THE BLACK BOX THEATRE LAUNCHES THEIR 8TH SEASON WITH THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB STORY The downtown Moline theatre, The Black Box, begin their 8th season with the chamber musical “Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story” with a book, music, and lyrics by Stephen Dolginoff. New for the theatre this year is a three-week run of each production. The musical stars Adam Cerny and Daniel Williams with Musical Direction by Ron May and Direction and Design by BBT co-founder and Artistic Director, Lora Adams. Based on the true story of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, dubbed “thrill killers”... Read More

WQPT was honored on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at the Mid-America Emmy Awards, taking home a prestigious Emmy for their locally written and produced historical documentary, Snapshots: Your Dutch Friend. This documentary tells the story of how two young sisters, Juanita and Betty Wagner of Danville, Iowa became pen pals with Anne Frank and her sister Margo, just as Amsterdam was occupied by Nazi Germany on May 10, 1940. The letters that united these four young girls are now owned by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Station Museum in Danville, Iowa, is the only remote location... Read More

MOLINE, ILLINOIS – The Black Box Theatre is holding auditions for the remaining shows in their 2023 season on Monday, July 17 from 6 to 8. Bring photo and resume and be prepared to sing. Ron May will provide accompaniment and will music direct Thrill Me. Roles available: Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams Set in 1930s New Orleans, Suddenly Last Summer is a gothic melodrama with a shocking tale at its heart. In the grounds of a dark, troubled mansion, Mrs. Violet Venable prepares to host an explosive gathering. She idolized her son, Sebastian, who died in gruesome circumstances the summer... Read More

MOLINE, ILLINOIS – WQPT, the locally owned and operated PBS station is getting ready to celebrate their 40th anniversary serving eastern Iowa and western Illinois.  The station is holding a Gala on April 21 at Old Oaks Winery in Milan and tickets are available to attend by visiting wqpt.org/40. Special Guests include Whitney Reynolds of “The Whitney Reynolds Show,” and Jim Mertens, host of “The Cities.” What began as a vision by a small group of dedicated citizens in 1983—with just four hours of daily programming—now reaches more than 800,000 viewers in Iowa and Illinois 24/7. Viewers... Read More

The Black Box Theatre, 1623 5th Avenue, Moline, is holding auditions for Natural Shocks by Lauren Gunderson December 28 – 6:00-7:30 pm or by video submission. Show is directed by Roger Pavey Jr. About the play: “Angela is trapped in her basement, waiting out an approaching tornado. Though a self-proclaimed unreliable narrator, she begins to reflect on a lifetime of trauma, illuminating the truth behind her endangerment. Based on Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be “soliloquy, NATURAL SHOCKS is a damning condemnation of violence, abuse, and firearms in America.” – Dramatists... Read More

Another round of auditions for the Black Box Theatre’s production of All Is Calm is scheduled for September 17 from 1:00 to 2:30. The all accapella sung musical is written by Peter Rothstein with vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach and tells the story of The Western Front in World War I, Christmas, 1914. Out of the violence a silence, then a song. A German soldier steps into No Man’s Land singing “Stille Nacht.” Thus begins an extraordinary night of camaraderie, music, peace. A remarkable true story, told in the words and songs of the men who lived it. All Is Calm... Read More

WQPT will air a number of documentaries by area filmmakers during July.  “One of the best parts of my job is working with filmmakers and finding documentaries that tell our area’s stories,” said Lora Adams, Director of Marketing and Local Content for the station. New to the lineup will be a film by Stephen Folker titled “Tragedy on Highway 74,” which tells the story of a Cedar County, Iowa business owner who was deputized to help track down robbers and lost his life. The film is scheduled for July 7 at 8:00 pm and will be followed by two short subject films by WQPT videographer Chris... Read More

The Black Box Theatre is excited to bring two premiere’s to the area. Auditions for Ride the Cyclone and All Is Calm will take place in May. Ride the Cyclone is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, and tells the story of the members of the St. Cassian High School chamber choir of Uranium City, Saskatchewan, who perish on a faulty rollercoaster called “The Cyclone”. Each tells a story to win the reward of a mechanical fortune teller — the chance to return to life.  The BBT production will be directed and choreographed by Shelley Cooper. Auditions... Read More

The latest production at Moline’s intimate Black Box Theatre isn’t one necessarily to be enjoyed, but is a terrifying thriller – tailor-made for fans of suspense, mystery and horror. The whiplash-inducing, psychological roller-coaster “Veronica’s Room” (1973) truly puts the “black” in Black Box. Director and co-founder Lora Adams warns as much in her brief introduction to the exhilarating, hard-to-watch four-actor play by the demented genius Ira Levin (1929-2007) — author of “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Deathtrap,” “The Stepford Wives” and “The Boys From Brazil.” “I... Read More

The Black Box Theatre located in downtown Moline presents the thriller, Veronica’s Room by Ira Levin, this weekend. “Most people know Ira Levin for ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘Veronica’s Room’ is just as thrilling,” said director Lora Adams. The synopsis for the play states “This chilling mystery thriller by the author of Rosemary’s Baby explores the thin line between fantasy and reality, madness and murder. Students Susan and Larry find themselves as guests enticed to the Brabissant mansion by its dissolute caretakers the lonely Mackeys. Struck by Susan’s strong resemblance... Read More