Kinky Boots Through March 14 Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, 1726 3rd Ave., Rock Island (309) 786-7733, ext. 2 www.circa21.com   We’re barely past two weeks into 2020 and already we’ve got a strong contender for best show of the year. Circa ‘21’s “Kinky Boots” is indeed that good, a fantastic staging of a fabulous show, featuring a number of touching, buoyant moments, wonderful performances and terrific material. It’s such a magical, uplifting evening of entertainment, one of pure joy and spirit, with a positive message that doesn’t feel preachy, but rather, common sense. Wonderfully... Read More

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has almost arrived! That’s right, Kinky Boots is back in the Quad Cities! Preview Performances of six-time Tony Award Winner, Kinky Boots, will take place Wednesday Jan 15 and Thursday Jan 16 at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 3rd Avenue Rock Island. The show will then continue through Saturday Mar 14. With songs by Grammy® and Tony® winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, this joyous musical celebration is about the friendships we discover, and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind. Inspired by true events, KINKY BOOTS takes you... Read More

The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline will open their fourth season with “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” a play by Celeste Raspanti. “We chose to do the play in honor of Holocaust Remembrance” said director and co-founder of the theatre, Lora Adams. The piece is an inspiring story that shows how art can be used in times of tragedy and is centered around Raja, a Czech teenager forced into Terezin, a Jewish ghetto. The camp was a stopping point before being sent to the death camps, particularly Auschwitz. Fifteen thousand children under the age of fifteen passed through Terezin. Less... Read More

Oliver Twist, Lionel Bart’s classic musical based on Charles Dickens’ novel, is coming to the Quad Cities! And you could be a part of this unforgettable performance! Auditions for Oliver Twist will take place at The Spotlight Theatre (1800 7th Avenue Moline) this Saturday Jan 11 from 2 – 4 p.m. or Sunday Jan 12 from 12 – 2 p.m. Callbacks will take place on Sunday Jan 12 at 2 p.m. The streets of Victorian England come to life as Oliver, a malnourished orphan in a workhouse, becomes the neglected apprentice of an undertaker. Oliver escapes to London and finds acceptance amongst a... Read More

Bandstand, the inspiring new American musical that explodes with infectious music and high-octane, heart-stopping dancing, makes it way to the Adler Theatre (136 E 3rd Street Davenport) on Monday Dec 16 at 7:30 p.m. It’s 1945, and six soldiers return from war to a changed nation. When NBC announces a national competition to find the nation’s next great musical superstars, they form a band unlike any the nation has ever seen. Along the way, they discover the power of music to face the impossible, find their voice, and finally feel like they have a place to call home. Get TICKETS here at TICKETMASTER.COM... Read More

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Quad Cities! Catch a performance of Miracle on 34th Street at The Spotlight Theatre (1800 7th Avenue Moline) this holiday season! A holiday classic from the writer of the classic, “The Music Man!”, and based on the movie of the same name, Miracle on 34th Street features a book and score by none other than Meredith Willson. Single mother, Doris Walker, doesn’t want her six-year-old Susan’s head filled with romantic notions. Their neighbor, Fred Gailey, tries to woo Doris by charming Susan and taking her to see Santa Claus... Read More

For the theatre’s first family musical of the 2019-20 season, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse brings a famous yuletide figure and many other Charles Dickens’ characters to life in the area premiere of MR. SCROOGE: A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS CAROL. Running Nov. 29 through Dec. 28, this family-friendly adaptation of Dickens’ holiday classic A Christmas Carol boasts a wonderful score and an enchanting story and is being brought to life by a sensational cast of professional talents. Circa ’21 will present show-only performances of MR. SCROOGE: A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS CAROL on Nov. 30... Read More

Experience Christmas Wonderland’s pure holiday magic – with enough fun and festive cheer to power all the Christmas lights in town! Christmas Wonderland Holiday Spectacular comes to the Adler Theatre (136 E 3rd Street Davenport) on Friday Nov 29 at 7:30 p.m. This show is quite simply one of the most delightful and enchanting Christmas shows ever, featuring glittering costumes, a dazzling cast and the highest kicking chorus girls this side of the North Pole. Start Christmas in style as Santa and his merry helpers take you on an unforgettable nostalgic journey. Tickets ($40.50, $50.50 and $63)... Read More

Circa ‘21’s “Elf” is a cute, fun holiday concoction, and was eaten up and greeted with smiles like Christmas cookies the night I saw it. With a fun live take on the blockbuster holiday film, a fantastic cast, wonderful sets and costumes and a terrific star giving it the perfect tone of goofiness and levity, it’s excellent holiday fare. There are flaws to the show, to be sure, but “Elf” is like winter’s first snowflake – you greet it with a smile, it reminds you of Christmas cheer, and you don’t want to put too much thought into it or it’ll ruin the moment. Sure, there are... Read More

Familiarity may breed contempt, but it also breeds humor, especially with the addition of perspective, and you’ll find each element of this formula in “Loser’s Bracket,” the latest show at Moline’s Black Box Theatre. It’s always great to see original works on the local stage, all the better when those works are of a quality to deserve that spot, and “Bracket,” by area playwright Clay Sander, certainly fits that description. The play’s strength is its dialogue and character, both of which ring clear and true to small-and-midsized towns and the long-standing and sometimes strained... Read More