Theatre Reviews: Coffee and Hope

Tonight's performance kicks off the second weekend of Coffee and Hope at Riverside Theatre. Looking for a little inside information about the show? Click on the links below to read the thoughts of three reviewers that visited us on opening weekend.

According to Rob Cline's article on CorridorBuzz.com, Coffee and Hope is "richly layered" and the powerful stories provide audiences with both comedy and drama. Click here to read more.

Marcella Lee's peice in the Cedar Rapids Gazette said that "one would have to have a heart of stone" not to be moved by Coffee and Hope. Click here to continue reading.

In his review for the Iowa City Theatre Blog, Matthew Falduto called Coffee and Hope "a series of wonderfully written and performed monologues about a central theme that touches everyone, whether they've personally dealt with the pain of loving someone with cancer or not." Click here for the full review.

The show continues through November 9... and tickets are still available! Click here to order online, or call the box office at 319-338-7672.

Hope to see you at the show!

A Delicious Way to Donate!

Looking for a delicious way to donate to Riverside Theatre? Look no further than the Motley Cow Cafe!

The Motley Cow is donating 8% of the gross sales of their Sunday brunches to Riverside Theatre during the run of Coffee and Hope.

So make plans to brunch at the Motley Cow (160 N. Linn Street) on Sunday October 26, Sunday November 2, and Sunday November 9 between 9:30 am and 2:30 pm. Enjoy great food for a great cause!

And while you're at it... why not make a day of it? Follow up your delicious meal with a terrific Sunday afternoon performance! Tickets are still available for Coffee and Hope. Call the box office at 319-338-7672 or click here to order online!

Coffee and Hope: Playwright's Blog

Kevin Harris is doing a wonderful job of directing Coffee and Hope. His fresh approach is shaking things up and leading me to further, albeit minor, rewrites in the script.

There is an old adage that "rehearsal is where we make up for the mistakes we made when casting the play." We're into the second week, and there are clearly NO mistakes to be corrected in that department. It's really comforting to have my old friends John Watkins and Tim Budd back on stage with me again. And David Combs' presence is a huge help. It has been several years since he worked at Riverside Theatre to do Edward Albee's The Goat with us and it's wonderful to have his inventiveness serving the production. Brian Bentz is the brand new kid on the block, but his passion and work ethic are making his roles as memorable as anyone's.

I only hope to keep up with them.

Being both the writer and actor at the same time has its challenges... Kevin has agreed to let me wear only one hat at a time: no script revision questions when I'm acting. Now if only I could follow that rule. It's just way too tempting when I hear a clunky phrase or word choice to not jump in with an onsite rewrite.

My fellow actors are certainly being very patient with me. We set a firm deadline for the script to be "locked in"... that was two days ago. It's good to work with professionals and friends who share my personal commitment to this project and who are willing to continue working on fine-tuning the words on the page.

Ron Clark

From Riverside Theatre to Broadway...

Did you see the article in today's Daily Iowan about Paul David Story? Click below to read about an acting journey that started with our Young People's Company and led to his current role as the understudy for Daniel Radcliffe in Equus. Just think... you never know which future Broadway-bound actors you could see on the Riverside stage!

West High graduate a Daniel Radcliffe understudy on Broadway - Daily Iowan, 10/8/08