Shelley Cooper is a great admirer of legendary opera singer Maria Callas (1923-1977), who truly had an epic, operatic life. The multi-talented, 35-year-old Augustana assistant professor of theatre arts is bringing her one-woman, one-hour tribute to Callas this weekend to Moline’s Black Box Theatre. “La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, at 1623 5th Ave., Moline. Audiences will be limited to 30 patrons; temperatures checked at the door, and Cooper will wear a clear plastic face shield while performing. She credited... Read More

It’s been a while, but the Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline will be back with live theater starting Thursday, with a new production of “Dick Tracy: A Live Radio Play,” starring James Driscoll, Matt Walsh, Doug Kutzli, Mark Ruebling, Jenny Winn, Sara Nicole Wegener and Tom Vaccaro in the “Case of The Big Top Murders.” “Dick Tracy and The Case of the Big Top Murders” is a whodunnit focusing on the renowned sleuth’s investigation of murder and mayhem in a traveling circus company. ho killed the clown, and why? Theater veteran Jim Driscoll is Dick Tracy. Lora Adams, BBT co-founder... Read More

The beloved Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the Woods” – done at Augustana College this past weekend for very limited, campus-only audiences – was a cathartic, unprecedented experience for its young performers. The emotional 1987 musical, combining classic fairy tales and an original story about a baker and his wife, is full of longing, doubt, adventure, danger, hope, grief and perseverance in normal times. But of course, these aren’t normal times, and in the first partnership among Augie’s musical theater, opera and orchestral programs, the student actors found the fantastical tale... Read More

In a dark, uncertain time, Circa ’21 offers light and unadulterated joy in its latest online entertainment, the fun bluegrass musical “Big Rock Candy Mountain.” Fans of the film “O Brother Where Art Thou” and the Circa ’21 favorite “Southern Crossroads” should love this original musical – written and directed by Tristan Tapscott — that features such classic hits as “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” “House of the Rising Sun,” “Keep on the Sunny Side of Life” and many more. In the story set in 1932, a merry band of misfits sneaks into a theater hoping to stay out of... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a comprehensive, in-depth feature on a topic, trend or personality impacting the Quad-Cities, posted every Saturday morning on QuadCities.com. Nathan and Whitney Meyer are a bit like the plucky, cute orphans who are often protagonists of a Disney adventure. Nathan, a 34-year-old graduate of North Scott High School, Eldridge, and his wife (like most of us, isolated and home-bound) actually work for Walt Disney World and are accomplished, blazingly talented singers and actors. Despite the four theme parks in Orlando, Fla., reopening this past week, the Meyers remain out of... Read More