What Are You Doing This Weekend?

There's a wide variety of theatre in the Corridor this weekend, from old classics to brand-new works, with a little holiday (or rather, anti-holiday) flavor thrown in as well.

Here's the rundown:

@Riverside
Guys on Ice continues its run at Riverside. It's an ice-fishing musical about two pals trying to land a cable fishing show. The show starts at 7:30 (2 on Sunday); tickets Here.

@The Ox Yoke Inn
Murder Rides again is Old Creamery's whodunnit with food, held at the Ox Yoke Inn. The show begins at 6; call the Ox Yoke at 1.800.233.3441 for tickets.

@TCR
Theatre Cedar Rapids continues with the hilarious Oscar Wilde play The Importance of Being Earnest on the mainstage, while down in the basement, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde tells a darker tale of Oscar Wilde's persecution by a court that was highly suspicious of his work and his lifestyle. Earnest is on the mainstage Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 (Sunday at 2:30); Gross Indecency is in the Grandon at 7:30 Friday & Saturday. Tickets here.

@PS1
3 Brothers' Men Misbehaving is a series of bad-boy monologues that is stomping up the Corridor from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City this weekend. They'll be at Public Space One (129 E. Washington St) at 7:30 (2 on Sunday); call 319.621.0024 for tickets.

Also in Public Space on this weekend is Mud, a University of Iowa Theatre Honors Project. The play is written by Maria Irene Fornes and directed by Maria Vorhis. From the Facebook page:

"Mae is learning to read. When not at school, she irons all day and takes care of Lloyd. Mae meets Henry, and desiring his brilliant mind, invites him to live with them. Tensions in the house grow and Mae must choose between the world she inhabits and the world she craves."

The cost is free, and the time is 8 starting Thursday (tonight), and Friday. For Saturday and Sunday, the show will move to the University of Iowa Theatre Building, room 172.

@UI
While you're in the Theatre Building to see Mud, why not pop into the Next Room? Yes, the University is doing Sarah Ruhl's hit adult comedy In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play. It's an examination of the history of the vibrator, which was originally invented by Victorian doctors to cure "hysteria" in women. Ruhl's play is a bold and funny look at the sexual politics of the Victorian Age and the fear of feminine sexuality. It's at 8pm Friday and Saturday (no Sunday) in E. C. Mabie Theatre. Tickets through Hancher.

@Gilbert St. Piano Lounge
The sexy and funny In the Next Room must be the perfect show for Valentine's Day. But what if you can't stand Valentine's Day? Well, the perfect show for you might be Fourth Room's Anti-Valentine's Day Cabaret, F*CK LOVE!!! From Fourth Room's press release:

"Fourth Room Theatre presents an evening of piano and song dedicated to the misery, insanity, heartbreak, betrayal, boredom, loss, grief, unrequited passion, obsession, creepiness and sadism that comprise the dark side of Hallmark's favorite holiday.

F*ck Love features songs by C.Lo Green, George Michael, Stephen Sondheim, Adele, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Burt Bacharach, Weird All Yankovic, Leonard Cohen, Chess the Musical and many others."

The show begins at 8pm. Cost is a $5 donation at the door, which goes to help fund Fourth Room's next season.

@The UU
Dreamwell continues its "Here I Stand" season with Sans Merci by Joanna Adams. It's the story of a staunchly conservative woman's encounter with her daughter's lesbian lover. The girl has recently died tragically, and as the details unfold, the two very different survivors must find some common ground. Plays Friday & Saturday at 7:30 at the Unitarian Universalist Society. Tickets here.

@Coe College
Last but not least, the Acting Company is bringing a production of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors to Coe College. The production, directed by Ian Belknap, is a ridiculous romp playing off confusion and mistaken identity, centered around two pairs of long-lost twins. Plays Sunday at 3pm; call Coe's box office at 319.399.8600 for tickets.

So what are you waiting for? Plenty of options this weekend, so you've got no excuse. Grab your date, your twin, your imaginary brother, or your anti-Valentine's-Day anger, and get out to the theatre!

What Are You Doing This Weekend?

