One of American theatre's most exciting, acclaimed, and tune-filled entertainments receives a St. Ambrose University staging in the April 20 through 22 run of Cabaret, the legendary Kander & Ebb musical that earned a combined 12 Tony Awards for Broadway's 1966 original and 1998 revival, and that was adapted into a 1972 film classic that received eight Oscars including Best Actress for Liza Minnelli and Best Director for Bob Fosse.

One of the millennium's biggest animated-film hits enjoys a raucous, colorful, and tuneful stage presentation when Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse presents the area debut of Madagascar: A Musical Adventure, a family treat, running April 19 through Mar 12, reuniting audiences with Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip-hip-Hippo, and all of their other Dreamworks favorites.

Sports, laughs, and loads of pop-culture references are sure to be on hand when Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort hosts an April 21 evening with touring comedian and frequent TV personality Frank Caliendo, whose list of famed impressions includes those of actors Morgan Freeman, Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Robert De Niro; politicians Donald Trump, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama; broadcasters John Madden, Charles Barkley, and Jon Gruden; and talk show hosts Dr. Phil, Jay Leno, and David Letterman.

Called “a provocative fusion of objective reality and emotional punch” by the New York Times and “thoughtful, pained, and powerful” by Variety magazine, The Laramie Project wraps up Scott Community College's 2017-18 theatre season April 13 through 22, the iconic Matthew Shepard drama featuring 10 student actors who portray more than 60 characters between them.

In celebration of its golden anniversary, the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre turned to its patrons to choose titles for the venue's 50th season. And Geneseo audiences were clearly in the mood for celebrating of the funny and feisty sort, as Richmond Hill's 2018 lineup begins with the April 12 through 22 return of Sex Please, We're 60, a madcap slapstick farce that The Californian described as “fast-paced and hilarious” and BroadwayWorld.com called “a bawky, rollicking romp” in which “you will relate and laugh yourself silly.”

Faith, hope, and brotherly love wrapped up in comic genius and superb writing was what I witnessed this past Good Friday. I must admit, I had never heard of the Church Basement Ladies series until recently, and was not sure what to expect. But the theatre's current The Church Basement Ladies in Rise Up, O Men was one of the best shows I've ever seen at the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse.

Winner of the 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, Lucas Hnath's The Christians serves as the first title in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's 2018 season of Barn Owl Theatre productions, its April 6 through 8 run treating audiences to a work BroadwayWorld.com deemed “utterly engrossing,” with the Chicago Tribune calling its author “one of the most interesting, focused, counterintuitive, and intellectually compelling playwrights of our moment.”

A riotous farce and classic of 20th Century theatre that has been performed in more than 40 countries, Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist will enjoy an area staging at Augustana College April 12 through 15, with director Keenan Odenkirk and his cast exploring this revered work in which, according to the New York Times, “political corruption and the oafishness of officialdom are ridiculed with wit and incivility.”

On April 5, the Figge Art Museum will present a pair of special evening events exploring the principle of “collective action” – how individual energies can be united toward common goals – in the venue's 6 p.m. Scholar Talk with the University of Iowa's Dr. Ali Hanan, and, at 6:45 p.m., a performance by the touring student artists of the university troupe Dancers in Motion.

Clue: The Musical is the latest production to open in this wonderfully intimate venue in downtown Moline, and speaking candidly, I was blown away by the packed house as audience members loudly chattered away before the opening curtain. It was as if they all had been cooped up in their homes for the last 24 hours, but needed to venture out just to see a classic board game brought to life via a Broadway-esque style musical.

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