28 Mar 2013

Palpable Pain: "Antigone," through March 30 at the Quad City Theatre Workshop

By Thom White

Gini Atwell and Jake Walker. Photo by Tracy Skaggs.Before the production officially begins and without uttering a single word, Gini Atwell effectively sets the tone for the Prenzie Players' Antigone. On Friday evening, during the ad-libbed pre-show that's a staple of Prenzie productions, Atwell sat at the front of the stage, half-cradling her knees while wearing a far-off look in her eyes and a deep sadness on her face, as though lost in thought on woeful memories or circumstances.

Not long after the play begins, it's made clear that Atwell's expression is due to her character's resignation to her own death. She is passionate during the course of the play - particularly as she attempts to garner her sister's help in burying their brother (who lost his life in battle with their other brother for the throne of Thebes), and as she embraces her fiancé as if it's the last time they'll ever hold each other. But her ability to maintain the cheerlessness at the core of her Antigone is remarkable, creating a palpable pain that's punctuated by her inevitable death.

18 Mar 2013

Midwestern Union: "A Mighty Fortress Is Our Basement," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through June 1

By Thom White

Kimberly Steffen, Kay Francis, Tom Walljasper, Nikki Savitt, and Carrie SaLoutos in A Mighty Fortress Is Our BasementBilled as "the funniest and most tuneful Church Basement Ladies yet," A Mighty Fortress Is Our Basement had me laughing more than I expected to during Friday night's performance. Having had a too-hearty helping of the first two Lutheran-themed kitchen musicals, I couldn't help but have low expectations for the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's production of this fourth show in the series. Yet while this sequel still falls into some of the expected traps, it also had enough humor - and one especially entertaining song - to keep me amused.

18 Mar 2013

Q2: "Avenue Q," at the District Theatre through March 30

By Thom White

Erin Churchill in Avenue QFive months after its first staging of the bawdy Broadway musical Avenue Q, the District Theatre has brought back its prurient puppets for another round, and with the replacements of just two cast members and minor reworkings made by director Marc Ciemiewicz, this return performance is still enough improved (from an already laudable production) to make the show worth seeing again, if not for the first time.

11 Mar 2013

Rhapsody in "Blues": "Blues for an Alabama Sky," at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through March 17

By Thom White

Matt Madison, Rita Jett, and Vincent Briley in Blues for an Alabama SkyPlaycrafters Barn Theatre's Blues for an Alabama Sky manages to be an adjective I've come to love regarding theatrical productions: surprising. Playwright Pearl Cleage takes her story in directions I did not expect from the outset of Saturday's performance, as her play moves from the plight of a recently out-of-work singer in Harlem to a study of societal views on homosexuality and abortion in 1930. I had no idea that was the direction the plot would take, but I was grateful for it, as the proceedings kept me on my mental toes, and continually interested in what was going to happen next.

11 Mar 2013

Glasnost Half Full: "A Walk in the Woods," at the Village Theatre through March 17

By Thom White

Matt Moody and John VanDeWoestyne in A Walk in the WoodsPlaywright Lee Blessing's A Walk in the Woods successfully re-creates a sense of the Reagan-era Cold War conflict between the United States and the then-Soviet Union ... at least according to an older friend of mine who also attended Friday's performance of New Ground Theatre's production. However, my theatre-going companion also agreed with me that the play is reminiscent of the film My Dinner with Andre, famed for simply being a conversation between two people in one setting. And Blessing's story is just that - a series of discussions between a U.S. and Russian diplomat sitting, or sometimes standing near, a park bench. For two hours.

04 Mar 2013

Spring Theatre from A(ntigone) to Z(ine of Grrrl): 99 Days of Area Stage Productions

By Mike Schulz

Rock of Ages at the Adler TheatreWelcome to the Reader's annual article on springtime area-theatre productions, where our trek through the season's comedies, dramas, and musicals will have us taking a walk in the woods with Antigone, wandering into suburbia with Eurydice, and realizing that something's afoot in our town when Talley's folly makes Cinderella go boom on Avenue Q.

Okay, so that takes care of 10 upcoming titles ... only 50 or so to go ... .

18 Feb 2013

Hoofin' It: Ballet Quad Cities' "Love Stories: Love on the Run," at the Scottish Rite Cathedral

By Thom White

Ballet Quad Cities' Love Stories: Love on the RunWhile bearing the same title as 2012's Valentine's Day-themed performance, Ballet Quad Cities' 2013 Love Stories: Love on the Run - held on February 16 - offered several new short pieces along with "Newsflash," one of my favorites from last year's presentation. And Saturday night's entertainment delivered a mixture of sensuality, flirtatiousness, and exquisite beauty, culminating in a romantic experience that left me doe-eyed with emotions linked to love.

11 Feb 2013

It's Not Easy Being Teen: "bare," at the Center for Living Arts through February 16

By Mike Schulz

Becca Meumann and Doug Johnson in barePassion counts for a lot in drama, and sincerity counts for a lot plus, and both qualities are in welcome abundance in the Center for Living Arts' presentation of the adolescent-angst musical bare. Another theatrical commitment kept me away during opening weekend, but if you haven't yet caught up with the show, I heartily recommend taking advantage of its three-weekend run; you could conceivably ask for a stronger production, but only a complete boor would dare ask for a more heartfelt one, or one that exuded more enthusiasm and feeling from its clearly, beautifully invested participants.

04 Feb 2013

Reasons of Love: "Rent," at the District Theatre through February 24

By Thom White

Chris Causer and Kelly Lohrenz in RentI cannot praise Bryan Tank enough for his take on composer Jonathan Larson's Rent, as the director's concept renders the much-loved Broadway hit an even more cohesive ensemble piece than any production of the musical I've yet seen. Friday's District Theatre performance left me with a renewed love for Larson's material and, in what may be the highest compliment I can give in regard to the emotionality of the presentation, it left my rarely-moved-to-tears partner Matt in tears - twice.

04 Feb 2013

Cray Sisters, Soul Sisters: "Crimes of the Heart," at the Village Theatre through February 10

By Thom White

Tracy Pelzer-Timm, Jenny Winn, and Kylie Jansen in Crimes of the HeartWhile Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart falls into too many theatrical traps - primarily, having major actions described rather than physically rendered on stage - the author avoids one of the most common by making her play's second act funnier and more interesting than its first. While I liked the first act of New Ground Theatre's Saturday-evening production, I enjoyed its second half a lot more, laughing heartily with Henley's characters as they cackled over serious subject matter such as their grandfather's lapsing into a coma.

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