Mockingbird on Main, a planned theater/cabaret space taking shape at 320 Main St., Davenport, is debuting with an online cabaret! “New Beginnings” – a tantalizing teaser online cabaret – is led by Quad-Cities actor Tristan Tapscott and his girlfriend, Savannah Bay Strandin. “The Mockingbird is committed to supporting artists and providing a space for them to create,” its social media says. “We will produce projects as creators bring them to us.” A frequent actor and director in the area, Tapscott co-founded his own company in 2008 — Harrison Hilltop Theatre at 1601 Harrison St.,... 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! Quad-Cities artists and audiences alike are hungry to return to live, indoor, in-person shows, and the Adler Theatre Foundation is filling the need – a varied series of six performances over six weeks, starting May 8. Rick Palmer, executive of the Adler and RiverCenter, said Thursday that they not only wanted to bring in national touring artists, but give local performers... Read More

Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, Rock Island, is seeking online submissions to fill open roles for their long-awaited summer production of “Saturday Night Fever.” The highly anticipated musical was in dress rehearsals when the theater at 1828 3rd Ave., Rock Island, had to shut down March 16, 2020, because of Covid-19. The musical has been rescheduled for summer 2021. Production dates, including rehearsal, for the stage adaptation of the hit 1977 John Travolta movie musical, are July 1 – Sept. 11, 2021. The directorial team for this musical featuring the hits of the Bee Gees are director/choreographer... Read More

The Adler Theatre Foundation is thrilled to present an eclectic series of performances at the Adler Theatre featuring celebrated national touring artists and incredible local performers. Reserved seat tickets to the 2021 Adler Theatre Foundation Series will go on-sale this Friday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. in person at the Adler Theatre Box Office (136 E. 3rd St.) and online at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets to these socially-distanced events will be sold in pods. Guests must purchase all tickets in a selected pod. A face covering is required unless you are actively eating or drinking. Adler Theatre representatives... Read More

The Spotlight Theatre, 1800 7th Ave., Moline, will present the popular musicals “Little Shop of Horrors” (Sept. 24 – Oct. 3) and “The Sound of Music” (Dec. 3 – 12) to round out a strange, abbreviated 2021 season. Fifteen months after staging its last mainstage musical (“The Wedding Singer”),  the Spotlight will return June 4 to open a new production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” for six performances over two weekends. Directed by Brent Tubbs and music directed by Mason Moss, the show cast will feature: Charlie Brown: Noah Hill Snoopy: Ian Sodawasser Schroeder: Adam... Read More

It’s been two years since Bettendorf High School staged its last musical. A year after it was forced to cancel the planned “Shrek,” on Thursday night (April 15) it opens the Quad-Cities premiere of “Bright Star,” a musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. The show will be performed in person, with limited capacity at the BHS Performing Arts Center, 3333 18th St., and it will be livestreamed online — 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday. All tickets must be purchased at bhspac.booktix.com, $10 for the in-person show and $20 per device for online. With a cast... Read More

Augustana College is offering a virtual performance of the children’s play “Dragons Love Tacos,” directed by Jackie McCall, on Saturday, April 17. Based on the popular children’s book, this colorful, dance filled romp is equal parts silly and sensational; all the ingredients you need to whip up a fantastic time for the whole family. “We hope our audience members, young and old, will recognize parts from Adam Rubin’s well-known children’s book and fall in love with playwright Ernie Nolan’s wacky new additions to the story.” McCall said in a recent release. The performance... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Ave., Moline, will hold auditions April 17-18 at the Barn Theatre for “Princeton’s Rage,” an original work by local playwright Don Faust, Davenport. The cast calls for three men (ages 30s-50s) and one woman (20s). In the play, Princeton Yale left his hometown of Chicago over 30 years ago, he turned his back on an abusive past at the hands of his high school classmates and never looked back. But through a series of happenstances, Princeton’s past comes to pay him a visit, in the form of one of his former tormentors, Reece “Rage” Johnson,... Read More

When your dreams disappear, sometimes you’ve got to create your own. That seems to be the inspiring, organizing principle behind Mockingbird on Main, a planned theater/cabaret space taking shape at 320 Main St., Davenport. “New Beginnings” – a tantalizing teaser online cabaret – was released this past weekend to give us a glimpse behind that dream, led by Quad-Cities actor Tristan Tapscott and his girlfriend, Savannah Bay Strandin. Fittingly, they close out the wonderfully entertaining 76-minte video by singing “A Million Dreams” (from “The Greatest Showman”) and sharing scenes... Read More

EXCLUSIVE: A new theater experience, The Mockingbird On Main is coming to 320 N. Main St., in downtown Davenport! The new performance venue will kick off its existence with NEW BEGINNINGS, a virtual cabaret, on Saturday, April 10 at 7 p.m. This virtual cabaret will feature well known performers from the Quad Cities and performers from across the United States. Tune in to find out the who, the what, the when and the where and hear some of the finest performers from across the country. Here are the details: NEW BEGINNINGS A Virtual Cabaret Saturday, April 10 – 7pm On Facebook – Follow... Read More