Winding my way through the Ped Mall to Riverside Theatre, for opening night of Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s The Weir, I was glad I chose that day to crack open my big tub of winter sweaters. I was alone because my housemates weren’t free, and I hugged my warm sweater around my ribs against the […]
Iowa City live theater
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ sees Willow Creek Theatre Company bask in genderfuckery
I write this review of Willow Creek Theatre Company’s production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell, text; Stephen Trask, music and lyrics) with the music of Tomato Boy playing in the background on Bandcamp. There’s not much available; a few singles, a collection of three titled birthday demos. The earliest was added […]
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Natasha, Pierre and Riverside’s sold-out return to musicals
Who needs Bridgerton when you have fantastic live theater just around the corner? Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, (Dave Malloy, 2012) is a high-energy musical based loosely on an excerpt from Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel War and Peace. It offers an engaging storyline, top-tier vocals and show-stopping choreography. And Riverside Theatre’s run […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Eastern Iowa
In a state of self-policing and hypervigilance, ‘The Niceties’ shows who actually holds the power: disenfranchised students
Not five minutes into The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess, running in the lush new home of Riverside Theatre, I laugh-snort at something Crystal Marie Stewart says — something I’ll continue to do all night. It is then that I write a note that I will circle several times throughout the rest of the evening when […]
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‘The Kornilov Affair,’ Willow Creek Theatre’s newest comedy, opens Friday
Willow Creek Theatre Company’s newest production, The Kornilov Affair, opens on Friday, March 4 in Iowa City. Tickets are $20; student tickets can be purchased in person for $12 with ID. The Kornilov Affair runs through March 13. Over the course of two months, an ensemble of actors wrote and designed this two-act comedy about […]
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Riverside Theatre’s haunting production adds new ghosts to their adopted historical theater home
Eden Prairie, 1971 is not only Riverside Theatre’s first show in their newly renovated space on the Ped Mall, but — as a part of the National New Play Network’s Rolling World Premiere — Riverside is the first theater to fully produce the newest work from playwright Mat Smart (who also wrote the final play […]
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Riverside welcomes the community to its new space
The Little Village February Editors’ Event Pick in Theater: Eden Prairie, 1971, at Riverside Theatre, Iowa City Riverside Theatre is christening its brand-spankin’-new space just off the Ped Mall (119 E College St) with Eden Prairie, 1971, a brand-spankin’-new play having its world premiere in Iowa City. Riverside Producing Artistic Director Adam Knight directs this […]
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Take a Crooked Path to Christmas with a ‘grown-up’ cabaret at the James
As the spirit of the holiday season settles onto our region, Chris Okiishi and Patrick DuLaney are revving the engine on their production company, Crooked Path Theatre, to explore and celebrate with an in-person holiday cabaret featuring a wild array of local talent. It’s set to run for four nights at the newly designed James […]
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Welcome back: Two CRANDIC theater companies return to the stage this weekend
It is late 1968 and Judy Garland is in London — in large part because her erratic behavior and performances have made it difficult for her to perform in the United States. She is preparing for a five-week run at the Talk of the Town cabaret club. And she’s remembering better times. That’s the story […]
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Is there anything this cast can’t do? Riverside’s ‘The Comedy of Errors’ full of unsuppressed energy
Angie Toomsen, director of Riverside Theatre’s production of The Comedy of Errors, brilliantly brought together two things that theater historians might compare to orange juice and toothpaste: 1970s country and Shakespeare. Southern drawls mixed with Shakespearean monologues made the show memorable and even more hilarious, as if the bard himself had written the show with […]
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‘[title of show]’ an optimistic debut redux for Willow Creek Theatre Company
Willow Creek Theatre Company kicked off its opening season in January 2020, and after just one production, Matt & Ben, they were forced to close their doors [insert groan]. But [title of show] marks a new beginning for WCTC, and this DIY space is aiming to grow community roots in their “Moving Forward” season. [title […]
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Riverside Theatre restores something much missed to the community with ‘The Winter’s Tale’
Adam Knight’s smile was as bright as the sunny evening sky while we chatted for a few moments ahead of the opening night (July 15) performance of Riverside Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale on the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park. Knight, Riverside’s producing director and director of The Winter’s Tale, […]
