Year-End Wrap-Up!

As the year draws to a close, we at the Iowa Theatre Blog have gotten to reminiscing about the past 12 months. We're sure you have, too! So, we invited our reviewers to talk to us about their "best of" choices for 2014. It was a fun process: usually, we restrict what our reviewers can comment on. No one can review a show that a company they're affiliated with has produced, for example. Here, though, we gave them free reign to talk about what caught their attention, what moved them, what huge successes they saw in Corridor theatre in the year 2014. We hope you're as excited as we are to read the results! Also, we'd LOVE to hear what YOU think on the matter! Sound off in the comments here, or on FB, or Twitter... or just start the conversation at your favorite NYE party :-D What excited YOU about local theatre in 2014? What gave you hope for 2015? Read our reviewers' thoughts after the jump...

Start the Holidays Right with A Christmas Carol

By Genevieve Heinrich
Photos by Bob Goodfellow

Tara McGovern; Tim Budd

Iowa City - You would not be wrong to call me a curmudgeon. Every year, I struggle a bit more with the onset of the holiday season: I wrestle with expanding and contracting faith, I rage against super-sales and unrealistic wish lists, I fight the impact of sad memories (and moreso, sometimes, of happy ones). 'Tis the season of recalling that I am imperfect - that I likely will never buy my daughter the laptop she requests every year, that I will never bake as many Christmas cookies as my mother did, that I've abandoned my family's tradition of elaborately decorated presents in favor of my partner's habit of writing Tos and Froms directly on the wrapping paper, in Sharpie. In short, it's not easy for me to get "into the Christmas spirit."

A Christmas Carol can do it, nearly every time. Charles Dickens' tale of remembrance and redemption can, in its best incarnations, cut through my carefully honed cynicism and remind me to lighten up, already, because we are each of us filled with light. Riverside Theatre's current production is one of these best incarnations. The show is a performance of Paul Morella's adaptation of the story, framed as Dickens himself (Tim Budd) telling us the tale. It is, ostensibly, a one-man show - although, the clever and lovely ways that musician Tara McGovern is woven into the action belie that claim. Riverside's holiday offering is simple and effective: truly fine storytelling.

Uncle Vanya Timid But Effective

By Genevieve Heinrich
Photos by Elisabeth Ross

Julia Sears as Sonya; Brad Quinn as Mikhail

Iowa City - Dreamwell Theatre kicked off their '14-'15 season, "The Grand Delusion," last night with a thoughtful performance of the David Mamet adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (tr. Vlada Chernomirdik). The show is an old classic that stands the test of time. The tensions and emotions inherent in any family, or group of people who has long lived together as family, bubble to the surface in agonizingly familiar ways. None of the character tropes in Vanya is new to the audience; each is an old friend or enemy or aspect of self. The language is fresh and engaging, tackling large philosophies and petty squabbles with equal deftness. This is a show that any theater lover should see at least once, and Dreamwell's production is a wonderful opportunity to do so locally.

Into the Woods Murky Yet Powerful

by Genevieve Heinrich
Photos by Shannon Struttmann

Janelle Steichen as the Baker's Wife

Cedar Rapids - Fairy tales are more than just the cornerstone of Theatre Cedar Rapids 81st season. They are, perhaps, the cornerstone of Western society. There's no flippancy in my statement... much of what we learn as children, during our peak formative years, comes from the lessons taught in these perennial bedtime stories.

At least, it used to.

Into the Woods is composer Stephen Sondheim's exploration of where we went wrong. He asked the question - familiar to us now, but just beginning to burst into the world's consciousness in the mid-1980s, when this was written - "What happens next?" The Disney-fied, sanitized happily ever after was no longer enough, and Sondheim joined the ranks of contemporary authors like Charles de Lint and Jane Yolen in insisting that these characters were (and always had been) more than just archetypes. With James Lapine (who wrote the book) he delves into the realities of these characters' lives, and pursues the ways that the same ambitions that got them what they wanted continued to affect their lives.

Theatre Cedar Rapids has assembled a formidable crew to tackle this ambitious musical. The set for this show (Scenic Designer: Bret Goethe; Scenic Artist: Daniel Kelchen) was a true stand-out. It's beauty was nothing short of magical, between the colors and the few simple but highly effective moving elements and above all else, the moon. Also contributing to the stunning visual effects were (with a few minor exceptions) the costumes, by Joni Sackett.

