MOLINE, ILLINOIS (October 7, 2026) — Beloved theatre director Susan Wignall and an incredible cast and crew made up of Moline High School students and alums spanning thirty years are proud to announce the upcoming production of The Final Curtain. Opening on Friday, November 27, at Moline High School’s Bartlett Performing Arts Center. The Final Curtain celebrates the productions of long-time Moline High School director Susan Wignall in a hilarious, heartwarming, musical performance featuring past and present talents from the Moline stage.
Performances will be held on Friday, November 27, and Saturday, November 28, 7:30PM, at Moline High School’s Bartlett Performing Arts Center located at 3600 Avenue of the Cities, Moline, Illinois, 61265.
Tickets are available now at https://sites.google.com/view/thefinalcurtain/purchase-ticket.
After surviving throat cancer, Wignall, or Wig as she is affectionally called by her students, decided she had one more gift to give the Moline High School Community above and beyond her thirty years of stellar teaching. She became determined to stage one last big show titled The Final Curtain and raise money to fund the Susan Wignall Legacy Performing Arts Scholarship.
Wignall expressed, “I feel very lucky. I got a second chance. So, my second chance is giving back. I knew my way to give back is through creating and directing this intergenerational play. We are hoping the experience from these performances carries on, and continues to help so many students who also want to pursue a career in performing arts.”
It’s clear Wignall is that teacher who inspired so many students and helped them find confidence and agency.
Linnea Saddler, a 1998 Graduate who performed in the leading role of Fame at Moline High School. Saddler shares her experience with Wignall: “Wig said, ‘I need you to sing the song’. I said, ‘Okay, I can sing the song’. Then she said, ‘But you have to play this character.’ I said, ‘Oh, I can’t do that part. Could someone else do the acting and I do the singing?’ She said, ‘That is not how this works.’ Then she said, ‘You can do this.’ And I thought, ‘I’ve never done anything remotely like this before.’ She said, ‘I can tell you, I see it. It’s all over you. I believe in you.’ You know it took her belief in me, to make me believe in myself.”
Jazmin Newton, a 2002 Graduate who was in her Speech class and who went on to perform in Peter Pan, expressed: “She actually did a lot for me. She believed in me way before I ever believed in myself. She helped me find confidence. I actually tried to quit her speech class. I was terrified to speak in front of people. I would even hate to be called on in class. I would stumble over words. English is my second language, and I feel like I didn’t even know how to pronounce words. But she wouldn’t let me quit her class. She encouraged me to stay and at least do one speech. She walked me through it. She even allowed me to come in after school and practice. Even when I did it horribly, she would still say, ‘That’s an improvement, you’re getting better.’ She would encourage me to keep doing it, and keep trying until I was able too. She made a huge difference.
“Then she had a showing coming up called Peter Pan, and she said, ‘You should try out.’ I thought it was the craziest idea ever. I am not a theatre kid. But I showed up to tryouts and I did horrible. To my surprise, she still gave me a chance. She cast me as one of the Indians. The biggest thing about the show was standing onstage with so many people watching you. That was terrifying at first, but then it helped me find my confidence. It helped me be the person I am today. A lot of the things I do today require an immense amount of confidence. When I think back that was a pivotal moment. That was something that changed the trajectory of my life.”
Je Deleon, a 1994 Graduate who performed in Cabaret and Little Shop of Horrors, says, “It'll be exciting. The crazy thing is the people who I looked up to, Matt Gibsons, Krista Miners, etc, who I never would have a chance to perform with, I now get a chance to do a show with them. This is an opportunity I don't think I ever would have thought would be possible. The Final Curtain is giving all of us a chance to perform with people who came before and people who came after us. And Wig is the only center of that nucleus to bring everybody together.”
Production Details
• Production: The Final Curtain
• Directed by: Susan Wignall
• Venue: Moline High School’s Bartlett Performing Arts Center, 3600 Avenue of the Cities, Moline, Illinois, 61265
• Performance dates: Friday, November 27, and Saturday, November 28
• Showtimes: 7:30PM
• Tickets: Adults $20, Students $10 available at https://finalcurtain.booktix.com/.
About The Susan Wignall Legacy Performing Arts Scholarship
The Susan Wignall Legacy Performing Arts Scholarship is maintained by the Moline Regional Community Foundation. It provides scholarship awards to Moline High School students pursuing a performing arts degree. All donations are tax-deductible. For more information about this scholarship fund, visit https://sites.google.com/view/thefinalcurtain/donate?authuser=0
