Circa ‘21’s “Elf” is a cute, fun holiday concoction, and was eaten up and greeted with smiles like Christmas cookies the night I saw it. With a fun live take on the blockbuster holiday film, a fantastic cast, wonderful sets and costumes and a terrific star giving it the perfect tone of goofiness and levity, […]

Circa ‘21’s “Shear Madness” is “sheerly” hilarious, a wild, raucous romp that lives up to its name. With a terrifically talented cast that exudes a goofy sense of fun every moment they’re onstage, it’s a must-see for anyone looking for a funny night out. As the longest-running non-musical theatrical production worldwide, the snappy show has […]

Treating audiences to the stage version of a beloved movie musical, the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse’s latest presentation is the area debut of a Tony-nominated Broadway hit – HOLIDAY INN. Running through July 20, and boasting unforgettable songs by legendary composer Irving Berlin, this theatrical delight for all ages is being enacted by a wonderful […]

Circa ‘21’s “Grumpy Old Men” will make you anything but grumpy. It’s a hilarious, ribald, dirty romp, roughly based on the beloved movie of the same name and sporting the same qualities. Prudish types may blush and bluster, but the rest of us will find it quite amusing. “Grumpy” is set in the small northern […]

What a brilliant programming decision by Denny Hitchcock and the Circa ’21 brass to bring in “Mamma Mia” at this point, right before the sequel is about to hit theaters and just as summer is reaching its peak, because “Mamma Mia” is an absolutely perfect summer show. It’s fun, it’s light, it’s fizzy and it’s […]

Circa ‘21’s “Million Dollar Quartet” is a million dollar show. It’s expertly presented, from the set to the costumes to the casting to the sound, capturing a fascinating and colorful moment in time in the history of rock ‘n’ roll and doing so with such great energy and reverence that it earned a well-deserved standing […]

For the final production in its 39th season, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse is rolling out the Tony Award-winning Broadway smash “Million Dollar Quartet,” running this weekend through November 5. A celebration of four of history’s most legendary recording artists  – Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins – this long-requested title is […]

Heavenly humor and music is going to be shining down on the congregation of Circa ’21 Dinner Theater this summer as the Rock Island venue opens up its pearly gates to “Sister Act.” The Broadway musical-comedy smash hit opens May 6 and runs through July 2. Based on 1992’s wildly popular film comedy starring Whoopi […]

It’s not often I say a performer steals a show in an ensemble piece, but I feel confident in saying that Tom Walljasper definitely steals the show in “Shear Madness.” Walljasper is so flamboyant and over-the-top funny, grabbing every scene he’s in with some brazen move or line, that it’s impossible to ignore him, not […]