06 Feb 2023

Warning Tornado: “Natural Shocks,” at the Black Box Theatre through February 11

By Pamela Briggs

I'm often impressed upon my first glance at the set when I enter the Black Box Theatre: the opulent, creepy one of The Turn of the Screw; the enigmatic jumble of portraits and ripped flags for Assassins; the varying, multiple-locale settings for Little Women: The Musical. (This venue's crews find the most wonderful furniture and set dressing, too.) However, the set for playwright Lauren Gunderson's Natural Shocks, the Black Box's current production, blows them all away. I think I actually froze in astonishment.

31 Jan 2023

“Barefoot in the Park,” February 10 through 19

By Reader Staff

Opening its eagerly anticipated 2023 season with one of the most hilarious and beloved romantic comedies in theatrical history, Neil Simon's timeless Barefoot in the Park enjoys a February 10 through 19 run at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, this Tony-winning stage sensation – and inspiration for the Robert Redford/Jane Fonda movie – lauded by Life magazine as nothing less than “one of the funniest comedies ever.”

31 Jan 2023

“The Wind in the Willows,” February 11 through 19

By Reader Staff

A literary classic adapted for the stage by a remarkable trio of professional talents, author Kenneth Grahame's beloved The Wind in the Willows enjoys a student-performed rendition at Davenport Junior Theatre from February 11 to 19, its creators including the Olivier Award-winning Mary Poppins team of composer/lyricists George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and its book writer Julian Fellowes, the Academy Award and Emmy winner responsible for Gosford Park and Downton Abbey.

24 Jan 2023

Mercury Rising: “We Will Rock You,” at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through March 11

By Roger Pavey Jr.

While the script is completely beyond Circa '21's control, what the We Will Rock You actors and designers pulled off – as led by book and music directors Amy McCleary and Ron May – was visually and audibly impressive. This musical's artists were the champions, my friends.

23 Jan 2023

Broken Box Mime Theater, February 7 through 9

By Reader Staff

Performing a rich, funny, and astonishing blend of stagecraft and silent slapstick, the gifted clowns of New York's nationally touring Broken Box Mime Theater will appear as the latest 2023 guests in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artists Series, delivering one full performance and two abbreviated ones – in addition to their numerous presentations for local students – between February 7 and 9.

23 Jan 2023

The Acting Company's “Romeo & Juliet,” February 7

By Reader Staff

A gripping drama spun from the ancient grudge between two families, and a timeless tale of star-crossed lovers who follow their passions to the ultimate end, William Shakespeare's romantic-tragedy classic Romeo & Juliet will be given a fresh interpretation at the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on February 7, when members of the New York-based The Acting Company deliver a stirring touring production proving the Bard's story as relevant to modern society as it was four centuries ago.

23 Jan 2023

Shaken and Bakin': One-Off Theatrical Productions’ “Apples in Winter,” at the Mockingbird on Main through January 28

By Madeline Dudziak

From the click of the pastry cutter against the mixing bowl to the struggle with cling wrap (we’ve all been there), the familiarity of Miriam's process in Apples in Winter brought an overall comforting quality to a plot that’s primarily distressing.

19 Jan 2023

“High School Musical Jr.,” January 27 through 29

By Reader Staff

From January 27 through 29, the Center for Living Arts, the Penguin Project of the Quad Cities, and Augustana College's theatre department will team up to help turn kids into stage stars for the eagerly awaited family-musical presentation Disney's High School Musical Jr. – a production based on the stage and TV sensation that boasts a cast composed of talented youths with special needs.

17 Jan 2023

“Natural Shocks,” February 2 through 12

By Reader Staff

Hailed by StageLeft.nyc as "taut and lively" and by Theatre Scene as "a compelling play on important and topical themes," playwright Lauren Gunderson's unique and unpredictable dramatic comedy Natural Shocks makes its Quad Cities debut at Moline's Black Box Theatre from February 2 through 12, with DC Metro Theatre Arts adding its praise by deeming it a work that "raises important points about the need to take action in times of crises."

17 Jan 2023

“Hairspray,” January 31

By Reader Staff

Lauded by the New York Times as a "fresh, winning, and deliriously tuneful" musical that's "as sweet as a show can be without promoting tooth decay," the Tony-winning Broadway sensational Hairspray makes a national-tour stop at Davenport's Adler Theatre on January 31, this stage sensational also praised by Variety magazine as a "sweet, infinitely spirited, bubblegum-flavored confection" that "more than lives up to its promise."

Pages

more

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

 

Tagged Content

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?) 

Subscribe!

* indicates required

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Get 12 issues mailed monthly for $48 per year.

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Click this link to Subscribe now.

 
 

Theatre Calendars

Submit your event listings to calendar@rcreader.com