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

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

Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene. Many Quad City Music Guild (QCMG) board members haven’t acted on stage in more than a year, but they have been acting in the best interests of the community as they navigate the scary plot twists of a treacherous Covid landscape. Due to ongoing Covid safety protocols and continuing limitations on audience size, the QCMG board announced last month it would cancel the rescheduled April 2021 show. “The Secret Garden” was two weeks away... 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

Just 15 lucky audience members were able to see a new Augustana College theater production, per performance, late last month. That suspenseful, dramatic play – Andrew Bovell’s “Speaking in Tongues” – was filmed and will be shown online one night only, Friday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m. A summary of the four-actor play (in which each plays more than one role) says: “Nine parallel lives, four interlocked infidelities, one missing person, and a mysterious stiletto are all woven together in this electrifying psychological thriller.” Directed by Augie senior James Wheeler (in his directorial... Read More

In its first complete mainstage production in a whole year, the Spotlight Theatre, 1800 7th Ave., Moline, will perform the madcap “Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” on March 19 to March 28. “This abridged cast of Jeremy Mahr, Amelia Fischer, and Brent Tubbs are sure to give the audiences a much needed laugh,” the Spotlight posted on its Facebook page, noting its first full production was from the Reduced Shakespeare Company “abridged” repertoire in 2018, so “we thought this would be the perfect show to bring us back.” The rapid-fire Shakespeare riffs on all 37 of... Read More

At one point in the original bluegrass musical “Big Rock Candy Mountain,”the witchy, bitchy character Velda decries the Depression-era theater in which the story takes place as “frivolous nonsense.” Well, in the midst of what seems like a greater 21st-century Depression (see: Covid, unemployment, racial injustice, political division and endless quarantine), I think a little mindless, frivolous nonsense is just what we need right now. Filmed recently at the Circa ’21 Speakeasy (featuring eight mask-less cast members), the 2014 musical – affectionately written and directed by Tristan... Read More

On Friday, Feb. 5, the Geneseo-based Richmond Hill Players announced it will temporarily suspend the 2021 season due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. “We will continue to monitor the situation, and when it is safe to return to our theater, we will make a final determination on the 2021 season,” RHP president Jonathan Grafft posted on the theater’s Facebook page and website,  www.rhplayers.com. The theater – which began in 1968 in the top level of an old dairy barn – had scheduled “Becky’s New Car” for the first 2020 show that April, and canceled its entire 2020 season due to the... Read More