Footliter's Beauty and the Beast

Footliters - The Young Footliters are currently presenting Beauty and the Beast at the Englert Theatre. Just from the pictures alone, it looks like it's worth checking out.


Go here for more information.

A Review of Coffee and Hope

Riverside - Cancer is never an easy subject for an audience to embrace. We want to be entertained on a Friday night, not depressed with stories of pain and suffering. Fortunately, Ron Clark understands that and injects enough humor into his script Coffee and Hope to keep the audience entertained while still pulling our heartstrings.

As the audience first enters the space, they find a perfect re-creation of a doctor's office waiting room. Actors are already sitting, sipping coffee, entering and exiting; all of that action adds to the reality of the setting. The shows opens with the only successful song, which is a wonderfully funny ode to coffee sung by Clark. There are a couple of other songs in the show, but they seemed to be pushed into the show unnecessarily. One of them, the song about an anesthesiologist "passing gas", was particularly painful to endure. It made me wonder if Clark really liked the coffee song and thought he couldn't have just one song in the show and so added a couple more.

Each of the principal actors, with the exception of Clark, plays three different characters. All of the actors do an extremely good job of creating rich and interesting characters. Timm Budd's portrayal of a man with aphasia and John Watkins as the brother of a dying woman were particularly strong. However, and this highlights the one flaw of the show, I left the the theater wanting to know more about those characters. The way the show is created we only get snapshots of each of these characters and how they deal with a loved one's struggle with cancer. Any one of those stories could have been tremendously satisfying. As it stands, there's a sense of frustration from getting just enough of each story to make us long for more.

That said, one has to take the play as it is. It is a series of wonderfully written and performed monologues about a central theme that touches everyone, whether they've personally dealt with the pain of loving someone with cancer or not. The monologues range from the humorous - a man's attempt to create a false boob for his wife - to the brutally honest - one man admitting that his wife's mastectomy does matter even though he knows in his heart it shouldn't. These are honest and heart wrenching glimpses into these characters' souls brought to life by five incredibly talented actors.

A number of excellent directorial decisions by Kevin Harris kept the action moving and the audience interested. Sound was used effectively to separate the monologues from the central action. Action described in the monologues was often performed behind a scrim adding a memory-like feel to the moment. This is a first rate production of a brand new play. Despite a desire for more, what's there is definitely worth seeing.

--Matthew Falduto

Matthew has a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Iowa. He has directed, acted in, and produced theater in the Iowa City area for over ten years. He has worked with the Iowa City Community Theatre, City Circle and Dreamwell, of which he is a founder. Two of his plays have been produced in the Iowa City area. In another brief life, he also worked as a technical writer.

Auditions for Prisoner of Zenda

Rage - Rage Theatrics will hold auditions Monday, November 3 and Tuesday, November 4 at 6:00 PM for the upcoming production of The Prisoner of Zenda. This classic tale of romance, intrigue, and swordplay will be Rage Theatrics' first presentation of a full-length play. Auditions will take place at Old Brick, 26 E. Market Street in Iowa City. Actors should come prepared for cold readings and dressed to move for a fight call; please check the Rage website for character descriptions. Theatre and stage combat experience is welcome, but not required. If you wish to audition but are unavailable Nov. 3 & 4, please call to request an alternative time. For more information, contact Scott Lewis at director@ragetheatrics.com, (319) 936-1847, or visit the website.

The Prisoner of Zenda begins with the arrival in Ruritania of Rudolph Rassendyll, an Englishman who bears a remarkable resemblance to King Rudolph. After a chance meeting, the King befriends Rassendyll and the Englishman is drawn into a plot by the King's brother to usurp the throne. What follows is a comedic adventure of impersonation, romance, and swashbuckling that will take place in January 2009 at Space/Place Theater.

Riverside's Coffee and Hope opens tomorrow

Riverside - When the woman you love is battling cancer, sometimes all you have is coffee and hope.

Riverside Theatre will present the premiere of Coffee and Hope, written by Resident Artist Ron Clark and directed by Kevin Harris. The production will run October 24 – November 9. Tickets are available at the Riverside Theatre box office at (319) 338-7672 or online.

