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Quad Cities USA - Guide to Davenport & Bettendorf Iowa and Rock Island & Moline Illinois
 

Mike Schulz — “Red”’s Rothko — Reflects on a Rare Feat, a Double Play

June 20th, 2021
Mike Schulz -- “Red”’s Rothko -- Reflects on a Rare Feat, a Double Play

Before the remarkable run of “Red” – the Mississippi Bend Players production that concluded earlier today, lead actor Mike Schulz reflected on getting to play the real-life abstract-expressionist artist Mark Rothko. Twice. Now 53, the thoughtful, passionate and intense Schulz reflected on his past nine years living with the play – done first with a tiny group at QC Theatre Workshop, running over three weekends, and recently with a crew of at least a dozen at MBP, with just four performances over one weekend. “John Logan’s script is so amazing, and so engaging and audience-friendly,... Read More

REVIEW: Schulz And Odenkirk Give Rock Star Performances In Fantastic ‘Red’

June 18th, 2021
REVIEW: Schulz And Odenkirk Give Rock Star Performances In Fantastic 'Red'

Imagine me sitting in a car like Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood giving finger guns to Mike Schulz and saying, “You’re Mike F-ing Schulz! Don’t you forget it.” He deserves this level of hype, this level of praise, this level of Lets-Put-An-Actor-On-An-Unecessary- Pedastal-ness for Mississippi Bend Players’ new “Red.” All. Of . It. Schulz is pretending at new and frightening heights giving a performance that I found myself simultaneously getting lost in AND studying so I could get bring even a small percentage of this bloke’s grace, believability and sheer... Read More

REVIEW: Electrifying, Literate “Red” Pulses With Emotion, Brilliance at Augustana

June 17th, 2021
REVIEW: Electrifying, Literate “Red” Pulses With Emotion, Brilliance at Augustana

Words and art are my business – as tools, objects of affection, contemplation and worship, ways to make sense and meaning of life – as they are for “Red,” the brilliant, caustic, literate John Logan play given a fantastic, thrilling new production by Mississippi Bend Players at Augustana College. Over an emotional 90-minute rollercoaster — in an action-packed, dialogue-dense one act, first-class director Cait Bodenbender and peerless actors Mike Schulz and Tristan Odenkirk grab your attention and never let go. It’s as riveting, passionate, thought-provoking – and deeply committed... Read More

Close Quad-Cities Acting Pair Recreate Colorful Work of Theatrical Art

June 14th, 2021
Close Quad-Cities Acting Pair Recreate Colorful Work of Theatrical Art

Nearly nine years after he first played 20th-century artist Mark Rothko, to launch the QC Theatre Workshop, Mike Schulz returns this week to launch the new season of Mississippi Bend Players, acting opposite a fellow MBP veteran in the one-act “Red” by John Logan. In the 2010 Tony winner for Best Play, master abstract expressionist Rothko (1903-1970) has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York’s famed Four Seasons restaurant in the late ‘50s. In the two fascinating years that follow, Rothko works feverishly with his young assistant,... Read More

Rock Island’s Mississippi Bend Players To Go Small for 2021 Summer Season

May 5th, 2021
Rock Island's Mississippi Bend Players To Go Small for 2021 Summer Season

The fourth full season of Mississippi Bend Players will feature a total of five performers over three productions this summer at Augustana College’s Brunner Theatre Center. After it was forced to cancel its 2020 in-person season, the 2021 lineup will be: “Red” (June 17-20), by John Logan, directed by Catherine Bodenbender and featuring MBP favorites Mike Schulz and Tristan Odenkirk. Master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant. In the two fascinating years... Read More

Long Wait Over for “Waiting for Godot” at Moline’s Black Box

October 21st, 2020
Long Wait Over for “Waiting for Godot” at Moline’s Black Box

The 1953 Samuel Beckett classic “Waiting for Godot” has had a long wait for its premiere Thursday at Moline’s Black Box Theatre. But it’s perfect for a pandemic-plagued 2020. Directed by local theater veteran Mike Schulz (an Augustana College alum), he started rehearsals in May, originally as a partnership between QC Theatre Workshop and Mississippi Bend Players. A plan to do the mainly two-person play outside at a pavilion behind Brunner Theatre Center was later shelved, and it’s now going up independently at the small Black Box with a maximum audience of 26 – masks are required –... Read More

Peter and the Starcatcher Makes Its Q-C Debut

May 31st, 2017
Peter and the Starcatcher Makes Its Q-C Debut

Quad City Theatre Workshop in Davenport will open Peter and the Starcatcher–the last production of their current season–on Friday, June 2. The show tells the back story to Peter Pan in the most playful and endearing way. With a cast that packs a punch, audiences will be sad if they miss this star-catching production running June 2-3, 9-10, 16-17 at 7:30 p.m. and June 4, 11 and 18 at 3 p.m. Admission is pay what it’s worth, following the performance. This will be the first local production of this highly-rated Broadway show. This show is about love, life, hope and it’s about being a kid... Read More

‘Buried Child’ Is A Shocking Dramatic Thriller

October 20th, 2016
‘Buried Child’ Is A Shocking Dramatic Thriller

QC Theatre Workshop at 1730 Wilkes Avenue, Davenport, IA is home to some of the most brilliant actors in the Quad Cities. The set, always perfect for the compelling scripts chosen for their cozy stage and the people are kind and welcoming. This local theatre brings you into the story, no matter what story. They are incredibly real and their skills at shutting out the audience is incredible. Every play at this theatre is like being inside of the book itself. It is just amazing theatre and deeply satisfying. I had known ahead of time that their latest, “Buried Child,” would be a soul wrenching... Read More

QCTW’s Telling of the Good Book Brings Great Laughs

April 19th, 2016
QCTW’s Telling of the Good Book Brings Great Laughs

“The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged),” is far from any telling of the Bible you’ve ever heard, unless, of course, you’ve actually seen the show. Anyone who considers themselves a “theatre person” has seen, or at least knows of, the classic stage adaptations of the Bible in shows like “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Godspell,” “Children of Eden,” etc. This telling, written by Adam Long, Reed Martin, and Austin Tichenor, of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, throws caution to the wind and introduces comedy to an otherwise serious and wisdom-filled book. It also brings... Read More