The Quad Cities’ summer-theatre season is finally underway and Quad City Music Guild’s production of A Little Night Music, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by Hugh Wheeler, and directed by Colleen Houlihan, is a good start to it, boasting strong performances and some killer vocals.

Presenting its latest season of free summertime Shakespeare in Iowa City's Lower City Park, Riverside Theatre will thrill audiences with a stunning outdoor production of the Bard's historical tragedy Julius Caesar from June 14 through 30, this classic from 1599 having been performed over the years by such thunderous worldwide talents as Marlon Brando, Orson Welles, John Gielgud, and Denzel Washington.

It took time for some of the performers in director John Donald O'Shea's production at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre to fully inhabit their roles; consequently, I was slow to warm up to the show. But I did. The compelling mystery aspects enter the script late, too, but are ultimately engrossing.

Praised by USA Today as a Broadway hit of "uncynical warmth and charm," the Tony-nominated Tarzan: The Musical swings into Moline's Spotlight Theatre for an area-debut run from June 7 through 16, this theatrical adaptation of Disney's Oscar-winning animated film boasting magical stagecraft and delightful tunes including "Two Worlds," "Strangers Like Me," and 1999's Academy Award champion ""You'll Be In My Heart."