Large-scale epics, risk-taking earn Rubies for local theatre troupes
By Ruby Nancy, QUAD-CITY TIMES -- December 26, 2002

Area stages show richness, quality, diversity

Though I appreciate the sincere thoughtfulness all of you who keep asking, there will be no Top Ten Worst Shows column this year.

There never has really been a need for a list like that for local theater as far as I can tell, and though I have seen what seemed to be an unusually high number of stinkers on stage this year (OK, three or four isn’t really so many, but it’s a lot more than usual for this area), there still aren’t ten that would make the cut for a column like that.

And the simple reason for that is pretty basic: 2002 has still had plenty of winners in Quad-City theater, and a few missteps (even two or three really big ones) did not change the focus of the GO! “Ruby” Awards, since once again we have been truly blessed to have such richness, quality and diversity in what we find on stages around here.

In a 75-mile radius of the central QC, audiences can find more than 20 groups who produce more than 100 shows in a year’s time. I saw 105 of them this year (another was rained out, and there were two I couldn’t get tickets for), so if you hear someone complain that there is nothing to do here, you tell them for me to get their head out from under a rock and go see a play. Most of the shows were entertaining, many made me laugh aloud, and more than a few of them moved me to tears.

There were so many great things to see this year, and here is a little bit of recognition for the very best of 2002 — which include a welcome number of shows we haven’t all seen a handful of times :

10. Timber Lake Playhouse in Mt. Carroll, Ill., kicks off the Top Ten List for the “Ruby” Awards with a strong production of “Children of a Lessor God,” a wonderful script that packs a real punch. Led by dynamic performances by the talented duo Ashley Quirico and Karl Hamilton, this story of a romance between a deaf woman and a hearing man has all the elements found in all this years winners — a great script that gets first-class treatment from first-rate actors and top of the line tech.

9. Riverside Theatre in Iowa City scored with “The Memory of Water,” a haunting family drama that featured an ensemble cast at the top of its form. Though it certainly was dramatic material, “Memory” also made the most of many, many, sidesplitting laughs in the script as three very different sisters cope with their mother’s funeral in a variety of ways. Performances on a human scale — quiet words, moments of emotional solidarity and a few heated arguments — were at the heart of this richly-realized show.

8. Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island comes in with “Lost Highway,” a musical journey through the life of American music legend Hank Williams. Again, a stunning performance by Jason Petty (as Williams) was at the center of this great stage show, but a superb supporting cast — especially the work of Horace E. Smith III — plus great musical sound and topnotch technical elements also helped push this show into the Top 10.

7. New Ground Theatre, a new regional professional theater in the Quad-Cities, has already established a short but impressive track record with some of the best available contemporary material, and “Spinning Into Butter” (which New Ground co-produced with Augustana College’s theater department) — with its hard-hitting and provocative take on racial tensions at a small private college — is a prime example of what these groups are capable of putting on a stage.

6. Riverside Theatre earns another “Ruby” Award for the darkly comic spoof “Ruthless!” I said before, and I will again, this show is to musical theater what “Sweeney Todd” is to sausage-making. From a demonic child star-to-be with a stage mother who could put you in a diabetic coma to a drag-clad agent who puts Disney stepmothers to shame and a theater critic who hates musicals, this laugh-out-loud show was one of the most hilarious shows I’ve ever seen. In terms of content, it was not for everyone, but this show was still a major winner — and it is one of at least a half-dozen shows I would have loved to have returned a second time to see and enjoy this year.

5. The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre made summer stock magic with the stage musical standard, “Mame,” but it was local actor Jalayne Riewerts in the title role who kicked this show into high gear with her larger-than-life and truly fabulous performance. Of course, being surrounded by fabulous musicians and a splendid supporting cast, and being decked out in gorgeous costumes and great wigs certainly had to be an additional plus. Performances and attention to detail of this caliber are what make a show we know this well worth watching again.

4. Augustana College’s theater department picks up a “Ruby” for its production of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,”an impeccable interpretation of this intense and complicated play. Using a great English translation, a handful of superbly talented student actors, and the technical expertise of Patty and Gil Koenigsaecker, Augustana reached new heights with this brilliant work. I actually attended a dress rehearsal of this show before it even opened, and even then “Les Liaisons” was a stunner.

3. St. Ambrose University’s Theatre Department also came up with a major win this year with its incredible production of “Macbeth.” The Shakespearean tragedy, one of the greatest works in all of theater (and my favorite play), featured the fantastic work of Aaron Randolph III in the title role, and his awesome performance very nearly defied description. A large cast full of other wonderful performers enriched this show as well, but the outstanding technical elements used here also created real magic — spontaneous flame, claustrophobic smoke, drenching the stage with blood, a ghostly Banquo and more — that was absolutely unforgettable.

2. The Richmond Hill Players in Geneseo scored big with its sidesplitting “Scapin,” a superb example of the commedia dell’arte style and a lively translation of one of Moliere’s most hilarious comedies. Casey Campbell’s irreverent work in the lead role was a laugh-a-minute riot, and director Jennifer Kingry assembled a three ring circus of a supporting cast — including and organ player — to interpret the work of a comic master and adapt it for a modern audience that desperately needs belly laughs like these.

1. Quad-City Music Guild tops the list this year with its awesome presentation of “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” an area premiere of one of the best new musicals to come out of Broadway in a long time. Amazing work from the three principals meshed well with the show’s incredible score and the gorgeous work of local costumers, set designers, scenic artists and more to make this the best show in the region for 2002. If you missed this one, you missed the best of many brilliant examples of just how fantastic local talent is in the Quad-Cities.

