On Thursday night, the Timber Lake Playhouse opened The Wedding Singer, the musical-comedy version of 1998's love-in-the-'80s movie hit starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Imaginatively and exuberantly directed by Brad Lyons, it's a joyful take on stage material that (in a wonderful surprise) is pretty damned terrific to start with, and Thursday's production was so big-hearted, so funny, so brilliantly costumed, and so smashingly well-performed that I might as well get it out of the way and say that its technical presentation was so routinely clunky that it bordered on the infuriating.

"Literally thousands of people have come through this building to perform on our stage," says Craig Michaels, past president of the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's board of directors. "But without demeaning or belittling any of the work that's been done here over the years, I was finding that I didn't feel the entire community was properly represented within our building, both on our stage and behind the scenes."

Theatergoers, be forewarned: Richard III is not for the faint of heart. Riverside Theatre's production of the Shakespearian play is not only packed with violence, death, and one of the freakiest kings in English history; it's also three hours long. But for those who choose to stick it out, this Iowa City show is well worth the time. Directed by Kristin Horton, Richard III packs a punch that may just leave you breathless.

Not for nothing, but have you seen the size of that freakin' tree that fell in Rock Island's Lincoln Park over the weekend?

For those who don't know, this granddaddy of a tree, which previously stood near the Greek columns of Genesius Guild's outdoor stage, was uprooted during Friday night's storm, just missing the organization's light and sound booth, and crashing directly on top of the park's stage-left risers. Considering the dimensions of the thing - the trunk is almost six feet wide, for Pete's sake! - it's really a sight to see (if it's still there by the time you read this). And it's to Genesius Guild's credit that, thanks to director Michael King's production of Hecuba, it's currently only the park's second-most transfixing sight.