Posted December 04, 2024in Center Stage
Buckle up for a month of diverse, engaging cultural adventurism. December offers a true cornucopia of performing arts. A Disney musical, a classic musical, an iconic comedic voice re-envisioned, and a new adaptation of the seasonal Dickensian delight, plus concerts galore, fill the monthly finale for 2024 with a beckoning
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Posted November 06, 2024in Center Stage
November is filled with excellent opportunities for shared live performing art experiences for cross generations. Bringing children and youth to a show geared toward their age. If variety is the spice of life, this month offers an enticing cultural buffet sure to satisfy the appetites of young and old alike.
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Posted October 02, 2024in Center Stage
Iowa Stage Theatre Company (ISTC) will produce Jen Silverman’s play, “Witch,” this month. This bit of news holds a wealth of appeal, as ISTC will produce this compelling play dedicated to its new seasonal thematic concept format with 2024 dedicated to “inspire, enlighten and entertain” around a common theme —
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Posted September 04, 2024in Center Stage
As the month begins, the final Broadway chords of the North American Tour of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” continue to reverberate from its signature two-week run at Des Moines Performing Arts (DMPA). This heralds a most appealing 2024-2025 Willis Broadway Series that includes such gems as “Back to the Future:
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Posted July 31, 2024in Center Stage
This annual fete is as resilient as its namesake, Cloris Leachman. The Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards, fondly called The Clorises, is Greater Des Moines’ annual homage to our metro’s stage artistry. Our answer to the Tony Awards, it has survived outgrowing its original venue (Des Moines Social
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Posted July 03, 2024in Center Stage
July brings a variety of stage enticements, from opera to plays to musicals. Free your inner cultural adventurer and explore these immersive performance worlds. Wiz One of the most beloved stories to hit the stage is L. Frank Baum’s adaptation of his initial Oz book, “The Wonderful Wizard of
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Posted June 05, 2024in Center Stage
Let the month of June be proclaimed as Cultural Adventurer Month for those seeking new works, spine-tingling performances and a diverse and immersive offering of stage works. The venerable Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO), with its world-renowned Summer Festival, has the opera world chattering about their boldly seductive season. Iowa
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Posted May 01, 2024in Center Stage
There is a special beauty about great stage scripts for children’s theatre. In the hands of an experienced producer such as the Kate Goldman Children’s Theatre at the Des Moines Community Playhouse, true magic manifests when the actors and the audiences combine to create meaningful memories through the power of
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Posted April 03, 2024in Center Stage
Oh, those wicked thespians up north. Ankeny Community Theatre embarks on a classic lethal, suspense-laden romp with “Dial M for Murder.” It’s no secret that influences from “across the pond” have saturated America’s fascination with murder mysteries. Blame Britain’s 19th-century Industrial Revolution, which stimulated its passion to read about murder.
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Posted March 06, 2024in Center Stage
The evolution of Greater Des Moines theatre companies is fascinating. Exploring these unique purveyors of community engagement gives cultural adventurers a greater understanding of the cultural icebergs beneath the surface. One of the longest continually running community theatres in Amerca is the Des Moines Community Playhouse. Surpassing its centennial producing
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