Described by Variety magazine as “Disney's happiest outing since The Lion King” and by USA Today as a production of “easy infectiousness” and “youthful exuberance,” the Tony Award-winning Newsies: The Musical enjoys a July 5 through 14 run at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium, with the talents of Quad City Music Guild treating family audiences to an energetic work the Hollywood Reporter said “adheres to a time-honored Disney tradition of inspirational storytelling in the best possible sense.”

With the show boasting such timeless pop hits as "It's in His Kiss," "Heat Wave," "Under the Boardwalk," and "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," the musical beach party The Bikinis makes its area debut at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse from July 10 through August 24, this stage treat lauded by The Star Ledger as "a nostalgic funride" and by Talkin' Broadway as "a tidal wave of fun."

An iconic early project by a three-time Tony Award winner, composer Jason Robert Brown's cabaret-esque musical Songs for a New World enjoys a July 11 through 19 staging at Moline's Black Box Theatre, a gifted cast of eight bringing vocal life to this generational touchstone that led Theatre Mania to write, “Brown's score is filled with soul-stirring melodies, and his lyrics brim with emotion, hope, and soul.”

A tender and heartwarming tale of transatlantic friendship, playwright James Roose-Evans' 84 Charing Cross Road enjoys a July 11 through 21 engagement at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, this moving work lauded by Love London Love Culture as "a celebration of literature and the English language, as well as the nostalgia for the time in which letter writing was a huge part of people’s lives."

At Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse from July 11 through 28, family audiences are invited to follow the yellow brick road toward a magical stage treat in the theatre's new production of The Wizard of Oz, a delightful stage adaptation of the L. Frank Baum tale boasting the beloved musical score from the MGM film and unforgettable songs including "If I Only Had a Brain," "Ding Dong, the Witch Is Dead," and, of course, the iconic "Over the Rainbow."

Delivering what the British Theatre Guide deemed "lashings of energy" and "spectacle worthy of a rock video," the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre will treat patrons to an audience with the Queen – or rather, simply Queen – in the imaginative musical revue We Will Rock You, a July 11 through 21 celebration of the legendary rock and pop band boasting two dozen timeless hits including “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Are the Champions,” “Somebody to Love,” and the iconic title tune.

Arriving right on time for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s announced transportation plan, which includes $225 million to re-establish passenger train service between Moline and Chicago, the Putnam Museum & Science Center's exhibition All Aboard: Our Quad City Locomotive Legacy will, through October 13, provide an expansive look into railways while centering the conversation around our area's unique history.

Work of couture by Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Auguste Rodin, and other artists recognized around the world will be on vivid display in the Muscatine Art Center through September 22, with the venue's Fashionably Dressed exhibition pairing drawings, paintings, and prints of women, men, and children with historic clothing from the Muscatine Art Center’s permanent collection.

Boasting two days' worth of amazing music, food, and vendors, the inaugural Tree0ninE Festival will be presented by the Yabba Dabbas House of Glass collaboration at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, the June 28 and 29 event designed to celebrate, educate, and advocate for local tree culture through a smoking lineup of national touring artists alongside favorite local and regional musicians.

Touring in support of their 2023 debut Hope's Eternal, an album praised by The Big Takeover's Dave Franklin as "one of the most attractive musical propositions I have heard in a long time," Daniel Murphy and Jeff Arundel bring The Scarlet Goodbye to Davenport's Redstone Room on June 23, the alternative-rock ensemble lauded by Roots Music Magazine as an outfit that "takes their listener's hand and guides them through a vast and bright world."

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