Famed for being the last of the extant works by the playwright Euripides, and featuring some of the most famous characters, locales, and events in the classical-Greek canon, Iphigenia in Aulis serves as the second production in Genesius Guild's 2023 season, its June 24 through July 2 run marking the first time the masked tragedy has been performed in Rock Island's Lincoln Park since 1959.

One of the most venerable and beloved stage musicals of all time, The Sound of Music continues the 2023 summer season at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, the show adored by all generations for its rich characters, beautiful celebration of family, and an unforgettable Rodgers & Hammerstein score boasting such iconic songs as “My Favorite Things,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “Climb Ev'ry Mountain,” “Edleweiss,” and the unforgettable title tune.

A glorious stage fairytale boasting a legendary score by an iconic composing duo, the Tony-winning Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella will be presented by the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre June 29 through July 16, this beloved classic with its fresh script by Douglas Carter Beane an entertainment, according to the Associated Press, that "crackles with sweetness and freshness, combining a little Monty Python's Spamalot with some Les Misérables."

With the program designed to introduce children to theatre and help them leave to communicate, the Timber Lake Playhouse's Magic Owl Children's Theatre series continues in Mt. Carroll this summer with the long-awaited return of Pig Tales, a one-hour, madcap adventure being staged on the mornings of June 20 through 24.

Over the past few years, I have taken in quite a number of Genesius Guild offerings and I have to tell you that the Two Gentlemen of Verona set design by Angela Rathman, who also served as this production’s director, was one of the most intricate and prettiest I’ve ever seen in Lincoln Park.

Who doesn’t hate Mondays? Garfield the cat sure does, but there’s nothing to hate about the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's latest children’s-theatre offering Garfield: The Musical with Cattitude.

I'd been wanting to see author Diana Son's Stop Kiss, which made its off-Broadway debut in 1998, ever since I missed it locally (twice!) – at St. Ambrose University in 2008, and Augustana College in 2017. Therefore, I took my seat on Saturday at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre with anticipation, and director Erika Seabloom, an Ambrose graduate, has assembled many talents to create a polished, satisfying production.

Winner of two 2008 Tony Awards and the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy of 2007, author Patrick Barlow's slapstick thriller The 39 Steps enjoys a June 15 through 25 run at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, the show's creative team and four-person cast sure to demonstrate why the New York Times called this Alfred Hitchcock celebration/spoof an “indomitably funny” comedy of “virtuosic clowning.”

An Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Best Musical that also earned a Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite New Broadway Musical, the stage adaptation of Mel Brooks' film classic Young Frankenstein takes over the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre from June 15 through 25, this Tony-nominated riot lauded by the New York Post for its "bright and witty" lyrics and the book's "great job ... in transferring the original script to the stage."

One of William Shakespeare's most delightful and adored comedy classics will enjoy a professional Riverside Theatre staging this summer when the Iowa City company, from June 16 through July 2, presents the romantic and hilarious Twelfth Night in a bucolic outdoor staging at Iowa City's Lower City Park.

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