A modern adaptation of one of the most notorious-for-its-time works in theatre history – and one boasting music and choreography created specifically for its area debut – the student-produced The Captive will enjoy an April 7 through 10 run at Augustana College, this 1926 Édouard Bourdel melodrama a critically acclaimed work whose original New York run prompted the adoption of a state law dealing with obscenity.

A 2016 Tony Award nominee and a tune-filled farce that the New York Daily News named one of its year's top-10 must-see musicals, the heady and hysterical Disaster! opens Quad City Music Guild's 2022 season with an April 1 through 10 run at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium, this jukebox delight inspiring Time Out New York's Adam Feldman to rave, "I can’t remember the last time I laughed out loud at the theatre as often as I did at Disaster!"

Winner of five 2012 Tony Awards and lauded by the New York Times as a comedy that “never stops flying,” the rib-tickling family adventure Peter & the Starcatcher runs at Moline's Spotlight Theatre April 1 through 10, the show a ticklishly original Peter Pan origin story that employs clever stagecraft and the limitless possibilities of imagination to bring its J.M. Barrie-inspired tale to life.

Praised by the Las Cruces Sun-News as "a delightful comedy with a touch of silliness" and "a zany and funny story with plot twists galore," the stage riot Drinking Habits enjoys a March 31 through April 10 at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, this first show in the Geneseo venue's 2022 season inspiring Willits News to rave that "those in need of a good laugh ... can rest assured that's what they'll get."

While Rabbit Hole did have some moments that were quite tense and sad, these weren't the constant moods, and the playwright’s script and the Playcrafters company built a narrative that was human – not overdoing the tragedy, not overdoing the comedy, but existing in a way that was approachable, simple, and touching.

I won’t lie to you: I consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to televised baking shows. If you’ve ever opted into watching one yourself, you can rightly assume that you’re in for a treat with the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's latest offering Just Desserts, its book and lyrics by Barbara Campbell and its music by Brad Ross.

What a treat it was to enjoy this fresh story, with rousing music, performed by some of the most passionate, committed actors I've recently seen – and to know that it was powered by local minds and hearts. So much work went into this treasure.

A world-premiere production shepherded by area stage talents Daniel Haughey and Michael Callahan, Aaron Power! The Musical running March 17 through 20 at the Center for Living Arts' East Studio in Rock Island – boasts a perfectly timely premise for a show opening on St. Patrick's Day, as its narrative concerns a young man who travels abroad to uncover the secrets of his Irish ancestry. Complicating matters for our protagonist, and likely to make them even more fascinating for the musical's patrons, is that the young man in question is Native American.

Each time I've attended a show at Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, I'm astonished by both the acting and technical brilliance. We had some great performers and techies during my St. Ambrose days, to be sure – but our theatre certainly wasn't equipped like this one. However, my justifiable envy doesn't lessen my enjoyment while at Augustana, including at Tuesday's dress rehearsal for The 39 Steps, directed by theatre professor Jeff Coussens.

Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the inspiration for an Oscar-nominated film, playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's family drama Rabbit Hole enjoys a March 18 through 27 run at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, the acclaimed work lauded by Entertainment Weekly as “a transcendent and deeply affecting new play which shifts perfectly from hilarity to grief.”

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