Bryan Lopez and Stephanie Moeller in ProofBryan Lopez's charm seems key to enjoying the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's production of Proof. That's not to say that he's the only reason to take in director Steve Parmley's presentation of author David Auburn's material, but I do want to acknowledge that it's his character's grace and agreeableness that draw you into the play, as he's our sympathetic and likable connection to the plot's proceedings. During Friday's performance, the eagerness with which Lopez's Hal tried to lure Stephanie Moeller's Katherine out of her house to hear his band of math geeks perform held such sincerity that I hoped she'd say yes solely for his sake.

Tom Walljasper, Sandra D Rivera, Tristan Layne Tapscott, and Erin Dickerson in Are We There Yet Five Extraordinary Ensembles

An actor friend of mine says he always wants to be the worst performer in everything he's in, because if the rest of the cast is doing stronger work than he is, that means the show is in really, really good shape. With that in mind, any actor worth his or her salt would be thrilled to be the worst performer among these five ensembles.

 

Bryan Tank and Sheri Hess in EvitaIn its opening minutes, Quad City Music Guild's Evita is so thrilling that even though the production begins with a funeral, I found it nearly impossible to stifle my giggles.

Dallas Drummond, Chris Castle, and Nathan Batles in Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat When I learned that Quad City Music Guild's new presentation of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat would feature a cast of nearly a hundred - 98, to be exact - I was both thrilled and slightly concerned. Thrilled because ... well, come on, what fan of musicals wouldn't want to see and hear an assemblage of that many performers?

But my concern stemmed from wondering what director Harold Truitt was going to do with them all. Even with 56 members of the children's chorus seated on both sides of the stage, apart from the main action, 42 seemed a rather excessive number of participants for this enjoyably featherweight biblical piece. Would Joseph's enormity prove beneficial, or detrimental?