Director Tommy Iafrate beautifully bookends the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's Evita with scenes in which the actors acknowledge, or the staging makes clear, that the cast is performing specifically for an audience.
Christopher Thomas could sell me anything. On Thursday night, he was peddling the character of Harold Hill in a preview performance of Quad City Music Guild's The Music Man, and Thomas plays the part with such bombastic charm - and just a hint of smarm - that despite knowing of the character's swindling intentions, I was buying his Hill's shtick hook, line, and sinker, right along with the good people of River City.
It's not easy for me to review Genesius Guild's The Wasps, as this comedy does not rely on quality acting, the focus of most of my reviews. (In truth, the actors who don't try to be hilarious and don't attempt great acting here are more successful at being funny than the few that do.) Don Wooten's direction also doesn't matter as much for The Wasps as directing would in, say, King Lear. As was stated in the pre-show speech, this is sort of the Guild's end-of-summer party, with the audience invited to watch the actors intentionally make fools of themselves. And happily, this party is utterly ridiculous and, at times, raucously funny, and elicited waves of laughter through Saturday night's crowd.
The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's Annie feels like a show I've never seen before, even though I'd seen it many times prior to Thursday night's performance. While the musical's characters are portrayed in familiar ways, director Patrick Stinson's work seems new, mostly because of designer Kenneth Verdugo's sets. As odd as that sounds - the idea that a set could change the feel of an entire show - it's true, because the design not only affects the look of the production, but also how the stage space is used, and what elements are highlighted as a result.
As befits a musical based on the biblical book of Genesis, Children of Eden starts In the Beginning. Yet in discussing the Timber Lake Playhouse's current presentation of the show, it seems more appropriate to start at the end, because the curtain call - arriving more than two-and-a-half hours after the opener - appears to be one of the few sequences in which the performers understand exactly what's expected of them.
As enjoyable as Countryside Community Theatre's The Wizard of Oz is, the most thrilling part is this: The witches fly. While L. Frank Baum's familiar story of the Kansas girl who's blown to the land of Oz by a tornado has its fill of magic, Countryside adds some magic of its own by making its witches (and a flying monkey) airborne. It's a special touch to a show that, during Friday's opening-night performance, proved to be a gratifying evening's diversion - if a long one, running three hours from beginning to end.
I've been moved by several productions this year, but by none so deeply as the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's A Lesson Before Dying. In fact, I was in tears several times during Friday night's performance, including throughout most of the second act.
There may be some of you who hear the title King Lear and, knowing only of the play's reputation as the mack daddy of all Shakespeare tragedies, immediately presume that any evening production of the piece will last well into the next morning. Allow me, then, to quell your fears: Saturday's Genesius Guild staging of the Bard's opus began promptly at eight o'clock, and after the night's presentation had concluded, I was back in my car by 10:55.
I will admit that I had serious reservations prior to Wednesday night's performance of the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's The Last Five Years. As much as I enjoy Cari Downing's comedic stage work - I described how sensational she was in the Hilltop's I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change earlier this year, and it's worth repeating - I wasn't so sure she was up to composer Jason Robert Brown's romantic musical. And the same went for Tristan Layne Tapscott, who I think is fantastically funny in comedy roles, but hit-or-miss in his more serious efforts. Under the direction of David Turley, though, they present a unique take on this criss-crossed storyline that has its own sweetness.
The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's The Drowsy Chaperone is fantastically fun. Of course, it helps that the book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, and the music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, are filled with amusing lines, scenarios, and situations. It also helps that this summer's Showboat cast is so talented, appearing in one impressive production after another, including Thursday night's performance.
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