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.

An opera legend will celebrated on-stage when Shelley Cooper, Augustana College's Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, performs her one-woman show La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas at Moline's Black Box Theatre March 28 through 28, the production a loving tribute to an iconic figure that legendary composer Leonard Bernstein called “the Bible of opera.”