Seeing a play by Lauren Gunderson at the Black Box Theatre is now one of my favorite pastimes. On Thursday, I attended the opening-night performance of Gunderson's The Revolutionists, and my third go-'round with this playwright and this theatre proves that they harmonize as deliciously as Brie and a baguette.

Praised by Chicago Theatre Review as an "enthralling" play "that audiences who like their entertainment spiced with controversy and seasoned with today’s headlines will absolutely enjoy," author Eleanor Burgess' The Niceties runs at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre March 11 through 27, the work lauded by the New York Times as “a bristling, provocative debate play about race and privilege in the United States, and it begs to be argued with.”

Boasting a new score by Richard Rodgers Award-winning composer Brad Ross, the tasty musical comedy Just Desserts will be making its area debut in a March 16 through May 14 run at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, the show lauded by Connecticut's Patch magazine as "a delightfully sweet musical with some savory elements."

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 March 10 through 13 run at Rock Island's Augustana College, the show's creative team and its four-person cast sure to demonstrate why the New York Times called this Alfred Hitchcock celebration/spoof an “indomitably funny” comedy of “virtuosic clowning.”

Nominated for seven 2014 Tony Awards and the winner of two, one of Broadway's biggest recent hits makes its long-awaited debut at Davenport's Adler Theatre with the arrival of touring production Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, a March 9 tribute to the beloved singer/songwriter boasting a book by Oscar nominee Douglas McGrath and some of the most unforgettable pop tunes of all time.

Lauded by the Cincinnati Enquirer as "a sassy, hold-on-to-your-seats theatrical adventure" as well as "a play that is wonderfully wild and raucous," Lauren Gunderson's The Revolutionists enjoys a March 3 through 12 area debut at Moline's Black Box Theatre, the author's acclaimed comedy praised by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as "an astoundingly accomplished show" that's "ingeniously conceived and delivered."

Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Play, Marsha Norman's haunting and affecting 'night, Mother serves as the latest student-produced theatre offering in Augustana College's 2021-22 season, a powerful work that caused the New York Times to rave, "It is Marsha Norman's profound achievement that she brings both understanding and dignity to forgotten and tragic American lives.”

One of the best-loved adventures in world literature enjoys a brand-new stage version when Davenport's Mockingbird on Main presents its March 4 through 12 run of Around the World in 80 Days, a two-actor take on Jules Verne's 1872 novel that has been adapted numerous times for the stage, radio, video games, and film, with its 1956 movie version the winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture.

The Lightning Thief, a relatively new musical, had its QCA premiere at the Spotlight, and this production based on Rick Riordan’s YA books about a young half-blood was a delight to watch. It was just as fun and playful as the original book series – and Saturday's telling of this energetic story was inventive, theatrical, and entertaining.

It was thrilling to walk into the Playcrafters Barn Theatre on Saturday and see a large crowd for Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, as about four-fifths of the seats were occupied. And director Teresa Moore, along with her staff, crew, and cast, put together a smooth-running, well-paced, lively, and all-around-enjoyable production.

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