If there was a labor of love – after a devastating last 14 months – it is Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse’s new production, “Beehive: The ‘60s Musical,” which opens in previews Wednesday night. Running through July 10, this infectiously entertaining salute to female pop, rock and soul singers was praised by DC Metro Theater Arts as “a big-hearted, well-accomplished, utterly tuneful joy.” A colorful flashback to the fabulous females who unmistakably left their mark on 1960s pop music, and a spectacle that matches big voices with big hairdos, “Beehive” features nonstop hits from... Read More

When your dreams disappear, sometimes you’ve got to create your own. That seems to be the inspiring, organizing principle behind Mockingbird on Main, a planned theater/cabaret space taking shape at 320 Main St., Davenport. “New Beginnings” – a tantalizing teaser online cabaret – was released this past weekend to give us a glimpse behind that dream, led by Quad-Cities actor Tristan Tapscott and his girlfriend, Savannah Bay Strandin. Fittingly, they close out the wonderfully entertaining 76-minte video by singing “A Million Dreams” (from “The Greatest Showman”) and sharing scenes... Read More

Circa ‘21’s “Elf” is a cute, fun holiday concoction, and was eaten up and greeted with smiles like Christmas cookies the night I saw it. With a fun live take on the blockbuster holiday film, a fantastic cast, wonderful sets and costumes and a terrific star giving it the perfect tone of goofiness and levity, it’s excellent holiday fare. There are flaws to the show, to be sure, but “Elf” is like winter’s first snowflake – you greet it with a smile, it reminds you of Christmas cheer, and you don’t want to put too much thought into it or it’ll ruin the moment. Sure, there are... Read More

What a brilliant programming decision by Denny Hitchcock and the Circa ’21 brass to bring in “Mamma Mia” at this point, right before the sequel is about to hit theaters and just as summer is reaching its peak, because “Mamma Mia” is an absolutely perfect summer show. It’s fun, it’s light, it’s fizzy and it’s goofily colorful. Based on and buttressed by a succession of songs by the Swedish supergroup ABBA, “Mamma Mia” tells the story of Sophie (Courtney Groves), a 20-year-old on the cusp of getting married, with one usual request couched in an unusual predicament – she wants... Read More