Tom Walljasper, Carrie Sa Loutos, and Autumn O'Ryan in Whodunit... the MusicalIt doesn't feature a question mark, but the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's Whodunit... the Musical may still not have the right question in its title; after viewing Saturday's performance, I was instead asking myself, "What is it?" The show's book, for the most part, is a straightforward murder-mystery, the majority of its songs make for a bright and cheery musical, and the climax and dénouement are straight out of drawing-room farce. It's an identity crisis bigger than the mystery afoot in the show's plot.

The Circa '21 Bootleggers Dear Sarahjayne:

So it's August 7, I'm at work, and I'm excited about seeing Vaudeville at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse that evening. More specifically, I'm excited about seeing the performing wait staff in their first full-length musical revue in two years, and can't wait to write about my Bootlegger pals Jennifer Diab, Brad Hauskins, Tom Lawrence, Adam Michael Lewis, Amanda McGill, Liz J. Millea, Andrea Moore, Sara Nicks, Sunshine Ramsey, Jan Schmall, Bryan Spies, Rodney Swain, and, of course, Sarahjayne Snow.

And then, late that morning, Jan calls, and tells me that you just broke a leg.

On the day of the show's opening.

Sarahjayne, that is not the funny kind of irony.

King o' the Moon So enough of my opinions already. The following are reflections by Derek Bertelsen, Tyson Danner, Kristofer Eitrheim, Kimberly Furness, Jennifer Kingry, Mandy Landreth, J.C. Luxton, Jackie Madunic, Angela Rathman, Jalayne Reiwerts, Susan Simosky, and Doug Tschopp - local-theatre artisans who enjoyed a memorable 2007.

 

Phil McKinley For St. Ambrose University's forthcoming production of Crème de Coco - being performed at the Galvin Fine Arts Center from April 20 through 22 - the school recruited guest director Philip William McKinley to helm what will be the world premiere of William Luce's one-act play. During his area tenure, McKinley is also teaching an advanced acting course at St. Ambrose, and in a recent interview, the director explained why honesty is essential in eliciting the best work from performers:

"I think a lot of times, people tell them what they think they want to hear, rather than tell them what they really do need to hear. And if they know that you're telling them something to make them better, or for their own good, they're totally receptive to it."

That seems like a perfectly logical method for directing student actors. But, at this point in our conversation, McKinley wasn't referring to student actors. He was referring to Hugh Jackman.

Michael Kennedy and Barbara Fayth Humphrey A half-hour before Friday's performance of On Golden Pond at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, the theatre's producer (and Pond director) Dennis Hitchcock took the stage, and after making the traditional opening-night welcomes, warned that the show's first act alone ran nearly 80 minutes - a long haul, he explained, for elder audiences. Yet I'm thinking that Hitchcock's announcement was made less out of concern for the crowd's bladders than out of justifiable pride - a trek to the restroom would force people to miss parts of the show, and with the stunningly fine performance Michael Kennedy is giving here, who would want to miss even one?

Author's note: Prior to my full-time tenure at the Reader, I worked at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, and for Dennis Hitchcock, for 11 years. This was one of those rare interviews that didn't start with a handshake, but rather a hug.
Why does Elvis Presley captivate us as strongly today as he did the first time he strutted his stuff on Ed Sullivan's stage? Is it his music? Was it the life he lived behind the gates of Graceland that ended so tragically? Many insist Elvis is still alive, swearing they've seen him in every corner of the world.