Playcrafters Barn Theatre in Moline has announced its lineup of shows for their 2022 season, along with the directors. The season consists of eight productions in two series, running from February to November 2022. The productions are: The Odd Couple by Neil Simon, Feb. 18-20, 25-27; Mainstage production directed by Teresa A. Moore. Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, March 18-20, 25-27; Barn Owl production directed by Jaclyn Marta. A Murder Is Announced adapted by Leslie Darbon from Agatha Christie’s novel, May 6-8, 13-15; Mainstage production directed by Madelyn Dorta. Dog Sees God by... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Laura Keenan has a keen eye for creating both beautiful artwork and transforming work into something approaching art. The busy, staggeringly talented Augustana College senior from Elmhurst, Ill., was recently honored as Augustana’s student laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Each fall, a senior from each of the state’s four-year colleges and universities... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theatre will hold auditions for the comedy “The Odd Couple” by Neil Simon, directed by Teresa Moore (most recently seen on Playcrafters’ stage in “Marie and Rosetta”) on Saturday, Dec. 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 5 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Ave., Moline. Performance dates are Feb. 18-20 and Feb. 25-27, 2022. “The Odd Couple” tells the classic story of two very different friends — the neurotic, super neat Felix Ungar and the relaxed, super sloppy Oscar Madison — learning to live together as roommates. Roles... Read More

Luke Vermeire of Rock Island and his Quad City Music Guild cast of “Holiday Inn” have plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. The week after this holiday, they will put on the Irving Berlin musical (based on the classic 1942 film that gave the world “White Christmas”), from Dec. 1 to 5 at the Prospect Park Theater, 1584 34th Ave., Moline. Vermeire, a 20-something first-time director, was in the cast for July’s “Mamma Mia!” at Guild, and noticed no one had applied for “Holiday Inn” by then. “I said, how great would it be if I applied having no directing experience?” he... Read More

There’s a heartfelt, inspiring story both on the Playcrafters stage and off in the wacky, wonderful “You Can’t Take It With You,” a classic American comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. Due to factors beyond the control of director Vicki Deusinger and the great 18-member cast (I think the most I’ve seen in any one show at the Barn Theatre in Moline), the madcap production will be presented just one weekend — Thursday, Nov. 18th through Sunday, Nov. 21st. It should not be missed, for several reasons. Winner of the 1937 Pulitzer for drama, and adapted by Frank Capra for... Read More

The following article is part of QuadCities.com’s partnership with local music website The Echo. For more, check out theechoqc.com! Sam Koester is a rare bird in the aviary of the Quad City region’s music biz. The friendly, 41-year-old Muscatine native now resides in Moline, owning and operating River+City Collective. RCC is an ​​entertainment production company producing shows primarily in and around the Quad City area. Koester started getting into music at 13, playing in bands, and began booking shows locally shortly after. He moved to the QC in the summer of 1998 and jumped into the... Read More

Jen Dobrunz, executive director of the Quad Cities Cultural Trust, will serve as a Grand Marshal at the 2021 Kwik Star Festival of Trees Holiday Parade on Saturday, Nov. 20 in downtown Davenport. Dobrunz has dedicated her career to the non-profit sector, raising nearly $100 million over the last 15 years. She is a Quad City native who lives in LeClaire, Iowa with her three children. She has served as the QCCT executive director for three years. During her tenure, QCCT started and completed a record-breaking campaign that brought the trust’s endowment to over $32 million, which has allowed for... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Steve Semken never earned a degree in writing, business, or computer design. But 30 years after the Iowa City native started Ice Cube Press, the 57-year-old is busier than ever. He loves making people’s dreams come true by publishing their books (including several from the Quad-Cities) but regrets the fact that he can only produce about a half-dozen volumes a year, and receives... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! What if you got a call one day from a stranger saying that you won half a million dollars? Not from a lottery, but in honor of your amazing career, and the money (paid out over five years) carried no strings in how it could be spent? Since 1981, 942 people (ranging in age from 18 to 82) have been named MacArthur Fellows – with so-called “genius grants” from the John... Read More

Arts and culture mean business, and help create thriving communities. One of the main reasons I love the Quad-Cities (and have made it my home since fall 1995) is because of its outstanding, vibrant and growing arts scene – more than a dozen theater companies, a world-class symphony orchestra, exquisite professional ballet, top-quality art museum, a Smithsonian-affiliate museum of natural history and science, many live music venues of all sizes, gorgeous art galleries, a breathtaking botanical center and gardens, a variety of other fascinating museums, and on and on. But unfortunately, very little... Read More