The Mist and Magic of Brigadoon

By Genevieve Heinrich
Photos by Emily McKnight of emcknightdesign.com

the ladies of the village

Iowa City - Every hundred years, or so the story goes, a village emerges from the mists of the Scottish highlands and lives out a single day of its existence. This is a village that, by all appearances, manages to pack more life into each of those days than humanity is able to in that whole century. This seems so true that a young world-weary idealist from the United States of the 20th century is smitten by its charms, and those of one of its inhabitants. Still, not all in this hamlet is as pristine as it seems and, despite its happy ending, Brigadoon touches on some serious themes along the way. Issues of self-determination and profound disconnection weave throughout this show's lilting melodies.

SPT's Nightcap Draws the Evening Down Slowly

by Genevieve Heinrich

Cedar Rapids - The current season of SPT Theatre's Tales from The Writers' Room winds to a close this weekend and, appropriately to the theme (Food for Thought) they are ending on a Nightcap. Like all SPT shows, the crowd and the performers were full of energy last night, with that welcoming, familial vibe that always makes the theater space at CSPS Hall feel more like a living room. The evening began with a clever twist: audience participation. Every person in attendance was given a slip of paper with two questions, and teased with the promise that some of the responses would be used later in the show.

This scheme is a tangible representation of what SPT does best - engaging their audiences, making them feel like a valuable part of the action. Their venue at CSPS is a key component of this, as well. In their time there, the intimate feel has only deepened, helped along by CSPS' own close-knit atmosphere. Even the volunteers wax poetic about the joys of being part of that community! It's the sort of collaborative match that artists long for.

Ragged Ascent Transcends

By Genevieve Heinrich

Mount Vernon - Reviewing an original piece is a unique challenge. Despite all the many things, both positive and negative, that I could say about the production of Ragged Ascent, I find that all I WANT to discuss is the content. Ragged Ascent takes the well-known story of Orpheus and Eurydice and transforms it into something even more arch than myth - in the hands of playwright Mike Moran, the story becomes allegory. It is at once more personal and more profound than most other treatments I've seen of the familiar tale.

Before I spend even a moment discussing acting, or lights, or music, I want to urge any readers who enjoy reconsidering what they believe to be true, who appreciate a challenge that will have them pondering as they leave the theatre, and especially those who understand that the ancient myths still have relevance to our lives today, to go see this show without hesitation. There are only two more performances - today, May 17, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The gentle reverence with which Moran treats his subject is a love story of epic proportion.

Man of La Mancha Inspires

By Genevieve Heinrich
Photos by David Busch

Kehry Anson Lane as Miguel de Cervantes

Iowa City - "I charge you," prates Josh Sazon's Governor, addressing Kehry Anson Lane's Miguel de Cervantes, only barely after they've met in the common room of a Spanish prison, "with being an idealist, a bad poet, and an honest man!" Hardly the indictment he implies, at least not to those of us who happen to self-identify quite similarly. However, to the hardened prison inmates who surround them, those crimes are worse than any of their own, and Cervantes embarks on mission of desperate storytelling to try to win them to his point of view.

Man of La Mancha is a story woven into a story that is ultimately about the stories we choose to tell ourselves and others. Iowa City Community Theatre holds up its end of the arrangement by delivering a beautifully told rendition of this beloved story-within-a-story, keeping the audience as enthralled as the prisoners become. From the moment we enter the space, we are transported. The inmates wander, keeping varying degrees of engagement with each other and their surroundings, maintaining distinct behaviors and characters. The set design (Michael Blake) is lovely and evocative, with unobtrusive pieces that appear seemingly out of nowhere for use in the action.

Churchill Educates and Entertains

Andrew Edlin

by Genevieve Heinrich

Coralville — No one would ever dream of calling me an historian. What I knew about Winston Churchill before tonight was about 10% high school and 90% Doctor Who. While I realize this revelation hardly casts me in a positive light, I make it so that you will all be aware that Churchill, written and performed by Andrew Edlin, is not merely for the well-informed. History geeks would, I'm sure, get much more depth of enjoyment from it than I did... but that's a bonus for them, not a drawback for the rest of us.

Edlin creates a Churchill who is more than just a character sketch. He is a vibrant and conflicted man facing perhaps the most challenging decision of his career - whether or not to retire. In its purest moments, Churchill is an exploration of obligation. It is not vanity that drives him to proclaim that he is still needed. It's a passionate desire to serve as fully as he is capable. "They all want me to go," Churchill says of his colleagues and family, "but they could all be wrong."

