22 Oct 2008

Family Feud: "Blood Wedding," at Augustana College through October 26

By Mike Schulz

Ben Webb and Veronica Smith in Blood Wedding Federico García Lorca's Blood Wedding isn't a play that's "fun" in any traditional sense of the word; you're thrown into complex states of grief and anger within this classic's first few lines of dialogue, and even the infrequent moments of levity are suffused with dread. (By all accounts, the Spanish playwright wasn't exactly a load of laughs, and for understandable reason.)

15 Oct 2008

Jacksonville: "The Summer People" and "The Lottery," at Scott Community College through October 18

By Mike Schulz

Patrick Joslyn and Caitlin Herrera in The Lottery The short stories of author Shirley Jackson frequently kick you in the gut. The current presentations of Jackson's The Summer People and The Lottery at Scott Community College frequently tickle your ribs.

15 Oct 2008

The Haunting of Hilltop: "The Woman in Black," at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre through October 18

By Mike Schulz

James Bleecker in The Woman in Black There's an awful lot going on in the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's current presentation of the ghost story The Woman in Black - including two concurrent storylines, a wealth of exposition, a pair of actors taking on multiple roles and perspectives, and sound and lighting effects galore - and it winds up being much too much. But I'm generally happier watching a theatrical production that aims for the stars and doesn't get there than one that doesn't reach at all, so it was still easy to enjoy this wildly ambitious, if ultimately disappointing, presentation; I had just enough fun at Saturday's performance to regret not having more fun.

08 Oct 2008

Victorian's Secret: "Angel Street," at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre through October 12

By Mike Schulz

Tom Naab and James V. Driscoll in Angel Street Playwright Patrick Hamilton's Angel Street, the season-closing presentation at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, was the stage inspiration for George Cukor's mystery/thriller Gaslight, so it's kind of appropriate that the production's gas lights are perhaps its cleverest touch. I'm often remiss in praising the design for Richmond Hill shows, especially given the inherent (and considerable) challenges of theatre-in-the-round. But Angel Street is so technically assured and aesthetically pleasing that I found myself grinning in the first mood-setting seconds of director Tom Morrow's Victorian drama. (I'm calling it a drama rather than a mystery and/or thriller because the show isn't really much of either. But more on that later.)

08 Oct 2008

Evolutionary War: "Inherit the Wind," at St. Ambrose University

By Mike Schulz

John Hannon, Michael Kennedy, and Dan Hernandez in Inherit the WindAs its storyline was inspired by 1925's notorious Scopes "Monkey Trial," and its original 1955 presentation a response to McCarthyism, Inherit the Wind is one of those theatrical titles that wears its badges of Importance and Social Relevance on its sleeve. And so it isn't until you see the play (or see it again) that you realize (or remember) just how entertaining it is; Jerome Lawrence's and Robert E. Lee's courtroom drama is less a lecture or a harangue than a juicy, if sentimentalized, episode of Law & Order.

01 Oct 2008

Ducks, Pizza, and Imaginary Carrots: QC Arts Presents Child's Play, Oct. 4 at Moline High School

By Mike Schulz

ensemble members of Child's Play Thirty years after the group's inception, executive director June Podagrosi remembers the moment that she and her husband, Victor, embarked on the project that would become Child's Play Touring Theatre, the professional, Chicago-based organization dedicated to producing stage works for children, written by children. Moreover, she remembers the frog and the hillbilly that inspired them.

24 Sep 2008

Undressed to Kill: "The Full Monty," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through November 8

By Mike Schulz

Dave Adamick, Nikkieli Demone, Don Denton, Vaughn Irving, Hernando Umana, and Brad Hauskins I was really looking forward to the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's production of The Full Monty, but that anticipation was nothing compared to how much I was looking forward to watching Friday's audience watch The Full Monty.

24 Sep 2008

Alone/Together: "Closer Than Ever," at the Village Theatre through September 28

By Mike Schulz

Sheri Hess, Tyson Danner, Jackie Madunic, and Larry Adams in Closer Than EverIncluding pianist Craig Clough, there are five cast members in New Ground Theatre's Closer Than Ever, and at the show's opening-day matinée, that was one more person than the number of people who came to see it. This isn't the sort of thing I'd usually mention right off the bat, if at all, but I think it's an important point to make before proceeding, because while this vocally beautiful offering may be deficient in certain areas, the only thing Thursday's production was really lacking was an audience. And for this particular production, the absence of a crowd proved to be a considerable distraction.

17 Sep 2008

Swingers: "Promises, Promises," at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through September 21

By Mike Schulz

Chris Walljasper and Jaci Entwisle in Promises Promises Chris Walljasper isn't exactly a new face in area theatre, as the actor (and recent co-founder of Davenport's Harrison Hilltop Theatre) appeared in Genesius Guild's and Opera @ Augustana's Patience last year summer, the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story this past winter, and, most memorably, Carousel and A Year with Frog & Toad for Rock Island's The Green Room.

Yet it's entirely conceivable that audiences for the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's Promises, Promises will watch his performance and, on the drive home, ask one another, "Who was that guy?", because Walljasper is delivering the sort of terrifically engaging and endearing musical-comedy turn that makes you wonder why you haven't seen even more of him.

10 Sep 2008

Promising, Promising: Fall Theatre in the Quad Cities and Surrounding Areas

By Mike Schulz

the Promises, Promises ensemble During a recent post-show conversation, an actor friend and I agreed that perhaps the most exciting moments at any theatrical production are those few seconds before the production even starts, when the lights dim, cell phones (please God) are turned to silent or vibrate, and the venue becomes alive with possibility - with the awareness that, in this live art form, absolutely anything can happen.

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