The Des Moines Playhouse Announces Summer Tent Theatre

The Des Moines Playhouse, now in its 102nd season, is keeping theatre live in Des Moines this summer in a unique setting.

The Playhouse announced a summer Tent Theatre series tonight, Apr. 9, 2021, before the opening of Some Enchanted Evening. Three shows - Godspell, Plaza Suite, and Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical - will be performed in an event pavilion in the theatre's east parking lot in July and August 2021.

Tickets for in-person performances are available at dmplayhouse.com and by phone at 515.277.6261. Tent Theatre is presented by MidAmerican Energy Company and sponsored by Lincoln Savings Bank, Kent Sovern & Phyllis Mumford-Sovern, Jan & Layton Stump, and Edward & Nancy Truslow.

The Tent Theatre summer mini-season features Godspell, the Tony-nominated musical retelling of the Gospel according to Matthew, and the Neil Simon comedy Plaza Suite. The Tent Theatre family show, generously sponsored by Nationwide, will be Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical, a celebration of the differences that make us awesome.

Tent Theatre shows will be presented in repertory. To perform in repertory means to present a series of plays over a given span of time. Godspell and Plaza Suite will alternate weeks on the stage, July 9-Aug. 8, 2021, and Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical will take the stage Saturday mornings, July 10-Aug. 7, 2021. A limited number of VIP parking spaces will also be available for purchase for each show.

These shows join the previously announced A Love Offering, a co-production with Pyramid Theatre Company, that will be presented indoors in The Playhouse's John Viars Theatre, June 4-20, 2021.

In summer 2020, The Playhouse presented four shows outdoors, drive-in style, with small casts and limited audiences. Since October 2020, the theatre has successfully presented five shows, including a musical, indoors. To promote safety, The Playhouse has drawn upon the guidelines suggested by local, state, and federal agencies, experts, and associations. Full safety guidelines are posted on the theatre's website, dmplayhouse.com.

The Playhouse vision, as Iowa's largest producing theatre, is to be a vital part of a collaborative, energized, and engaged community that values art in its culture, particularly because of the contributions of high-quality avocational, educational, and entertaining theatre experiences. Located at the 42nd Street exit of I-235, the theatre has presented a full season of shows since 1919 and also offers a wide variety of educational experiences including classes for ages 4 to adult, theatre trips to New York, and volunteer opportunities onstage and backstage.

For more information about The Playhouse and the summer shows, visit The Playhouse website at www.dmplayhouse.com or contact The Playhouse at 515.277.6261. Ticket office hours are Noon-3:00 PM, Tuesdays-Fridays.

Des Moines Playhouse Summer 2021 Mini-Season

A Love Offering

A Co-production of Pyramid Theatre Company & The Playhouse
Presented indoors in The Playhouse's John Viars Theatre
Performances: June 4-20, 2021
In-person: 7:30 PM Fridays-Saturdays, 2:00 PM Sundays
Livestream: 7:30 PM, Friday, June 4, 2021
On-Demand: June 10 & June 17, 2021
Tickets for in-person performances are $29 Adults, $15 Students
Livestream and on-demand options are $25 per device, one viewing
Purchase at dmplayhouse.com
Description: T'Wana Jepson has been bit before. And scratched. And kicked. And punched. And called every dirty word in the book. But so has her co-worker and work mama, Miss Georgia. It comes with the territory as a nurse's aide caring for patients with Alzheimer's and dementia. You learn to not take it personally and to lean on your co-workers for support. But after T'Wana is attacked by the patient in E 204, something happens that threatens the bonds of trust and friendship.

Godspell

Tent Theatre presented outdoors
Performances: 7:30 PM Thursdays-Sundays, July 9-11, July 22-25, & Aug. 5-8, 2021, presented in repertory, alternating weeks, with Plaza Suite
Tickets: $29 Adults, $15 Students
Purchase at dmplayhouse.com
Description: Prepare ye for Godspell, a modern-day retelling of the New Testament parables. With a Tony-nominated score of songs ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, including the hit song "Day by Day," composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) brings to vibrant life the timeless messages of kindness, tolerance, and love.

Plaza Suite

Tent Theatre presented outdoors
Performances: 7:30 PM Thursdays-Sundays, July 16-18 & July 29-Aug. 1, 2021, presented in repertory, alternating weeks, with Godspell
Tickets: $29 Adults, $15 Students
Purchase at dmplayhouse.com
Description: A suburban couple takes a suite while their house is being painted and it turns out to be the one in which they honeymooned 23 (or was it 24?) years before. A Hollywood producer thrice-married calls a childhood sweetheart, now a suburban housewife, for a little sexual diversion. A mother and father fight about the best way to get their daughter out of the bathroom and down to the ballroom where wedding guests are gathered. Hilarity abounds in Neil Simon's portrait of three couples successively occupying a suite at NYC's Plaza Hotel.

Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical

Tent Theatre presented outdoors
Performances: 10:00 AM Saturdays, July 10, 17, 24, 31 & Aug. 7, 2021
Tickets: $15 per person, all ages
Purchase at dmplayhouse.com
Description: Lily Polkadot has just moved to Rockaway, a "Squares only" town. As the first Polkadot in an all-Square school, Lily struggles to gain acceptance from her peers in the midst of daily bullying and segregated drinking fountains. Her quest seems hopeless until she meets Sky, a shy Square boy whose curiosity for her unique polkadots blooms into an unexpected pal-ship. Polkadots offers us a reminder that our differences make us awesome.

To post a comment, you must register and login.