Leslie LaCorte, drama director at Davenport North High School, and her students are itching to get back to live performances. That will happen March 5-7, with their first live play since the pandemic started –  a comedic mystery, “The 39 Steps” – and the month will also be special for 10 North students who will be part of a first-ever virtual Iowa Thespian Festival. “The 39 Steps” will be performed at Paul J. Holzworth Performing Arts Center (limited to 25-percent capacity), 626 W. 53rd St., Davenport. Adapted by Patrick Barlow (from the novel by John Buchan and classic movie by Alfred... Read More

Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 3rd Ave., Rock Island, is seeking video online submissions to cast an upcoming show, “Beehive: The ‘60s Musical,” to open in May. “Beehive” (which was performed by Quad City Music Guild in spring 2007) is a fun, frothy flashback to the fabulous females who unmistakably left their mark on 1960s pop music, matching big voices with big hairdos — from the early decade bubble-gum classics to the explosive late ‘60s soul sound, according to Circa. From The Supremes and Connie Francis to Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin, “Beehive” is a wailing musical... Read More

It definitely takes a village to raise your spirits. For this unusual Valentine’s season of love, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse has organized a special musical theater love letter – marrying several Quad-Cities venues to produce the video compilation, “Let’s Fall in Love.” A virtual celebration of love and the arts, the 75-minute program will debut Saturday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m., featuring performers not only from Circa, but the Black Box Theatre, Center for Living Arts, Countryside Community Theatre, Davenport Junior Theatre, Double Threat Studios, Mississippi Bend Players/Augustana, QC... Read More

Feeling like some sweet music this weekend? Saturday sees the debut of Circa ’21’s bluegrass musical BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN! If you’re a fan of the film   O’ Brother Where Art Thou   and   the Circa ‘21 favorite   Southern Crossroads,   you’re going to love this show. A merry band of misfits sneak into a theatre hoping to stay out of trouble, but instead find themselves front and center in this story about the power of music and seconds chances. Add a down on her luck theatre owner and her wacky assistant, a clueless town mayor, his scheming wife and bumbling sheriff and... Read More

Though a story of redemption, new life, and surviving an infectious pandemic would have made an ideal return this spring, Quad City Music Guild for the second time on Tuesday announced it would again cancel a planned production of the beloved musical, “The Secret Garden.” While the board of directors informed the original 2020 cast and crew last month that it decided to scrap live performances at Prospect Park Auditorium, Moline, it waited to publicly announce until after its January board meeting Tuesday night. Due to ongoing Covid safety protocols and continuing limitations on audience size,... Read More

The newest children’s theater instructor at Moline’s Spotlight Theatre has traveled far and wide to pursue her passions – theater and history. Lily Maynard – a friendly 34-year-old who’s married to Quad City Arts executive director Kevin Maynard – grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. She earned her BFA in musical theater in 2011 and a master’s in history, both from Western Illinois University. Since her first appearance on stage in a Florida high school production of Stand and Deliver (1999), Lily has appeared in more than 50 productions — including Guys and Dolls, You’re... Read More

Bethany Sanders is only 24 years old, but already has 21 years of dance experience  and is quickly gaining a reputation as a passionate teacher and choreographer. The Pleasant Valley High alum started taking tap and ballet lessons when she was 3 and hasn’t stopped moving since. “I absolutely loved it, and added theater to the game when I was 11,” Sanders said in a recent interview. After 5th grade, she started doing theater at Center for Living Arts in Rock Island, and her first musical was “Grease” in 2008, when she was 11, and she performed with Center for Living Arts through junior... Read More

Circa ‘21 is coming into your homes this New Year’s Eve with RAISE YOUR GLASS, an all new virtual cabaret experience! Join Circa for an unforgettable night with the famed Circa ‘21 Bootleggers, your favorite Circa ‘21 stars and a few special guests! The show will feature songs and segments from entertainers across the United States culminating with a virtual toast at Midnight (CST). The show begins at 11:00pm on New Year’s Eve and ends at Midnight. Join Circa for some New Year’s Eve fun and support the Quad City Area’s premier professional theatre! NYE Tickets: https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/44554 Other... Read More

Stay in from the cold and celebrate this holiday season with Circa ’21! Join your favorite Circa ’21 performers, and some local Rising Stars, as they take you into their homes, and onto their favorite home-away-from-home, the Circa ’21 stage! This collection of heartwarming songs and exciting dance numbers is sure to get you in the holiday spirit like only Circa ’21 can. Virtual tickets start as low as $10, and can be purchased easily here! Until we can gather together again in person, please join us at Home for the Holidays. Streaming begins Saturday, December 19th at... Read More

Emma Benson spent two consecutive Christmas Eves hospitalized in Iowa City for anorexia. Now, the 29-year-old Sherrard native is preparing for her first holiday without her father and the baby boy he never got to meet. The former Emma Williams is one of three daughters of Bob Williams, the beloved Quad City Music Guild director who died suddenly Oct. 4, 2020 at 61, from a heart attack. Thirteen days later, Emma gave birth to her second child, Zeke, and she’s dealing with a lot of bittersweet emotions now. Benson recently posted on Facebook that between Covid and missing her dad, she felt like... Read More