The Tin Woman, by Sean Grennan, opened at Giving Tree Theater in Marion during the icy rain last Friday, but the atmosphere in the theater was anything but cold. The Tin Woman tells the story of Jack and Joy — the former, an organ donor; the latter, the recipient of his heart.
Marion events
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Remember what the holidays can be with Giving Tree’s ‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever’
Peppered with Christmas songs that are, well, mostly traditional, ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ offers a sweet meditation on inclusivity and what the true holiday spirit is meant to be.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Giving Tree’s new owners kick off their first season with ‘The Mousetrap’
his past April, Jamie and Andrea Henley were talking about opening a small family business. Three months later, they became the new owners of Giving Tree Theatre in Marion. A month after [, they opened their first show, The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Artisan’s Sanctuary confirms Neil Young to close out Woodstock celebration (Updated)
The dream of the ’60s is alive in Marion. That’s where, on Aug. 18, nonprofit community arts collective the Artisan’s Sanctuary will present their own tribute to the 50th anniversary of the fair that redefined music, festivals and naked mud dancing.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
In ‘The Legend of Georgia McBride,’ Giving Tree Theater shows how to make a family
What does a failing Elvis impersonator do when faced with a growing family and bills to pay? The answer to this question can be found in Giving Tree Theater’s penultimate show, ‘The Legend of Georgia McBride.’
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Midwestern folk laborman Chicago Farmer is ‘getting somewhere’
Despite his name, Chicago Farmer has a tough time even getting grass to grow at his home in Bloomington, Illinois. It’s not for lack of trying, though. “I actually have this mud pit in my backyard right now,” he says, laughing. “I’ve been planting grass, but I’m never around here to water it.” He plays the Famous Mockingbird in Marion on Friday, May 3 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Authentic stories resonate with humor, tragedy in ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’
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.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘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.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Cornfield Chronicles’ opens a window on mid-20th century Iowa
To open up Cornfield Chronicles: Featuring Snowball: Pony from Hell by Myron Williams is to open a window onto the Iowa of half a century ago. This set of short stories and vignettes tells of the author’s experiences growing up as an Iowa farm boy in the mid-20th century.
Posted inCommunity/News
Local student activists and Parkland shooting survivors will unite as the Road to Change Tour comes to Linn-Mar (Updated)
The March for Our Lives movement, started by survivors of the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida to push for political action on gun violence, has launched a national bus tour, which will make two stops in Linn County on Thursday.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: ‘Noises Off ‘ at Giving Tree delivers high-energy entertainment
Bags, boxes, sheets and more than a few plates of sardines create a fun-filled evening at Giving Tree Theater in Marion. Noises Off runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through May 6
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Giving Tree takes audiences to ‘Almost, Maine’
In 2010, an off-Broadway flop surpassed the classic, whimsical — royalty-free — Shakespeare comedy ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ as the most-performed show on U.S. high school stages. The play? John Cariani’s 2004 series of vignettes, ‘Almost, Maine.’
