Shelley Cooper grew up glued to the Golden Age of Broadway (roughly between 1930 and 1960), and many of those shining shows were ruled by two towering female talents – Mary Martin and Ethel Merman. The lives and songs of Martin (1913-1990) — vulnerable, dainty, and lovely – and Merman (1908-1984) — brassy, unapologetic, and bold, will be highlighted in a new one-woman show by Cooper, a 34-year-old musical theater professor at Augustana College. “Mary and Ethel: How I Learned to Sing” will include new medleys arranged by Quad-City music director, Mason Moss, in two shows at 7... Read More

The Speakeasy Laugh Hard Comedy Show is back on this Friday Aug 28 at The Circa 21 Speakeasy (1818 3rd Avenue Rock Island). Doors open at 7:00 and the show starts at 8:00. Tickets are only $3.00 for this show!  Seating will be limited due to social distancing so reserve early!  Because we cannot mix parties at tables only reservations for 4 or 6 people can be made.  Sorry for the inconvenience. It’s time to get out of the house and have some adult beverages and laugh.  We need laughter now more than ever! This is a great standup comedy show featuring many hilarious comedians from across... Read More

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’ll 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. As the current health situation in our country continues to force the cancellation of so many regularly scheduled events in the Quad Cities, we are once again... 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

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.   When Davenport jazz pianist and singer Freddy Allen returned July 25 to perform at The Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, it was the first time the former regular played there since Feb. 28. It was a bittersweet occasion for the 50-year-old full-time musician, who has seen his livelihood decimated due to the raging Covid-19 crisis. “It was emotional, it was hard,” Allen said recently. “I’ve been one of those people, during... Read More

Rein Razer participated as a guest performer at the last burlesque show at the Village Theatre – a March 14 gig from the new Crystal Crown Cabaret – and the Rock Islander is back organizing a special return, Friday, July 24 at 8 p.m. The theater is at 2113 E. 11th St., Village of East Davenport. Rein Razer’s Court of Royalty was originally intended to be an online-only show, to help out her community performers, as most shows and events have been canceled due to Covid. Now that things are beginning to open back up, Razer has teamed up with the Village Theatre to produce a showcase that can... Read More

Few people outside the small local comedy community realized that Andrew King moved away from the Quad-Cities this month. Few people outside the small local comedy community know who Andrew King is. But the departure of the soon-to-be-30-year-old King, who finally made a long covid-postponed move to Providence, R.I. in late June, is a real creative diminishment to the local arts scene. King was one of the most original characters on the Quad-Cities entertainment scene. He brought a unique voice, persona and artistic vision to the local stage. With an asymmetrical poof of hair, bookish glasses,... Read More

Mark McGinn’s love of the theater is literally in his blood. His father Jack (who died in 2000) started performing at Quad City Music Guild in Moline within two years of its founding in 1949, and was in dozens of shows. Mark, a 67-year-old Bettendorf resident, started with Guild at Prospect Park in 1972, playing clarinet for “Fiddler on the Roof,” and his first stage role was in 1976’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” (as one of the apostles). McGinn has since been involved in more than 70 other shows (including last summer as John Wilkes Booth in Black Box’s “Assassins” in Moline), mostly... Read More

Even though it’s been closed nearly three months, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse got a pretty great 43rd birthday present Thursday, June 11. Within a day of announcing it, the theater sold out all tables (totaling about 140 people) for its unique “Music on the Marquee” cabaret on Sunday, June 21. “The public is hungry to see activity in the arts,” Ron May, music director of Circa’s not-yet-produced “Saturday Night Fever,” said Thursday – which also happens to be the 43rd anniversary of his marriage to wife Cindy. Ironically, they wed (at Davenport’s Trinity Cathedral) the same... Read More

Listen to all the hits with the Manny Lopez Big Band this Friday Mar 13 at the Circa ’21 Speakeasy (1818 3rd Avenue Rock Island). Doors open at 5 p.m. and concert begins at 6 p.m. Manny Lopez and his 13-piece big band will be performing all your favorites from such legendary artists as Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Henry Mancini, and Stan Kenton, just to name a few! This band includes musicians from the Quad Cities area in addition to others from across the Midwest! You’ll hear some of the greatest hits from the big band era during this two-hour show! Lighter fare menu... Read More