By Erin Randolph erin@dmcityview.com

As Central Iowans recuperate from their turkey coma, a pair of local theater troupes will enhance the holiday feast with three courses of onstage entertainment that give both the audience and the actors a lot to chew on.

Relatively new to the Central Iowa scene, Tallgrass Theatre Company and the Central Iowa Repertory Theatre (CIRT) are both giving thanks this season for weathering their respective rookie years with well-received inaugural productions. The two troupes struck up a conversation at the Iowa Fringe Festival, discovering that their artistic missions follow nearly identical recipes - performing the less-known works of famous playwrights and acting as a springboard for Iowa playwrights. So, with similar dramatic ingredients, the groups decided they might serve up a particularly unique theater feast if they stuck two cooks in the kitchen.

"There seemed to be a lot of common ground," recalls Joseph Leonardi, CIRT's artistic director. "So we thought, 'Why don't we see how we work together; why not combine forces, instead of having a bunch of little theater groups going in different directions?'"

So the duo came up with a trio - two works from Tennessee Williams and one play from local playwright William S.E. Coleman. Structured in a repertory style, the three plays will rotate over two weekends, giving theater enthusiasts the opportunity to savor a multifaceted experience and actors sample a veritable potluck of different characters.

What's on the menu? A dash of absurdity, for a start. The most experimental fare is easily "The Gnadiges Fraulein." Set on the banks of the fictional Cockalooney Bay, Leonardi says this isn't the Tennessee Williams you read in high school. "It's a real absurdist type play," he explains. "The fraulein was once a celebrated performer in front of the crown heads of Europe and now she's in a flop house, competing with the birds for throw-away fish to keep her board. It's funny, but there's also a cruelty and sadness to it."

If you crave a date with one of Williams' unforgettable femme fatales a la Blanche DuBois, though, never fear. The troupe will indulge the somber side of the classic playwright with "27 Wagons Full of Cotton," which follows the desperate plight of a cotton-ginner whose livelihood is threatened by the invasion of corporate plantations and, to reclaim his share of local business, he burns down a syndicate gin mill. To keep the owner busy while he does the deed, however, the righteously vengeful ginner charges his wife with entertaining the corporate hack. True to Williams' form, the truth comes out and the protagonist pays the price for his misdeeds.

And, even if you have no taste for Tennessee Williams, there's something for fans of farce, as well. The hilarity of Coleman's "Split Infinity," spirals so far beyond the bounds of typical comedy that it's a little tough to explain. "It's about a playwright who's written a play being done on stage," Leonardi says. "And the play being done on stage is about a playwright writing a play." Mayhem then ensues when one of the playwrights falls in love with his own characters and has to plot to replace himself in the play within the play.

So, whether you have an appetite for the absurd or a penchant for Mississippi Delta drama, Leonardi says supporting CIRT and Tallgrass is an opportunity for Central Iowans to show their gratitude for a burgeoning theater scene that values homegrown talents. CV

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