This week is special in more ways than one for the cast and crew of a new Spotlight Theatre production of the beloved musical, “Little Shop of Horrors.” The portentous prologue to the funky, campy, black comedy begins: On the twenty-first day of the month of September In an early year of a decade not too long before our own The human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence And this terrifying enemy surfaced as such enemies often do In the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places… Directed by Spotlight co-owner Brent Tubbs, and starring Jacob Johnson as... Read More

Bereskin Gallery & Art Academy is presenting the 5th-annual “Plein Air Paint Out” along the Mississippi River on Saturday, Sept. 25, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Artists may paint along the Mississippi from the I-80 Bridge to the Centennial Bridge on either side of the river. All mediums are acceptable. From the entrants of the day, up to 30 artists will be selected to exhibit their work in a fall exhibition, Oct. 1 – 30, at the Bereskin gallery, 2967 State St., Bettendorf. The opening reception is Friday, Oct. 1, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Selected work will appear, following the exhibit, in the... 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! Caval Spearman, Jr., a high school senior in Chicago, has been involved in making short films since he was 14. He even started his own media production company three years ago and a YouTube channel. So it was natural for the talented, intense teen to join his first Fresh Films experience this past summer, a free program based at Augustana College that gives high schoolers... Read More

In yet another example of innovative Quad-Cities artists getting creative due to Covid, St. Ambrose University will present a unique filmed theater project tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Galvin Fine Arts Center, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport. Previously released online in three individual episodes, Romeo and Juliet – A Web Series in Shadow will be screened in its entirety for the first time at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17, at Galvin on the SAU campus. Tickets are $8 and on sale to the public at the door and ShowTix4U. KALA, the public radio station at St. Ambrose, will rebroadcast the performance as... Read More

The River Music Experience and Underground Economy are presenting “Underground Xperience,” Friday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. at the RME, 2nd and Main streets Davenport. The concert – featuring local soul, hip-hop, R & B and reggae artists – is for those 19 and up (minors must be accompanied by an adult), and admission is $10. Performers will be Soultru, Big Man G, BN WhoIAm, and The Wontu Trees. The Underground Xperience is an occasional showcase of homegrown talent, chiefly focusing on the genres of soul, rap, R&B, and spoken word, according to concert organizer Josh Graves, owner of... Read More

Quinn Mei Lysaght majored in musical theater at Pittsburgh’s Point Park University, but she had the misfortune to graduate in spring 2020, when the world shut down due to Covid-19. Luckily, the world’s turned around – she took Manhattan by moving there Aug. 1, and Lysaght is making her regional theater debut in Circa ‘21’s new production of the wacky, naughty musical, “Disenchanted!” – based on some very well-known Disney heroines. She is literally living a dream playing three roles: Hua Mulan, Pocahontas, and Princess Badroulbadour, thrilled to be part of the Q-C premiere of what... Read More

In a way, we’ve all been singing the blues the past 18 months. So while area blues fans will be in heaven with the return of the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival this weekend, it’s even more meaningful for two of its performers – Toronzo Cannon and Selwyn Birchwood. The Alligator Records artists, both Blues Fest veterans, had most of their 2020 touring schedules erased due to Covid and are happy to be back at it in 2021. Cannon, 53, of Chicago, is scheduled to perform 8:15 p.m. Friday at LeClaire Park, while Birchwood, 36, of Orlando, Fla., is on the Main Stage at 3:45 p.m. Saturday. “Just... Read More

In the first of many in a new cabaret series, The Mockingbird On Main will present “Wishes,” an evening of song, laughter and love with Wendy Czekalski. The one-woman cabaret will run at 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, Sept. 16-18, in the new theater at 320 N. Main St. Accompanied by Karl Bodenbender, Czekalski will serenade in a 75-minute program (no intermission) with such Broadway classics as “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Old Friends,” “Losing My Mind,” “Maybe this Time,” “Meadowlark” and many more. Since receiving her bachelor’s in vocal performance from Northern lllinois... 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! Reading the breezy, illuminating, insightful and downright fascinating new book, “There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America,” you can tell that author Amy Argetsinger gets it. The 384-page book sings – on the 100th anniversary of the beauty competition (it is NOT a pageant anymore), the former Dispatch and Rock Island Argus reporter is a devoted fan and a chronicler... Read More

Brothers Emmanuel and Eric Juarez will star as brothers Joseph and Frank Sandoval in An Infantryman from Hero Street, part four in the Hero Street documentary series produced by Moline-based Fourth Wall Films. “We are very pleased to have Manny portray hero Joseph Sandoval, and Eric reprising his role as hero Frank Sandoval for this important new chapter of the historical documentary series,” said director Kelly Rundle, noting Eric played Frank in their 2015 documentary “Letters Home to Hero Street.” An Infantryman from Hero Street tells the true story of Pvt. Joseph Sandoval, who was... Read More