It was extremely gratifying to see a nearly sold-out crowd Saturday, Jan. 31 in the 60-seat Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline for an exciting event – the world premiere of “What Might Have Been,” a trio of brand-new, emotional, engrossing one-act plays by prolific local playwright Alexander Richardson. These heart-wrenching stories explore the roads […]
It’s hard not to like “Lucky Stiff,” the fun, fizzy musical farce now playing at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, Rock Island, in its Quad Cities premiere. In dark, depressing, heavy times like this (in an Arctic winter), this 1988 show by acclaimed Broadway veterans Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (“Ragtime,” “Anastasia,” “Once on This Island” […]
I’m sure it was purely coincidental, but it was illuminating to see two Moline theatrical productions about a strict father with a big brood of kids within about a month of each other. As soon as Joe Urbaitis (who played another proud, frustrated Papa in 2024’s “Fiddler on the Roof” at Music Guild) blew his […]
The best performing arts not only offer us incandescent talent from those who share their dazzling gifts with us, but a welcome, necessary, tidy distraction from the chaos, craziness and cruelties of the real world. When you step into the magical fairy-tale world of the stunning new production of Spotlight Theatre’s “Cinderella,” the contrast could […]
Long before the acclaimed black comedy-drama “Succession” ruled prestige TV (on HBO 2018-23), two other intense royal power struggles ruled stages and screens – Shakespeare’s “King Lear” (1606) and James Goldman’s “The Lion in Winter” (1966). Logan Roy (the scarily intimidating Brian Cox) of “Succession” wasn’t an actual king, but a media king, utterly ruthless, […]
Richmond Hill Players’ final play for the 2025 season is a true holiday treat, in every sense of the word. “A Sherlock Carol” — a comedy/mystery by Mark Shanahan – is a supremely clever, well-crafted, smart, meticulous and affectionate tribute to two of the most famous literary characters ever: both haunted men of Victorian England, […]
Twenty-one years after it was last done at Quad City Music Guild (as well as 11 years after Circa ’21 and four years after Spotlight Theatre), the treasured warhorse, “The Sound of Music” makes a triumphant return to the Prospect Park stage in Moline. Performed with immense pride, care, compassion and full-throated enthusiasm by a […]
Classic entertainment is classic for a reason, and freshly tugs at our heartstrings every time, even though we may know every musical note, or spoken line. This time-tested formula is not guaranteed, for nostalgia only works when you have performers who have the professionalism, poise and polish to turn familiar pieces (both timeless and unforgettable) […]
“The show must go on” has never been more urgent than during this haunted month of October, when two Moline theaters were forced to replace female leads just days before opening night, due to health issues. First, at the start of the month, it was Sara Wegener, who stunningly stepped into the role of Elizabeth […]
The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline deserves all the praises in the world for presenting another spot-on Quad Cities premiere, “The Thanksgiving Play” by Larissa FastHorse. But if the Native American playwright aimed to present the long-misunderstood or ignored perspective of Indigenous peoples in this beloved American holiday, this ridiculous satire – which mercilessly […]
