Bob Williams absolutely loved theater, Quad City Music Guild and his family – to the point where Music Guild and his family became one. In an unrelentingly awful year, which has seen the Prospect Park theater in Moline go dark for the first time since 1949, the Guild family endured another bone-crushing loss Sunday, as Williams (a veteran director) died suddenly from a massive heart attack at age 61. “We are all in shock. It will take some time for the loss to become real,” longtime Music Guild volunteer Cathy Marsoun said Sunday night. “Bob brought so much to Guild. First, his great theatrical... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly look at a personality, place, trend or topic of interest to the Quad-Cities. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. I might as well face it – I’m addicted to my smartphone. I know I’m not the only one. Is there a support group, a 12-step program, a bleach I can take? Steve Jobs must be doing a jig in his Palo Alto grave. (It’s hard to believe the tech genius and Apple co-creator has been gone nine years already this Monday, Oct. 5. Jobs died at 56 from pancreatic cancer.) The first iPhone... Read More

Being an artist means being creative and adaptable, and no one knows this more than longtime Quad-Cities theater veteran Lora Adams. Co-owner of the Black Box Theatre, 1623 5th Ave., Moline, she was the first in the area to reopen for an indoor production during the Covid-19 pandemic, on July 16 with Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of “The Turn of the Screw,” starring Matt Walsh and Kayla Jo Pulliam (wearing clear face shields), with Walsh playing four different characters. The theater (which originally planned to open “Turn of the Screw” in late March) has been abiding by the state of... Read More

Over 200 decorated birdhouses will be on display at the Figge Art Museum, Davenport, from Oct. 2 to 11, along with the Living Proof art exhibit. “They are up a short time because we want to get them out to bring hope and joy to Quad Citizens touched by cancer,” Pamela Crouch, executive director of Living Proof Exhibit (LPE), said Thursday. A wide variety of people, ages 2 to 82, participated in the “Make Hope Soar” project, including in and around the Quad-Cities, plus from Kentucky, Texas, and California, she said. LPE provides free programs that celebrate the therapeutic benefits of... Read More

If it’s October, that means it’s time again for “The Rocky Horror Show” at the Circa ’21 Speakeasy, 1818 3rd Ave., which opens Friday night. While Covid-19 has thrown an unwelcome wrench in how theaters have reopened, the show is going on as faithfully as possible – including the same director, music director, choreographer, and some cast for three straight years. “We are thrilled to be presenting ‘Rocky Horror’ in The Speakeasy again this year,” said Brett Hitchcock, director of audience development, noting this is the fifth year the edgy venue next to Circa has produced... Read More

DAVENPORT — A 138-year-old play by the Norwegian master Henrik Ibsen holds painfully relevant lessons for our chaotic 2020 political climate. In a 2019 adaptation of “An Enemy of the People,” a battle between public health concerns and economic prosperity plays out in the public sphere between concerned citizens and leaders of the local government. The unique radio-play production, by the St. Ambrose University Theatre Department, will be presented this weekend and next on KALA 88.5 FM and online HERE. The new adaptation was written by Tom Isbell, a theater professor at University of... Read More

Fifty years ago, a Muscatine native was inspired by a St. Ambrose University professor who could make geography really come alive first thing in the morning. That 1971 SAU alumnus, John L. Butler, announced Wednesday that he would give $2.5 million to the private university to permanently endow and name an academic chair in the SAU History Department in honor of that professor, Agnes C. Renner. Butler, who graduated summa cum laude with a degree in history, went on to receive a Master of Arts degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He was on the original... Read More

In a virtual 4th birthday celebration, Tuesday, Sept. 29, Lead(h)er shared stories from across its 300-plus matches of female mentors and mentees, highlighted successes, and announced the 2020 Girl on Fire Award winners. The awards honor Mentor of the Year and Mentee of the Year — amazing women nominated by their peers who show exceptional commitment. Lead(h)er offers free mentorship to young professionals, free networking, guest speakers and professional development, as well as an inspirational spark to serve their community. All day Tuesday, on the organization’s Facebook page, they celebrated... Read More

Don’t expect live concerts back at Davenport’s Redstone Room until next summer. And don’t expect the staff and volunteers at the 16-year-old River Music Experience to sit on their hands until then, either. Even though indoor live music has returned to some bars across the Quad-Cities, theater to Circa ’21 and The Speakeasy in Rock Island, and the Black Box and Spotlight theaters in Moline, and the Quad City Symphony returns this weekend to the Adler in Davenport, RME executive director Tyson Danner doesn’t expect live shows back in the Redstone Room (at 2nd and Main streets in Davenport)... Read More

At a time when the national travel and tourism industry has been reeling from the Covid pandemic, Visit Quad Cities is launching a new weekly radio show to air on WOC 1420 AM on Saturdays at 10 a.m., beginning Oct. 3. The half-hour show (called QC Current, based on the Mississippi River and current events) will tell the untold stories of this “must-experience riverfront destination,” according to a Tuesday release from the destination management group. Through in-depth interviews with Quad Citizens – starting with VQC president/CEO Dave Herrell — listeners will learn more about little-known... Read More