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

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

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

That sweet transvestite and his motley crew are back doing the time warp this October! The Rocky Horror Show returns to The Circa 21 Speakeasy (1818 3rd Avenue Rock Island) this Saturday Oct 3. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. On the way to visit an old college professor, two clean cut kids, Brad Majors and his fiancée Janet Weiss, get caught in a storm and end up at the home of a mad transvestite scientist, Dr Frank’n’furter, who is in the midst of one of his maniacal experiments! WARNING: The Rocky Horror Show is not recommended for the easily offended. This show... Read More

The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline presents “Three Viewings” by Jeffrey Hatcher, opening on Thursday, September 24. “We decided to visit Jeffrey Hatcher again,” said co-founder Lora Adams. The Black Box opened the theatre four years ago with “Murderers” by Hatcher and recently produced “Turn of the Screw.” “Looking for pieces that allow us to follow safety protocols for both our actors and audience has taken some thinking and once again, Jeffrey Hatcher has provided the answer,” said Adams. “Like ‘Murderers’ this is a tryptic of monologues and they are both hilarious... Read More

David Burke is the former Entertainment Editor for the Quad City Times, and generously offered to review ‘Lonely Planet’ for Anthony Natarelli, and allow us to publish his review as an Arts And Entertainment Correspondent for QuadCities.com. You can check out his most recent work as an arts writer for the Wichita Eagle here. My seat for the theater was my comfy recliner in Kansas. The proscenium was the size of my Kindle. Theater, like many other aspects of life in 2020, is slowly emerging from its pandemic-contained cocoon. It’s forced those who already creative in their vocation... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a comprehensive, in-depth look at a personality, issue, or trend in the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene, running every Saturday morning on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. For many high schools and colleges throughout the Quad-Cities, the show must go on – even during a crippling global pandemic that’s turned education upside down. With schools taking differing approaches to in-person and online instruction, each also is taking individual, thoughtfully considered approaches to continuing with their music and theater... Read More

With so many people working from home and so many artists left to scramble during this interminable pandemic, it makes perfect sense that Rock Island-based actor Anthony Natarelli would do a play from home. Presented under his three-year-old $1 Producer Project, the irrepressible 26-year-old is offering the haunting, elegiac “Lonely Planet” (1993) by Steven Dietz, from his apartment above the Circa ’21 Speakeasy, livestreamed in three performances this weekend. The play’s content is also depressingly appropriate for our times. And though Natarelli has directed and co-stars in the intimate... Read More

Wow! Who could’ve seen this coming? Theresa Caputo Live! The Experience, previously scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at the Adler Theatre, has been rescheduled to Sunday, May 16, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. No action is required at this time. Previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date on Sunday, May 16, 2021. Patrons requesting a refund will need to contact the original point of purchase. Due to the unprecedented volume of postponements and cancellations, please expect to receive a refund in as soon as 30 days. For questions concerning tickets, please call the Adler Theatre... Read More