Noël Coward’s Design for Living is a play that demands a deft balance of wit, tension and vulnerability — qualities that are central to an exploration of love, freedom and emotional tangles. Dreamwell’s recent production, directed by Will Asmus, certainly attempts to bring Coward’s dark comedy to life, but the results are, at times, uneven, leaving the audience to question whether the fault lies with the production or the material itself.
Dreamwell Theatre
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What does it mean to be seen? New play ‘Myocardium; Graphite’, staged by Dreamwell, draws the audience into an art class
Myocardium; Graphite, a new work by MFA Playwright, Eli Campbell, offers a poignant and immersive experience that grapples with the complexities of human vulnerability, trauma and connection.
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‘For 10 years I dreamed of bringing something like this to Iowa City’: Dreamwell Theatre to host no-holds-barred queer variety show this fall
The details are not yet set, but Iowa City’s Dreamwell Theatre is bringing back its QueertopIA event this fall. QueertopIA is an offshoot of the Queertopia project in Minneapolis, “a longstanding tradition of an all-inclusive, no holds barred ‘cabaret of queer love’ started in Minneapolis by Jeffry Lusiak and carried on by Nastalie Q,” according […]
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‘The Machine Stops’ blends opera, sci-fi and rock to showcase Iowa talent, explore a tech dystopia
Not everyone sits at home dreaming of attending an opera. But it might just be time to start. The Machine Opera Company is bringing an exciting new modern opera to the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts. The Machine Stops will be staged for just two performances later this month. Librettist Cecile Goding has always […]
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Get thee to a theater! 10 can’t-miss local productions this month
With the variety of offerings in Eastern Iowa, you won’t have to go far to find something for date night, the whole family or just a quiet evening for one. This seems particularly true in September. Shows continuing their runs include
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Dreamwell theater artists inspire in Women’s History Month
Even in contemporary theater, a cast led by a majority of women doesn’t happen all that often. A creative team led solely by women? It’s a rarity. A theater board made up of women that call all the shots—now that’s pretty much unheard of.
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‘Marjorie Prime’ an incredibly sensitive meditation on aging and grief
The rub of science fiction is that it requires quite a bit of world building to be comprehensible to the audience. Director Jen Brown guides her actors into a subtlety that nicely highlights the universals of personality, humanity and family life without dwelling too long on the technicalities of 2050.
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‘Steve Got Raped’ — but will he be believed?
The questions raised in Steve Got Raped feel almost prescient now, even as the reactions (and particularly the disbelief) seem almost antiquated.
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See ‘Cock,’ support the community
RHCR Theatre presents: Dreamwell Theatre’s Cock Artisan’s Sanctuary — Friday and Saturday, June 10–11 at 7 p.m. This April, Dreamwell Theatre in Iowa City presented the final show of its 2015-16 season, a well-received production of Mike Bartlett’s 2009 Cock. The play is, essentially, a traditional drawing room comedy about the sort of people who […]
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Dreamwell brings ‘Death of a Salesman’ to the local stage
Dreamwell is concluding its season of “The Grand Delusion” with quite possibly the best play to embody this theme. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is widely considered the best American play of the 20th century. Traveling salesman Willy Loman clings to the hope that his children will achieve greatness one day, but son Biff grows disillusioned with his father’s version of the American Dream…
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Opening this Friday: ‘Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them’
Written in 2007, Christopher Durang’s Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them explores the War on Terror and America’s obsession with…
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Opening this Friday: Dreamwell Theatre brings Anton Chekov’s ‘Uncle Vanya’ to the local stage
Arguably the most significant artistic collaboration in the last 200 years of theatre was between Russian writer Anton Chekov and actor/director Konstantin…
