DES MOINES - MUSICALS

by Natalie O'Donoghue - December 13, 2025

A mountain of discarded wrapping. A lonely child with an active imagination. It’s often the cardboard boxes, not the gifts inside that are the most fun. Is the true gift the joy that can come from the imagination?...

by Gilbert Kim Sancha - December 13, 2025

Newport Performing Arts Theater has been transformed into a fantastical swamp teeming with color, laughter, and heart....

by Jared Reynolds - December 12, 2025

Cozy, cute, and full of Christmas cheer. That’s what you get with Miracle on 34th Street. That was abound and aplenty at the Connecticut Theatre Company’s production of the motion picture classic! CTC’s production of Miracle on 34th Street kept the joy of the season at the heart of this production, ...

by Doug Poms - December 12, 2025

What did our critic think of A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS at Olney Theatre? Olney Theatre continues its lovely tradition of its annual rendering of Paul Morella’s one-person adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas.” Now in its 16th year, this r...

by Shelley Dean - December 12, 2025

The movie Elf is one of those films that sticks with you throughout your life; you remember the spaghetti, the syrup, and the unrivaled holiday cheer from the unique story. It’s only natural that a story full of this much nostalgia takes on a new life that honors its legacy. Enter Elf: The Musical. ...

by Katie Kirkpatrick - December 13, 2025

Rollerskates, Elaine Page, ducks, puppets, corpses, puppet corpses, and a DJing Andrew Lloyd Webber. Evita Too is worlds away from the Jamie Lloyd hit that swept London this summer, but it has just as much to say, if not more....

by Vickie Evans - December 12, 2025

The event was a strong representation of the transformative power of the arts and the importance of creating platforms for Black playwrights and performers....

by Brett Cullum - December 12, 2025

Going into Irving Berlin’s WHITE CHRISTMAS, you already know what you are in for. Most people have seen the film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, released in 1954....

by Gabby Ziccarelli - December 12, 2025

As the houselights dim at the Metropolitan Opera, the Julie Taymor–directed The Magic Flute transports viewers into a buoyant and kaleidoscopic fairy-tale dreamworld. This abridged, English-language production is a visually sumptuous version of Mozart's singspiel bathed in bold primary colors, shape...

by James Lindhorst - December 12, 2025

Director Will Bonfiglio, Music Director Larry D. Pry, Choreogrpaher Jo Palisoc, and the entire company deserve a lot of credit for their all in committed, peppy, and high-spirited production of a marginal show that is staged as a pet project far too often. There are thousands of musical theater asse...