Happiness is…opening your first main show in over a year; starting a new jazz duo in a new intimate bar, planning for your first musical in far too long, and a new film series in the soaring theater space… The super talented husband-and-wife pair of Sara and Brent Tubbs – who own Moline’s Spotlight Theatre are pretty giddy at their recent good fortune. Last month, Sara (a veteran singer and actress) brought her new jazz lounge act with pianist/singer Mason Moss to christen the opening of the new Blueprint Bar and Lounge, in a previously unused (and totally renovated) room off the Spotlight... Read More

After more than a year dealing with Covid shutdowns, some much needed laughter may be the best medicine after all. Thirteen months after its last mainstage production, Moline’s Spotlight Theatre is opening the madcap comedy, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]” on Friday, March 19, at 7 p.m. Performances – featuring Spotlight co-owner Brent Tubbs with Jeremy Mahr and Amelia Fischer – will be this weekend and next, with seating limited to 50 audience members at most in the 500-plus seat theater. The Spotlight, in the former Scottish Rite Cathedral at 1800 7th... Read More

In its first complete mainstage production in a whole year, the Spotlight Theatre, 1800 7th Ave., Moline, will perform the madcap “Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” on March 19 to March 28. “This abridged cast of Jeremy Mahr, Amelia Fischer, and Brent Tubbs are sure to give the audiences a much needed laugh,” the Spotlight posted on its Facebook page, noting its first full production was from the Reduced Shakespeare Company “abridged” repertoire in 2018, so “we thought this would be the perfect show to bring us back.” The rapid-fire Shakespeare riffs on all 37 of... Read More

The new year at the Spotlight Theatre, 1800 7th Ave., Moline, brings a new bar and a monthly jazz series starting this month to help spotlight it. The Jazz Lounge – which debuted briefly this past fall in the main theater as a Thursday series with pianist Mason Moss and singer Sara Tubbs – will relaunch on Feb. 20 in the new Blueprint Bar and Lounge, in a previously unused (and totally renovated) room off the Spotlight foyer. “They completely transformed it. It’s gorgeous,” Tubbs (Spotlight co-owner with husband Brent Tubbs) said Wednesday of building owners Adam Bain and Blake Humphrey,... Read More

To say it’s been a difficult year for creators in the local, and national, arts scene is a massive understatement. All of us have lost money, jobs, our careers and found our artistic outlets severely curtailed. Any of us within the live performance and audience interaction area — from live music to theater to book signings — have had our livelihoods completely decimated. One local creator, however, Kristin Bruchmann, is looking to help out. She told me recently, “I’ve been quite concerned about the number of folks in the Q-C arts scene who have lost their livelihoods... Read More

Many of us feel powerless during the relentless, unending onslaught of Covid-19, but Brent Tubbs is not taking it laying down. The co-owner of Moline’s Spotlight Theatre (with his wife Sara), Tubbs recently filmed and edited a special music video highlighting several Quad-Cities theaters – including his – that have been shuttered again due to the pandemic. Available at thespotlighttheatreqc.com, the three-minute video – set to the inspiring “From Now On” from “The Greatest Showman” — features many masked performers dancing outside local theaters. It is meant to be shared with... Read More

Make plans to experience the Spooky Spotlight Spectacular: A Halloween Cabaret, this Thursday Oct 29 and Friday Oct 30 at The Spotlight Theatre (1800 7th Avenue Moline). Doors open at 6 p.m. and the fun begins at 7 p.m. Featuring performances by local singers, this fun filled night of Spooky Songs will be the perfect night to get you into the mood of Halloween! Come in costume to be entered to win various prizes! Cost: $20 in advance / $25 at the door Bar and concession stand will be open! Seating is limited to 50 people and masks must be worn upon enter. Visit https://www.thespotlighttheatreqc.com/... Read More

While the two-year-old Spotlight Theatre, 1800 7th Ave., Moline, continues to be closed to big productions during Covid, it also continues to shine a light on creative alternative programming. “As theaters and playhouses continue to close permanently around the country, we are determined to continue to provide new and innovative entertainment for you and remain present in our community,” the Spotlight said in a recent e-mail, announcing a new jazz lounge Thursday and film showing Friday. “In order for us to do that, it will also take a community dedicated to saving the arts in our rich and... Read More

Brent Tubbs is a seriously talented improv comedy veteran. A graduate of The Second City Conservatory in Los Angeles, he was a member of multiple improv and sketch comedy groups throughout L.A., has done improv in the Quad-Cities and was a member of Reduced Shakespeare Company, performing around the world. So needless to say, Brent and his seriously talented wife Sara (a musical theater veteran) know how to improvise and get creative. The co-owners of The Spotlight Theatre, 1800n 7th Ave., Moline, continue to come up with ways to entertain, enlighten and educate the Quad-Cities community – even... Read More

“The Wedding Singer” this past February was the last musical at the Spotlight Theatre, 1800 7th Ave., Moline. Because the Illinois phase 4 reopening guidelines limit indoor theaters to a maximum of 50 patrons, the young theater can’t present any more musicals this year, as it plans to reschedule the rest of its 2020 season for 2021. “We had in our minds, our big hope that it was going to be 50-percent capacity,” co-owner Brent Tubbs said Wednesday of the state announcement June 26. “That was just like a punch to the gut.” As Circa ’21 recently announced that it would remain closed... Read More