Prenzie Players' 2024 Twelfth Night Gala at the Village Theatre -- January 6.
Saturday, January 6, 7 p.m.
Village Theatre, 2113 East 11th Street, Davenport IA
An annual fundraiser held, in 2024, in celebration of the company's recently concluded 20th year of verse-theatre stage successes, the Quad Cities' theatre troupe the Prenzie Players will host their Twelfth Night Gala on January 6, with the evening at the Village of East Davenport's Village Theatre boasting a silent auction, classical performances by company members, enacted poetry, and live music.
The Prenzie Players' made their Quad Cities debut just over 20 years ago, with a production of William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure staged at the former Rock Island venue the Peanut Gallery. The building didn't have a traditional stage (and could only seat 40 people maximum), the show had a budget of between $200 and $300, and there was a run of only two performances. Yet Friday's opening-night show played to a full house, and on Saturday, as Prenzie Players co-founder and current artistic director Cait Bodenbender stated in a 2006 Reader interview, "They were standing along the window ledge and along the back, where we were doing our changing."
The beyond-sold-out show led to many others throughout the decade, with the Prenzies performing at numerous area locations, many of them not designed for theatrical productions: the shuttered Montgomery Ward building in Moline; the Masonic Temple in Rock Island. Near the end of the 2000s, the company performed several productions at the Village of East Davenport – the site of the January 6 gala – and then moved to the Davenport space also housing the QC Theatre Workshop, where the Prenzies were located from 2012 to 2019.
Over their 20 years of existence in the Quad Cities, the Prenzies have staged upwards of four dozen productions, including a great number of Shakespeare titles including Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth (twice), The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Hamlet, the latter of which will again be staged in a brand-new presentation this May. The Prenzies have also ventures outside the realm of the Bard, performing The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Revenger's Tragedy, Antigone, The Rover, and co-founder JC Luxton's world-premiere Bear Girl over the past decade.
The Prenzie Players' 2024 Twelfth Night Gala is designed to raise funds to continue the company's existence and growth, with tickets $20 per person or $35 for two. Ticket prices includes entertainment and heavy hors d’oeuvres, plus complimentary wine and Jameson Irish Whiskey (the Prenzie drink of choice) for the first hour of the event. A cash bar will also be available throughout the evening, and while tickets will be available at the door, RSVPs are recommend to ensure proper seating.
The Prenzie Players' Twlefth Night Gala will be held beginning at 6 p.m. on January 6, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)362-2899, e-mailing prenzieplayers@gmail.com, and visiting PrenziePlayers.com.
