Following suit with Governor JB Pritzker’s call for all restaurants and bars to shut their doors, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island is closing through March 31. Circa made the following announcement on their Facebook page today: CIRCA ’21 IS CLOSED THROUGH MARCH 31. Because of the state-mandated restrictions on restaurants & bars, Circa ’21 is closed for the next two weeks. We will call everyone who has tickets for March performances to reschedule. Please do not call the ticket office as phones will be off until Monday, March 23. We apologize for the inconvenience... Read More

“Hey, have you ever heard the one . . .” And that’s how it would usually begin. With a mischievous grin, a conspiratorial wink, and then that little aside, voiced down as if imparting some ribald secret, which, let’s face it, he usually was. That’s how Ed “Jonesy” Jones would greet me pretty much every time I walked in to Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse in downtown Rock Island. Jonesy shuffled off to that spotlight in the sky on Tuesday, at age 92. He’d been retired from Circa for a few years, since 2014, although he was sorely missed. Jonesy was always one of my favorite elements... Read More

Need a little Sunshine in your life? Tomorrow night, you can cut through the gloom with some great pop songs and performance as Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse is thrilled to be hosting an all-ages pop music cabaret on Thursday, Feb. 20 called A NIGHT OF SUNSHINE, featuring one of the theatre’s most popular performers, Sunshine Ramsey. A long-time Bootlegger, performer and member of our ticket office staff, Ramsey is thrilled to finally be back on the Circa ’21 stage with an-all new cabaret! This will be the fifth time that Sunshine has hosted her own show at the theatre. Each of the previous... Read More

What does Circa ’21 have in common with Lil John? They both love to make it “rain!” For the final production in the theatre’s spectacular 2019 season, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse closes its 42nd year with the eagerly awaited return of a musical-comedy classic: the Tony Award-nominated SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN. Running through Nov. 2, this funny, romantic, endlessly charming adaptation of Hollywood’s iconic movie musical boasts marvelously memorable songs, unforgettable characters and is being brought to life by a splendid team of returning and debuting professional... Read More

‘Laugh your way across the country and all the way down the aisle’ at the newest production to hit the Circa ’21 stage! Mama Won’t Fly, a Jones Hope Western Comedy, will be in production at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 3rd Avenue Rock Island) from Sep 21 through Nov 3, with Preview Performances on Sep 19 and 20. An outrageously hilarious race against the clock begins when Savannah Sprunt Fairchild Honeycutt agrees to get her feisty mother all the way from Alabama to California in time for her brother’s wedding. Savannah’s problem: Mama won’t fly. With only four days... Read More

A new musical is hitting the main stage at Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse, and it’s freaky! Disney’s Freaky Friday A New Musical will be playing at Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 3rd Avenue Rock Island) from Jan 16 through Mar 24! Freaky Friday, a new musical comedy based on the celebrated novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, is a hilarious, contemporary update of the classic story, in which a mother and daughter see what it means to be a family while experiencing each other’s lives firsthand, if only for a day. Set in the present day, Freaky Friday features a tuneful pop-rock... Read More

Circa ‘21’s “The Music Man” is a triumphant success. It’s a magnificent show, brilliant on so many levels, and is easily the best show I’ve seen in 2017… so far. Now, anyone who has followed me over the years knows that I’m not especially a fan of some of the “classic” musicals. They tend to be anachronistic and ridiculous in parts and borderline offensive in others if you actually look beyond the catchy tunes and pay attention to what’s going on. “The Music Man” is a notable exception to this. It’s got its racist and sexist elements that are certainly of its time, and... Read More

Now into it’s third week at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse in downtown Rock Island, THE MUSIC MAN is charming audiences and critics alike!  “We’ve had wonderful response to the show” said Brett Hitchcock – Director of Audience Development. Local critics have also enjoyed this delightful musical with such comments as “Music Man was Terrific” River Cities Reader; “The Music Man is a thrilling ride on board a veritable American (and Iowan) classic” Dispatch/Argus; and “Circa ‘21’s The Music Man is a triumphant success” quadcities.com. The... Read More

Those familiar with the iconic stage and screen show, THE MUSIC MAN, may remember that the very first song performed in the show is titled “Rock Island.” It’s consequently fitting that this Tony-winning classic can be found in Illinois’ actual Rock Island when THE MUSIC MAN runs at the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse now through May 13.  An endearing musical romance that has charmed generations of fans, this timeless hit boasts numerous songs that have become cherished favorites, and is being brought to life by a spectacular cast of returning talents and Circa ’21 newcomers. THE... 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