18 Aug 2025

Tonal Recall: “Marjorie Prime,” at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre through August 24

By Pamela Briggs

Jordan Harrison's Marjorie Prime script is both dramatic and funny, and Jennifer Kingry's cast of four excels at being both.

11 Aug 2025

New York States of Mind: “Ordinary Days,” at the Black Box Theatre through August 17

By Pamela Briggs

Director Shelley Cooper, Augustana College's associate professor of theatre arts, and music director and accompanist Rob Elfline, professor of music at Augustana, have engineered another extraordinary production with Ordinary Days.

04 Aug 2025

And Then They Came for Her: “The Diary of Anne Frank,” at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through August 10

By Pamela Briggs

The horrifying story told in The Diary of Anne Frank is now being lovingly presented at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, directed by accomplished actor Elle Winchester.

28 Jul 2025

Dance Like Everyone's Watching: Countryside Community Theatre's “Hairspray,” at North Scott High School through August 3

By Pamela Briggs

Seeing and hearing Countryside Community Theatre's production of Hairspray has nearly stolen my words from me.

14 Jul 2025

Save the Dates: Quad City Music Guild's “The Prom,” at the Prospect Park Auditorium through July 20

By Pamela Briggs

Consider this a "prom-vitation" to enjoy Quad City Music Guild's tuneful, touching, terrifically funny The Prom, its music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and book by Beguelin and Bob Martin.

14 Jul 2025

Milked Shakes: Barely There Theatre's “To Leer at Lear,” at the Black Box Theatre through July 19

By Pamela Briggs

Alexander Richardson calls this "a love letter to community theatre," and if you've ever been in a show, played on a team, had a job, been part of a family, or met at least one other person in your life, you may recognize at least some of these situations.

23 Jun 2025

Airy B-and-B: Genesius Guild's “Much Ado About Nothing,” at Lincoln Park through June 29

By Pamela Briggs

T Green's and Calvin Vo's production hooked me from the start – the performers are lively, fully present, and engaged in their scenes, and usually moved and spoke naturally, with excellent projection and diction.

20 Jun 2025

Smooth Operetta: Opera Quad Cities' “Die Fledermaus,” at St. Ambrose University June 20 and 22

By Pamela Briggs

If you don't think opera can be frivolous and fun, Opera Quad Cities will prove otherwise, with a big dollop of flair and abundant thrills for the ear and eye.

09 Jun 2025

Three Cheers!: “Bring It On: The Musical,” at the Spotlight Theatre through June 15

By Pamela Briggs

The Avenue Q book writer, a Tony Award-winning lyricist, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and the creator of Hamilton collaborate on a musical that's a hybrid of Hairspray, Mean Girls, and Sister Act II. You in? You should be.

09 Jun 2025

Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Stuff Is in My Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad: Genesius Guild's “Oedipus Rex,” through June 15

By Pamela Briggs

For Oedipus Rex, veteran director and actor Michael Callahan was wise to choose a translation by Ian Johnston, written in contemporary English, rather than an archaic version (i.e., one employing 17th-century "thou"s). We're also spared a script written in verse, as continued rhymes might've become irritating in a stage work lasting this long.

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