End Days preview

Riverside - Riverside Theatre, Iowa City’s resident professional theatre company, will present End Days, by Deborah Zoe Laufer January 29 – February 21. Artistic Associate Bruce Wheaton will direct. Tickets are available at the Riverside Theatre Box Office at (319) 338-7672 or online at www.riversidetheatre.org.

End Days presents the three members of the Stein family: sixteen-year-old Rachel, a Goth-garbed atheist; her mother, Sylvia, a passionate convert to evangelical Christianity; and Rachel’s father, Arthur, a businessman who hasn’t been able to change out of his pajamas since 9/11. Things get stirred up when the Steins meet their new neighbor, Nelson, an upbeat teen obsessed with science, Elvis…and Rachel. Stephen Hawking and Jesus also make appearances, and the inside word is that the Apocalypse is coming on Wednesday.

Director Bruce Wheaton provided his perspective on the production’s wackiness: “It’s true that all the characters are odd ducks. However, the play isn’t really about their idiosyncrasies. At its center, End Days is a romantic comedy that emphasizes the characters’ need to belong.”

The two teenaged characters are played by Laura Tatar, who appeared recently at Riverside in Walking the Wire and last season in Raising Medusa, and Ryan Westwood, who was a part of the 2009 Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival intern company. Riverside audiences will also recognize Artistic Director Jody Hovland as Sylvia Stein, and favorites Jim Van Valen (recently seen in A Dog’s Life) as Arthur Stein and Tim Budd (recently seen in Walking the Wire) as Jesus/Stephen Hawking.

End Days also features scenic design by Paul M. Collins, costume design by Jill Van Brussel, lighting design by Courtney Schmitz Watson and sound design by Ryan Rumery.

The production of End Days is sponsored in part by Julie and Carl Schweser.

Tickets range from $12-$26 with a $12 student rush 20 minutes before the performance. Tickets may be ordered through the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 213 N. Gilbert St., (319) 338-7672 or online at www.riversidetheatre.org.