Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Bettendorf native Samantha Pauly landed the role of a lifetime – a real British queen, reflected as a modern rock star – but her opening night on Broadway was canceled by the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 18 months after that painful March 2020 Thursday night, the 31-year-old Pleasant Valley High alum will return with the same original cast of the new musical “Six,”... Read More

A Davenport teenager is baking up something really special for his holiday break this year — 13-year-old Trey Gordon will be a contestant on the Food Network’s Kids’ Baking Championship! Trey shared the awesome news on his Facebook page, saying, “I have a huge announcement! I am so excited I’m able to tell you guys this.  I am going to be on Kids Baking Championship, season nine, with Food Network. Tune in on December 28 for a two-episode premiere!” Even at a young age, Trey has had a distinguished career in the arts and other pursuits. He’s been on stage... 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. Samantha Pauly, a 2008 graduate of Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, was set to co-star in one of this year’s most anticipated new musicals on Broadway, “Six.” A flashy, feminist retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII (as a high-tech pop concert), the show played a month of previews in New York City and was to open March 12 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.... Read More

Though the Actors’ Equity Association reached an agreement with Walt Disney World last month regarding Covid-19 testing, performers Nathan and Whitney Meyer still have not been called back to work. Disney and Equity were in discussions over the testing of cast members (as Disney employees are called) since late June; the four Orlando-area theme parks reopened to the public in mid-July. “We have been consistent that testing is an important part of ensuring a safe workplace for Equity performers, and today, I’m pleased to see that Disney World has agreed,” Kate Shindle, president of... Read More

Less than a week after it was posted on Change.org, roughly 2,500 people have a signed a petition protesting potential removal of the theater major at St. Ambrose University, Davenport. The petition to the Board of Trustees says that due to economic concerns, the private SAU is considering eliminating the theater major and converting it to a minor. “Removing the theatre major will rob many students of opportunities to take classes that will help them to develop and hone essential skills within and outside of the theatre world,” says the page, started Aug. 28 by SAU student Erika Seabloom. Ambrose... 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 28 at 7 p.m. Submissions are due Sunday, August 23 by 7 p.m. Use WeTransfer... 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

Several Quad-Cities artists were honored this past weekend with awards at the 29th-annual Iowa Motion Picture Association (IMPA) award ceremony. Due to Covid-19, the Aug. 8 event was held online this year. The IMPA recognized outstanding creative and technical achievement in Iowa’s moving image production industry, in all its forms. “Sons & Daughters of Thunder,” a docudrama produced by Moline-based Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, received seven awards, out of eight IMPA nominations. It won five top Awards of Excellence: Best Live Action Entertainment — Long Form... Read More