The Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's The Last Romance is, for the most part, a refreshingly lighthearted romantic comedy. Watching Friday's performance, I was delighted not only with much of playwright Joe DiPietro's script, but also with the tempo of director Tom Morrow's production. The characters' conversations are quickly paced, though not unnaturally so, and maintain the piece's joyful energy, but Morrow also gives his cast moments to breathe when appropriate, allowing the play's emotions and humor to sink in before the fast-talking exchanges continue.
Quad City Music Guild's A Christmas Survival Guide, with its sentiment, irreverence, and cheeky humor, is almost exactly my kind of holiday celebration. Wednesday night's dress rehearsal - and the show was so finely polished that I hardly think it necessary to state that it was a dress rehearsal - had me smiling, chuckling, and itching to sing along with the familiar songs included in this musical revue.
Playwright Patrick Hamilton's Angel Street, the season-closing presentation at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, was the stage inspiration for George Cukor's mystery/thriller Gaslight, so it's kind of appropriate that the production's gas lights are perhaps its cleverest touch. I'm often remiss in praising the design for Richmond Hill shows, especially given the inherent (and considerable) challenges of theatre-in-the-round. But Angel Street is so technically assured and aesthetically pleasing that I found myself grinning in the first mood-setting seconds of director Tom Morrow's Victorian drama. (I'm calling it a drama rather than a mystery and/or thriller because the show isn't really much of either. But more on that later.)Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts
On Stands Now
Tagged Content
Two Ways to Subscribe
1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Amy Alkon Advice Goddess, Real Astrology, Red Meat cartoon and RCR Crossword every week?)
2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48
Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!