20 Aug 2008

Wedding Belles: "Dearly Beloved," at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre through August 24

By Mike Schulz

Valeree Pieper, Lorrie Halsall, and Diane Greenwood in Dearly Beloved Prior to its appearance on the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's 2008 schedule, I hadn't heard of the Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten comedy Dearly Beloved, so I was reasonably surprised when I arrived for Thursday's opening-night presentation and saw that, barring a handful of seats, the house was completely full. (Did these people know something I didn't?) I took it as a good sign, however, and there was an even more promising one not 60 seconds after the show started, when its first line, its very first, earned a huge, unexpected laugh.

20 Aug 2008

Loot-efisk: "Church Basement Ladies," at the Timber Lake Playhouse through August 24

By Mike Schulz

the Church Basement Ladies ensembleChurch Basement Ladies is a show I'd love to be hateful towards, because it sort of compresses everything I don't traditionally enjoy in musical theatre into one convenient package, and because its four-nonsecular-girls-and-a-guy conceit is such a blatant ripoff of those pitiful sequels to Nunsense, in which creator Danny Goggin decided to spice things up by adding a man to the mix. (I'd call Church Basement Ladies an unapologetic ripoff, except we Lutherans are apologetic about damn near everything.)

13 Aug 2008

Anima of the People: "Evita," at the Prospect Park Auditorium through August 17

By Mike Schulz

Bryan Tank and Sheri Hess in EvitaIn its opening minutes, Quad City Music Guild's Evita is so thrilling that even though the production begins with a funeral, I found it nearly impossible to stifle my giggles.

13 Aug 2008

Break a Leg! Wait! Don't!: "Vaudeville," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through August 28

By Mike Schulz

The Circa '21 Bootleggers Dear Sarahjayne:

So it's August 7, I'm at work, and I'm excited about seeing Vaudeville at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse that evening. More specifically, I'm excited about seeing the performing wait staff in their first full-length musical revue in two years, and can't wait to write about my Bootlegger pals Jennifer Diab, Brad Hauskins, Tom Lawrence, Adam Michael Lewis, Amanda McGill, Liz J. Millea, Andrea Moore, Sara Nicks, Sunshine Ramsey, Jan Schmall, Bryan Spies, Rodney Swain, and, of course, Sarahjayne Snow.

And then, late that morning, Jan calls, and tells me that you just broke a leg.

On the day of the show's opening.

Sarahjayne, that is not the funny kind of irony.

06 Aug 2008

Gunsingers: "Assassins," at the Green Room through August 17

By Mike Schulz

Melissa Anderson Clark and David Turley in AssassinsIf you weren't able to get tickets for the Green Room's weekend presentations of Assassins, I'm guessing you weren't alone, as all three performances wound up selling out. But over the next two weekends, I urge you to try again - there are scenes in director Derek Bertelsen's production that are so good they'll give you the chills. And the scenes that don't? They're pretty amazing, too.

06 Aug 2008

Greece Is the Word: "The Clouds," at Lincoln Park through August 10

By Mike Schulz

Pat Flaherty and David Wooten in The Clouds Genesius Guild's season-ender opens with a visual gag so wonderfully surprising that I wouldn't dream of describing it, and closes with a slapstick chase so wonderfully goofy that I couldn't describe it if I wanted to.

05 Aug 2008

Broad Ways: "The Producers," at the Timber Lake Playhouse through August 10

By Mike Schulz

Michael J. Yarnell, Jenny Guse, and Danny Henning in The Producers Mel Brooks' musical The Producers - currently being produced at the Timber Lake Playhouse - received 12 Tony Awards in 2001, more than any Broadway musical before or since. And so I say this with all the deference and reverence that Brooks' historic achievement deserves: When Timber Lake's Justin Banta was throwing himself around the stage as a mincing Adolph Hitler in the show-within-a-show Springtime for Hitler, I was laughing so hard I almost freakin' wet myself.

05 Aug 2008

Sin City: "Chicago," at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre through August 17

By Mike Schulz

Meghan Hakes, Lori Dansby, and Joshua Estrada in Chicago All things considered, Friday night's presentation of Chicago at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre was pretty darned impressive.

30 Jul 2008

The Mamas and the Papas: "Are We There Yet?," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through September 13

By Mike Schulz

Tom Walljasper, Sandra D. Rivera, Tristan Layne Tapscott, and Erin Dickerson Even considering the show's cast and director, if you had told me a week ago that the musical comedy Are We There Yet? would wind up being my favorite Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse presentation over the past two years, I wouldn't have believed you.

23 Jul 2008

... And We Saw That It Was Good: "Children of Eden," at North Scott High School through July 27

By Mike Schulz

Alison Scherer and ensemble members in Children of Eden Describing the Countryside Community Theatre's Children of Eden as a first-rate Sunday-school pageant may sound like a backhanded compliment, if not an actual insult. But that's exactly what this presentation of the Stephen Schwartz and John Caird musical feels like, and the description isn't meant to be the least bit insulting.

Pages

more

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

 

Tagged Content

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?) 

Subscribe!

* indicates required

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Get 12 issues mailed monthly for $48 per year.

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Click this link to Subscribe now.

 
 

Theatre Calendars

Submit your event listings to calendar@rcreader.com