Reviving the classics of yesterday, creating the classics of tomorrow.

Mission Statement

The Repertory Theater of Iowa is an ensemble of resident theater professionals dedicated to presenting powerful classic and contemporary theater that delivers artistic excellence and enriches the cultural, educational and entertainment experience of even the most discerning audiences.

VISION

The Repertory Theater of Iowa will achieve a national profile as a professional theater arts ensemble, annually serving 10,000 audience members and employing 20 professional resident theater artists by the year 2013.

Production History

2004
Gems from Giants
The Lady of Larkspur Lotion
by Tennessee Williams
Hughie
by Eugene O'Neil

2005 Classic2Contemporary
OverRuled
by George Bernard Shaw
Twyla's Boy
by Northern California's Charles E. Polly (Mid-West Premiere)

2005
Williams' Triple Bill
27 Wagons Full of Cotton
by Tennessee Williams
The Gnadiges Fraulein
by Tennessee Williams
The Split Infinity
by Iowa playwright William S.E. Coleman

2006
Crowns
by Regina Taylor (Iowa Premiere)

2006
Shattered Windows
Three world-premieres by three Iowa playwrights
Now That's Funny
by Steve Hakeman
Unconventional Sex
by Chuck Hughes
Window Treatment
by Kay Frances Scott

2007
EndGame
A powerful, darkly comedic masterpiece by one of the world theatre's most important writers.

2007
A Tuna Christmas
Kick your holiday season off laughing with the residents of Tuna, Texas in the Repertory Theatre of Iowa's production of A Tuna Christmas.

What The Critics Say About RTI

Gems from Giants

" These plays are indeed gems and Leonardi's company provides the polish to make them downright dazzling..compellingly interpreted.the audience is riveted. Leonardi and Geraty give haunting, memorable performances. You're off to a great start!"

Classic2Contemporary

" Overruled : An Unexpected Delight.Rapid Fire Wit.Even after nine hours of theater this play captured my heart with its great wit and solid performances by Joseph Leonardi, John Robinson, Sara Ostbloom and Laura Wiese."

Twyla's Boy: " Performances are first-rate..Packs a punch"

William's Triple Bill

27 Wagons full of Cotton." Delivered with sledge hammer force."
The Gnadiges Fraulein ."quickly shifting between funny, sad, tragic and absurd. The banter between Molly and Polly quickly finds a good rhythm.

These dedicated producers take a more serious approach to independent theater in Central Iowa ..works not produced by other theater companies and seem to have found a strong niche to meet a previously unmet theatrical need."

~ ArtScene Magazine , John Busbee

The Split Infinity ."Coleman doesn't just knock down the fourth wall between audiences and actors-he blows it up and grinds the rumble into sand having as much fun as possible in the process."

~ Des Moines Register , Jeffrey Bruner

Crowns

"Delightful.Glorious.Infectious.Irresistable.Anyone failed to be moved might just as well head for the undertaker. Odds are they're already dead."

~ Des Moines Register , Jeffrey Bruner

"Brilliant.Masterful.Soulful singing.fabulously eye-catching..A HIT!"

" Repertory Theater of Iowa explodes out of the gates with Samuel Beckett's "Endgame" delivering an intensity seldom seen on Central Iowa stages....rock solid director, cast and production team...irresistibly compelling...desolate, often humorous, theatrical ballet...Marvelous physicality and timing...captivating..If this is the caliber of productions RTI plans to share with Iowa theater patrons, then bring it on."

~ ArtScene Magazine, John Busbee

"Pitch perfect cast...The theater's production goes for the knock-out and succeeds...Leonardi, who literally shakes the stage with his performance, gives a face and voice to the human desire to cheat death, to outwit the universe, to pick up life's toys and play another game...Lynner's turn as Hamm channels the frustration and anger that flood a life if it is unable to breathe...Gouran and Skram bring temporary comfort with their humorous, playful and tender performances."

~ CityView , Andrew Brink

"If you like someone, buy them roses... If you love someone, buy them tickets to A TUNA CHRISTMAS"

~ Austin American-Statesman

"A TUNA CHRISTMAS delivers a stockingful of laughs!"

~ Everett Evans, Houston Chronicle

"A Comic Masterpiece!"

~ KGO-AM/ABC, San Francisco

OUR STORY

About Repertory Theater of Iowa (formerly known as Central Iowa Repertory Theater). It was pride in his hometown that drew Leonardi back to the mid-sized city of Des Moines in 2004 from a successful career in San Francisco . "When I came back for a visit to Des Moines in 2004", Leonardi explains, "I couldn't believe the economic development and cultural growth I witnessed that was transforming Des Moines from a sleepy little town into a "city in motion".

Metropolitan Des Moines now has the third best opera houses in the nation, the fourth best art festival in the nation, as well as a new science center, new events center and an explosion of music, visual and performing arts activity. In addition to the cultural growth, new businesses are revitalizing the city center, urban living is being developed, live work spaces for artists are springing up and a river walk is under construction. The main thing Leonardi saw missing was a professional repertory theatre company. So, he returned to Des Moines and founded the Central Iowa Repertory Theatre (CIRT).

In 2004 CIRT launched its inaugural production, Gems from Giants , comprised of Tennessee William's The Lady of Larkspur Lotion Eugene O'Neil's Hughie O'Neil's Hughie is set in the lobby of a third rate New York hotel. We staged the production in the lobby of Des Moines ' historic Hotel Kirkwood of the same era, which was closed for renovation. We used the hotel's actual front desk and lobby as a stage, beams Leonardi. Next, our company launched two productions in the 1 st Iowa Fringe Festival (2005) under the umbrella title Classics2Contemporary, comprised of George Bernard Shaw's OverRuled and the Mid-West premiere of Oakland, California playwright Charles E. Polly's gritty, poetic drama Twyla's Boy. We have been continually producing classic fare and original works by Iowa and regional playwrights ever since with a dedication to outstanding theatre and a commitment to pay our theater artists something.

"Obviously, beyond community theatre, Des Moines is not yet a city and Iowa is not yet a state in which homegrown professional theatre thrives," says Leonardi. "We struggle with artists leaving to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Part of CIRT's (now RTI's) goal is to be able to offer the best of the area's artists a reason to stay and work here. We started small and tried to do it right: grow carefully, do great work, develop our audience, pay our people something."

Still, like many theatre companies - even those in large cities - CIRT quickly began to struggle in meeting its financial goals; and by the autumn of 2005, things were looking bleak. That all changed with a production of Regina Taylor's Crowns , a musical celebration of African-American women - and their hats. The show ran to sold-out crowds, extended and will be revived by popular demand as part of the 2006 season.

"Nobody's saying Des Moines has met its goals of a culturally diverse community. It's still a very white place, but changes are coming fast. There are increasingly strong African-American, Asian and Latino communities here, for example," says Leonardi.

"It was clear that, with Crowns , we'd found a sector of the population that was hungry for great theatre. Crowns turned things around for us."

And so, for the moment Repertory Theater of Iowa has its new name, is on firmer ground, and has planned an ambitious 2006-2007 schedule that includes the Crowns revival, End Game and A Tuna Christmas and regional touring as well.

"We're still here," smiles Leonardi. "And we're still all about bringing great theatre to a "city in motion" that is located in the heart of the Mid-west, and helping the artists by taking steps to pay them what they're worth."