A beloved Stephen Sondheim masterpiece whose most recent Broadway return earned the show a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical last month, the fairytale tragicomedy Into the Woods completes Countryside Community Theatre's 2023 season, its July 28 through August 6 run demonstrating why this consistent awards magnet and critical smash was lauded by Variety magazine as a show that “brilliantly hits every hilarious or somber note it needs to.”

With the New York Times stating that "the shining achievement of the musical is its winsome country and bluegrass score," and USA Today lauding the book "that's as forthright as it is smart, funny and charming," collaborators Steve Martin's and Edie Brickell's Tony-nominated Bright Star makes its area debut at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, its August 3 through 13 run treating patrons to a musical treat that Stage & Cinema called "full of unforced goodness and rewarded risk-taking."

Lauded by the New York Observer as “a hilarious musical whodunit” and by the New York Times as “ingenious” and “a snazzy double-act,” the tune-filled comedy Murder for Two closes the Clinton Area Showboat's 2023 summer season in high style, its August 3 through 13 run sure to demonstrate why NY1 called this clever, corpse-themed treat “a must-see 90-minute jolt of caffeinated creativity.”

It was a familiar sort of tale at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre on Thursday’s opening night. Girl dates boy. Boy is set to propose but girl overhears and misunderstands the situation. Hijinks ensue. And, though things inevitably turn out okay, there’s still a plot twist or two to be had. But instead of just seeing the action, we also get to hear the action that’s running through our main character’s head thanks to her five Egos.

Are you in need of refreshment? The Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse offers us an Escape to Margaritaville – just the sunny, tropical-fruit-garnished tonic for those of us who'd love a Caribbean getaway, but can't get away.

Following in the footsteps of the venue's springtime hit Sense & Sensibility, a theatre piece adapted from Jane Austen's classic novel, Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre will present a delightful stage production of Little Women July 21 through 30, reacquainting audiences with all of the beloved characters, comedy, drama, and romance adored by generations of Louisa May Alcott fans.

A modern adaptation of the 15th-century morality play Everyman, one of the first recorded stage works in the English language, author Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Everybody enjoys a July 21 through August 6 debut at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, this beautiful, fluid, and hilarious modern riff lauded by Time Out New York as "a very meta and saucy adaptation," and by The New Yorker as a work that "fills the heart in a new and unexpected way."

Othello is one of the great Shakespearean tragedies – but Genesius Guild’s take on Shakespeare's material was much more than tragic.

If fellow Reader reviewer Alex Richardson can publicly declare his distaste for Rodgers and Hammerstein, I feel safe sharing my own opinion that Tennessee Williams and The Glass Menagerie are overrated.

Directors Noah Hill and Rebecca Casad, and music directors Ryan J. Hurdle and Katie Griswold, make this smooth production – which boasts ample vulgar language – more delightful and engaging than my already-high hopes anticipated.

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