Review: Riverside Theatre opens in stunning fashion in downtown Iowa City

IOWA CITY — Riverside Theatre has chosen the perfect show for two world premieres: the debut of “Eden Prairie, 1971,” onstage through Feb. 20 in the professional theater’s new home on the Ped Mall.

Riverside is the launchpad for Mat Smart’s new drama, as part of the National New Play Network’s Rolling World Premiere. The script will move to future productions in New Jersey and Colorado.

It’s the laser-focused story of how one of the nation’s most polarizing wars impacts residents of a small Minnesota town, on a night when all eyes are turned toward the Apollo 15 moon landing and the promise it holds for the future.

It’s an intimate show in an intimate setting, where palpable emotions throb from the actors to the audience.

Every aspect is masterful, from Adam Knight’s collaborative direction with the playwright, a longtime friend and colleague, to the three actors peeling off the layers of fear driving the drama. Technical aspects are impeccable, as well, with S. Benjamin Farrar’s backyard scenic design and Chris Rich’s artistic touch; Jim Vogt’s lighting design that creates a nightscape of shadows and moonlight; Zamora Simmons’ costumes and Stephen Polchert’s props, all of which capture the era with nostalgia, not distraction; and Chris Okiishi’s sound design, especially in the opening montage that anchors the action through 1971 newscasts.

Actors Kyle Clark of Flint, Mich., and Christina Sullivan and Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers of Iowa City fill their characters with passion, sorrow, confusion and awkwardness, each harboring hidden fears laid bare as the action progresses.

Clark is making his Riverside debut as Pete, a draft dodger who walks 330 miles from Ontario to Eden Prairie, Minn., under cover of darkness, to deliver a message to classmate Rachel (Sullivan). They haven’t seen each other in two years, and haven’t spoken to each other even longer, but Pete risks arrest for this emotional catharsis.

Her father is career military, whose assignment to Vietnam has her mother, Mrs. Thompson (Hartsgrove Mooers), believing every door knock will bring the news that her husband has been killed. And so she drinks herself to sleep every night and wears her nightgown and robe every day.

Hartsgrove Mooers gives a tour de force performance as Mrs. Thompson straddles fantasy and reality, with outbursts and actions that horrify her daughter and leave Pete bewildered.

All have put their lives on hold during this war which is altering their future. Perhaps the most tragic arc is Rachel’s: the brilliant, budding scientist who has left college to care for her mother.

The sweetest scene is a picnic Pete spreads out on his sleeping tarp, inviting Rachel to share his meager rations. But when Mrs. Thompson delivers news that forces Pete to finally faces his fears, the results are shattering.

You could hear a pin drop during the Feb. 3 preview, and Friday’s opening night audience gave the production an immediate, well-earned standing ovation.

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com