What Are You Doing This Weekend?

Going out to the theatre, we hope! Here's our weekly roundup:

From ITAC: Stories of Old Amana

"This new stage adaptation of the rich history of the Amana Colony features stories that have been gathered from the Amana Heritage Museum in addition to stories directly provided to ITAC’s acting ensemble. A few of the stories in this special one-hour presentation will be told for the very first time on the Amana stage. Five actors keep the pace of this show lively and engaging and the addition of projected slides of communal-era Amana enhances the enjoyment of this unique and illuminating show recommended for audiences from elementary age children to senior citizens."

Location: Iowa Theatre Artists Company
Time: 1:30 Friday & Saturday
Price: $10

Wild Rosie's Prarie Round-Up and Chuck Wagon Bar-B-Q

""One heck of a hoe-down in the ITAC dance hall featuring great music, cowboy crooners, tall tales, cow punch humor, cowboy poetry & a Texas-style bbq dinner."

Location: Iowa Theatre Artists Company
Time: 6:30 Saturday, 12:30 and 6:30 Sunday.
Price: $37.50($25 Student)

From The Old Creamery: Shirley Valentine

(2nd weekend; review here.)

"Shirley Valentine is a house wife who feels she's in a rut and wonders how she got there. When her friend wins a trip for two to Greece she jumps at the chance to have an adventure. She finds one, and also a new awareness about herself and her life!"

Script by Willy Russell; directed by Rachael Lindhart.

Location: Studio Stage
Time: 7:30 Friday & Saturday, 3:00 Sunday
Price: $25.50 ($16.50 Student)

From TCR: Hairspray

(2nd weekend; review here.)

"Hairspray delighted audiences by sweeping them away to 1960′s Baltimore, where the 50′s are out — and change is in the air. Loveable plus-size heroine, Tracy Turnblad, has a passion for dancing, and wins a spot on the local TV dance program, 'The Corny Collins Show.' Overnight she finds herself transformed from outsider to teen celebrity. Can a larger-than-life adolescent manage to vanquish the program’s reigning princess, integrate the television show, and find true love (singing and dancing all the while, of course!) without mussing her hair?"

Book by Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman. Directed by Leslie Charipar, musical direction by Janelle Lauer, choreography by Mike Weaver.

Location: Mainstage
Time: 7:30 Friday & Saturday, 2:30 Sunday.
Price: $25-30 ($20 Youth/Student)

From Classics at Brucemore: Night of the Iguana

"Tennessee Williams, considered one of the greatest American playwrights, is most known for two Pulitzer Prize dramas, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955). Debuting on Broadway in 1961 and winning the New York Drama Critics Award, The Night of the Iguana is the last of Williams’s major successes. Set at a Mexican hotel in the early 1940s, the drama presents several character portraits in an exploration of what it means to be human. "

Script by Tennessee Williams; directed by Jason Alberty.

Location: Brucemore Estate in Cedar Rapids
Time: 8:00 Thursday - Saturday
Price: $20 ($18 advance; $15 advance for members/students).

From Iowa Rep: Sherlock's Last Case

"Described as a black comedy, Sherlock's Last Case takes what we know about Holmes and Watson, gives it a delightful twist, and cranks it up a notch to the point where it becomes absurdly comedic. It will keep you guessing!"

Script by Charles Marowitz; directed by Matt Hawkins.

Location: E.C. Mabie Theatre
Time: 8:00 Thursday - Saturday
Price: $26 ($23 Senior, $13 Youth, $5 UI Student)

From Dreamwell: Writer's Skirmish

"In World’s Teeniest, directed by Matthew Falduto, a woman comes home to find a kid in her house who just won’t leave. As they spar with words, it becomes clear there is more happening here than meets the eye. Amy White is a well-known local writer whose works have been performed at Mount Vernon Lisbon Community Theatre and Riverside Theatre. Her work was also featured in Dreamwell’s production of Soldier’s Daughter last year.

Some Assembly Required, directed by Meg Dobbs, humorously explores the meaning of freedom.

AfterWerx, directed by Brian Tanner, is the journey of two living people looking for answers in the afterlife to the destiny-altering moments of their lives."

World's Teeniest written by Amy White. Afterwerx written by Carrie and Richard New. Some Assembly Required written by James Grob. Festival coordinated by Matthew Brewbaker.

Location: Unitarian Universalist Society

Time: 7:30 Friday & Saturday
Price: $13 ($10 Students & Seniors)

From Combined Efforts: What's Happenin' at the County Fair

"The county fair is returning and this time it's ALL things '60's! Yes, it's Combined Efforts' presentation of 'What's Happenin' at the County Fair 2012!' This fair is gonna be the best ever... music, dancing, comedy & lots more!"

Location: 3518 Osage St. SW in Iowa City
Time: 7:00 Friday & Saturday
Price: $5 (children under 5 free, families of five $20).

... so get out to the theatre!