Here’s what I said in July, and I still mean every word: “With a score and singing that’s as exciting as the tale it tells, this production is a large and lavish one, with extensive scenery, moody lighting, fabulous principal actors and more — all dressed in rich and perfectly-done period costumes...

“As Percy, the title character, Bryan J. Tank is really incredible. A powerful singing voice and first-rate acting skills put him as completely in the center of this show’s success as he is central to the story. Young for a role this complex and demanding, Tank is completely up to the task of playing a British aristocrat who launches his own secret war against the bloodiest activists in the Revolution — showing us passion and pain, love and loyalty, solace and sorrow, determination and delicious wit...

“John VanDeWoestyne, as Citizen Chauvelin, rounds out the list of principals in ‘Pimpernel,’ and his strong, fantastic work will simply blow you away. From his first appearance in the powerful, riveting ‘Madame Guillotine,’ you know that his commanding portrayal and unbelievably rich singing are the perfect embodiment of this passionate and power-mad man. This is a meaty role, calling for deep reserves from a performer, and VanDeWoestyne proves he is capable of it all.His songs require a breathtaking range, both vocally and emotionally, and the interpretation he gives them is a stunning tour de force that will keep you from ever taking a character actor for granted again.

“Work like this in a role like this is the strongest advocate theater can ever have — a validation of every stitch sewn, every drop of paint, every note played, every ticket sold, every piece of equipment purchased, every night away from home — and you will see no better work anywhere this year.”

Yes, there are professional and summer stock companies whose shows appear on this list, and they all do great work, but pay attention to this: the very best shows this year were put together by people who, for all intents and purposes, were not getting paid by anything except their love for making excellent theater. And many of the professional productions noted in this column also feature the work of some of the same community theater people who are named here, since the pros often draw from the truly fabulous pool of local talent that community theaters rely on to create magic on stage.

If you are not part of that — or at least regularly part of the audience that shows up to appreciate it — you are missing one of the greatest things about living the this area: top-quality theater produced by your own friends and neighbors, and sometimes even by the people who are in line next to you at the grocery store.

More “Ruby” Awards traditionally go to a few other shows that rank with the Top Ten, but deserve special mention for one reason or another, so keep reading for more examples of excellence in local theater.

Best Holiday Show
This year two productions were good enough to take home a “Ruby” in this category, since Playcrafters Barn Theatre in Moline put together a wonderfully funny “Miracle on 34th Street” and Ballet Quad Cities produced its best version of “The Nutcracker” yet.

Don Fey, the Santa in “Miracle,” made his stage debut with a warm and engaging performance that drew in kids of all ages, and Reggie Jarrell and Spiro Bruskas kept everyone in stitches every time either of them spoke a line or even twitched a facial muscle. First-time director Susan Holgersson did amazing work on this big project, and the result was a real winner.

It seems like Ballet Quad-Cities does a better job every year with “The Nutcracker,” but year’s edition combined all the newest technical elements with powerful and incredibly evocative dancing that was sometimes jaw-dropping in its strength and beauty. The most jaded of audiences still had to be impressed with this one, and folks who love this holiday classic had to leave the theater loving it even more.

Best New Play
New Ground Theatre’s “Proof” was one of several area premieres, and this script — which has already earned awards named Pulitzer, Tony and Drama Critics Circle and more — gets a “Ruby” Award for New Ground’s production of it. A stunning performance by lead actor Jamie Em Johnson was at the heart of this multi- layered work, but excellent work from a supporting cast and a first-rate assembly of tech and production folks helped make this one a winner.

Best Sex Farce
For a show with no actual sex in it, the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre did a fine job with a new translation of “A Flea In Her Ear,” earning huge laughs for its quick wit, nonstop antics and comic precision. This kind of material only works when timing and the exaggeration of farcical elements are right on the money, and the ensemble cast — which included a number of high school interns and local actors — made sure everything was just where it needed to be.

Best Absurdist Comedy
Riverside Theatre scores again with “Fuddy Meers,” a comedy that you had to see to believe. Not traditional farce, not politically correct, and definitely not for everyone, this hilarious show about a family with a range of disabilities raised the bar for comedy production in the region, and pushed against the edge of how we define humor. The secret to keeping audiences alert as well as laughing — which Riverside obviously knows — is wrapped up in keeping things fresh. And this production of “Fuddy Meers” was about as fresh as theater can be.

Best Satire
Dreamwell Theatre in Iowa City, which produced “Some Things You Need to Know Before the World Ends (A Final Evening with the Illuminati),” earns this “Ruby” for a show that was also so much more than satire. With jabs at conventional religion, societal norms and public policy — just to name a few — this show was as edgy and thought-provoking as it was funny and sad. Again, a show too far out there for some, but work of this depth and quality adds rich texture to the slate of shows local and regional audiences have to choose from. And that’s a bonus that enhances all of our lives.

If you didn’t see most of the 16 shows named for “Ruby” Awards, you missed a wealth of talent on display and lots of first-class entertainment. In a year marked by lots of fresh material, I hope you saw at least a few shows that were new to you, and I hope you took along a friend or two as well. Make the most of all the offerings already announced for 2003 by lining up a list of family and friends who like to see plays and top your list of resolutions for the new year with a promise to them that you’ll go together to see more of great shows like these.

Happy New Year.

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