REVIEW: The Minutes at the Black Box Theatre in Moline

As the 2026 Quad Cities theatre season begins to wind down, once again The Black Box Theatre in Moline presents a QCA premier of The Minutes by Tracy Letts, who also authored the Tony Award winning August: Osage County. The Minutes has also garnered multiple award nominations but lost out by what I can only assume was a very narrow margin. This script is relatively new, making its debut at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre in 2017 before moving to the James Earl Jones Theatre in New York City in 2020.

Well-known to the QCA theatre scene, Jeremy Mahr, expertly directs this show and has assembled a 24-carat gold cast that includes not one, but two, husband and wife teams.

The script takes place in November and shows the inner-workings of a city council meeting in the fictional town of Big Cherry. Newly elected member Dr. Peel, a dentist who has recently relocated his family to Big Cherry, returns after missing the immediately preceding council meeting in order to attend his mother’s funeral. As the council members filter in he receives perfunctory condolences but as he questions each one about some scuttlebutt he overheard in the parking lot concerning another council member, Mrs. Carp, they all shut down and wander off. As the meeting transpires, Peel becomes more and more suspicious about the content of that previous meeting. Ultimately backed into a corner the council comes clean via a hilarious replay of the incident which reveals the cover-up of an embarrassing scandal and the history of the town’s origins. This script leads you down a lovely garden path and then turns and delivers a sucker punch to the gut. It’s just the consciousness raising type of a plot that I love.

The tone of this clever, dark comedy reminded me of the Church Basement Ladies series in that while the characters are extremely exaggerated their appeal is their authenticity. You will recognize them if you have ever served a church luncheon or attended a city council meeting. As someone who has covered lots of small-town council meetings for the newspaper, I can guarantee Letts is spot on and genuine creating these characters. In addition to the honest newbie, there’s a self-righteous but obnoxious crusader, there’s an elderly curmudgeon who’s been on the council so long no one can remember him not being there, and a mousy totally non-confrontational wimp and everything in between.

There is not one ringer in this cast, all of which have impressive résumés and I wish I had time to praise each one of them individually especially since I am acquainted with most of them. Since I can’t, let me just say I was especially impressed with Josef Bodenbender as newcomer Peel, Kitty Hooker who delivered a perfect city clerk, Michael Carron is my favorite most curmudgeonly curmudgeon, and Michael’s wife Tamra McConoughey as Mrs. Innes gives a subtle and well nuanced performance. Tamra isn’t often on stage but I wish she were.

Once again Lora Adams has designed an absolutely superb set that easily accommodates a cast of eleven comfortably and fully exudes a municipal meeting space vibe. The Quad Cities is so lucky to have someone with her level of talent and creativity.

The Minutes continues at The Black Box Theatre, 1623 – 5th Avenue in Moline, November 12,13, and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday November 15 at 2:00 p.m.

I’m Chris Hicks…break a leg.