It was a sweaty, 83-degree day when I went to Revival Theatre Company’s staging of La Cage Aux Folles. This was perfect weather to be spirited away to Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera and into a packed theater full of cheering, clapping and the best show I’ve seen this year. The musical is a reworking […]
Cedar Rapids theater
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Chris Okiishi wants to offer an ‘astonishing take’ on cult classic ‘Carrie: The Musical’ in Cedar Rapids
Carrie: The Musical, Theatre Cedar Rapids, Sept. 20–Oct. 13 This article is about two great shows happening in the corridor this season, and it is also a love letter to two theater powerhouses. The impact of Chris Okiishi and Patrick Du Laney on the performing arts in eastern Iowa cannot be overstated. Even before starting […]
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Five questions with Mirrorbox Theatre founder Cavan Hallman ahead of their first season in a new space
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, one of the first and most enduring adaptations allowing Iowans to continue experiencing the arts was young Cedar Rapids company Mirrorbox Theatre’s Out the Box series. Founder and artistic director Cavan Hallman brought together local and national performers for Zoom readings, creating community and comfort while hewing to the theater’s […]
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Consent is sexy, even when the sex is fake. Just ask Iowa intimacy director Carrie Pozdol
When Carrie Pozdol stands in front of the cast of Theatre Cedar Rapids’ winter musical, Kinky Boots, she wears a T-shirt that reads “make it less weird.” Because that is just what she is there to do. Though she is an accomplished actor and director in her own right, Pozdol is at this rehearsal in […]
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Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: Theatre Cedar Rapids
Theatre Cedar Rapids was voted Best Community Music or Theater Group in Little Village’s 2020 Best of the CRANDIC competition. Theatre Cedar Rapids traces its history back nearly 100 years, to a small group of players in 1925 producing sporadic shows in Grant Wood’s studio apartment at 5 Turner Alley. Out of that was born […]
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Housebound and looking for something to do? Local events are happening online
From Netflix Party to online streaming concerts, Americans have joined the rest of the world in recent days figuring out ways to connect and engage — from a distance. The eastern Iowa community has been making some of these same moves, too. On St. Patrick’s Day, over 400 people at any one time were glued […]
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Heaviness in Mirrorbox Theatre’s ‘Orange Julius’ lightened by absurdity and human connection
‘Orange Julius’ is not a traditional family drama. It’s not a traditional play, for that matter. Many shows are fairly linear and logical in their progression — the story and action build up to a climax and then have a denouement clarifying the resolution and final thoughts. But this one feels pretty cemented in “dream logic.”
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Get ready to laugh with ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised]’ at the CRPL
The Cedar Rapids Public Library will put on a PG-13-rated play, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised], on July 20 and 21. The performance — full of local and mature humor — represents both the billowing theater community in Cedar Rapids and the need for programming for library-goers in between