With candor and humor, Coffee and Hope explores what it means to stand beside a woman you love in a time of crisis. Five actors play thirteen compelling characters, all based on interviews with men about their experiences as cancer caregivers. From one man’s misguided attempt to build a homemade prosthetic to another’s windshield-smashing rage, these ordinary guys have extraordinary tales to tell.

Clark, who also performs in the play, said that audiences will meet some inspirational characters. “Over twenty men were interviewed, and their individual stories were woven together to create these fascinating characters. Throughout the play we see them overcome their own fears and inadequacies, and ultimately triumph as guys who exceed their own expectations as caregivers for the women they love.”

These characters not only share their experiences through stories, but also through song. The play includes three original songs with lyrics by Clark and music by Deb Tiemens. In addition, Coffee and Hope also features the talents of Tim Budd, John Watkins, David Q. Combs, Brian Bentz, and Sarah Hinzman.

Check back after the weekend for a review of the show.

Schoolhouse Rock Review

City Circle - Despite being an overall extremely uneven evening of theatre, there are enough good moments in City Circle's production of Schoolhouse Rock Live! to make it well worth seeing.

Let's talk the difficulties first. Part of the problem is the show itself. By randomly putting a series of songs together with only the barest conceit of a story line, the script creates the possibility of a strong segment being immediately undercut by a weaker segment.

You can divide the show into the Grammar Rock songs, the Multiplication Rock songs, the Science Rock songs, and the America Rock songs. That's not just me coming up with a classification system - that's how they were originally broadcast and how they're packaged on the DVD set.

Of these, the Grammar Rock and Multiplication Rock songs are the best, in large part because events of the past 35 years haven't changed the fundamental meaning of the songs. On the other hand, the America Rock songs are dated, quaint, and more than a little earnest. The Science Rock songs were never that good to begin with.

Let's take some specific examples. "Three Is A Magic Number" is one of the best songs in the production, and City Circle's staging of the song does justice to the song. Michael Stokes has a strong lead vocal. The stark lighting, using a dark orange filter, sets the scene perfectly. (Indeed, Will Brown's simple but effective lighting design is first-rate all throughout the show, a study in how to use a minimalist lighting approach for maximum effect.) Finally, the choreography doesn't overwhelm the ensemble, something that can't be said about many of the segments.

Unfortunately, this is immediately followed by "Mother Necessity." The main problem here is a song that talks about the importance of inventions such as the cotton gin and the sewing machine at a time when a personal computer is almost a required household appliance. The song was written in 1976 - the advancements in science and technology since that time are enormous. The production doesn't help things, though - the blocking and choreography are frenetic and out of control, and the vocals get lost.

The other main problem with the show comes from the decision to expand the cast from a handful of performers to over thirty people. While this works to ensure a larger, friendlier audience, and this production is no exception, it also works to ensure a poorer production. There are more than a few weak voices in the cast, and we hear too much of them.

But there are also some very strong voices in the cast, but we don't get to hear enough of them. Kehry Lane was great, with a beautiful voice that was easily heard. Sami Wendell, easily the second best performer onstage after Lane, was woefully underused. Jeremy Ping, Chris Carpenter, and the aforementioned Michael Stokes all turned in the same fine work they're known for in the local theatre community.

Then there's the strong songs. I'm still singing the strong songs: "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly", "Just A Bill," "Ready or Not," the under appreciated "Tale of Mr. Morton," and perhaps the best segment of the evening, "Unpack Your Adjectives." All of these brought me into the production, humming and singing along. These segments are what I think of most as I look back on the production, and they are the reason the show's worth seeing.

--David Pierce

David Pierce is a four-time past president of the Iowa City Community Theatre. He has acted, sung, directed, and worked backstage for far too many local productions to mention. He is a writer both by trade and inclination, with law and journalism as an educational background.

