Des Moines Offers Fantastic Shows in April

Though spring officially began in March, April feels like the true beginning of a new season. The sun is shining, the weather is warming and April makes up for a slower March with shows of every variety.

The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is the first of two national productions making a stop in Des Moines this month. Opening April 1st, Porgy and Bess is an adapted version of the Gershwin's masterful opera that originally premiered in 1935. Revived on Broadway as a more focused musical theater piece, the production won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical in 2012. Featuring songs such as "Summertime" and "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" Porgy and Bess continues to see success after all these years and will continue to expand its' audience while on the national tour. Porgy and Bess runs through April 6th. For ticket information visit Des Moines Performing Arts.

The second national production stopping in Des Moines in April is Once, winner of the Best Musical Tony Award in 2012. Once tells the emotional story of a Dublin street musician whose hopes are fading until he meets a young woman who connects with his music. Based on the 2006 film of the same name, Once is at times quiet and haunting but is alternately enchanting and full of hope. Once will play from April 22nd - 27th. For ticket information go to Des Moines Performing Arts.

StageWest Theater Company presents The Norwegians by C. Denby Swanson April 25th - May 4th. The Norwegians is a comedy about two Minnesota women seeking revenge on the men who did them wrong. The women even go so far as to hire a group of kind Norwegian hit men to get rid of their former boyfriends. StageWest is the first theater company outside of New York to present The Norwegians. For ticket information visit StageWest Theater Company.

Repertory Theater of Iowa presents one of the seminal American dramas with Arthur Miller's The Crucible. The Crucible is a dramatization of the famed Salem witch trials that took place in the 1600's. The Crucible won the Tony for Best Play in 1953 and the popularity of the work has not diminished. Repertory Theater of Iowa will perform The Crucible from April 11th - 20th. For ticket information visit Repertory Theater of Iowa.

From April 11th - 26th Tallgrass Theatre Company will present the play Extremities by William Mastrosimone. Extremities tells the searing story of a violent attack that changes dramatically when the victim turns the tables on her attacker. In the aftermath, the victim is forced to decide how to physically and emotionally handle the attacker. For ticket information visit Tallgrass Theater Company.

Des Moines Community Playhouse continues the production of Les Miserables. Les Miserables opened in March and will continue through April 13th. For ticket information visit Des Moines Community Playhouse.

From American classics to modern musicals and dramas, there is not a week in April that doesn't offer a fantastic piece of theater. Get out and enjoy!