23 Jun 2025

Nothin' but a Good Time: “Rock of Ages,” at the Timber Lake Playhouse through July 6

By Alexander Richardson

If it’s got over-ze-top German accents, banging rock music, and more questionable wigs than you can shake a Spirit Halloween store at, it must be Rock of Ages, now playing at the Timber Lake Playhouse. Directed with aplomb by James Beaudry, Timber Lake’s latest takes us back to a yester-decade when rock music was the culture and not something confined to specific frequencies of FM radio.

23 Jun 2025

Class Acts: “Miss Nelson Is Missing!”, at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through June 29

By Kitty Israel

There are three main villains from childhood fiction that still occasionally haunt my nightmares – my terror trifecta, if you will: the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Barnaby from Babes in Toyland, and Miss Viola Swamp from Miss Nelson Is Missing! So naturally, I was both excited and terrified when I took my seat at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre.

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.

12 May 2025

They Kill! They Slay! They Murder It!: “Chicago,” at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through July 5

By Madeline Dudziak

Given that the new Pope hails from Chicago, it’s likely you’ve heard an uptick of talk of that town in the last week or so. But let me tell you: There’s another Chicago you ought to be talking about, because the current production running at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, directed and choreographed by Ashley Becher, is a visual spectacular and features, I wager, some of the best dancing I’ve ever seen on that stage.

24 Jun 2025

River Cities' Reader Theatre Reviews: July 2000 to the Present

By Administrator

Reviews by Rochelle Arnold, Jeff Ashcraft, Patricia Baugh-Riechers, Audra Beals, Pamela Briggs, Dee Canfield, Madeline Dudziak, Kim Eastland, Emily Heninger, Heather Herkelman, Mischa Hooker, Kitty Israel, Paula Jolly, Victoria Navarro, Roger Pavey Jr., Alexander Richardson, Mark Ruebling, Mike Schulz, Joy Thompson, Oz Torres, Brent Tubbs, Jill Pearson Walsh, and Thom White.

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.

16 Jun 2025

Parental Dissection Is Advised: “The Addams Family,” at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre through June 22

By Madeline Dudziak

They're creepy and they’re kooky, but I must tell you: For a musical comedy about a clan that generally lacks enthusiasm for anything other than the macabre, the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's The Addams Family was truly a high-energy showcase of talent and spectacle. Director Courtney Ryan Crouse, who's also the company's artistic director, brought the ghoulish tale to light in a way that was hysterically heartwarming.

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.

09 Jun 2025

Summer Bible Camp: Quad City Music Guild's “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” at the Prospect Park Auditorium through June 15

By Mischa Hooker and Kitty Israel

M: With its familiar storyline, a lot of talent on and off stage, and a full helping of over-the-top silliness, it really hits most of the right notes.

K: You know who was hitting all the right notes?

M: Could you possibly mean Lauren VanSpeybroeck and Casey Scott?

K: I could!

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.

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