Director Mark Littlejohn has ensembled an impressive cast for the production of 'The Foreigner,' with over half of the actors making their theatrical debut with Tallgrass Theatre Company. Through the exaggerated characters and situations of farce, you still see a dark underbelly of human nature, alw... (more...)
With its high emotional content, theatricality, and emphasis on young performers and individual expression, this is the perfect season opener for the Des Moines Community Playhouse, which runs October 5-28. Don't miss out on the 'electricity!'... (more...)
The dearly departed were well cared for at the Bechdel funeral home in small town Pennsylvania. But the same cannot be said of the Bechdel family themselves. This family shows several signs of trauma, especially the haunted Alison, who struggles with her past and the man who raised her. So it goe... (more...)
If you live in the Des Moines area and not under a rock, chances are you know that Hamilton is playing at the Des Moines Civic Center. The critically-acclaimed hip-hop musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda about the 'Ten Dollar Founding Father' is here from June 27-July 15. Des Moines was chosen to host the... (more...)
While the characters are dealing with heavy political and personal issues, Iowa Stage Theatre Company's Rapture, Blister, Burn, directed by Kristin Larson, is a delightful and thought provoking comedy with uncomfortably relatable characters making it a must see.... (more...)
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 b... (more...)
An outstanding cast opened Kansas City Repertory Theatre's new production of Steven Sondheim's 1979 'Sweeny Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' at the Spencer Theater on the UMKC campus. KC Rep Artistic Director Eric Rosen does more than justice to Sondheim's incredible operatic score and the... (more...)
Somewhere in between the high heel kicking, lap dancing, water spitting, wig switching and rocking music, I fell in love with Kata Klysmic's production of Hedwig and The Angry Inch. This feeling must have come towards the beginning of the show, as I do not remember one second where the momentum of t... (more...)
Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre presented Puccini's epic Turandot as part of the company's Twentieth Anniversary season, January 19th and 21st at the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids, delivering a handsome production, richly adorned with all the spectacle and vocal fireworks one could ... (more...)
It is somewhat of an unspoken rule in community theatre that if it's Disney, it sells. This magic word, in combination with the team that made the Cloris Award-sweeping Young Frankenstein last summer, ought to make the Playhouse's production a surefire hit. Luckily, the math adds up for the Playhous... (more...)
Love and joy come to you , and come to you it may if you have the chance to join Iowa Stage Theatre Company as they bring 2017 to a close with A Christmas Carol. In this digital age as we increasingly turn to our screens for happy endorphins, the holidays are the perfect time to partake in the unfo... (more...)
The most important ingredient in every great recipe is love and it's not a secret element in the formula that made the hit musical, Waitress. She is rich with love in heaping scoops and I, for one, am ready for seconds.... (more...)
What do you get when two undercover cops, a clueless mayor, his wife, a security guard, an accountant and the Scottish mob collide in two conjoining motel rooms set somewhere in the middle of America? The answer has to be a poorly thought out joke or the play Unnecessary Farce by Paul Slade Smith, w... (more...)
Redemption is on the mind in Pyramid Theatre Company's The Amen Corner, the classic James Baldwin show that completes Pyramid's summer season. Baldwin's play often rests on questions concerning redemption, sacrifice, and spirituality making the show a fitting choice for Pyramid after two successful ... (more...)
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... (more...)
In times of great distress, fear can make people do terrible things. It can push wives to turn on husbands, mothers to turn on children, and neighbors to turn on neighbors. This idea surrounds Mississippi Goddamn, a new play by Jonathan Norton that received its first official staging at Pyramid Thea... (more...)
This production of The Music Man will lift your spirits and remind you of a great staple of American musical theatre, even if it does need some modern rewrites.... (more...)
It is a known fact that any cold heart can be warmed by a seven foot mute monster in tap shoes singing Irving Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz". If you happen to be a fan of Mel Brooks' film Young Frankenstein, you already know this. But, if you happen to be like me and have never seen the iconic film,... (more...)
BWW Review: THE LION KING JR. at Des Moines Roosevelt High School Theatre
BWW Review: THE FOREIGNER at Tallgrass Theatre Company
BWW Review: LEGALLY BLONDE, JR. THE MUSICAL at Des Moines Young Artists' Theatre
BWW Review: BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL at Des Moines Community Playhouse
BWW Review: FUN HOME at Iowa Stage Theatre
BWW Review: HAMILTON at Des Moines Civic Center
BWW Review: RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN at Iowa Stage Theatre Company
BWW Review: RAGTIME at The Des Moines Playhouse
BWW Review: SWEENEY TODD at Kansas City Repertory Theatre
BWW Review: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH at Kata Klysmic Productions
BWW Review: TURANDOT triumphs at Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre
BWW Review: DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID at The Des Moines Playhouse
BWW Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL Brings Comfort and Joy at Iowa Stage Theatre Company
BWW Review: WAITRESS Serves at Des Moines Civic Center
BWW Review: UNNECESSARY FARCE at Ankeny Community Theatre
BWW Review: THE AMEN CORNER at Pyramid Theatre Company
BWW Review: GUYS & DOLLS at Urbandale Community Theatre
BWW Review: MISSISSIPPI GODDAMN at Pyramid Theatre Company
BWW Review: THE MUSIC MAN at The Des Moines Playhouse
BWW Review: Theatre Cedar Rapids Brings Life to Vinegar Tom
BWW Review: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at The Des Moines Playhouse
