Lauded by the New York Times as “effortlessly endearing” and by Variety as “enormously satisfying,” The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee closes the 2026 summer season at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, the show's August 6 through 16 run sure to demonstrate why composer William Finn's celebrated 2005 musical comedy received two Tony Awards and enjoyed a Broadway run of 1,136 performances.

Having first seen the musical in New York with the original Broadway cast, I came in with extremely high expectations. Director/choreographer Chaz Wolcott’s production more than rose to the challenge and made for a truly fantastic night at the theatre.

Nostalgia has a funny way of raising the stakes. A mediocre presentation wouldn’t just be disappointing; it would feel like someone had replaced my ruby slippers with muddy boots and then trounced all over my childhood memories. Thankfully, director Tony Parise’s production bursts to life with color, imagination, and obvious affection for the material.

Local Theatre Auditions/Calls for Entry

Updated: Wednesday, July 22

Reviews by Rochelle Arnold, Jeff Ashcraft, Patricia Baugh-Riechers, Audra Beals, Pamela Briggs, Dee Canfield, Madeline Dudziak, Kim Eastland, Emily Heninger, Heather Herkelman, Kitty (née Israel) Hooker, Mischa Hooker, Paula Jolly, Victoria Navarro, Roger Pavey Jr., Alexander Richardson, Mark Ruebling, Mike Schulz, Joy Thompson, Oz Torres, Brent Tubbs, Jill Pearson Walsh, and Thom White.

Wrapping up Genesius Guild's 2026 summer season with a freewheeling, cheekily updated Greek farce, Women's Festival (a.k.a. Thesmophoriazusae) enjoys a run in Rock Island's Lincoln Park July 25 through August 2, this Aristophanes comedy sure to deliver laughs, commentary, and, as per usual, a madcap, Mack Sennett chase around the Don Wooten Stage.

Lauded by New York magazine as a show that "delivers with immense energy, a wicked sense of humor, and joyful inside-jokery," the Tony-nominated Broadway musical Mean Girls enjoys a Countryside Community Theatre staging, from July 24 through August 2, at Eldridge North Schott High School Fine Arts Auditorium, New York adding that this critically lauded smash based on the 2004 hit comedy is "hilarious, splashy, and unmistakably by Tina Fey."

At Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center on July 25 and 26, audiences are invited on an unforgettable journey down the Yellow Brick Road with The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition, a delightful, one-act stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s beloved tale in which our plucky heroine must make friends, face her fears, and discover how good it is to go home.

Rather than trying to explain discomfort away, director Cait Bodenbender embraced the play's history by simply casting as Shakespeare himself did: with an all-male cast.

While many children attended on opening night, I hardly heard a peep from them during the show – it was the over-25 crowd who were clapping and screaming upon each first entrance of these beloved characters from the underwater city of Bikini Bottom.

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