Rather than trying to explain discomfort away, director Cait Bodenbender embraced the play's history by simply casting as Shakespeare himself did: with an all-male cast.

Do I have any interest in hiking the Appalachian Trail? Absolutely not. Do I want to hear about the 67-year-old who was the first woman to hike the entire trail solo? Absolutely. And trust me, so do you.

Lauded by The Mancunion as "a beautiful, sociopolitical musical that is finally getting the recognition it deserves," the Broadway-musical version of Bonnie & Clyde makes its area debut with a July 23 through August 2 run at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, Curtain-Up adding to the show's raves by praising the "muscular rhythmic drive beneath the show's blend of folk, blues, and gospel."

Described by Variety magazine as “Disney's happiest outing since The Lion King” and by USA Today as a production of “easy infectuousness” and “youthful exuberance,” the Tony Award-winning Newsies enjoys a July 17 through 26 run at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, its City Circle Theatre Company presentation treating family audiences to an energetic work the Hollywood Reporter said “adheres to a time-honored Disney tradition of inspirational storytelling in the best possible sense.”