Wednesday, February 27, through Saturday, April 6
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Running February 27 through April 6 at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, playwright Robin Hawdon's slapstick riot Diamonds & Divas: A Murderous Fiasco takes audiences away from winter weather and abroad to the sunny provinces of the Cannes Film Festival, with the Rock Island venue the first professional theatre in the United States ever to produce this madcap comedy.
Set in a luxury hotel in France while movies are screened in the world's most illustrious film festival, Diamonds & Divas: A Murderous Fiasco opens with the body of a beautiful movie star lying on the floor. A hooded jewel thief breaks in and discovers her, at which point another man bursts in and assumes the thief is the murderer. Yet another man enters, however, and assumes a different story, while the hotel manager arrives and attempts to make sense of all their convoluted theories. In the meantime, a huge film premiere is looming, a diamond necklace has gone missing, a number of scandalous affairs are about to hit the headlines, egos are running hilariously amok, and everyone appears to be trying to murder someone while blaming everyone else. Appearing at Circa '21 in its professional American debut, Diamonds & Divas is the latest laugh-fest by British author Hawdon, the talent behind such comedies as Perfect Wedding and God & Stephen Hawking whose adaptation of Don't Dress for Dinner was nominated for a 2012 Tony Award.
Directing Diamonds & Divas is longtime Circa '21 veteran Warner Crocker, who recently helmed the venue's family musical Pinocchio, and whose other Rock Island productions have included Mama Won't Fly, Southern Crossroads, Always a Bridesmaid, and last summer's musical version of The Bridges of Madison Country. Meanwhile, six fellow Circa '21 favorites fill out Crocker's ensemble: Cara Chumbley (Things My Mother Taught Me, A Fairy Tale Christmas), Don Denton (The Music Man, Ghost: The Musical), Miranda Jane (Always a Bridesmaid, Mama Won't Fly), John Payonk (Annie, It's a Wonderful Life), Tristan Tapscott (Newsies: The Musical, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story), and Tom Walljasper (A Christmas Story: The Musical, Peter Pan).
In addition to its 7:45 p.m. public previews on February 27 and 28, Diamonds & Divas: A Murderous Fiasco runs March 1 through April 6 with performances on Fridays, Saturdays, and Wednesdays at 7:45 p.m.; Sundays at 5:45 p.m.; and Wednesday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. All shows will be preceded by meals and pre-show entertainment by the theatre's performing wait staff of Circa '21 Bootleggers, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visiting Circa21.com.
