10 May 2010

Killing Time: "Any Number Can Die," at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through May 16

By Thom White

Bill Bates, Diane Greenwood, and Lisa Kahn in Any Number Can DieAs I watched Friday's performance of Any Number Can Die at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre, I tried to remember that there was (probably) a time when Fred Carmichael's script was considered hilarious. As a spoof of murder mysteries of the 1920s, this 1965 work may originally have been fresh, poking fun at the plays that audiences were used to seeing. Now, though, with so many comedies poking fun at murder-mystery clichés - and with one seemingly presented each year by Playcrafters - the jokes at the expense of the clichés have themselves become cliché. Still, Carmichael's script and Playcrafters' production of it are amusing enough to make the show at least tolerable.

07 May 2010

The Speakeasy of Dancing: A. Rhythmic Time Hosts Its Second-Annual Swing-Dance Workshop Weekend

By Mike Schulz

A. Rhythmic Time's Brenda and Rick ThamesA note for future first-time visitors to the A. Rhythmic Time dance studio: If you find yourself nearing your destination but are pretty sure you're lost, don't panic. You're probably right where you're supposed to be.

"When we got this place," says Rick Thames, who co-owns the Moline studio (at 5447 Third Avenue) with wife Brenda, "we finished renovations in the winter [of 2008], when it was too cold to paint the outside of the building. And, you know, it's an industrial area, and you have to come down an alley, and there's a dumpster outside ... . So we'd just tell people, 'Look for the blue door.'"

Yet when you do find that blue door to the Thameses' converted-warehouse space, don't be afraid to walk in: Despite the venue's somewhat off-putting exterior, inside you'll find a lovingly designed, 35-foot-by-100-foot, honest-to-goodness ballroom.

06 May 2010

"See How It Washes Up on Other Shores": Henry Rollins, May 15 at the Capitol Theatre

By Jeff Ignatius

Henry RollinsHenry Rollins' career has found him fronting the seminal hardcore band Black Flag as well as the Rollins Band, acting (in movies such as Heat and Lost Highway and the TV show Sons of Anarchy), hosting radio and television shows, writing books, and blogging for Vanity Fair. (He also made an appearance on the Flaming Lips' re-creation of The Dark Side of the Moon.) He's currently on a "talking" tour -- he says he dislikes the phrase "spoken word" -- that will stop at Davenport's Capitol Theatre on May 15.

Rollins' "Frequent Flyer" show covers his recent world travels. "Mid-October to mid-January ... I went all over the world just by myself with some camera gear and a backpack," he explained in one interview. "I started in Jordan and bounced through Saudi Arabia, the Brunei, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, China, Senegal, Mali, and then Dublin."

Because he was touring in Australia and Africa, Rollins wasn't available for a phone interview. But he graciously answered questions via e-mail.

03 May 2010

Family Unties: "'night, Mother" at the Village Theatre through May 9

By Thom White

'night, Mother starts out innocently enough: A young woman asks her mother for some old towels and bedsheets and a bucket. But then she asks for a gun.

03 May 2010

From Russians, with Love: "The Seagull," at Augustana College through May 9

By Thom White

I have a confession: Since discovering my passion for the theatre, I've intentionally avoided the works of Anton Chekov. So many of my theatre friends consider Chekov to be the pinnacle of playwrights, placing him even higher than Shakespeare, yet fearing that I'd be excommunicated should I not like his works, I stayed away from them altogether. But now, after seeing the opening-night performance of Augustana College's The Seagull, I must form and share my opinion. So here it is: It turns out I like Chekov. A lot.

 

26 Apr 2010

Maintaining It: An Interview with Kyle Bornheimer

By Mike Schulz

Kyle Bornheimer(The following is Mike Schulz's interview with Curtainbox Theatre Company co-founder Kyle Bornheimer, written for the area organization's Web site TheCurtainbox.com.)

 

At the end of my recent interview with Kyle Bornheimer - the Curtainbox Theatre Company co-founder who stars on the new ABC sitcom Romantically Challenged - I asked the actor if he was hoping, one day, to trek from California to the Midwest in order to see one of the organization's stage productions.

"Oh, definitely," he said. "I'm so impressed with what Kim [Furness] has done with the company. We would sit in her living room and all dream about taking this thing to the next level, and she's done that, so I definitely want to make it out there."

In the meantime, of course, Bornheimer has kept himself more than busy out there.

19 Apr 2010

Kiddie Gridiron: "Miss Nelson Has a Field Day," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through May 8

By Jill Walsh

Don Denton, Erin Churchill, Janos Horvath, Liz J. Millea, and Bret Churchill in Miss Nelson Has a Field DayIt's been more than 20 years since I read Harry Allard's series of "Miss Nelson" children's books, but it's hard to forget Viola Swamp, "the meanest substitute teacher in the whole world." Miss Nelson Has a Field Day, currently playing at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, features Swamp (Liz J. Millea) as the no-nonsense alter-ego of Miss Nelson, the kindly math teacher at Horace B. Smedley Elementary School. The show is as funny as I remember the books being, and judging from the laughter that was constantly erupting from the audience of mostly elementary-school students at Friday's matinee performance, I wasn't the only one who thought so.

19 Apr 2010

Sister Act: "Marvin's Room," at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre through April 25

By Thom White

Jackie Madunic and Angela Rathman in Marvin's RoomSaturday night's performance of Marvin's Room marks the first time I'd seen a Richmond Hill Players production. When previously invited to see one of their shows, I cited reasons not to attend, mostly balking at the seemingly long drive out to Geneseo. I spent much of Saturday's intermission chastising myself for not making the shorter-than-expected trip sooner.

13 Apr 2010

Women's Liberation: Founder Danielle Colby-Cushman Discusses Burlesque Le' Moustache, Performing April 24 at the Capitol Theatre

By Mike Schulz

Danielle Colby-Cushman (center) and the women of Burlesque Le' MoustacheFor many, LeClaire resident Danielle Colby-Cushman is best known as a co-star of the History Channel's hit reality series American Pickers, and the office manager for the city's collectibles shop Antique Archeology.

Yet for some, she's perhaps better-known as the director/founder of, and a featured artist in, the area's only practicing burlesque troupe, for which Colby-Cushman performs comedy routines, dances, and (yes) removes her apparel under the stage name Dannie Diesel.

And for those who have either not heard of this unique company of entertainers - performing at Davenport's Capitol Theatre on April 24 - or are unsure of what it is they do, Colby-Cushman offers an example, taken from troupe member Birdie Belleville's 2009 striptease debut.

12 Apr 2010

Bohemian Rhapsody: "Rent," at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre through May 1

By Thom White

Tristan Tapscott and Steve Lasiter in RentIn the program's director's notes, Matthew Helton reveals that he stepped into the role of director for the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's production of Rent hours before the first rehearsal, not giving him enough time to do much more than reproduce the Broadway staging of the show. The replication is arguably forgivable, given his time constraints, but also unfortunate, as little of the performance possesses the mark of being the local theatre's own take on composer Jonathan Larson's work. That being said, however, the production lives up to and even exceeds expectations, due to the singing ability of its cast, and the high energy of its band.

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