With its playwright José Rivera lauded by TheatreMania.com for the “expansive, ecstatic, poetic tone in his work that few stage writers dare to attempt,” the riveting quiltwork drama Sonnets for an Old Century will be available for April 16 through 25 viewing in a virtual presentation by Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, treating online audiences to a kaleidoscopic work that inspired Chicago Stage Review to rave, “Rivera’s script is staggering and lovely.”

Praised by the Nashville Tennessean as “playful and funny” and “a treat for the whole family,” the colorful and hilarious children's-book stage adaptation Dragons Love Tacos will be available for one-day-only streaming on April 17, its presentation by students of Augustana College – filmed live in the college's Brunner Theatre Center – sure to demonstrate why Chicago Parent magazine deemed the show “a must-see for families, taco enthusiasts, and anyone who's ever had nothing to do.”

What is the essence of an artist? And how do they make themselves unique and entertaining? In my view, an artist is an extremely creative individual who demonstrates the ability to arouse one’s emotions and tantalize their senses, causing them to feel alive. And that’s exactly what I felt during Thursday’s dress-rehearsal preview of La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas, now playing at the lovely Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline.

Area theatre is back, and a beloved series is serving up some good ol’ Midwestern wholesomeness in The Church Basement Ladies in You Smell Barn at the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse. This musical comedy was simply the perfect way for the venue to reopen in the wake of last year’s COVID-19 restrictions, and my husband and I had the privilege of attending Friday’s opening-night performance. It was fabulous.