Today’s TOP FIVE comes to us from Brian Glick, one of the founders of Revival Theatre Company in Cedar Rapids. Debuting in 2014, Revival quickly established itself as a strong theatre performing classic musicals as well as rare gems. Next up for them is Sunday in the Park with George. I really enjoyed reading Brian’s inspiring descriptions of powerful theatre moments and I know you will, too.
Today’s TOP FIVE is from Patrick DuLaney, a professional actor who calls Iowa City home. One of the most fun parts of the TOP FIVE series is saying, “Oh yeah, I saw that one!” I get to say that twice while reading this list. How about you?
Today’s TOP FIVE is a little different. Rob Cline has been reviewing shows in the corridor for many years. I thought it would be interesting to have him give us a TOP FIVE from the reviewer’s chair. I think you’ll really enjoy this one. Check it out.
Today’s Top Five comes to us from Hannah Spina, a wonderful actress who has acted on many stages over the years, inlcuding TCR, Old Creamery and Giving Tree.
The first new TOP FIVE comes to us from Ed Kottick, who has created many concert versions of shows in the Iowa City-Coralville area with his partner in music, Josh Sazon. As you’ll read below, he’s been a part of a number of great shows over the years. Enjoy!
Check out this Top Five from Braden JP Rood! And then be sure to come back Monday for the first in a new series of Top Fives!
Today’s TOP FIVE comes to us from Braden JP Rood who takes us to a beautiful little town called Mount Vernon. I’ve been a fan of Mount Vernon for years, ever since a few of us drove there to create the Black Doggers playwriting group in the home of Joe Jennison back in 2006. (Joe had a black dog that we weren’t allowed to touch.) It’s home to Cornell College, the annual Chalk the Walk festival, and, of course, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theatre. If you find yourself wondering what to do sometimes, I’d say check out Mount Vernon. It’s a great place to be. And now Braden’s TOP FIVE!
Today you can check out Monica Leo’s Top Five. And remember to check back on Monday for a whole new series of Top Fives!
Today’s TOP FIVE is all about puppets! Monica Leo, founder of Eulenspiegel Puppets has been creating shows since the 1970s. If you’ve never been to the Owl Glass Puppetry Center in West Liberty, you need to do so. And in case you think puppets are just for kids, let me assure you that there are shows aimed at us older folks, too. For instance, you could check out their annual Puppets and Pastries: Dessert Theatre for Adults. But for now, read Monica Leo’s TOP FIVE!
Today we’re reposting Rob Merritt’s Top Five. Be sure to check back Monday, July 30 for the first brand new Top Five!
Today’s TOP FIVE comes from Rob Merritt, who should be familiar to both Iowa City and Cedar Rapids audiences. He wrote the play The Summerland Project for one of TCR’s Underground Play Festivals, and it became a bit of a sensation, garnering a mainstage production and is now being turned into a movie. If you want to know what all the fuss is about, you can check out a current production at the Olathe Civic Theatre Association in Kansas. It runs through June 21. But for now, let’s check out Rob’s TOP FIVE. (Spoiler alert – The Summerland Project made the list…)
For our second re-post, here’s Chris Okiishi’s Top Five! New Top Fives are less than a week away! Be sure to check back on Monday, July 30.
–Matt
Today’s TOP FIVE comes from someone known to pretty much anyone who does theatre in Iowa City/Coralville – Chris Okiishi. While Chris’ theatre home is City Circle, his impact on the theatre community extends far further. Chris is always willing to help out his fellow theatre artists with advice, props, scripts, and so much more. If you need to know who in town has a certain skill, ask Chris – he probably knows someone. So it is with much pleasure that we present Chris’ TOP FIVE shows. (Note that loveable scamp that he is, he cheated and includes more than five shows. Pretty sneaky, Chris.)
So a few years ago, I did a series of posts where theatre artists in our community wrote about their Top Five shows. It was a lot of fun and even more importantly served as a written history of some of the theatre in our community. This week, I’ll be re-posting some of those past posts. And then starting next week, you’ll get a chance to read new Top Five posts from more area theatre artists.
To kick it off the walk down memory lane, here is my Top Five from 2015. If I were to write one today, it would probably be a little different. I’ve been involved in some amazing shows in the last three years!
–Matt
We’re going to try something new. One thing we’d like to do with this website is foster more community and make this site a little more interactive. We have a rich theatre history in our area, but it’s not written down anywhere. So we decided to see if we could use this site to start recording some of our theatre history. Over the course of the next week, theatre people from all over the area are going to give us the TOP FIVE shows they’ve been a part of and, most importantly, why. It could be in any capacity – acting, directing, tech work, producing, whatever. What’s the criteria for getting into a TOP FIVE? That’s up to the individual theatre artist. Maybe a show got in because it broke new ground. Or maybe the artist chose that show because the role she played was so memorable. Or maybe the show brought the community together in some way. Maybe the artist learned something new about himself through the process. The criteria is up to the artist. We can’t wait to see what responses we get. To start it all off, we’ve asked Iowa Theatre Blog founder Matt Falduto to share his TOP FIVE. If you’d like to submit your Top Five, send us an email (ictheatreblog AT gmail.com). And feel free to use the comment section to let us know what you think of Matt’s TOP FIVE.
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