These Gilded Souls, the Great Gatsby adaptation/continuation by playwright Aly Kantor, is currently playing at Mirrorbox Theatre in Cedar Rapids, starring Seth Hoffman as Nick Carraway. Nick has returned to West Egg to scatter the ashes of the wife whom he married and lost in the years following the events of the novel.
Mirrorbox Theatre
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 […]
Crackling connections take center stage in Mirrorbox Theatre’s ‘Private’
Mirrorbox Theatre presents: Private Through May 22, Theatre Cedar Rapids — Grandon, $20 Do you ever stop to consider the connections between personal life, social media, employment and the world at-large? Mirrobox Theatre takes on these connections and more in the Iowa premiere of Private by Mona Pirnot, which opened last Thursday night and runs […]
Mirrorbox leads audiences to consider their own friendships more deeply in ‘Cycle Play’
The quote “Art disturbs the comfortable and comforts the disturbed” has been attributed to various people in a variety of situations, but it is nowhere more applicable than to Cycle Play, currently running in the downstairs Grandon Theatre space at Theatre Cedar Rapids. Mirrorbox Theatre invites the audience into this two woman show, directed by […]
Successful fundraising campaign brings Mirrorbox home
With 32 plays presented in 2020 and 19 staged in 2021, Mirrorbox Theatre may be one of the area’s most prolific theaters — and all of those plays were virtual. Audience members joined the show via Zoom from the safety and comfort of their own homes. This year is no less exciting for Mirrorbox because […]
Mirrorbox Theatre staging the story of Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis, beyond his infamous LSD no-hitter
Editor’s note: After the initial publication of this story, the premiere of ‘This is Not a Game of Baseball’ was postponed due to COVID-19. More details at the end of the article. I spoke with Cavan Hallman, Curtis Jackson and Caleb Rainey — the writer, director and lead performer of the forthcoming play This Is […]
Mirrorbox Theatre deftly navigates uncharted territory with their first musical
What is love? To some, it might be a passionate affair in Paris. To others, it’s the very definition of one’s relationship with their furry companion. Perhaps, quite honestly, it’s just a catchy Haddaway tune that had you responding “Baby, don’t hurt me.” Or maybe, love is the last morsel of strength you have to […]
Mirrorbox Theatre reflects on Out the Box, its thriving 2020 virtual series, closing with ‘landscape’
When everything seems to be going wrong in a world shifted askew by the weight of our own tears, that’s precisely when we turn to faraway lands to bring us hope: the arts. Of course, it’s 2020, a time when the arts we consume have been strictly confined within a small rectangular screen. But sometimes […]
CSPS uses the pandemic as an opportunity to focus on better serving artists and the community
The decision to use a space as an incubator for the arts and as a cultural gathering place for a community is often difficult, especially in a trendy neighborhood. Despite the fact that it is exactly these kinds of spaces that make neighborhoods attractive to restaurants, shops and other businesses, they frequently deal with razor-thin […]
Mirrorbox invites drive-ins for humorous, heartfelt, thought-provoking production ‘The Parking Lot’
Picture this: Several strangers gathered around in their cars, watching a married couple go through the pros and cons of a relationship on the verge of divorce. No, this isn’t your weekly trip to Walmart or your neighbor’s driveway — it’s the Mirrorbox Theatre production of The Parking Lot. A socially distanced, pandemic-proof theatrical drive-in […]
Acting power-couple Scot and Marcia Hughes to star in drive-in play from Mirrorbox Theatre
Given the speed with which new theater companies crop up in Eastern Iowa, Scot and Marcia Hughes can perhaps be forgiven for not having shared their talents with absolutely all of them. But the number missing from their resumes is remarkably small. “Since moving here,” Scot said in an email (the couple arrived in Cedar […]
In a time when we need theater most, Mirrorbox brings actors together online
Mirrorbox Theater is known for firsts. Iowa premieres. New writing. Topics that are tough. Shows that inspire conversations into the night, well after the curtain has fallen. Friday night, March 20, was no different. Earlier in the week, I saw that Mirrorbox’s Artistic Director, Cavan Hallman, asked on social media who had worked with the […]

