Cool Beanz Coffeehouse in Rock Island, a charming spot for students and people of all age in College Hill, is closing their indoor dining and hangout area due to covid-19’s spread and ensuing restrictions on businesses. The spot left the following note on their social media Monday: Dear Cool Beanz Coffeehouse community, With Covid case numbers continuing to climb in our area, we have made the difficult decision to suspend indoor dining beginning Monday November 2nd. We will continue to allow customers to come inside and place to go orders at our register (masked). Customers can also... Read More

The 1953 Samuel Beckett classic “Waiting for Godot” has had a long wait for its premiere Thursday at Moline’s Black Box Theatre. But it’s perfect for a pandemic-plagued 2020. Directed by local theater veteran Mike Schulz (an Augustana College alum), he started rehearsals in May, originally as a partnership between QC Theatre Workshop and Mississippi Bend Players. A plan to do the mainly two-person play outside at a pavilion behind Brunner Theatre Center was later shelved, and it’s now going up independently at the small Black Box with a maximum audience of 26 – masks are required –... Read More

The 23rd annual Frieze Lecture Series for the Rock Island Public Library takes a deeper look at our reaction to global crises, past and present, in a two-part series presented by Augustana College professors with expertise in history and public health. Free and open to the public, the 2020 Frieze Lectures are offered online at 2:00 pm on two Tuesdays in October 20 and 27. The 2020 series topics include: Tuesday, Oct 20: Why We Forgot the 1918 Flu: A Historian Looks at a Century of Pandemics. Dr. Lendol Calder, professor of history at Augustana College, will consider the global influenza pandemic... Read More

Haley DeGreve just graduated from Augustana College in May, but the Alleman High alum and Moline native already has become a national advocate in the fight for suicide prevention. On average, there are 132 suicides per day in the U.S., totaling 48,344 in 2018 (the most recent data available). The rates have been rising steadily since 2000 — by 35 percent overall, across most age groups. DeGreve is worried about future generations and what effect this catastrophic pandemic will have. In July, DeGreve was on the podcast of Kevin Hines, a leading suicide prevention activist, and she’ll be a keynote... Read More

Shelley Cooper grew up glued to the Golden Age of Broadway (roughly between 1930 and 1960), and many of those shining shows were ruled by two towering female talents – Mary Martin and Ethel Merman. The lives and songs of Martin (1913-1990) — vulnerable, dainty, and lovely – and Merman (1908-1984) — brassy, unapologetic, and bold, will be highlighted in a new one-woman show by Cooper, a 34-year-old musical theater professor at Augustana College. “Mary and Ethel: How I Learned to Sing” will include new medleys arranged by Quad-City music director, Mason Moss, in two shows at 7... Read More

As many theaters and musicians nationwide have moved performances online, the Mississippi Bend Players at Augustana College is salvaging part of its canceled summer season, by offering a virtual reading Friday, Aug. 21, of playwright Sarah Ruhl’s deeply personal “For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday.” (The performance originally was scheduled for Aug. 14, but was postponed after power outages this week. Tickets for the original date will be honored on Aug. 21. Patrons who are unable to attend on the new date, and who would like a refund, should contact the Ticket Office.) Filled with Quad-Cities... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a comprehensive, in-depth feature on a topic, trend or personality impacting the Quad-Cities, posted every Saturday morning on QuadCities.com. Nathan and Whitney Meyer are a bit like the plucky, cute orphans who are often protagonists of a Disney adventure. Nathan, a 34-year-old graduate of North Scott High School, Eldridge, and his wife (like most of us, isolated and home-bound) actually work for Walt Disney World and are accomplished, blazingly talented singers and actors. Despite the four theme parks in Orlando, Fla., reopening this past week, the Meyers remain out of... Read More

Just 13 months after famed aviator Charles Lindbergh visited the Quad-Cities, Charles Lindberg was born Sept. 11, 1928 in Rock Island. He received his bachelor’s degree from Augustana College, where he was debate team captain, in 1950. Charles and his younger brother Peter (a 1961 Augie alum) would profoundly influence the private Rock Island school for years to come, including a new $18-million center for health and human performance that’s now going up — to help prepare students for growing career fields. While site work for the 52,000-square-foot Peter J. Lindberg, M.D., Center for... Read More

Joining the chorus of Covid-related theater closings, Rock Island-based Genesius Guild on Tuesday afternoon announced it is canceling its planned 2020 season.  “This is a decision that none of us took lightly – we have not canceled a season since the Genesius Guild started in 1956 – but we feel that it is the right call,” the nonprofit posted on Facebook.  “This decision protects the health of our audience, our cast who would begin rehearsing together in the next month, and our crew, who would have needed to begin working in the upcoming weeks to get the stage ready for the season to... Read More

Theaters in the Quad-Cities and nationwide are canceling spring and summer shows, due to Covid-19. The latest response to the global pandemic is the Augustana College-based Mississippi Bend Players (MBP), which is shelving its 2020 season. Jackie McCall is in her first year as MBP producing artistic director, and this was to be the fourth season for the professional summer-stock company. It planned to start rehearsals for Neil Simon’s “Broadway Bound” June 7, with performances June 19-28 at Brunner Theatre Center, Rock Island. “When we just looked at ahead at what could happen,... Read More