The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline will open the dramedy “I and You” by Laura Gunderson on July 15. The plot: One afternoon, Anthony (Michael Alexander) arrives unexpectedly at classmate Caroline’s (Adrienne Jane) door bearing a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, an urgent assignment from their English teacher. Homebound due to illness, Caroline hasn’t been to school in months, but she is as quick and sardonic as Anthony is athletic, sensitive, and popular. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, this seemingly mundane poetry project... Read More

Davenport Junior Theatre (DJT) will be celebrating its 70th season of theater “for kids, by kids” with a four-show Mainstage season consisting of two DJT classics, Winnie-the-Pooh and Imagine That!, and two first-time shows: Annie Jr. and The Phantom Tollbooth. All shows will be free to audience members. “Coming out of the pandemic into our 70th season makes the cause for celebration even more special,” says Ben Gougeon, DJT’s artistic director. “We wanted to honor our history while also looking forward to DJT’s future. During last year’s ‘pause’ on live theatre, we also envisioned... Read More

A Western Illinois University junior music education major is transitioning the lessons from her academic experience into leading a children’s theatre production. “The Odd Kingdom” was written by and is being directed by Racquel Rawlins, of Beardstown. Rawlins said the park district’s program director asked her to stage a children’s production this summer because of her experience leading a choir for young girls in the area. “I had directed shows previously to raise money for the opera house,” she said. The show, which includes 14 area children ranging... Read More

Sydney Chatman and Jalyn Greene know what it’s like to teach theater to minority, inner-city students. So the African-American women are a natural pair to direct and act, respectively, the one-woman show “No Child…,” which is the last Mississippi Bend Players production this summer. It runs through Sunday at Augustana College’s Brunner Theatre Center, 3750 7th Ave., Rock Island. “No Child…” (written and premiered in 2006 by Nilaja Sun) follows the story of Miss Sun, a visiting teacher who uses theatre as a means of connecting with students in the New York City public school system.... Read More

Anthony Jade Natarelli is moving to Los Angeles, but before he does, the longtime theater performer and local comedian is Burning Bridges tonight at Skellington Manor, 420 18th St., Rock Island. Natarelli will be holding a comedy roast, Burning Bridges, at 9 p.m. tonight at Skellington. Come on out and watch one of the most unique talents in the Quad-Cities over the past decade get a fun, good-natured roasting and send off for his trip to L.A. Tickets available at showtix4u.com/events/onedollarproducer  Read More

QuadCities.com apologizes for the previous version of this review which had a few glitches in it due to a technical error in translating the text between systems. The error has been fixed and here is the review in its entirety. Thank you. Mississippi Bend has managed to go three-for-three this season with stellar productions of Red and Mary and Ethel: How I Learned to Sing preceding the incredible No Child…, which debuted this weekend. It’s hard to put into words what Jalyn Greene accomplishes in Mississippi Bend’s latest triumph, No Child… In the span of 65 minutes, Greene successfully... Read More

A truly unique show — each time it’s performed — “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” is being performed tonight at 8 p.m. at Skellington Manor, 420 18th St., Rock Island. The format is definitely distinct. No rehearsals. No director. No set. A different actor reads the script cold for the first time at each performance. What’s it about? Here’s a synopsis: “I was born on Azar 19th, 1360 in Tehran. That’s Tehran, December 10th, 1981 in Christian years…” Forbidden to leave his country, playwright Nassim Soleimanpour distilled the experience of an entire generation... Read More

For someone like me, who hadn’t seen a big musical with a big cast – live and in person – in 18 months, getting back to Quad City Music Guild Thursday night for the last dress rehearsal of the new “Mamma Mia!” (after nabbing next to the last spot in the parking lot) was a terrific treat. My son Josh and I wore masks and sat in the back row – but every one of the 535 seats in the Prospect Park theater is great, because you’re at Music Guild, seeing immensely talented people pursuing their passion: putting on the best possible entertainment and faithfully reflecting some of the greatest... Read More

The Adler Theatre and Nederlander National Markets are thrilled to announce the return of Broadway to the Quad Cities with our 2021-2022 Broadway at the Adler Theatre season presented by Smart Lexus of Quad Cities. The season features the Tony® Award and Pulitzer Prize®-winning musical RENT, the concert style theatrical event The Simon & Garfunkel Story, the newly staged production of the Tony® Award-winning Fiddler on the Roof, the record-breaking musical spectacular CATS, and the Tony® and Grammy® Award winning Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. “While we’ve safely presented a limited... Read More

Looking for something to do this weekend? Listen to your weekly Weekend in 2 Minutes podcast! Every Thursday on QuadCities.com we feature a short podcast with a quick rundown of things for you to check out over the coming weekend. John Deere Classic returns, and so does the Walcott Truckers Jamboree, and there’s a number of outdoor concerts, events, shows, art gallery exhibitions and more and you can hear all about them in your Weekend in 2 Minutes! Click here to listen!  Read More