REVIEW: Barely There Theatre Back in Moline With Engrossing, Thought-Provoking New One-Acts
It was extremely gratifying to see a nearly sold-out crowd Saturday, Jan. 31 in the 60-seat Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline for an exciting event – the world premiere of “What Might Have Been,” a trio of brand-new, emotional, engrossing one-act plays by prolific local playwright Alexander Richardson. These heart-wrenching stories explore the roads not taken: the choices, chances, and curiosities that shape our lives, presented by Richardson’s company, Barely There Theatre.
Though all performed with impressive conviction and obvious enthusiasm, the three very different plays (90 minutes total, with no intermission) were a mixed bag for me, satisfaction wise.
The first, “Narrator Needed” (directed by Sydney Richardson), was clearly the most enjoyable, both for its emphasis on comedy and audience interaction. The two exuberant, energetic lead actresses (in a clever Richardson conceit) are Adrienne Evans, who plays Elane, and Elane Edwards, who plays Adrienne, and they look like identical twins – both in their physical appearance, and their outfits, each topped with a black bowler hat.
They have an infectious friendliness and they soon ask for a volunteer from the audience who can read at a 5th-grade level, to serve as the story’s narrator (each performance will pull an audience member on stage into this key role). On the Saturday show I saw, the part was fittingly played by QC theater veteran Thayne Lamb, who described that he’s a bank teller by day and actor by night. He got a black hat as well and was asked to read from a laptop on a table, and he was both perfect and hilarious in the pretty significant part (read: lots of lines), barely controlling his own laughs.
Elizabeth Melville (left), Emmalee Hilburn, Celeaciya Olvera, and Esteban Lopez in “Coin Toss.”
He introduces the protagonist in this fleeting tale — Miss Jo Doe (Jo Vasquez), who seemingly has everything: a steady job, a family, even a cat that tolerates her. But something’s gone wrong. She doesn’t know it yet, but the narrator of her life has quit. Each night in this play, a new voice from the audience will step in, giving her life meaning once more.
All three women work for Fourth Wall Construction, a faceless, uncaring corporation, and the narrator is the de-facto manager, and gives bland commands and buzzwords over the office intercom. After Jo Doe is summoned to the office, we learn she’s worked there nearly 16 years and been named Employee of the Month 180 times, but she learns some very dark news.
The program note for the play says the story represents “the monotonous abyss that is office work life/corporate hell. Everything is the same day in, day out.” And in this one, lighting designer Luke Vermiere makes biting use of overhead fluorescent lights.
The overall tone is absurdist and existential despair, and with the women’s outfits, and a passing use of the line, “There was nothing to be done,” Richardson seems to be evoking the theatrical Beckett tragicomedy, “Waiting for Godot.”
The second tumultuous entry, “Coin Toss” (Directed by Noel Huntley), brought to mind another iconic stage titan, Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, here also with two warring couples, only one of whom is husband and wife.
Jo Vasquez in “Narrator Needed.”
Kelsey (Celeaciya Olvera) and Margaret (Emmalee Hilburn) are barely holding it together, and their friends’ marriage – Robert (Esteban Lopez) and Janice (Elizabeth Melville) — isn’t faring much better. When all four collide one ill‑fated evening, cracks widen, loyalties shift, and truths blur. I didn’t know this going into the play, but Richardson has penned two versions of the story, and which one unfolds depends on chance: a single coin flipped by an audience member decides the truth you’ll see.
In any given performance, the audience will only hear half the story – we see Margaret and Janice on one side and Robert and Kelsey on another, but we only hear one set of dialogue; the show I saw was primarily the former, even though there is dialogue where both pairs are arguing heatedly at the same time, so it’s hard to understand what everyone is saying. Director Huntley wrote in the program that “we are lucky if we ever get to know every side of a story.”
Olvera’s character notes that a coin doesn’t only have two sides, but three – including the edge, and we always need to pay close attention to the edge, even though the coin will never land on it. In this brutal, cathartic drama, each of the actors reveals strong, bitter, cutting verbal jousts, and the often miserable characters (in flailing, faltering relationships) in the midst of their arguing emerge with the same lines simultaneously (a neat effect) – “Is that true?”, “Why?”, “Are you leaving?” The answers are not clear cut.
Ivy Browne (left) and Kassidy Holdridge in “Yellow for Home.”
The last of the three new plays, “Yellow for Home” (directed by Kara Taghon), is more comforting, but not without frustrations.
Sara’s coffee shop/book store has a customer unlike any other. Every morning, before the doors even open, she’s already there, waiting with a smile. Day after day, her routine becomes the sweetest mystery of all. Is it love? Habit? Or something else entirely? This heartwarming tale reveals how the stories we share can transform everyday moments into something magical, according to the synopsis.
The harried owner Sara is wonderfully played by Elissa Dynes, and both she and the regular customer Carly, Kassidy Holdridge, show off tremendous facial expressions, and are each relatable. Carly is nervous and is waiting for a young woman she’s met, but never shows up for some reason. We see a flashback to when the two met – the quirky love interest is Lily (Ivy Browne) and there’s an extended scene of the two of them at a table, where Sara is weirdly staring at them, standing right next to them idly flipping through a book, but neither Carly or Lily seem to notice? A frustrated customer (Esteban Lopez) never seems to get served, so wouldn’t Sara just take his order if it’s her shop?
Jaina Gliva ably plays another barista, who also doesn’t seem to care about customer service. The last scene is a fantasy dream sequence, where Holdridge and Browne finally connect in a romantic dance, full of laughter. But that was marred Saturday when Browne spoke so softly, I couldn’t understand a thing she was saying.
In a 2026 season that’s filled with QC premieres, kudos to the Black Box Theatre, 1623 5th Ave., Moline, for offering a space for new works, and Barely There Theatre will return later in February with another world premiere. “What Might Have Been” will continue on Feb. 5, 6, and 7, at 7:30 p.m., plus a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Feb. 7.
It continues its commitment to accessibility with a “Pay What It’s Worth” ticket model. Admission is free at the door, and audience members contribute at the end of the evening—based on what they believe the performance deserved, and proceeds go to both BBT, and shared equally among all the cast and crew. Seating is limited, and advanced reservations are strongly encouraged through Ticket Source.
For details and reservations, visit Barely There Theatre on Facebook (@BarelyThereTheatreQC) and Instagram (@barelytheretheatre).
Elane Edwards (left) and Adrienne Evans in “Narrator Needed.”
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