January's not quite over, and already we're waking up in pitch darkness, scraping ice off our windshields, and wondering if those New Year's resolutions are really going to stick. There's nothing quite like post-holiday blues, but luckily there's a great way to shake them...

... get out to the theatre!


Riverside Theatre is already breaking the ice with another side-splitting production of their popular comedy Guys on Ice: An Ice Fishing Musical Comedy. It's set in an ice-fishing shanty in Wisconsin, and is full of warm humor for the cold season. John Watkins, who plays Lloyd, calls it "a terrifically written show with fabulous music, a big heart, sidesplitting humor grounded in Ernie, Marvin and Lloyd's candid simplicity, and a halftime show where you can win prizes."


Or, if you're more comfortable sitting in a stately British Manor than being exposed to the elements, TCR's The Importance of Being Earnest might be more your speed. Just make sure your calling card has the right name printed on it; you wouldn't want to cause undue confusion.

Or, if student theatre is your cup of tea, the University of Iowa is presenting a brand-new play by Louisa Hill. It's called The Lord of the Underworld's Home for Unwed Mothers, and it's described as "a reimagining of the Demeter and Persephone myth set in the 1960s and 1990s that explores the politics of motherhood through a landscape of Catholicism, horticulture, and death metal."

And finally - included just for completeness as the tickets are already sold out - SPT has one more weekend of its hit music-and-comedy show at Brucemore, A Modern Salon. If you already have tickets, you're one of the lucky ones; congratulations, SPT and special guest Jeff Ircink, on a successful run!

Guys on Ice opened January 20th and runs until February 19th. Get tickets here.

The Importance of Being Earnest opens January 27th and runs until February 18th. Get tickets here.

The Lord of the Underworld's Home for Unwed Mothers opens January 27th and runs through January 29th at the UI Theatre Building (Theatre B). More information here.

What's coming in January

Before we call it quits for a month, I want to let you know about some January happenings. Read on and then I'll see you in February!

Auditions for Gigi!

Iowa City Community Theatre will hold auditions for Gigi January 5-6 at 6 pm at the Iowa City Public Library. From their website: ?We love Paris in the springtime! Let ICCT take you to turn-of-the-century Paris this spring with Gigi, the award-winning musical by Lerner & Loewe. Dashing and wealthy Gaston Lachaille realizes, perhaps too late, that the girl of his dreams has been in front of him all along."

Riverside brings back Guys on Ice!

Riverside brings a popular favorite from the past back to the Gilbert Street stage beginning January 20. Guys on Ice: An Ice Fishing Comedy invites you to join long-time pals Lloyd and Marvin in their ramshackle ice fishing shanty outside of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The guys keep warm with a mutual appreciation for good bait, cold beer and the Green Bay Packers. As they anxiously await their opportunity to appear on a popular cable TV fishing show, the pals scramble to protect their beer from fellow angler, Ernie the Moocher. They pass the time by swapping jokes, ice fishing, playing cards, talking about their romantic problems – and occasionally breaking into song and dance about snowmobile suits, beer, and fish. With manly musical numbers like "Ode to a Snowmobile Suit" and "Fish is de Miracle Food," this show is sure to charm your wool socks off! For more information, go here.

TCR's first 2012 show!

The Importance of Being Earnest opens January 21 at Theatre Cedar Rapids. Go here for more information. The cast list follows:

Angela Billman - Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax
Scott Humeston - Lane/Moulton/Merriman
Jim Kern - Reverend Canon Chasuble, D.D.
Aaron Murphy - Algernon Moncrieff
Marty Norton - Miss Prism
Hannah Spina - Cecily Cardew
Cherryl Moon Thomason - Lady Bracknell
Alex Williams - John Worthing, J.P.

Audition for Our Town!

Auditions for City Circle Acting Company of Coralville's production of Our Town are coming up later this month.

Director Chris Okiishi will be seeing interested actors on Saturday, Jan. 21 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Please e-mail CityCircleOurTown@gmail.com to schedule an audition. Actors are asked to prepare a short, 2 minute or less, monologue which shows off range. It may be classical or contemporary. Alternatively, there will be sides from which to read at the auditions.

