An atrocity revisited
To review “Columbinus” seems almost obscene. More than a play, it’s a holocaust, revisiting the devastation at Columbine High School in 1999. The second act unfolds entirely in the words [...]
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Posted October 14, 2015in Center Stage
Posted October 07, 2015in Center Stage
Millennials in tight spaces
Tim Wisgerhof liked the lamp. The prop arrived just before a late rehearsal of “Bad Jews,” and Wisgerhof, as set designer, had to approve. Just seeing the man’s smile, you [...]
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Posted September 30, 2015in Center Stage
Bent logic on the fly
“Improv-nesia” is the word for it, according to the members of Comedy Xperiment. The Des Moines troupe has been doing its special brand of improv for years now, and yet [...]
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Posted September 23, 2015in Center Stage, Featured Story
Humdinger of a problem
John Viars, director of “Into the Woods,” gets the crowd scenes. In big numbers like “First Midnight,” he shuttles his glittery troupe in all directions. The comings and goings create [...]
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Posted September 16, 2015in Center Stage, Featured Story
Comedy, dramedy, dream
As you bask in Repertory Theater of Iowa’s luminous production of “Broadway Bound,” by Neil Simon, at times nothing on stage shines so brightly as Kerry Skram. Always a local [...]
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Posted September 09, 2015in Center Stage, Featured Story
Classic moves made new and deeper
You might think Alex Scolari is too young to appreciate “Dirty Dancing” and too much of a California girl to care about Iowa. The movie made a sex symbol of [...]
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Posted September 02, 2015in Center Stage, Featured Story
Surprises — serious and otherwise
Up in Ames, they’ve joined the new millennium. Over at the Playhouse, the audience creates a Beatles set, while Des Moines Young Artists participate in a high school shooting. Tallgrass, [...]
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Posted August 26, 2015in Center Stage
Critical mass and the Cloris Awards
The best homegrown American theater might be here in the Midwest. Few companies have the impact of Chicago’s Steppenwolf, the birthplace of stars like John Malkovich. Yet when Steppenwolf first [...]
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Posted August 19, 2015in Center Stage
Heroes erupting in the dark
Among African-Americans, for decades, it was an honor to be called a “race man.” The term referred to those blacks who strove hardest for equality, from Jackie Robinson to Malcolm [...]
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Posted August 12, 2015in Center Stage
Fresh talent across town
The goodwill in the room practically spills out the windows. Upstairs in West Des Moines Public Library, laughter punctuates the run-through of “Masha,” the latest project for the Tallgrass Iowa [...]
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