Dani Boal

It's the final week left to vote for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Des Moines Awards! Voting ends on 12/31 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

There's just two weeks left to vote and we have the latest standings as of Monday, December 18th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Des Moines Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

It's the final 3 weeks and we have the latest standings as of Monday, December 11th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Des Moines Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

It's December, and the first standings of the month have been announced as of Tuesday, December 5th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Des Moines Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

Happy Holidays! The latest wave of standings have been announced as of Monday, November 27th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Des Moines Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

The latest wave of standings have been announced as of Monday, November 20th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Des Moines Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

As the holiday season gets closer, theatres start bringing some of our favorite stories to the stage. That is no different for Tallgrass Theatre Company, which is offering a new take on a classic tale this holiday season.

When Des Moines Playhouse closed their production of 'Singin' in the Rain' last year, no one could have imagined what would follow. A year without a musical performance on the stage. This meant that the big productions they had planned for Summer, Fall, and Winter had to be canceled. That changed on Friday, April 9, when they opened their spring production of 'Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein.'

The Des Moines Playhouse will continue to present live theatre with two shows this spring, Some Enchanted Evening – The Songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Apr. 9-May 9, 2021, and, for families, The Velveteen Rabbit, Apr. 16-May 2, 2021. In-person performances will be presented in repertory, alternating shows by the week, in the John Viars Theatre.

Recently, the term intermission has taken on a new meaning in the theatre community.  While we usually use it as a term to signify a break in a show, we have recently modified it to a break in theatre productions due to COVID19. While we may not be able to gather as a theatre community to sit in a theatre for a show, some theatres are getting creative in how they present shows this summer.  One of them is Des Moines Playhouse.  I attended a dress rehearsal of their socially distanced production of 'Love Letters,' which opens on June 12.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse has added 15 Live Theatre Drive-In performances. Originally announced performances sold out in five days. Tickets for the added performances are available online at dmplayhouse.com or by calling The Playhouse ticket office at 515-277-6261.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse presents The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Nov. 2-25, 2018. Tickets may be purchased online at dmplayhouse.com, by phone at 515-277-6261, or at the Playhouse ticket office, 831 42nd St. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is sponsored by Nationwide.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse held the 2018 Dionysos Awards on Sunday, Oct. 14. The theatre honored 18 backstage, front-of-house, and education volunteers, and announced 10 acting award winners. The evening with a number from Billy Elliot The Musical, on stage now through Oct. 28.

Join the Des Moines Community Playhouse for the 2018-19 Dionysos Awards on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018. The Dionysos Awards celebrates the contributions of more than 750 individuals, giving 55,000 hours annually as actors, backstage crews, and guest services volunteers.  

Founded in 2015, the Cloris Awards celebrate excellence in theatre in Greater Des Moines. The annual awards program brings together the theatre community and the public to celebrate their work and enhance the visibility of locally-produced theatre. The 2017-2018 season featured 43 productions by 12 participating companies.

From Harry Houdini, to baseball, to Booker T. Washington, to the American Dream, Des Moines Playhouse's production of Ragtime covers a lot of ground - ten years to be exact. In presenting an encyclopedic glance of these ten years from 1902 - 1912, the musical, with book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty, slowly becomes a big ball of dense nostalgia with glimpses of heart every now and then. But that seems to be a bigger problem with the intent of the show to nicely wrap up ten years of history in under three hours rather than The Des Moines Playhouse's production. Yes, The Des Moines Playhouse's production (directed by John W. Viars)  is grand, beautiful, heartfelt and absolutely delicious to listen to, which makes it an excellent season closer for the company as they head into their 100th season and a renovated theatre.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse presents 'Ragtime,' Apr. 6-29, 2018. Tickets may be purchased online at dmplayhouse.com, by phone at 515-277-6261, or at the Playhouse ticket office, 831 42nd St. 'Ragtime' is sponsored by Des Moines Radio Group.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse is approaching its 100th anniversary, and has already begun the celebration with a special performances each year leading up to the big day. On Feb. 16-17, the Playhouse will continue the trip down memory lane with 'Countdown to 100: Musicals of the 2000s.' The program celebrates Playhouse and Broadway musical theatre history. 'Countdown to 100' is presented by Hubbell Realty Company with support from Workiva.

Although Urbandale Community Theatre's dedication to producing classic shows may be safer than putting on contemporary pieces, a classic must be done in a fresh way in order to convince the audience that the show must be seen. This production remains fresh enough to receive that seal of approval and entertains in spite of certain scenes that slow down the action. I will say that I wish Urbandale Community Theatre would sometimes be riskier in its selection of show, but Guys & Dolls convinces me enough that classics are here to stay.

For the past two decades, Urbandale Community Theatre has been entertaining the local community with an annual summer musical theatre production. This tradition continues this year with a new production of Guys and Dolls running July 21 - 30, 2017. Guys and Dolls, the 1950 Frank Loesser production that has been a staple of American musical theatre since its debut, also continues Urbandale Community Theatre's tradition of utilizing a volunteer cast, crew, and orchestra in combination with a professional production team to create a polished theatrical experience that reaches all areas of the Urbandale community.