On the night of Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at approximately 7:30 p.m. CDT, myself and about 34 other people saw a production by About Time Theatre of White Rabbit Red Rabbit at the xBk Annex, as performed by Mary Bricker. It was, I imagine, a different show than what a largely different audience saw the […]
Isaac Hamlet
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Iowa Stage Theatre’s ‘The Seagull’ is Chekhov with a modern soundtrack — and it’s fantastic
I went into The Seagull with some dread. I’ve never been a big fan of Anton Chekhov. The Russian playwright is one of the most influential figures within his medium, likely known to even non-theater-goers by virtue of the concept of “Chekhov’s gun.” His reputation as one of the greatest playwrights of all time is […]
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Review: Iowa Stage Theatre Company, no stranger to ‘A Christmas Carol,’ incorporates songs, humor and a message from the Present
A Christmas Carol is a familiar tale. Familiar not just to the average English speaker, it is a tale that should be especially familiar to audiences of the Iowa Stage Theater Company (ISTC). Over the years, ISTC has made an annual production of A Christmas Carol a tradition, often repeating actors and crew year to […]
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Review: Iowa Stage Theatre Company makes deft use of long monologues and long silences with Sam Shepard’s ‘Buried Child’
Most of the characters in Buried Child do not exist. Not just because the players in Sam Shepard’s 1960s-set American drama are fictional, but because nearly every character, at some point, has the desperate need to assert that their existence is factual and their perspective true. By the time the play ends, one wonders how […]
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Review: The Des Moines Playhouse serves ‘Waitress’ with the right mix of sweet and savory
Waitress at the Des Moines Playhouse tells you exactly what’s inside the show in its first 15 seconds: “Sugar … Butter … Flour.” A delicious pie will typically have the same base ingredients as a so-so slice — the difference comes down to additions, assembly and the aptitude of the chef. Similarly, Waitress, on paper, […]
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Review: About Time Theatre’s ‘Squeamish’ is so effective, I had to step out
There’s a phrase that you’ll have likely heard if you’ve taken any English or Communications courses: “The medium is the message.” The notion was expressed by Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian media commentator, attempting to express the importance of the packaging/setting/staging as a vehicle for any piece of (for lack of a better word) content. McLuhan […]
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Review: ‘The Laramie Project’ is a legitimately brave production from the Des Moines Young Artists’ Theatre
By the time you read this, the Des Moines Young Artists’ Theatre’s (DMYAT) production of The Laramie Project at Stoner Theater will have come and gone. While this remains a review of the company’s latest production, consider this, additionally, an assessment of this youth-centered central Iowa program. DMYAT is a Des Moines nonprofit dedicated to […]
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Review: There are no men in the Playhouse’s ‘Men on Boats,’ a charming sendup of manifest destiny
Before attending Men on Boats at the Des Moines Playhouse’s newly renovated black box Studio Theatre this past weekend, I recalled another production of the play I had seen six years ago. I didn’t remember much about the prior viewing, except that I had cried at the end.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Sirens and Prophets — ‘Delineations’
Delineations by Sirens and Prophets In the opening minutes of Delineations’ forlorn guitar chords, punctuated by steady drums, lead listeners in a gradual crescendo accompanied by boiling cymbals. By the halfway point of this first track, “Lines Drawn,” I’m enveloped by the album. Typically, I’m hooked by lyrics, but this opening instrumental piece (somewhat reminiscent […]
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Film festivals, student projects and a new cinema are putting the Quad Cities on the international filmmaking map
Over the past nine years, Quad Cities students with the Urban Exposure Independent Film Project have amassed a filmography equivalent to a small studio. “I think that we have 30-something films that we’ve made,” said Gaye Shannon Burnett, co-founder of the Azubuike African American Center for the Arts. “The kids that go to film school […]
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Book Review: ‘The Demon, the Hero, and the City of Seven’ by A.E. Kincaid
Imagine going to your middle school Scholastic Book Fair, picking up an intriguing fantasy title and thumbing through to find “fuck” sprinkled throughout. If that prospect delights your inner (or outer) 6th-grade persona, then A.E. Kincaid’s The Demon, the Hero, and the City of Seven (2021, Phantom House Press) is for you. This debut novel […]
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Album Review: Lani — ‘Love, Lani’
Love, Lani is an aptly named album. Across nine tracks, its creator reflects on love and relationships while shifting through musical genres that are clearly dear to her. Released in late July, Love, Lani comes from Lani Eclatt, a Des Moines-based musical artist who performs simply as Lani. The first two songs are upbeat break-up […]
