Last month, the heart and soul of Cedar Rapids’ downtown artistic community was destroyed by the flood, at least structurally. However, as the saying goes in the world of theater: “The show must go on.” And the Cedar Rapids arts’ community did just that by putting together a last-minute, original production called “Moving Home,” a collaborative piece documenting the flood and its effect on the people of Cedar Rapids.Due to several flood-related circumstances, Brucemore decided to cancel its scheduled performance of “Lysistrata” and partnered with Liar’s Theater, Theatre Cedar Rapids, SPT Theatre, Urban Theater Project of Iowa, and Legion Arts to create “Moving Home,” which features music and stories inspired by the Cedar Rapids epic flood experience.

“The idea for the production came from Jim Kern, executive director of Brucemore,” Jason Alberty, artistic director of Urban Theater Project of Iowa and the play’s script director, told the Iowa Independent during a phone interview. “Jim did not like the idea of no artistic events in Cedar Rapids at that time, so he called together a number of artistic groups to work on a collaborative production to fill the void left by `Lysistrata.’”

The first run of the play hit the stage last weekend and will play Thursday through Saturday, July 17-19, at Brucemore in Cedar Rapids. Performances begin at 8 p.m. and all proceeds will be donated to the Greater Cedar Rapids Foundations Flood Relief Fund.

In the aftermath of the flooding in Cedar Rapids, the artistic community needed its own perfect storm, coupled with some good fortune, to help produce “Moving Home” in less than a month.

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