Halloween apparently has come early at Moline’s Playcrafters Barn Theatre, with the dark and disturbing “Murder by Poe,” by Jeffrey Hatcher, an impressive directing debut by local theater veteran Pam Cantrell. In her director’s note in the program, Cantrell establishes her bona fides as a fan of the master horror writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), […]
Aside from being familiar with the earworm “Let It Go,” and admirer of much of the leading voice cast of the Disney animated blockbuster “Frozen,” I came into Sunday’s Spotlight Theatre production of the 2018 stage musical knowing very little about the show. As a friend of mine also in the nearly sold-out audience (in […]
You really don’t need to be a Harry Potter buff to enjoy the supremely silly new production of “Puffs,” now at The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline. The rambunctious, enthusiastic cast gives the word “madcap” whole new meaning. With “Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic,” which also was […]
The relatable, sympathetic world of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is kind of like a school “island of misfit toys.” As someone who felt out of place and awkward throughout my pre-teen and teen years (some things don’t change), I could totally identify with the quirky, awkward group of six students who in […]
A kind of theater All-Star Game for the Quad Cities will be on display the next two weekends, with a new Quad-City Music Guild production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at Prospect Park, 1584 34th Ave., Moline. Performances will be Aug. 7-9, and 13-16, 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and […]
When you have intellectual property as famous and beloved as “The Wizard of Oz,” it can be a heavy lift in more ways than one to live up to tremendous audience expectations. But a flawless new production at Circa ’21 in Rock Island more than rises to the challenge – thoroughly entertaining, satisfying and makes […]
Over 400 years ago, it was standard practice in William Shakespeare’s time for boys and men to play all the roles (female and male) in his plays. For the first time in the 70-year-history of Genesius Guild, the current production puts that old tradition on stage, for one of the Bard’s most famous female roles, in […]
Last month, I had an old friend from my Dispatch/Argus days email me a review I did in 2018 of Quad City Music Guild’s “Shrek the Musical,” and its headline could easily apply to the current Guild show, “The SpongeBob Musical”: “Colorful, entertaining ‘Shrek’ is a blast and a lesson.” Both based on iconic animated […]
Six days after America celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding on July 4, The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline honored the country again in a deeply meaningful way again, opening the area premiere of “Grandma Gatewood Took a Walk,” by Catherine Bush. In its 10th season, the BBT again presents a Quad Cities […]
One of the many reasons Genesius Guild is a priceless cultural jewel in the Quad Cities is its verdant, pastoral setting. Lincoln Park (1120 40th St., Rock Island) was created in 1909, commemorating Abraham Lincoln’s centennial birthday, and the 22.75-acre woodland site was selected for its grandeur and views overlooking the Mississippi River valley. The […]
