02 Jun 2025

Live from Timber Lake … It’s Saturday Night!: “Saturday Night Fever,” at the Timber Lake Playhouse through June 15

By Alexander Richardson

It must be summer again, because on Friday night, I found myself on my annual pilgrimage north through hordes of mayflies to attend the start of the new Timber Lake Playhouse season. Critiquing shows is always a bit of a dice roll: Will it be moving or boring? Director Tommy Ranieri's Saturday Night Fever is more of the former, and an extraordinary start to the summer-stock season.

26 May 2025

The Company You Don't Keep: “Marry Me a Little,” at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through June 1

By Madeline Dudziak

Featuring only two actors, Marry Me a Little involves The Boy (Thayne Lamb) and The Girl (Sydney Crumbleholme) – upstairs/downstairs apartment neighbors in New York City – and this piece, with no spoken dialogue, is told only through numbers boasting music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Yet even with the songs, the show felt disjointed, and I never truly understood what creators Craig Lucas and Norman René wanted us to take from this collection.

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.

10 May 2025

Solutions of Grandeur: “Proof,” at Augustana College through May 11

By Pamela Briggs

The final production of Augustana College's 2024-25 season is David Auburn's Proof, directed by Jennifer Popple, the college's assistant professor of theatre arts, and this professional-caliber production both impressed and moved me. It's sometimes disturbing, sometimes funny, and although heartbreaking, still left me hopeful.

05 May 2025

Boys Weakened: “Girls' Weekend,” at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through May 11

By Pamela Briggs

To my joy, Girls' Weekend, now making its area debut at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre, is delightful. I laughed more than I have in a year of theatre.

28 Apr 2025

Name That Toon: Haus of Ruckus' “Zooted Suits,” at the Black Box Theatre through May 4

By Pamela Briggs

Has it really been only three-and-a-half years since they won my heart with their first production "Jacques"alope? (Answer: Yes.) The founders of this comedic theatrical ensemble, T Green and Calvin Vo, are serving their latest smörgåsbord – Zooted Suits, a merrie medley of classic-cartoon parodies – at the Black Box Theatre. I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!

28 Apr 2025

Pirates of Pizzazz: “The Pirates of Penzance,” at St. Ambrose University through May 4

By Mischa Hooker and Kitty Israel

K: Taking pleasure in the ridiculous is key to making this show work, and Zach Ulmer was clearly having a great time. The audience couldn’t help but follow suit!

M: Absolutely. I’d agree that Ulmer was the highlight of the show’s comedy, including some fun ad-libbed asides – and he has a strong singing voice, to boot.

07 Apr 2025

When Life Gives You Limes, Make Margaritas: Quad City Music Guild's “Escape to Margaritaville,” at the Prospect Park Auditorium through April 13

By Mischa Hooker and Kitty Israel

M: No one's here for the story, are they?

K: No, we’re in it for the escapism! And fortunately, that’s exactly what this show is all about.

07 Apr 2025

1912 Overtures: “Titanic: The Musical,” at the Spotlight Theatre through April 13

By Pamela Briggs

Titanic received five 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Book, and Score, and Spotlight director Noah Hill and musical director Amy Trimble had a boatload of logistics, decisions, and inspirations to sort out. Their staging of this intricate, visually stunning spectacle is exemplary.

07 Apr 2025

Poe Boy: “The Tell-Tale Farce,” at Richmond Hill Barn Theatre through April 13

By Madeline Dudziak

Defined as a comedic work that employs buffoonery and horseplay, farce typically includes crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations. And on opening night, director Elizabeth Shaffer hit the nail on the head, because her production isn’t trying to be anything else.

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