Sometimes things come together that just make sense. Often they are unrelated but find their way to combine into a powerful force. Such is theater this week here in Iowa City.
You can see (tonight, Hancher, at the Englert) a play about Lincoln. Appropriate for President's Day week. And you can also see (Thursday-Sunday, Working Group Theatre, at Riverside Theatre) a play about Bosnia. Appropriate to remember the 20th year after the genocide there.
The RIvalry is part of this year's Hancher season and is by the L.A. Theatre Works, a group we have had here before and have never been disappointed. This group is nationally known for quality theater. Based on the Lincoln-Douglas debates in the 1858 Senate race. Our brochure describes it this way: "L.A. Theatre Works breathes new life into America's past via the Lincoln-Douglas debates' conflict and compromise. Arguably, The Rivalry also offers a shrewd commentary on the messy partisan politics of the present." Tickets here.
And then The Toymaker's War is a look at a devastating time 20 years ago when the Bosnian war began through the story of a journalist going for a story and finding much more. A special talkback event will be held after the Friday performance.
"Audiences are invited to join us for a post show discussion to explore the themes of the play with journalist, Stephen J. Berry, and Bosnian War survivor, Amir Hadzic, on Friday February 24. Stephen J. Berry is a Pulitzer Prize winning former reporter who specializes in investigative reporting. He is co-founder and the interim executive director-editor of The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism and currently teaches at the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Amir Hadzic, Coordinator of International Student Services and Men's Head Soccer Coach at Mt. Mercy College, was a Sarajevo native who lived through and fled the siege of that city, escaping through a mile long tunnel under the airport. After living as a refugee in Croatia for a year, he emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Iowa."
Somehow all of these events based on history seem cutting edge current. Hmmm. Love theater.
—Ron
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