Circa ’21’s “Winter Wonderland” gave me everything I would want in a holiday special — it was lighthearted, cute, funny and full of snowflake fluffy holiday cheer. It’s what you want in a Christmas special, and I wholeheartedly recommend it as a perfect family gift for the holiday season. Expertly produced, director/choreographer Sean McCall, musical director Ron May, scenic designer Susan Holgersson, costume designer Greg Hiatt and lighting designer Heather Hauskins have created a winter wonderland of their own on the stage, a beautiful and cozy setting for... Read More

In the first of many in a new cabaret series, The Mockingbird On Main will present “Wishes,” an evening of song, laughter and love with Wendy Czekalski. The one-woman cabaret will run at 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, Sept. 16-18, in the new theater at 320 N. Main St. Accompanied by Karl Bodenbender, Czekalski will serenade in a 75-minute program (no intermission) with such Broadway classics as “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Old Friends,” “Losing My Mind,” “Maybe this Time,” “Meadowlark” and many more. Since receiving her bachelor’s in vocal performance from Northern lllinois... Read More

One of the absolute thrilling joys of theater is not only how it brings fictional characters to life, but illuminates the intimately human struggles and triumphs of well-known, real-life icons. The Quad-Cities premiere of “The Mountaintop” – an emotional, haunting reimagining of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last night on earth – is an extraordinary example. The 90-minute, two-person Katori Hall play debuted Thursday night at the new Mockingbird on Main, a beautiful, 40-seat cabaret at 320 N. Main St., Davenport, created by Tristan Tapscott and Savannah Bay Strandin. The mood before... Read More

Artists in Conversation is a weekly column running Wednesdays on QuadCities.com. It features a conversation with a local creator or creators going into their artistic process, projects and more. Get to know your local arts scene and local creators better on QuadCities.com with Artists In Conversation! If you’re a local creator and would like to be featured, please email us at Sean@QuadCities.com or Tristan@QuadCities.com! I close my eyes and I can see The world that’s waiting up for me That I call my own Through the dark, through the door Through where no one’s been before But it... Read More

It’s Sunday, and QuadCities.com proudly presents Fun10, a list of the top 10 things to do in the Quad Cities this week, and every week! Every Sunday, we drop a new Fun10, to give you a head start on your week and a heads up on what’s going on over the coming seven days. Check out Fun10 every Sunday for the details on ten awesome events happening around town. It’s a cool read, and a great way to get started planning your entertainment for the week. FUN10 — ten ways for you to have fun in the Quad-Cities, this week and every week, running every Sunday, only on your site for fun, free, local... Read More

Downtown Davenport’s The Mockingbird On Main will present their inaugural production – Katori Hall’s “The Mountaintop” July 29 through August 7. What happened inside room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis the night before the assignation of Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, JR. is a mystery. In “The Mountaintop,” Hall imagines what may have transpired in the overnight hours between the legendary civil rights leader and a seemingly inconsequential motel maid. Hours after King’s famed final speech, punctuated by the immortal line “I’ve been to the mountaintop,”... Read More

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! I close my eyes and I can see The world that’s waiting up for me That I call my own Through the dark, through the door Through where no one’s been before But it feels like home They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy They can say, they can say I’ve lost my mind I don’t care, I don’t care, so call me crazy We can live in a world that we... Read More

The stage musical “Saturday Night Fever” has a serious split personality. Adapted from the Oscar-nominated 1977 movie smash that catapulted the Bee Gees to international fame and made a household name of star John Travolta, the jukebox musical that makes its stunning area premiere at Circa ’21 wants to be a carefree disco dance party. But behind the sparkly glitter, multi-colored lights and comfortably familiar hits lies a dark, depressing story – full of anguish, conflict and dashed dreams. In a way, it’s the opposite vibe of “Mamma Mia!” (another show built on 1970s favorites, by... Read More

If there was a labor of love – after a devastating last 14 months – it is Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse’s new production, “Beehive: The ‘60s Musical,” which opens in previews Wednesday night. Running through July 10, this infectiously entertaining salute to female pop, rock and soul singers was praised by DC Metro Theater Arts as “a big-hearted, well-accomplished, utterly tuneful joy.” A colorful flashback to the fabulous females who unmistakably left their mark on 1960s pop music, and a spectacle that matches big voices with big hairdos, “Beehive” features nonstop hits from... Read More

Artists in Conversation is a weekly column running Wednesdays on QuadCities.com. It features a conversation with a local creator going into their artistic process, projects and more. Get to know your local arts scene and local creators better on QuadCities.com with Artists In Conversation! If you’re a local creator and would like to be featured, please email us at Sean@QuadCities.com or Tristan@QuadCities.com! THIS WEEK: Tristan Tapscott and Savannah Bay Strandin, talking about The Mockingbird on Main. The Mockingbird on Main burst onto the scene earlier this month with NEW BEGINNINGS,  a... Read More