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 […]
theater reviews
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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 […]
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Audiences waited two years, but 2022 is the perfect timing for TCR’s ‘Kinky Boots’
After waiting nearly two years to open, Theatre Cedar Rapids began its run of Kinky Boots (score by Cyndi Lauper, book by Harvey Fierstein) to a house of appreciative audience members, some of whom had held on to their tickets through the pandemic. And what show could be better at the beginning of 2022 than […]
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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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Murder takes center stage at the Des Moines Playhouse with a treat of a Christie tale
Accents, set design and murder, oh my! I spent a cozy evening at the Des Moines Playhouse with my partner and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon enjoying the absolute delight of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. On opening night, about 10 minutes to curtain, the theater was almost packed. This was encouraging, as […]
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Step into another world with City Circle’s ‘Matilda’
The saying goes that a final dress rehearsal needs to be riddled with dropped lines, missed cues and costume snafus in order for opening night to shine. City Circle Theater Company’s final dress of Matilda: the Musical may not need to accept conventional wisdom in order for their show to be a success. The show, […]
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With stage magic, a newer text, TCR’s is not your mama’s ‘Cinderella’ (but she’ll still enjoy it!)
This past Friday, Theatre Cedar Rapids reopened its main stage for the first time since COVID-19 hit with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Director Angie Toomsen brings the adapted stage play to life through the brilliant actors throughout every scene. The new libretto, written for the 2013 Broadway production by Douglas Carter Beane, brings the differences […]
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‘A Year With Frog and Toad’ is a warm and fuzzy start to fall
Saturday was a beautiful almost-autumn evening at the Peggy Boyle Whitworth Amphitheatre. Around me on the grassy hill at Brucemore was a full house (if there can be such a thing at an outdoor performance space) of families on picnic blankets and lawn chairs, snacking and playing tag as the performers and production team prepared […]
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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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Get “crumples in [your] dress” when you see the moving ‘Little Women’ with loved ones
As my tablemates and I arrived at Theatre Cedar Rapids’ production of Little Women at Brucemore, I could feel a crispness in the air. The rainy sky had opened to let the sun out just as we rolled up into the drive. The stage, covered with a painted backdrop of the interior of the March […]
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Riverside dives deep and resurfaces with ‘Sonnets for an Old Century’
The last time we spoke, Riverside Theatre producing artistic director Adam Knight impressed upon me his desire to re-imagine the face of professional theater in Iowa. For years, Riverside has been producing intimate, small cast shows with many of the same heavy-hitters: stellar productions, to be sure, but familiar. It would be easy to doubt […]
