Charlotte Boyer, a 17-year-old junior at Rock Island High School, will be featured as one of the contestants in Season 20 of NBC’s “The Voice” singing competition, which begins airing Monday, March 1, at 7 p.m. “It was a very long process and I was lucky to even be a part of it all,” Charlotte said this week of her auditions in October in Los Angeles. “I’m not sure what the number was, but there were a lot of auditions, a lot of people that did try out. I was one of the few that got lucky.” “My mom submitted a video of me to the website and I guess someone found it, and I was... Read More

After a fairly hellish 2020, Shelley Cooper is back in musical heaven as the first half of 2021 is shaping up to be very busy and fulfilling. The enthusiastic Augustana College assistant professor of theater arts recently filmed two special performances for Circa ’21; she’s directing a new college production of “Into the Woods” this month; choreographing the next Circa mainstage show in March, and directing the Circa musical after that; performing a one-woman original show at the Black Box Theatre in late March, and then going to Orlando, Fla., to do the same show by June. Plus, you know,... Read More

And now, here’s a survey that certainly would’ve been tipped heavily if the Yankee Clipper was still open and hadn’t been turned into condos. A new rundown of the Most Sinful States In The U.S. has been released by WalletHub, and given that the Quad-Cities straddles both Illinois and Iowa, we’re doubly impacted by the results. As it turns out, each of the 50 states has its own virtues and vices. Some of them involving Furries (ahem, South Dakota… Yeti fetish, much?). For example, Missouri has the worst drug use problem. And it certainly comes as no surprise that Nevada... Read More

A wise man (lyricist Hal David) once wrote “What the World Needs Now is Love.” Man, do we need it now more than ever, and you can certainly get your affectionate fix in the new Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse Valentine cabaret, “Let’s Fall in Love.” Valentine’s Day is technically over — but really, who doesn’t need love every day?? And the 90-minute, slick, sweet and super heartfelt video compilation will be available online through noon on Monday, Feb. 22. I loved, loved, loved it. It features the talents (including cute interviews of couples) of many performers not only from... Read More

The brave new world of streaming theater seems to be cursed for Rock Island’s Augustana College. First last August, they had a derecho sweep through the area, forcing postponement of a Zoom reading of “For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday.” In the fall, the college had a transformer next to Centennial Hall catch on fire, knocking out power and internet moments before “Doctor Faustus” was supposed to start streaming. And now, on Feb. 12, a nationwide technical glitch caused the online Showtix4U platform to stop working for tens of thousands of customers — including all of Augustana... Read More

Want to order food out tonight for Valentine’s Day? Check out our awesome listing of area restaurants offering carry-out, drive-through and pickup options! QuadCities.com offers you a list of local restaurants, bars and cafes that serve up a number of your favorite dishes. If you have information about a businesses not listed here, please feel free to send a quick email to eat@quadcities.com. Quad City Pizza Company 2724 Avenue of the Cities Moline            (309) 797-5600 Will be offering Carry Out & Delivery (expanded temporarily to Moline, East Moline, Silvis, Rock Island... Read More

Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 3rd Ave., Rock Island, is seeking video online submissions to cast an upcoming show, “Beehive: The ‘60s Musical,” to open in May. “Beehive” (which was performed by Quad City Music Guild in spring 2007) is a fun, frothy flashback to the fabulous females who unmistakably left their mark on 1960s pop music, matching big voices with big hairdos — from the early decade bubble-gum classics to the explosive late ‘60s soul sound, according to Circa. From The Supremes and Connie Francis to Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin, “Beehive” is a wailing musical... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: A Rock Island person is the first to be infected with the new, more deadly strain of the South African COVID-19 variant Thursday, Illinois Department of Public Health officials announced tonight. The variant B.1.351, was found in a Rock Island resident, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. It’s not yet known how the person contracted the disease. “We expected to see more cases of variants detected in Illinois, including the B.1.351 strain,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike in a release. “These variants seem to spread more rapidly, which can lead... Read More

It definitely takes a village to raise your spirits. For this unusual Valentine’s season of love, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse has organized a special musical theater love letter – marrying several Quad-Cities venues to produce the video compilation, “Let’s Fall in Love.” A virtual celebration of love and the arts, the 75-minute program will debut Saturday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m., featuring performers not only from Circa, but the Black Box Theatre, Center for Living Arts, Countryside Community Theatre, Davenport Junior Theatre, Double Threat Studios, Mississippi Bend Players/Augustana, QC... Read More

Are you ready to fall in love? Will you be our Valentine? Quad City theatres have joined together to offer a streaming Valentine’s show like no other. Join us for romantic songs, swoon-worthy dance numbers, and true love stories! Make it a date: streaming starts February 13 at 5pm and ends February 21st. Get your tickets now at showtix4u.com/events/circa21. Your love will be spread far and wide, as all tickets and donations for this event will be shared among the participating Quad Cities theatres. Let’s do it, let’s fall in love!  Read More