The cast of Sarah Plain and Tall

ICCT - The Iowa City Community Theatre's next show will be Sarah, Plain & Tall by Joseph Robinette (from the Newbery Award-winning book by Patricia MacLachlan). It is the story of a widowed Kansas farmer who places an ad in the newspaper because he needs a wife and a mother for his two children, Anna and Caleb. Sarah responds to the ad agreeing to visit the family for a month. The play presents that month as a flashback as an adult Anna remembers how Sarah's visit changed their lives forever. You may remember the 1991 TV movie that starred Glenn Close and Christopher Walken. For more information, go here.

Cast:
Jacob Witting - Brian Tanner
Anna Witting - Annie Hartley
Caleb Witting - Daniel Burian
Matt Nordstrom - Howard Meadows
Maggie Nordstrom - Mary Ann Cozine
Rose Nordstrom - Devin Hedlund
Violet Nordstrom - Julia Beasley
Will Wheaton - Gene Troyer
Meg Wheaton - Susan Manuel
Sarah Wheaton - Kathy McDonald
Adult Anna - Susan Jacobson
Ephraim (paperboy)- Joel Meadows
Howie, Eben,
Levi, Titus, Chester - Nelson Gurll
Judson Moffet - Lane Hanon
Children at play - Marie Blondin, Megan Hill, Alyssa Oxley, A.J. Leong, Alex Leong

Backstage with Schoolhouse Rock

City Circle - We recently had a chance to talk to Chris Okiishi, the director of City Circle's next show, Schoolhouse Rock - Live! (Yes, the exclamation point is part of the title.) I am sure many of us remember those funny (and informative) cartoons playing on Saturday mornings. My favorite was "The Bill." After reading our interview with Chris, feel free to share your memories of Schoolhouse Rock in the comments.

Talk to me a little bit about the collaboration with Englert and the Iowa Children's Museum. Do you meet with those groups and come up with a show together? Or do you bring ideas to them?

Chris Okiishi: In the case of both Seussical and School House Rock - Live!, the idea to work together came first, then we sifted through some ideas of what might make a good collaboration. Seussical came simultaneously to the museum and to me, and Schoolhouse Rock was the brainchild of Beth Bewley-Randall of the Englert. She had worked on the original Chicago production and hoped for years to bring it to the stage here.

Who is in the cast? Can you tell give me the inside scoop on any stand out performances we'll all be talking about the next day?

Chris: This is a fantastically diverse cast--many new to our group and some new to the area. They are all so talented, it's hard to pick a favorite, but watch the chorus folks as they find ways of stealing scenes--my favorite acting jobs were always in shows like this where the chorus could gobble up four or five little "bits" and walk away with the show!

This show was originally supposed to be done with just a few actors, but my understanding is you're doing it with many, many more actors than that. Can you tell why you've gone that route and what challenges or advantages that has brought to your production?

Chris: The show was designed to be performed by a group of six friends in a small bar in Chicago. It was developed as a response to the talents available and in particular to the space they had. In moving into a much larger venue such as the Englert, some re-imagining was necessary and I seized the opportunity to expand the cast to its current 32. In some cases, this has resulted in a greater match to the original source material (Elbow Room, Great American Melting Pot) and in other cases, we still only feature a few actors at a time (Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Ready or Not Here I Come). But we are doing our best to fill the theater with life and energy while still keeping the educational message intact.

Who is doing the choreography? What can you tell me about that aspect of the production?

Chris: There are four choreographers. Leslie Nolte is working on Ready or Not Here I Come which will also feature her troup of dancers. Jessica Netolicky provided the infecteous Interplanet Janet dance, which we will actually teach to the audience at one point. And Michelle Altmaier and Lily Huber produced a roller skate dance to Figure 8. The rest of the choreography was developed in conjunction with the ensemble. We are really proud of how we manage to keep telling the story while still reflecting the style and movement of the music.

Were you a big fan of the Saturday morning cartoons that are the basis of this show?

Chris: Oh, you becha! My brothers and I knew many of these by heart--and I still could sing "The Preamble" on cue at any moment before working on the show. That said, there are many lesser-known gems ("Victim of Gravity", for example) which have become new favorites.

