Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Two days after Broadway theaters shut down last March, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse held the last performance of the colorful, high-energy “Kinky Boots,” on March 14, 2020. It would be the last mainstage musical there until next week’s “Church Basement Ladies in You Smell Barn” – opening in previews Wednesday, March 17. It’s been a long, frustrating road, with... Read More

It definitely takes a village to raise your spirits. For this unusual Valentine’s season of love, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse has organized a special musical theater love letter – marrying several Quad-Cities venues to produce the video compilation, “Let’s Fall in Love.” A virtual celebration of love and the arts, the 75-minute program will debut Saturday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m., featuring performers not only from Circa, but the Black Box Theatre, Center for Living Arts, Countryside Community Theatre, Davenport Junior Theatre, Double Threat Studios, Mississippi Bend Players/Augustana, QC... 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

Circa ‘21’s “Shear Madness” is “sheerly” hilarious, a wild, raucous romp that lives up to its name. With a terrifically talented cast that exudes a goofy sense of fun every moment they’re onstage, it’s a must-see for anyone looking for a funny night out. As the longest-running non-musical theatrical production worldwide, the snappy show has been cutting up audiences for decades around the globe, including Circa, and for good reason, it’s a wonderful showcase for talented improvisational performers while retaining the outline of an entertaining premise that promises laughs. “Shear,”... Read More

You won’t knock this wood — for its first family musical of the 2018-19 season, the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse brings a beloved fairytale figure and his many friends and foes to life in the family treat PINOCCHIO. Running through December 29, this enchanting tale of a wooden puppet who longs to be a real live boy will charm audiences of all ages with its wonderful score, hilarious antics, and memorable characters, and is being brought to life by a fantastic cast of professional talents. Circa ’21 will present show-only performances of PINOCCHIO on November 24 and... Read More

One of America’s most popular children’s-book and comic-strip characters is set to come to life in a brand-new way, as the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse stages the area premiere of the family comedy BIG NATE: THE MUSICAL. Running through May 13, this charming, hilarious treat based on writer/illustrator Lincoln Peirce’s beloved creation is filled with songs and spirit, and boasts a sensational cast of professional talents. Circa ’21 will present BIG NATE: THE MUSICAL on scheduled Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings and afternoons through May 13. Morning performances,... Read More

Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse is pleased to announce auditions for their Spring 2017 children’s musical, Big Nate, The Musical. This new musical is based on the popular character created by Lincoln Pierce and will be a Quad Cities premier. Following a recent production in Washington, D.C., the critic from DC Theatre Scene noted that [Big Nate] is “bursting with energy and fun music, great lyrics and true to life comic strip characters. Big Nate, based on the familiar comic strip, is a rocking fresh bundle of raucous fun.” Auditions will be held Sunday, March 12th at 10 a.m. at the... Read More

It’s not often I say a performer steals a show in an ensemble piece, but I feel confident in saying that Tom Walljasper definitely steals the show in “Shear Madness.” Walljasper is so flamboyant and over-the-top funny, grabbing every scene he’s in with some brazen move or line, that it’s impossible to ignore him, not that you’d want to. “Shear” is a very funny, entertaining show. It was on the night I saw it. On the night you see it, it might be even funnier. I say that because it changes from night to night. Not just in the nuances, but in the big strokes. “Shear” is a malleable... Read More