Our Town by Thornton Wilder is the Pulitzer Prize-Winning drama about everyday life in early 20th century America. This production will be an unsentimental take on the material, which has proved timeless and universal. Production will be at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts the last two weekends in March, 2012. Rehearsals will begin in late January.

Weekend roundup

There are many great theatre choices tonight and tomorrow. We'll be checking out TCR's Lost in Younkers and SPT's Tales of Love and Hate.

Lost in Yonkers is a coming-of-age story set in Yonkers, N.Y. Two boys named Arty (Nathan Kent) and Jay (Alex Schulte) are dropped off at their grandmother’s apartment, where they will be forced to live for the next year while their father Eddie (David Morton) travels on business.
Comedy and drama both ensue as the boys attempt to survive the antics of their relatives, including the ultra-strict Grandma Kurnitz (Cherryl Moon Thomason); their goofy but likeable aunts, Gertie (Carrie Fattig) and Bella (Nicolette Coiner-Winn ); and the gruff "gangster" Uncle Louie (Bill Lammers).

Expect reviews of both shows next week. But don't wait for the review of Love and Hate - it's only showing this weekend. I got a sneak peek of a portion of that show and I can tell you, the world wrestling federation love poetry slam will be worth the price of admission.

Only two more weekends to catch Guys on Ice at Riverside. Follow that link and you'll find a video clip of the show. Corridor Buzz wrote an article about the show here. Update: Aside from the Thursday, February 19 performance - tickets for Guys on Ice are SOLD OUT! To be added to a waiting list, please call the box office at 319-338-7672 and leave your name and phone number.

ICCT's Bus Stop continues this weekend. We have not one, but two reviews of that show.

And if you're looking for a romantic evening with your sweetie, you might want to check out Love Letters at Old Creamery. That is a unique show as it's told entirely through letters which the actors read. While there's not a lot of action to keep the audience excited, A.R. Gurney's words are so captivating that in the hands of two talented performers, the show comes alive. The love story is perfect for Valentine's Day weekend.

Go Ice Fishing tonight!

Riverside - It’s back and colder than ever! Guys on Ice: An Ice Fishing Musical Comedy returns to Riverside Theatre, tonight through February 22. This delightful story about two ice fishing buddies from Wisconsin, with book and lyrics by Fred Alley and music by James Kaplan, is directed by Riverside Theatre Artistic Director Jody Hovland.

Set in an ice shanty in Northern Wisconsin, Lloyd and Marvin keep warm with a mutual appreciation for good bait, cold beer and the Green Bay Packers. As Marvin anxiously awaits his opportunity to appear on a cable TV fishing show, both pals scramble to protect their cold ones from fellow angler, Ernie the Moocher. They pass the time by swapping jokes and talking about their lives – and sometimes breaking into song and dance.

John Watkins and Ron Clark, playing Lloyd and Marvin respectively, were last seen together at Riverside Theatre during Clark’s Coffee and Hope. Their musical talents fit well with the upbeat musical numbers in Guys on Ice like “Ode to a Snowmobile Suit” and “Fish is de Miracle Food”. Kris Hartsgrove rounds out the cast as pain-in-the-neck Ernie the Moocher.

According to Jody Hovland, “Guys on Ice is just pure joy to direct. Ice fishermen singing and dancing? That’s great silly fun. But it’s also a play with real heart, finding plenty of truth in the simplicity of spending a day doing nothing but waiting for the fish to bite.”

Guys on Ice also features scenic design by Tony Zabka, lighting design by Brandin VerSteegh and Steven Hunt, and choreography by Erika Christiansen. Ernie the Moocher’s popular “Half-Time Show” will features audience quiz prizes from Fin and Feather.

In conjunction with Guys on Ice, Riverside Theatre is encouraging community members to bring in a new set of gloves/mittens, a hat or scarf (youth or adult sizes) to the box office. All donations will benefit Shelter House. As a thank you, all donors will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win a pair of tickets to a future Gilbert Street production. Donations will be accepted through February 22.

Tickets for Guys on Ice, January 23 – February 22, are $26 with discounts available for seniors and youth. Tickets are available by phone at (319) 338-7672, online here or in person at the Riverside Theatre box office, located at 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA.

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.