Giving Tree Theater’s production of Tiny Beautiful Things, running now through March 10 (tickets $26), might just be the antidote to whatever has got you down lately.
Laura Johnson
‘Vagina Monologues’ performances to benefit L.U.N.A., Tanager Place and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland
Last year, community activist Erin Owen, a couple dozen of her friends and some their friends staged ‘The Vagina Monologues’ by Eve Ensler as a fundraiser. Now, in its second year, event producer Owen is back with some old and new friends to stage this show again.
‘The Full Monty’ brings a red-hot night to Theatre Cedar Rapids
If you are looking for something to warm up these cold, cold days of mid-winter, look no further than Theater Cedar Rapids’ production of ‘The Full Monty.’ Directed by Cavan Hallman with costuming by Noel VanDenBosch, this production heats up the stage and the audience as it takes us from working class blues to one red hot night.
Expect the unexpected at ICCT’s ‘Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge’
If you’re tired of Christmas cliches and traditional holiday theater fare, you will want see Iowa City Community Theatre’s production of Christopher Durang’s ‘Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge.’
Author Eoin Colfer and producer Steve Peters talk new musical ‘Noël’
There are holiday shows that are family traditions. Noël, produced by Ames-based Venuworks Theatricals, stands ready to become a new holiday tradition for Eastern Iowa families.
‘Silent Sky’ illuminates the past at Giving Tree
Whenever I walk into a new show at Giving Tree Theater in Marion, I never know how the stage will be configured or what innovations in lighting I will be seeing. Richie Akers is an inventive stage designer who has a seemingly bottomless well of ideas.
Skillful storytelling invites audiences into the world of ‘Intimate Apparel’
Intimate Apparel, directed at Theater Cedar Rapids by Deanna Downes, examines friendship, love, race and how people are able to keep going in situations they would not choose.
Play in verse ‘There Is A Happiness That Morning Is’ masterfully presented
The day after Bernard (Matthew James) and Ellen (Angie Toomsen) are caught making passionate love on the college green, they are informed they must apologize publicly for their display or face termination. The play opens when Bernard takes the stage, lecturing on the ecstasy that is Blake’s poem “Infant Joy” from Songs of Innocence; Ellen’s final class centers on “The Sick Rose” from Songs of Experience. Both characters spend the bulk of the the play connecting the poems to their lives and their 20-year long relationship.
TCR’s ‘My Fair Lady’ is a must-see
Some musicals you go to every time they come around. They are the classics that never disappoint. ‘My Fair Lady,’ directed at TCR by Angie Toomsen with music direction by Cameron Sullenberger, is no exception. The entire ensemble from cast to musicians to techies are to be commended on an outstanding performance.
Students and educators in Iowa City rethink the purpose of school
Across eastern Iowa, teens are getting ready to head back to school. But about 100 teens from Iowa City and surrounding areas never left school for long, spending part of their summer breaks examining education in workshops offered collaboratively by the Iowa Youth Writing Project (IYWP) and Reimagine Iowa City Public Education (RIPE). The programs […]
‘Picnic’ continues Brucemore tradition with fresh faces
Next week, Brucemore opens its summer classic, Picnic, and it promises to be an outdoor theater experience that offers the community an opportunity to be part of the show. Since 1996, Brucemore has staged its summer show against a natural amphitheater that offers the audience not only a performance but an unique interactive experience.
‘Fuddy Meers’: Telling stories one character at a time
Fuddy Meers Theatre Cedar Rapids — runs through June 17; tickets $19-24 What’s your story? Who do you allow to write the chapters of your life? Every day is, quite literally, a blank page for amnesiac Claire (Kristen Wilcox) whose husband, Richard (Duane Larson), patiently re-constructs her life for her every morning. David Lindsay-Abaire’s Fuddy […]

