New and continuing in theater: What shows are new in Eastern Iowa this week

OPENING

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

May 3 to 6 @ Cornell College, Mount Vernon

After the disappearance of the family patriarch, three generations of an American family collide in an Oklahoma farm house, bringing with them years of resentment packaged in dark humor. Words are thrown, plates are tossed, and accusations are launched. Times: 7:30 p.m. May 3 to 5, 2 p.m. May 6, Kimmel Theatre, enter through Armstrong Hall, 600 First St., Mount Vernon. Tickets: $7 to $10, free Cornell students and staff; for mature audiences. ALSO: Hilltop Theatre Talks preshow catfish dinner, 5 to 7 p.m. May 3, Smith Dining Room, Thomas Commons, with cast and crew; $10. Tickets for show and dinner: box office, (319) 895-4293 or email boxoffice@cornellcollege.edu

THE KITE RUNNER

Friday (4/27) @ Gallagher-Bluedorn, Cedar Falls

This one-man play brings literature to life through the story of a nation and the humanity of the people who inhabit it. Khaled Hosseini, author of the book upon which the show is based, said: ' ‘The Kite Runner' came about simply because I was bewitched by a story. A story of guilt and redemption, brutality and kindness, sin and forgiveness, a story of the doomed friendship between two boys, one rich, one poor, one flawed, the other pure, with Afghanistan and her own tale of brutality and kindness as the backdrop.” Time: 7 p.m. Friday; Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, 8201 Dakota St., Cedar Falls. Tickets: $17.75 to $36.75, venue box office, (319) 273-7469 or Gbpac.com/upcoming-events/e-825/the-kite-runner.aspx

LITTLE WOMEN: THE MUSICAL

Friday (4/27) to May 6 @ City Circle Acting Company, Coralville

Based on author Louisa May Alcott's life, the musical leaps from page to stage to follow the adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March and their experiences growing up in Civil War America. Times: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, 1301 Fifth St. Tickets: $14 to $29, venue box office, (319) 248-9370 or Coralvillearts.org

UI NEW PLAY FESTIVAL

Monday (4/30) to May 5 @ UI Theatre Building, Iowa City

For more than 40 years, the University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts has presented an annual festival centered on producing, reading and analyzing new scripts from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop. This year's festival includes four fully produced productions, one workshop and seven staged readings. Tickets: $5 for full productions, free tickets needed for readings and workshop; UI Theater Building box office, 200 N. Riverside Dr., Iowa City. Descriptions, dates and times: Theatre.uiowa.edu

ONGOING

A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

To Sunday (4/29) @ Iowa City Community Theatre

In this musical, Alfie Byrne is an Oscar Wilde-loving bus driver in 1960s Dublin. His passion is directing an amateur group of thespians called the St. Imelda's Players. The dedicated performers are determined to stage the controversial 'Salome” at their local church. However, the play's racy subject matter angers church authorities. In the process of fighting for the play, Byrne is finally forced to confront his own homosexuality. Times: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Exhibit Hall A, Johnson County Fairgrounds, 4261 Oak Crest Hill Rd., Iowa City. Tickets: $11 to $19, door or Iowacitycommunitytheatre.org

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

To Saturday (4/28) @ University of Iowa, Iowa City

The University of Iowa Department of Theatre Arts presents Shakespeare's comic tale of love lost and found, warts and all. Times: 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; E.C. Mabie Theatre, UI Theatre Building, 200 N. Riverside Dr., Iowa City. Tickets: $5 to $20, Hancher Box Office, (319) 335-1160, 1-(800) HANCHER or Hancher.uiowa.edu/tickets

DRINKING HABITS

To Sunday (4/29) @ Coggon Opera House

In this farce, two nuns at The Sisters of Perpetual Sewing have been secretly making wine to keep the convent's doors open, but undercover reporters are hot on their trail. Their presence, combined with and the addition of a new nun, spurs paranoia throughout the convent that spies have been sent from Rome to shut them down. Wine and secrets are inevitably spilled as everyone tries to preserve the convent and reconnect with lost loves. Times: 7 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Coggon Opera House, 209 E. Main St., Coggon. Tickets: $15 general admission, door or (319) 435-2353 after 6 p.m.

EARS ON A BEATLE

To Sunday (4/29) @ Riverside Theatre, Iowa City

It's 1972, and two FBI agents - one enamored with the rock 'n' roll and lifestyle, and the other missing the old days of flat tops and shined shoes - are tasked with getting politically outspoken John Lennon out of the country before Richard Nixon runs for re-election. Times: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Riverside Theatre, 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City. Tickets: $18 to $30, Riverside Box Office, (319) 338-7672 or Riversidetheatre.org/earsonabeatle

NOISES OFF

To May 6 @ Giving Tree Theater, Marion

The opening night performance of the farce 'Nothing's On” is hours away, and as the actors stumble through their final dress rehearsal, things couldn't be going any worse. Can the cast pull their act together on the stage even if they can't behind the scenes? Rated PG-13 for adult language and themes. Times: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Giving Tree Theater, 752 10th St., Marion. Tickets: $26, (319) 213-7956 or Givingtreetheater.com

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY

To Saturday (4/28) @ RHCR Theatre, Cedar Rapids

The wealthy Lord family of Philadelphia is about to welcome the cream of society into their home for the second wedding of Tracy Lord, vibrant daughter of the house, to George Kittredge, a self-made coal mine manager - much to the annoyance of little sister Dinah, Big Brother Sandy, and ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven, none of whom believe George is good enough for her. Times: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, April 20, 21, 26 to 28; Studio Reserved, 1200 Second Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. Tickets: $15 to $18, Rhcrtheatre.wixsite.com/rhcrtheatre; American Sign Language interpreter April 21.