At one point in the original bluegrass musical “Big Rock Candy Mountain,”the witchy, bitchy character Velda decries the Depression-era theater in which the story takes place as “frivolous nonsense.” Well, in the midst of what seems like a greater 21st-century Depression (see: Covid, unemployment, racial injustice, political division and endless quarantine), I think a little mindless, frivolous nonsense is just what we need right now. Filmed recently at the Circa ’21 Speakeasy (featuring eight mask-less cast members), the 2014 musical – affectionately written and directed by Tristan... Read More

Experiencing rapid growth of its direct-to-consumer medication delivery service, Quad Cities-based pharmacy startup divvyDOSE is expanding in the region. After being acquired by UnitedHealth Group last fall, the healthcare tech company headquartered in Moline is adding 200-300 jobs in the area and moving its front-end operations to two floors of Mississippi Plaza in downtown Davenport, the Quad Cities Chamber announced Tuesday morning. divvyDOSE’s back-end operations, mainly the dispensing and packaging of medication, will remain at the business’s facility off John Deere Road (4300 44th Ave.)... Read More

If you want to see the beguiling dancers of Ballet Quad Cities in “Love Stories” this weekend, you need to act fast. Ticket sales will end Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m., for reservations at the Outing Club (2109 Brady St., Davenport) for performances Friday at 6:30 p.m., or Saturday at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The first show is “Burgers and Ballet,” to celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend. Enjoy a casual evening of fabulous dance entertainment and dinner, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. for drinks. On Saturday, for the first show doors open at the grand ballroom at 1 p.m. for beverages and... Read More

Linda Phan does not consider herself a child prodigy, but the 11-year-old Bettendorf student is the youngest musician to perform as a soloist with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra in recent memory. Linda – who’s in sixth grade at Riverdale Heights Elementary – won the Grand Prize at the 2019 Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles Concerto Competition. This past Saturday night, she joined the QCSO for the first movement of Wolfgang A. Mozart’s charming Third Violin Concerto, written when that child prodigy was 19, and you can buy digital access to the concert through March 9. It was performed,... Read More

Two members of the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles (QCYSE) have been named winners of the annual Concerto Competition – a pianist from Alleman High School and a trumpeter from Pleasant Valley High. Last month, eight Youth Symphony Orchestra (YSO) members auditioned to win one of two prizes. The YSO Prize winner is typically awarded the opportunity to play their concerto at the QCSYE Winter Concert in February, accompanied by the YSO. The Grand Prize winner performs their concerto with the QCSO at the QCSO/QCSYE Side-by-Side Concert in April. Winners are selected by a committee consisting... Read More

In this bitterly cold winter of our discontent, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra transports us to warm, bright musical landscapes in its latest digital concert. In a program literally focused on youth, the concert (recorded without an audience at Davenport’s Adler Theatre) features Felix Mendelssohn’s musical exploration of Italy’s culture and countryside in his joyful and energetic “Italian” Symphony. 2019 Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles Concerto Competition winner Linda Phan (who’s in sixth grade) joins the QCSO for the first movement of Wolfgang A. Mozart’s effervescent, charming Third... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a small, quiet woman who wielded a towering, thunderous literary voice that helped change the conscience and course of a nation. Barely five feet tall, Stowe (1811-1896) is just 23 in the award-winning docudrama “Sons & Daughters of Thunder (2019) by Moline-based filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films. A half-hour companion documentary, “Becoming Harriet Beecher Stowe,” premiered last... Read More

On Friday, Feb. 5, the Geneseo-based Richmond Hill Players announced it will temporarily suspend the 2021 season due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. “We will continue to monitor the situation, and when it is safe to return to our theater, we will make a final determination on the 2021 season,” RHP president Jonathan Grafft posted on the theater’s Facebook page and website,  www.rhplayers.com. The theater – which began in 1968 in the top level of an old dairy barn – had scheduled “Becky’s New Car” for the first 2020 show that April, and canceled its entire 2020 season due to the... Read More

Because of predicted cold temperatures, the weekly Covid vaccine clinic run by Rock Island County Health Department for Tuesday, Feb. 9, will be inside the TaxSlayer Center, 1201 River Drive, Moline. Vaccine distribution priority groups are Phase 1A and Phase 1B in Illinois, and the health department typically has a Tuesday drive-through clinic at Greater Quad City Auto Auction, 4015 78th Ave., Milan. Those seeking their first dose may visit the RICHD Facebook page or website at 10 a.m. each Friday for a link to reserve an appointment. Those seeking their second dose may visit the same sites... Read More

Last week, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a new law mandating schools offer 100% in-person education, and on Friday morning, three Iowa Quad-Cities superintendents discussed that impact – as well as other school changes in an online forum hosted by the Quad Cities Chamber. The United Township district superintendent also participated in the webinar on Iowa and Illinois priorities in education. Bettendorf students will return to 100% in person (from a hybrid model) on Tuesday, Feb. 16, said district superintendent Michelle Morse. A recent parent survey showed 83 percent supported returning their... Read More