Intense, intimate and jazzy
The city’s most intense musical theater last year took place practically in audience members’ laps. The audience sat eye-level with the players as they wove through the jazz club Noce, [...]
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Posted January 04, 2017in Center Stage
Posted November 30, 2016in Center Stage
The Miracle of the Espresso
These days, Des Moines has a showcase area known as the Western Gateway that includes Papajohn Sculpture Park and downtown anchors like Centro restaurant. Yet, 15 years ago much of [...]
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Posted November 18, 2016in Center online exclusive
Agony and magic
The excitement that lights up “Ugly Lies the Bone” takes many forms, but it all starts with the script. Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino, though still in her 20s, has already picked [...]
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Posted November 02, 2016in Center Stage
Center Stage: A mystery with a happy ending
The Oscar winner “Shakespeare in Love” has a great bit about theater. According to the man who runs Shakespeare’s company, he’s always facing “insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent [...]
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Posted October 31, 2016in Center online exclusive
Girls gone wild — and wrinkled
The opening night of “Calendar Girls” was sold out, and some of the reasons were obvious. The comedy makes for an amiable night, like its source, a date flick from [...]
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Posted October 05, 2016in Center Stage
High kicks and controversy
Almost as soon as “West Side Story” opened in 1957, it ascended to heaven. The angels included the musical maestro Leonard Bernstein, and songs like “Tonight” were instant classics. The [...]
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Posted September 26, 2016in Center Stage
Use and discard and explode
It comes down to chemistry, finally. Mark Gruber and Kerry Skram, as the couple who dance with doom throughout “Death of a Salesman,” make a volatile compound. Each time they [...]
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Posted September 14, 2016in Center Stage
Syncopated and over the top
In “Hand to God,” local standout Charlie Reese delivers another winning turn. As the teenage Jason, he works through the kid’s grief over losing his dad in a strange way [...]
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Posted August 31, 2016in Center Stage
Death of a dream, triumph onstage
Visiting its new rehearsal space, one can feel the excitement of the new season for Repertory Theater of Iowa. Formerly a factory, the single vast room has been partitioned into [...]
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Posted August 10, 2016in Center Stage
Celebrating the stars, far off and at home
Cloris Leachman may be a hometown girl made good, but she hasn’t often come home. Now 90, she prefers retirement Hollywood-style, with a trophy room full of awards — including [...]
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