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 […]
theater reviews
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Sparse and exquisite, Riverside’s production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ is exactly what we need
With its opening this past weekend, Riverside Theatre’s production of Paul Morella’s A Christmas Carol adaptation has officially brought the holiday season down upon us. The pandemic takes the loss this time — it can’t rid us of the magic, charm and lessons we cherish from stingy old Ebenezer Scrooge. Nestle in front of your […]
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Masterful storytelling explores the core of communication in Riverside’s ‘Midnight Your Time’
As both a mother and a daughter, I found Midnight Your Time resonant and meaningful. Riverside Theatre’s current streaming production, Midnight Your Time by Adam Brace, is a one-woman show featuring Riverside co-founder Jody Hovland. Directed by Adam Knight, this is the story of a mother learning a new role as her adult children have […]
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Joy Vandervort-Cobb animates a whole ensemble of characters in Riverside Theatre and PURE Theatre’s ‘No Child …’
Over the past seven months, theater companies in eastern Iowa and elsewhere have reinvented themselves, branching out from traditional spaces onto streaming platforms to keep performance and themselves alive. Starting Thursday, Riverside Theatre — in conjunction with PURE Theatre in Charleston, South Carolina — offered another to their audiences: a recorded play that audiences can […]
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Intoxicating and otherworldly, TCR’s ‘St. Nicholas’ will linger with you after you leave
Like the protagonist in Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas, I, too, am struggling to find the perfect words — in my case, to convey my unadulterated awe and affection for Theatre Cedar Rapids’ exquisitely haunting (and hilariously vulgar) production of the 1997 play. Listening to the drunken, Irish monologue is intoxicating in itself as Mathew James […]
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Riverside’s ‘Buyer and Cellar’ sets the stage for a fall of fantastic virtual performances
According to the first result that loads on Google (bless you, Wikipedia), a utopia “is an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its citizens.” The hilariously absurd, one-man tale that unfolds in Riverside Theatre’s Buyer and Cellar is just that, a utopia. Starring the sensational Patrick DuLaney and […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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ICCT presents ‘Company,’ just in time for its 50th birthday
Update: On Friday, March 13, Iowa City Community Theatre decided to postpone performances indefinitely due to health concerns related to coronavirus. For as long as there has been theater, fictional lovers’ stories have culminated in either marriage or death. Love and sex were fun to watch, but not the point of the story. If the […]
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Riverside’s ‘Stages’ is 75 minutes of honest human experience
Riverside Theatre opened the Iowa premier of the one-man show Stages by David Lee Nelson on Feb. 28. Nelson’s show and performance are remarkable for several reasons. Co-created and directed with Riverside’s Producing Artistic Director, Stages is the chronicle of Nelson’s own lived experiences with stage four colon cancer. Nelson is both playwright and actor. […]
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TCR shows how to murder your way to the top, with humor and music
TCR’s staging of ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’ features an outstanding cast, ensemble and musical direction. Although based on a serious question (“What will people do to get what they believe deserve?”), this musical comedy is energetic and humorous throughout.
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RHCR gets wonderfully messy with ‘Five Women Wearing the Same Dress’
Full disclosure, I don’t love the script of this play. Alan Ball is not my favorite playwright and I don’t typically enjoy the female characters he writes. … successful performances of it are heavily dependent on the women who inhabit the roles and the team in charge of putting it up. And every person involved in this production really did the work.
