If you’ve ever met Don Faust you’d know he’s one of the nicest, funniest and most positive blokes on this planet. So it comes with some shock and awe that this not-quite-but-sort-of-autobiographical play dives into a not-so-cheery part of his life that under some circumstances would disavow a gleeful demeanor. Leave it to Faust to rise way, way above a troubled and rather tortured past to treat others the exact opposite. I think that’s why the play hit me the way it did. It was personal. On a few levels. I have known Don for … who knows … maybe close to 20 years now and though... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Ave., Moline, will hold auditions April 17-18 at the Barn Theatre for “Princeton’s Rage,” an original work by local playwright Don Faust, Davenport. The cast calls for three men (ages 30s-50s) and one woman (20s). In the play, Princeton Yale left his hometown of Chicago over 30 years ago, he turned his back on an abusive past at the hands of his high school classmates and never looked back. But through a series of happenstances, Princeton’s past comes to pay him a visit, in the form of one of his former tormentors, Reece “Rage” Johnson,... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theatre is still searching for its happy ending. The 107-year-old former dairy barn (4950 35th Ave., Moline), used as a theater since 1960, has been shuttered for a year now due to Covid-19. Plans for a 2021 reopening were thrown out of whack with a Valentine’s Day disaster, as pipes froze and a valve ruptured during February’s spell of bitterly cold temperatures, flooding the entire first floor of the building and causing about $35,000 in property damage. “My wife and I were going out to late lunch, and I got a text from a board member,” Playcrafters board president Bruce... Read More

It feels like a broken record, but it’s a broken record that keeps playing on the jukebox of 2020 and into 2021 – we NEED some good news! With everything negative happening in the world right now, we need positive news more than ever! That’s why, every month, we give you What’s The Good News? a look around the Quad-Cities at the positive things happening in our community. We run the column here on QuadCities.com, and in conjunction with our media partners at KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live,” I go on PSL to chat about some of the awesome things we list here. So, need some good news? We’ve... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene. No doubt, the last year was a crushing one for the arts and entertainment scene — both locally and nationally. But while it’s been an excruciating time in the short term, it could end up being a good thing, in the long run. Entertainment needed to die a little so it could be reinvented, and in forcing it to adapt, it’s creating something new and exciting. I’m not saying I’m thankful for this horrific pandemic but... Read More

It’s time for our look back at the year that was in arts and entertainment, 2020. Every day between now and New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, we’ll be posting a story painting the big picture on the year, a couple months each day. We hope you enjoy the look back, and let’s all hope for a happy new year and a much, much, much, much better 2021! Here’s today’s installment, where we look at the longest month of the year, and probably the decade, that being MARCH OF 2020. I think if there’s a time during the year that encapsulates 2020, it’s this time. March was complete and... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly look at a personality, place, trend or topic of interest to the Quad-Cities. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. Tom Vaccaro is seven years older than the beloved TV/film actor Michael J. Fox, but it was just a year ago that the Davenporter was diagnosed with the disease that’s long affected Fox – Parkinson’s. The veteran actor-musician-illustrator (who was featured in the Black Box Theatre’s radio play in August) thinks he had symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) before he was diagnosed... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theater has announced they’ll be cancelling the rest of their 2020 season due to covid-19 complications and concerns. The Moline theater released the following statement on their website today: We at Playcrafters Barn Theatre must sadly announce that we are officially postponing the remainder of our 2020 season. The health and safety of our volunteers and patrons must always come first, and after much deliberation, we have concluded that it will not be possible for us to safely rehearse and perform the rest of this season’s shows while the coronavirus pandemic continues... Read More

Many people have gotten used to working from home during the seemingly endless period of quarantine. Anthony Natarelli is even bringing theater and improv comedy to his home. The irrepressible 26-year-old Rock Islander, who lives in an apartment above the Circa ’21 Speakeasy, 1818 3rd Ave., livestreamed an improv show there June 27, and later this month will act in a two-man play to be shown online as part of his $1 Producer Project. “We’re keeping it small casts,” Natarelli said recently. “The highest number of people that will ever be in here will be five people in the entire apartment.... Read More

Are you a local performer, theatrical actor, theater, or arts organization? We’re looking to provide you a virtual stage on the QuadCities.com site and social media! With covid rampaging, we know it’s a crazy time and we want to showcase your organization. No one can come to you but that doesn’t mean you can’t come to them. Along those lines, we’re producing a Virtual Cabaret called The Show Must Go On(line) and we want you to be part of it! The “live” event will air on our Facebook page on Friday, August 14 at 7 p.m. Submissions are due Friday, August 7 by 7 p.m. Use WeTransfer... Read More