Soup and Salad Whets the Appetite

by Genevieve Heinrich

Cedar Rapids - There's a special place in my heart reserved for taxidermied mice arranged in endearingly human situations. Although they're afforded only a throw-away Stevie Wonder joke (you'll just have to see it), the "dead art" (audience groan) of taxidermy in general features heavily in this most recent installment of SPT Theatre's "Tales from The Writers' Room." Not quite what I was expecting when I sat down to enjoy Soups and Salads, the latest serving in the company's "Food for thought" season... but then, the unexpected is somewhat de rigueur for SPT's eclectic mishmash of artists. The only constant is the quality, and last night's crew, with a record number of guests - including a guest writer (Aaron Murphy)! - did not disappoint.

Cabaret Both Ominous and Entertaining

by Genevieve Heinrich
Photos by Carol Johnk

Nate Sullivan as Cliff Bradshaw; Ashley Sorensen as Sally Bowles

Iowa City - A confession: I'm a sucker for theatre that makes me uncomfortable. Many people go for the catchy tunes or the dancing girls (and Cabaret has plenty of both of those), but despite some great performances early on, the moment I knew I was truly enjoying ICCT's production of Cabaret was when I found myself unable to clap following the closing number of the first act. It was chilling in its exuberance - the perfect ending to an act that began with the promise to take all of our troubles away. Cabaret is not for those who need a happy ending to be satisfied... but if you enjoy your dancing girls with a dash of moral dilemma, Iowa City Community Theatre does not disappoint.

Set in Berlin just as the Nazis are beginning to rise, Cabaret tells a pair of parallel love stories. Struggling American writer Cliff Bradshaw is caught off-guard by British dance hall girl Sally Bowles (Ashley Sorensen). Meanwhile, his aging landlady Fräulein Schneider (Linda Merritt) is being patiently wooed by another resident in the boarding house, Jewish grocer Herr Schultz (Chris Carpenter). The show's primary story, though, is that of a country struggling to maintain normalcy and sanity in the face of the coming fascist onslaught. The audience knows what is to come, but watching the way each character deals with the growing realization that their world is changing forces us to consider how we would react.

Stop Kiss Delivers Electric Highs and Lows

by Genevieve Heinrich
Photos by Rob Merritt

Rachel Korach Howell as Callie (L); Brooke LeWarne as Sara

Coralville — The moment when friendship turns to courtship can be difficult to pinpoint. No matter how many significant glances you share, how many prolonged touches, you can never truly know the content of another's heart. The challenging solution: to love yourself enough to take the chance. Stop Kiss follows Callie (Rachel Korach Howell) as she finds that courage twice over.

It seems at the outset that the two interwoven narratives of past and present trace inverse arcs. Somehow, the elements of Fourth Room Theatre's production combine to draw them parallel. Though the end brushes against the beginning in terms of linear time, the plotting and pacing are elegant, and the single story, told by the company with commitment and joy, shoots like an arrow through the piece.

Charming Times at 3

Jason Alberty as Professor Peter Pizzle

by Genevieve Heinrich
photos by James E. Trainor III

Cedar Rapids—"How can you speak about everything, briefly?" This dilemma, raised by Jason Alberty's pontificating Professor Pizzle, seems uniquely well-suited to 3, the most recent installment of SPT Theatre's "Tales from the Writer's Room." The most obvious answer, of course, is sketch comedy... but as SPT has long realized, that doesn't *quite* cut it. Pertinent music and some well-placed moments of sincerity are also needed in order to truly approach full coverage. In order to sufficiently untangle what Pizzle refers to as the "dialectic conundrum" of 3, the group calls on every skill in its considerable arsenal, and rises to the challenge.

On the poster for this show, SPT indeed references the "triumvirate of music, comedy and drama"—but what emerged more clearly from last night's performance was the triarchy of actors, writers, and musicians, weaving their skills together seamlessly while at the same time competing good-naturedly for audience attention. Wonderful moments were created to showcase and savor each. Alberty's engaging physicality and special guest Matthew James' ability to pull faces that speak more than a full page of dialogue draw focus to the actors' contribution. Director Richard Barker's hand in all this is obvious, especially when pointed attention shifts serve to highlight the clever or beautiful wordplay. The musicians had opportunities to play up their versatility and flexibility, bouncing around stylistically with infectious joy.