I admit I have never heard of "Victim of Gravity". Just to follow up with that... during rehearsals were there lots of talk about everyone's memories? How did that help the production?

Chris: Oh yes. Ellen Stevenson, who is in our show, was also in the ICCT production that went up one week after 9/11. She has some amazing stories to tell of that production and the memories our production trigger for her.

Also, several cast members in addition to me are being regularly transported back in time to our childhoods and in particular to how we used the information in the songs to learn more efficiently. And now at least two of the younger cast members proudly report improved science grades as a result of the Circulation song!

That's what we want to hear! So what else do we need to know about this show?

Chris: This kind of a show is tricky--it seems like it's all about the kids, but really, there is almost more for adults here. For me, the most fascinating aspect of the show is to see how songs like "Sufferin' for Suffrage", "Elbow Room" and "Great American Melting Pot" say as much about the time they were written as the historical lessons they teach. Imagine, for example, an unapologetic pro-immigration song playing on Saturday Morning today! So in a way, it's a history lesson about mid-70s politics and values as well--and a chance to revisit how we thought about history then and compare it to our views today.

Thank you, Chris, for taking the time to give us a glimpse backstage.

Check out Schoolhouse Rock Live! this weekend at the Englert. For more info, go here.

(Above photo supplied by City Circle features Christopher Carpenter as The Bill.)

Schoolhouse Rock - Live! opens this weekend

City Circle - Three local institutions have come together to produce a show that will be familiar to anyone growing up in the 70s or 80s. Schoolhouse Rock – Live!, produced by City Circle Acting Company, The Iowa Children's Museum and The Englert Theatre, opens this Friday at the Englert. The producers call this show "a real treat for 'Generation X-rs' seeking a taste of nostalgia" and say it "will also entertain children just discovering the TV series."

"I have dreamed of producing Schoolhouse Rock – Live! at the Englert for years," says Englert Executive Director Beth Bewley-Randall, who was the stage manager for the show's school tour in Chicago. "This show isn't just for kids – it's for everyone who ever saw the cartoon series, or who enjoys learning through music. I expect to see people dancing in the aisles."

Tickets are on sale now through the Englert Box Office by calling 319-688-2653 or visiting 221 E Washington Street Mon-Fri 1:00-6:00 PM. Tickets and more information are also available online here.

Families are also invited to explore the Schoolhouse Rock – Live! exhibit at the Iowa Children's Museum with their favorite Schoolhouse Rock characters, including Zero is My Hero, Interplanetary Janet, and The Bill. Activities include the Gravity Drop, the Conjunction Junction word mural, and a mini-planetarium. For more information about the exhibit, call 319-625-6255.

The cast of Lear's Daughters

Dreamwell - Dreamwell's next show will be Lear's Daughters by the Women’s Theatre Group based on an idea by Elaine Feinstein. It is a prequel to Shakespeare’s King Lear, focusing on Lear’s daughters as they might have seen themselves: as daughters passionate for art and longing for parental affection and as princesses locked in a tower with the King holding the crown. It opens November 14 and is directed by Iowa City theatre veteran Gerry Roe.

Cast:
Regan - Emily Dokken
Fool - Vicki Krajewski
Nurse - Deone Pedersen
Goneril - Becca Robinson
Cordelia - Elizabeth Ross

Auditions for Ernie

Riverside - Riverside Theatre announces auditions for the role of Ernie in Guys on Ice: An Ice Fishing Musical Comedy, directed by Artistic Director Jody Hovland.

Auditions are by appointment only on Saturday, October 11, beginning at 1:00 pm at 213 N. Gilbert Street. The production will begin rehearsals December 29, and will play January 23 – February 22, 2009.

Audition requirements include a photo, resume and a prepared monologue and song from the script. Specific audition material is available at the box office. Actor must be able to play basic chords on a guitar, banjo or ukulele, and should bring an instrument to the audition if possible.

For more information or to schedule an audition appointment, call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 338-7672. Box office hours are Monday-Friday, 12 – 4 pm.