The University of Iowa Theatre program presents Oscar Wilde’s classic farce, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” June 15-25. A comedy set against the backdrop of the rigid social structures of Nineteenth Century Britain, the play is both social commentary but also set up many of the comedic rules and structures that we see in plays, …
Category: Culture Crawl
Culture Crawl 263 “Say His Name!”
Riverside Theatre Summer in Lower City Park opens June 9, with two plays. “Macbeth,” the well-known Shakespearean tragedy (which theatre folk do not refer to by title, because it’s supposed to be bad luck), is the first of two plays being staged. The setting and costumes for the show are inspired by World War I, …
Culture Crawl 262 “We Can Ask The Composer, Because He’s Alive!”
Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre performs “Speed Dating Tonight!” a new comic opera. Composed by Michael Ching, who coincidentally recently moved to Ames, Iowa, it’s a series of vignettes set against the backdrop of… you guessed it, speed dating. Stage director Marina Bergenstock says Ching also worked with the production on some changes that make this …
Culture Crawl 260 “A Play That’s Also a Rock Concert”
“Million Dollar Quartet” is the story of a December night at Sun Studios in Memphis, when the legendary Sam Phillips and his proteges Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins gathered for a night of music, laughter and tears, before the four musicians became the legends we know them as today. The …
Culture Crawl 259 “3 Centuries, 28 Years, 3 Months”
Tim Hankewich has waited his entire career to conduct Bach’s B Minor Mass, and when it was added to the 2016-2017 Orchestra Iowa season, he spent nearly the entirety of the summer of 2016 studying every note of the score to get it just right. Chorale Midwest joins Orchestra Iowa for “Epic Bach” June 3 …
Culture Crawl 256 “Car Show, Bike Helmets, and Make Your Own Cereal”
Tanager Place presents “Summerfest” June 3 at Rockwell Collins, 3:30 to 8:30pm. It’s a huge day of family activities, most are free. There will be a car show, Bike Helmet Giveaway, a Make-Your-Own Cereal tent, and a Balloon Glow at dusk. Information at www.tanagerplace.org.
Culture Crawl 258 “From Red Rocks to Telluride, via Iowa City”
Kevin Hanick and the music committee for the Iowa Arts Festival have brought dozens of famous musicians to the June event over the years. This year is no exception, with headliners that include Son Volt, Elephant Revival, and Jeremy Kittel. This is not to take away from over 100 artist booths in a juried show, …
Culture Crawl 257 “Junior Zombies”
Teresa White is Site Supervisor for Ushers Ferry Historic Village, which takes visitors back in time to what life in a small town was like in the 1890s. Ushers Ferry hosts dozens of summer camps each summer, designed to get kids away from screens, and doing hands-on activities that give them a taste of what …