Isn’t it rich?

Thursday night, Nov. 20, certainly will be – with glorious local talent and tremendous tunes, as Opera Quad Cities presents its first cabaret tribute to the legendary Broadway composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021) at the Circa ’21 Speakeasy, 1818 3^rd Ave., Rock Island.

The relaxing, casual evening will start at 7:30 p.m., and feature 12 singers, a combination of classically-trained operatic performers, and musical-theater style vocalists.

“We’ve been talking about doing a Sondheim program for a few years; so many opera companies are doing his works,” Ron May — Opera Quad Cities co-founder, board member, and cabaret accompanist – said Friday, noting the composer’s “Sweeney Todd” and “A Little Night Music” as frequent opera company selections.

Opera Quad Cities presents “Thursday With Stephen,” a cabaret of Stephen Sondheim songs Nov. 20 at The Speakeasy next to Circa ’21, Rock Island.

“The complexity, the intricacy of his writing is similar to what opera composers have been doing for centuries,” he said. “Sondheim has graduated in many musicians’ eyes from just a ‘Broadway’ composer/lyricist into a master of theatre music.”

“His complex lyrics and musical forms are intriguing, inviting, and appealing to performers and audiences alike. His forte is storytelling,” May said. “Opera Quad Cities wants to highlight that focus. Whether it be a classically trained opera singer or a musical theatre performer, Sondheim’s music is compelling and extremely satisfying as art.”

The Nov. 20 all-star lineup features Kim Vanderginst, a QC theater veteran who has been in many Circa shows and was part of a 2013 Sondheim revue, “Last Call,” at the former QC Theatre Workshop in Davenport, which showcased nine singers.

Kim Vanderginst, a Circa veteran, is among the 12 singers to perform Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

“I am very excited to be a part of anything Sondheim,” Vanderginst said Friday. “I always say Rodgers and Hammerstein made me fall in love with musical theater, but Stephen Sondheim sealed the deal.

“The music of Sondheim was a huge part of my collegiate repertoire, so any chance I get to perform his material, it fills me with such nostalgia and as an actor, you just can’t ask for anything better,” the St. Ambrose alum said. “I’m excited for this project because not only do I get to sing music I love but I get to do it with extraordinary performers who are my friends.”

The Opera QC cabaret includes Shelley Cooper (featured in 2024’s “La Boheme”), Joshua Morey (from 2025’s “Die Fledermaus”), and Karmi Rivera (an opera singer from Puerto Rico who performed in the 2022 Opera QC highlights concert). It also features current Circa “White Christmas” cast members Bobby Becher and Kyle DeFauw (doing “Agony” from “Into the Woods”) and Sarah Hayes.

Shelley Cooper performed as Musetta in Opera QC’s production of “La Boheme” in June 2024 in Bettendorf.

The “Thursday With Stephen” cast is rounded out with Ethan Elsbernd, Hillary Erb, Georgi Feigley, Val Pieper, and Shelley Walljasper.

The song list includes:

• “Comedy Tonight” (from “A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum”)
• “Take Me To The World (“Evening Primrose”)
• “Everybody Says Don’t” (“Anyone Can Whistle”)
• “Broadway Baby” (“Follies”)
• “I Remember” (“Evening Primrose”)
• “Not A Day Goes By” (“Merrily We Roll Along”)
• “Johanna/Not While I’m Around” (“Sweeney Todd”)
• “Losing My Mind” (“Follies”)
• “Send in the Clowns” (“A Little Night Music”)
• “Sunday” (“Sunday in the Park With George”)

There will be no printed program and the concert should last approximately an hour to an hour and a half. Drinks and snacks can be purchased at the Speakeasy. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. to socialize and enjoy a drink before the program begins at 7:30.

Circa owner/producer Denny Hitchcock is pleased to allow Opera QC to present this program and both he and Ron May plan on the possibility of making this into a series of “cabaret” evenings.

“We will see how this first one goes and is received by the audience,” May said, noting they hope to present a Sondheim cabaret two to three times a season, and since it’s called “Thursday With Stephen,” it could be extended to feature songs of Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked,” “Pippin,” “Children of Eden,” “Prince of Egypt”)

This concept of honoring Stephen Sondheim certainly matches the catchphrase of Opera Quad Cities — “Everyday Emotions…Extraordinary Music!” For the nonprofit’s 25^th anniversary in 2026, they are planning a June gala concert again featuring operatic highlights, at Galvin Fine Arts Center, St. Ambrose University.

Tickets for the Nov. 20 event are $20 each, available at the company website HERE.

Stephen Sondheim — who transformed Broadway with musicals such as “Company,” “Sweeney Todd,” “A Little Night Music,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Sunday in the Park With George” and “Into the Woods” — died in 2021 at age 91.

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Jonathan Turner

Jonathan Turner -- who has called the Quad Cities home since 1995 -- has decades of experience as a professional journalist and pianist. His experience writing for daily newspapers, public radio and local TV encompasses a wide range of subjects, including the arts, politics, education, economic development, historic preservation, business, and tourism.

Jonathan most loves writing about music and the arts (which he now does as a freelancer for the River Cities Reader and Visit Quad Cities). He has a passion for accompanying musicals, singers, choirs and instrumentalists, including playing for QC Music Guild's 2023 productions of RENT and SWEENEY TODD. He is assistant music director and accompanist for the spring 2025 Music Guild show, ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE. He wrote an original musical based on The Book of Job, which premiered at Playcrafters in 2010. Jonathan penned a 175-page history book about downtown Davenport, that was published by The History Press in 2016, and a travel guide about the QC published by Reedy Press in 2022.