“The House of Blue Leaves,” May 17 through 26

Friday, May 17, through Sunday, May 26

Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL

A four-time Tony Award-winning smash that enjoyed Broadway runs with talents such as Ben Stiller, Edie Falco, Christopher Walken, and Stockard Channing, author John Guare's masterful dark comedy The House of Blue Leaves enjoys a May 17 through 26 run at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, this wild theatrical ride also lauded by Variety magazine as a stage work that "still sets the bar for smart comic lunacy."

In The House of Blue Leaves, Artie Shaugnessy is a songwriter with visions of glory. Toiling by day as a zookeeper, he suffers in seedy lounges by night, plying his wares at piano bars in Queens, New York, where he lives with his wife Bananas. This is much to the chagrin of Artie’s downstairs mistress Bunny Flingus, who’ll sleep with him anytime but refuses to cook until they're married. On the day that the Pope is making his first visit to the city, Artie’s son Ronnie goes AWOL from Fort Dix, stowing a homemade bomb intended to blow up the Pope in Yankee Stadium. Also arriving is Artie’s old school chum Billy Einhorn, now a successful Hollywood producer, and he's brought his starlet girlfriend in tow. It's Billy who holds the key to Artie’s dreams of getting out of Queens and away from the life he so despises. But like many dreams, this promise of glory promises to evaporate amid the chaos of ordinary lives.

Directing The House of Blue Leaves is Playcrafters favorite Kathy Graham, who previously helmed last fall's Almost, Maine and 2022's A.R. Gurney comedy Sylvia for the venue, and has appeared in such Barn Theatre productions as A Murder Is Announced, You Can't Take It with You, and this past spring's Paint Night. Artie is portrayed by fellow Playcrafters veteran Eric Teeter (Circle Mirror Transformation), with Ashley Hoskins (Almost, Maine) playing Bananas, Leslie Day (the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's Leaving Iowa) playing Bunny, Tim Burrow (Playcrafters' Harvey) playing Ronnie, and Eric Landuyt (Playcrafters' Arsenic & Old Lace) playing Billy. Graham's cast is completed by the talents of Jesslyn Cohen, Shyan DeVoss, Michael Hernandez, Tabitha Oles, Emma Terronez, and Makis Witt, the latter of whom also serves as assistant director and stage manager. And members of the House of Blue Leaves creative team include producer Kathie Burnett, costume designer Erin Emurle, technical director Gio Macias, and poster designer Jesse Mohr.

The House of Blue Leaves runs at Moline's Barn Theatre from May 17 through 26, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $13-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.