Friday, June 1, through Sunday, June 10
Spotlight Theatre, 1800 Seventh Avenue, Moline IL
Called “witty and wacky” by the London Sunday Telegraph, “verbally dexterous and physically agile” by the Boston Globe, and “English class meets Monty Python” by the Washington Post, Moline's new Spotlight Theatre debuts the first of its stage productions with the June 1 through 10 run of All the Great Books (Abridged), a rollicking farce by the Reduced Shakespeare Company team of Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor.
In this riotous three-man production, an English class (played by the audience itself) eagerly awaits graduation until they're informed by the All the Great Books cast that they haven’t passed their final exam. Consequently, the school's drama professor, student teacher, and gym coach team up to get us through all the great works of literature – in 90 minutes flat – as the literary canon explodes in this hilarious, high-energy comedy. Reduced Shakespeare is the British troupe that also crafted the stage plays The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and The Complete History of America (Abridged), and their latest work has added to the company's acclaim, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette calling the show “brilliant, surreal comedy – street buskers for educated grown-ups.”
Spotlight Theatre co-owner Brent Tubbs serves as director for All the Great Books (Abridged), his previous directing credits in the area including productions of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) for St. Ambrose University and the Reduced Shakespeare Company's The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged) for ther QC Theatre Workshop. Tubbs also appears as a castmate opposite fellow actor/comedians Jackson Green and Jeremy Mahr. Recent St. Ambrose graduate Green has enjoyed roles in productions ranging from Complete Works to Picasso at the Lapin Agile to last month's Cabaret, and Mahr, a longtime member of ComedySportz, has appeared in area productions ranging from Tubbs' The Bible to Genesius Guild's Much Ado About Nothing.
All the Great Books (Abridged) runs at the Spotlight Theatre – located in the Scottish Rite Cathedral – on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., tickets are $20, and more information and reservations are available by calling (309)912-7647 or visiting TheSpotlightTheatreQC.com.
