A two-character musical that Time Out New York deemed “heavenly” while adding “You don't have to be religious to know when you're in the presence of glory,” author George Brant's Marie & Rosetta serves as the latest production in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's Barn Owl Series, its August 12 through 14 run at the Moline venue introducing – or re-introducing – audiences to the electrifying music pioneer that was Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

A half-dozen wickedly funny and proudly confrontational comedies by one of America's most revered playwrights will enjoy Scott Community College stagings from April 12 through 20, with Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You & Other Short Plays showcasing the sardonic wit and sharp intelligence of author Christopher Durang, a Tony Award winner for his 2012 smash Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike.

A bona-fide classic of American musical theatre, Rodgers and Hammerstein's cherished romance The King & I lands at Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 7 in a glorious new nationally touring presentation, beguiling patrons with an unforgettable score in a show the New York Times called “breathtaking and exquisite” and New York magazine deemed “too beautiful to miss.”

JC is in the house – by which I mean Quad City Music Guild's really modern-day Jesus Christ Superstar, a production complete with skinny jeans, loafers, and cell phones. Friday's opening-night performance of this classic with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice was still working out its bugs; there were missed microphone cues in which you couldn't hear the beginnings of songs, and personally speaking, I was a bit confused by Heather Blair's costume design, as it appeared that every actor just went into their closets and picked out something peculiar to wear. But straight out of the gate, Adam Sanders' Judas Iscariot, at least, was powerful in his rendition of “Heaven on Their Minds.”