Mike Millar and Charlene Engstrom in Hello, Dolly!Quad City Music Guild's Hello, Dolly! seems something of a self-parody, as director Erin Lounsberry amps up the silliness of the piece, reveling in the fun of it rather than taking this story of the matchless matchmaker too seriously. It's Lounsberry's almost campy approach that makes the production worth seeing, with Tristan Layne Tapscott and Bryan Tank carrying much of its wacky weight.

Anna Tunnicliff, Neil Friberg, Bryan Woods, and Torey Baxa in The FrogsSince first experiencing one of Genesius Guild's end-of-season comedies two summers ago, I've eagerly anticipated playwright/director Don Wooten's witty work each subsequent year. His sharp, humorous, sometimes biting rewrites of Aristophanes comedies abound with political, pop-culture, and theatre references at the local and national levels. And while I've not had the honor of being personally referenced in one of his jokes - at least not while I was present - this year's The Frogs features hilariously pointed jabs at almost every theatre company in the Quad Cities area, with Saturday's performance the funniest of the three annual Guild spoofs I've yet seen.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeThe Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightfully entertaining musical comedy that I wouldn't mind seeing over and over again, as Friday's performance of director Tommy Iafrate's production was funny, touching, and energetic, serving as an exceptional rendering of the musical's charm, wit, humor, and high level of enjoyability.

Brandon Jess Ford, Dryden Meints, and Hanah Nardone in Boeing-BoeingEven if you entered the Timber Lake Playhouse's Boeing-Boeing unaware that author Marc Camoletti's play was a farcical comedy - its elbow-in-the-ribs title somehow not divulging that information - all it would take is one look at Nathan Dahlkemper's scenic design to know that some serious slapstick was bound to be in store.

Alex Richardson and Stephanie Moeller in MovingThere's a lovely sincerity to the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's production of Bernard Slade's Moving, and Saturday's performance possessed such realism - with notable acting from every member of director Bryan Woods' cast - that I had to wonder how such an impressively produced piece could feel so mismatched with its script.

Daniel Pepper in Singin' in the RainLeaving Friday's Countryside Community Theatre performance of Singin' in the Rain, I overheard one woman say to another, "Well, that was a different take on it." Actually, I would love to see a different take on this classic musical written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown. But director/choreographer Christina Myatt's production is, instead, an homage to the original film with only-slightly-adjusted re-creations of Gene Kelly's original choreography, yet one boasting just enough beautiful, original touches to avoid direct mimicry of the movie.

Sheri Olson, J. Adam Lounsberry, Ben Holmes, Sara Wegener, Paul Workman, and Jamie Bauschka in Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsThere's nothing rotten about Quad City Music Guild's current production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; Thursday's preview performance was delightfully wicked from beginning to end. There is, however, plenty that's dirty in this musical stage adaptation of the 1988 film, which starred Michael Caine and Steve Martin. The raunchy humor is sharp and smart, including the plethora of usually groan-worthy double entendres, and it's all delivered remarkably well by director Greg Bouljon's cast.

Molly McLaughlin, Wayne Hess, and Alex Klimkewicz in More Than Meets the EyeI quite like the tone of the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's More Than Meets the Eye, as director Joseph R. DePauw's production brings a natural feel, and a welcome lack of affectation, to a play that kind of screams for affectation. Instead of overplaying the plot's cross-dressing humor, Friday night's performance offered a softer, more realistic approach to its comedy that rendered the jokes more subtle, but still laugh-out-loud funny. Unfortunately, the laughs in author Fred Carmichael's play are, if not few, fairly far between (though when the jokes do hit, they're good ones), and it doesn't help that DePauw's pacing is a bit on the slow side, lengthening the wait between punchlines.

the Footloose ensembleThe inherent danger in seeing any production of Footloose, whether on stage or screen, is that you risk having those maddeningly catchy pop tunes trapped in your brain for days. I'm therefore pleased to report that, less than 72 hours after attending the Timber Lake Playhouse's speedy and sprightly take on the musical, I no longer have "Let's Hear It for the Boy," "Holding Out for a Hero," and the rest playing in an endless mental loop. It's actually the performances by Karl Hamilton and Elizabeth Haley that I can't get out of my head.

Joseph Maubach, Joel Collins, Tracy Pelzer-Timm, Jenny Winn, Sara King, Becca Meumann, and Linda Ruebling in XanaduThe District Theatre's Xanadu is perhaps the silliest, cheesiest, guiltiest-pleasure piece of musical theatre I've yet seen on a local stage ... and I loved it! Director Tristan Tapscott plays up the goofiness of this self-referential take on the 1980 cult-film favorite, finding delight in its pokes at the movie's ridiculousness and in the infectiously energetic songs, and the resulting mix of fluff and flash adds up to two hours of pure entertainment.

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