Theatre this weekend...

What are you doing this weekend? How about checking one of the theatre offerings in our area? Maybe head down to the Englert for the fundraiser for the Iowa City Community Theatre? A concert version of The Sound of Music will be performed tonight and tomorrow. Support the oldest theatre in the Iowa City area - they're 56 year old! All the details are here.




Or you can slide over to Amana and experience some folk music by checking out Iowa Theatre Artist's Woody Guthrie’s American Song. This theatre is only a few years old, but they've already won an Icky award! All the information is here.





And don't forget, Old Creamery's Suds continues this weekend. They are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. Check out the review.

ICCT presents concert of Sound of Music to raise funds

Iowa City — The hills are alive with The Iowa City Community Theatre (ICCT) as they announce a benefit performance of Rogers & Hammerstein’s classic musical The Sound of Music at the Englert Theatre. On Friday, August 12th at 7:30pm an exclusive opening night red carpet event will give a limited number of guests the chance to support ICCT. Additional shows will be at 2pm and 7:30pm on Saturday, August 13th.

This fundraiser is a staged reading, in which the songs from The Sound of Music will be sung choral-style, with connecting dialogue in between. The unique format was chosen because it maximizes the amount of the ticket proceeds and donations that will go directly toward preserving Iowa City’s historic theater group.

Just as Julie Andrews performed for audiences 45 years ago on-screen and made a historic mark, ICCT intends to do the same. However, like many non-profit organizations in these difficult economic times, ICCT is in the process of combating a financial crisis, even as its members eagerly look forward to producing its 56th season. The board of directors has initiated an ambitious campaign to overcome ICCT’s troubled finances and launch it into the 2011-12 season, including this August’s Sound of Music.

Holding the event at the Englert Theatre also celebrates the long-standing relationship between ICCT and that historic venue. Many of ICCT’s great productions over the last half-century have been performed at the Englert, including Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, and The King and I.

Tickets are available through the Englert Box Office at (319) 688-2653 ext. 1, or their website, www.englert.org.

Sound of Music Cast Announced

Iowa City - ICCT has announced the cast for The Sound of Music: Concert Version, which will run August 12 and 13 at the Englert Theatre.

Cast:

Maria - Megan Keiser
Captain von Trapp - David Medin
Mother Abbess - Katherine Eberle
Max Detweiler - John Muriello
Frau Schneider - Traci Gardner
Liesl - Katelyn Swearingen
Rolf - Eoghan Hartley

with Brandon Burkhardt, Alison de Vore, Claire Green, Katey Halverson, Emily Hill, J.D. McLure

and Tara Acton, Riley Brannian, Rochelle Brannian, Rachel Brown, Chelsea Cashman, Wendy Danger, Katie Syswerda Eaton, Emma Kaboli, Valerie Keffala, June Kungu, Susan Manuel, Nicole McDonough, Cathy Meserole, Christine Pernetti, Melissa Raap, Elisabeth Ross, Jackie Ross, Linda Rowland, Roxy Running, Jill Van Dorpe

and Stephen Polchert as Herr Zeller

TCR's Sound of Music opens Friday

TCR - Theatre Cedar Rapids' final show of 2008 opens this Friday at their new location, 4444 1st Ave NE, dubbed TCR Lindale. It’s the first time Theatre Cedar Rapids has produced the musical since 1989, and director Leslie Charipar - who picked the show as part of her first full season as TCR Artistic Director - believes the timing couldn’t be better for its return. Written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, The Sound of Music tells the story of Maria, who falls in love with a widowed military captain in the years before WWII. Captain Von Trapp is a strict disciplinarian, but Maria wins him over as she helps him raise his seven children. The family is threatened, however, as Nazi Germany comes to power. The Sound of Music is famous for tunes like "Edelweiss," "My Favorite Things," "Climb Ev’ry Mountain" and the title song. Ami Stoner (pictured) and Mike Wilhelm play Maria and Captain Von Trapp, respectively. To reserve tickets, go here.