BILLY ELLIOT, Idina Menzel & More Head to Des Moines in June

With the start of summer comes the promise of sunny days, but since June is only the first of many warm months to come, there is no excuse not to duck into a theater for a few hours to catch a fabulous show. From touring productions to Broadway stars, read on to find out what can't be missed.

The Des Moines Playhouse production of Moonlight and Magnolias runs June 8-24th. The screwball comedy is set during the filming of the classic film Gone With the Wind and tells of the lengths that its’ producer, David O. Selznick, took to overhaul the screenplay upon realizing it was not working. One of his tactics was to lock Ben Hecht and Wizard of Oz director Victor Fleming in his office to hash it out, despite the fact that Hecht had not read the book! For ticket information visit www.dmplayhouse.com

The national tour of Billy Elliot stops at the Civic Center for a limited engagement from June 12-17th. Based on the film of the same name, the Elton John scored musical follows the journey of one boy striving to make his dreams come true, even if it means he must swim against the current. The musical won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2009 and continues to garner raves at every stop. For ticket information visit www.civiccenter.org

StageWest presents The Divine Sister at the Stoner Theater June 15-25th. The Divine Sister, a send up of nearly every Hollywood film about nuns, follows the Mother Superior of St. Veronica’s and her determination, despite some roadblocks, to build a new school for her convent. For ticket information visit http://stagewestiowa.com/

Broadway powerhouse Idina Menzel brings her Barefoot at the Symphony tour to the Civic Center on June 22nd. Menzel is perhaps best known for her Tony-winning role as Elphaba in the original Broadway production of Wicked, but before that she was nominated for a Tony for Rent and has gone on to have roles in film and television as well. For ticket information visit www.civiccenter.org

The sun will come out tomorrow but you may not have another chance to have catch these great shows!

Brooke is a Des Moines native who has been enjoying theater her entire life. She fell in love with writing about theater in college when an extra credit assignment in Theater 106 was to go to a show and review it. After seeing Wicked thirteen times last year, Brooke decided it was time to start making something of her passion.

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