies and room and board at any eligible college, university, community college or accredited technical training school in the United States or abroad.** For more information about College Savings Iowa, visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com or call 1-888-672-9116.

Elementary Principals interested in taking part in the Prepare for the Basics program are urged to register online by visiting www.treasurer.state.ia.us. They can register by clicking on the Education tab and then going to the Prepare for the Basics Campaign. To guarantee timely arrival, materials should be requested at least two weeks in advance. They will be delivered directly to the participating schools. Supplies are limited, so early registration is advised.

*Adjusted annually for inflation. If withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must be added back to Iowa taxable income.

**The earnings portion of nonqualified withdrawals may be subject to federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax, as well as state and local income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.

Investment returns are not guaranteed and you could lose money by investing in the plan. Participants assume all investment risks as well as responsibility for any federal and state tax consequences. If you are not an Iowa taxpayer, consider before investing whether your or the designated beneficiary's home state offers any state tax or other benefits that are only available for investments in such state's qualified tuition program.

For more information about the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan, call 888-672-9116 or visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com to obtain a Program Description. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are included in the Program Description; read and consider it carefully before investing.

Iowa City, IA -Don't miss the fun and excitement of Walking the Wire, Riverside Theatre's annual festival of original monologues, which will bring to the stage a wide variety of crazy situations as part of this year's theme, This Will Never Work.

Walking the Wire: This Will Never Work opens Friday, March 2 and runs through Sunday, March 11, for 7 performances only. The show is directed by Jody Hovland and sponsored by Integrated DNA Technologies.

With over 100 submissions from across the U.S. and beyond, the dozen monologues in the show reflect a diverse range of original work.

The 12 playwrights whose work will be presented are: Brent Boyd (North Hollywood, CA); Dave Carley (Toronto, ON); Ron Clark (Iowa City); Mark Harvey Levine (Pasadena, CA); Deborah Magid (Cleveland Heights, OH); Gordon Mennenga (Iowa City); Mike Moran (Mount Vernon); Amanda Petefish-Schrag (Maryville, MO); Gwendolyn Rice (Madison, WI); Janet Schlapkohl (Iowa City); Jen Silverman (Astoria, NY); and Amy White (Mount Vernon).

Three area writers, Clark, Moran and Schlapkohl, will perform their own work, with an additional cast of local actors including Tim Budd, David Busch, Fannie Hungerford, Katherine Smith, and Jessica Wilson.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $28 for adults, $25 for 60 and over/30 and under, $15 for youth (18 and under).

Tickets can be purchased online at www.riversidetheatre.org or by phone at (319) 338-7672. The Riverside Theatre Box Office is located at 213 N Gilbert St, Iowa City. Box office hours are: 12 - 4 p.m. Monday - Friday and 1 hour before performances.