28 Jul 2026

“Hands on a Hardbody,” August 7 through 16

By Reader Staff

A three-time Tony Award nominee that the New York Times said "sings sincerely and with a rough-edged humor of the dusty margins of American life," Hands on a Hardbody makes its area debut with an August 7 through 16 run at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, the high-energy show with a book by Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner Doug Wright also hailed by New York Magazine as "musical theatre heaven."

27 Jul 2026

Ladies/Gaga: Genesius Guild's “Women's Festival,” at Lincoln Park through August 2

By Pamela Briggs

Director Michael Callahan is credited as writer, but as he explained before Saturday’s opening performance, the script evolved with a workshop-style model, with the whole cast participating in the writing. That’s likely why this production is one of the funniest season-enders I’ve seen.

27 Jul 2026

On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, We Wear Pink: Countryside Community Theatre's “Mean Girls,” at the North Scott High School Fine Arts Auditorium through August 2

By Alexander Richardson

Featuring lyrics by Nell Benjamin, a book by Tina Fey, and music by Jeff Richmond (Fey’s husband), and boasting the exemplary direction (plus choreography and costume design) by Ashley Becher, Mean Girls is sure to put a smile on your face and give you a reason to beat the heat.

27 Jul 2026

Exhilarating Depression: “Bonnie & Clyde,” at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre through August 2

By Madeline Dudziak

Make no mistake: Bonnie & Clyde is not a feel-good musical.

21 Jul 2026

The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” August 6 through 16

By Reader Staff

Lauded by the New York Times as “effortlessly endearing” and by Variety as “enormously satisfying,” The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee closes the 2026 summer season at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, the show's August 6 through 16 run sure to demonstrate why composer William Finn's celebrated 2005 musical comedy received two Tony Awards and enjoyed a Broadway run of 1,136 performances.

20 Jul 2026

The Princess and the Pea-Green: “Shrek the Musical,” at the Timber Lake Playhouse through August 2

By Madeline Dudziak

Having first seen the musical in New York with the original Broadway cast, I came in with extremely high expectations. Director/choreographer Chaz Wolcott’s production more than rose to the challenge and made for a truly fantastic night at the theatre.

15 Jul 2026

Genesius Guild's “Women's Festival,” July 25 through August 2

By Reader Staff

Wrapping up Genesius Guild's 2026 summer season with a freewheeling, cheekily updated Greek farce, Women's Festival (a.k.a. Thesmophoriazusae) enjoys a run in Rock Island's Lincoln Park July 25 through August 2, this Aristophanes comedy sure to deliver laughs, commentary, and, as per usual, a madcap, Mack Sennett chase around the Don Wooten Stage.

14 Jul 2026

Countryside Community Theatre's “Mean Girls,” July 24 through August 2

By Reader Staff

Lauded by New York magazine as a show that "delivers with immense energy, a wicked sense of humor, and joyful inside-jokery," the Tony-nominated Broadway musical Mean Girls enjoys a Countryside Community Theatre staging, from July 24 through August 2, at Eldridge North Schott High School Fine Arts Auditorium, New York adding that this critically lauded smash based on the 2004 hit comedy is "hilarious, splashy, and unmistakably by Tina Fey."

14 Jul 2026

“The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition,” July 25 and 26

By Reader Staff

At Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center on July 25 and 26, audiences are invited on an unforgettable journey down the Yellow Brick Road with The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition, a delightful, one-act stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s beloved tale in which our plucky heroine must make friends, face her fears, and discover how good it is to go home.

13 Jul 2026

It's a Man, Man, Man, Man World: Genesius Guild’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” at Lincoln Park through July 19

By Madeline Dudziak

Rather than trying to explain discomfort away, director Cait Bodenbender embraced the play's history by simply casting as Shakespeare himself did: with an all-male cast.

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