Lauded by the New York Times as an "undeniably moving" stage work that "shatters the heart," the immortal tale of horror and hope The Diary of Anne Frank runs at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre August 1 through 10, author Wendy Kesselman's adaptation of Frances Goodrich's and Albert Hackett's Pulitzer Prize-winner hailed by the Associated Press as "a powerful new version that moves the audience to gasps, then tears."

Closing its 2025 summer season with a celebration of one of America's greatest and most beloved entertainers, the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre stages Almost Heaven: The Songs of John Denver from July 31 through August 10, this transporting stage salute inspiring Chicago Theatre Review to rave, "it’s assured that every theatergoer will fly back home on a 'Rocky Mountain High.'"

Based on the Oscar-winning modern classic that stands as one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, Disney's Frozen enjoys an area debut at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse August 1 through 17, this magical family enchantment a three-time Tony Award nominee hailed by The Guardian for its "theatrical razzmatazz" and "the sense of a real, beating heart in the relationship between the two tortured sisters."

A student-performed version of the Tony Award nominee adapted from one of the most beloved animated musicals of all time, Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr. enjoys an August 2 and 3 run at Maquoketa's Ohnward Fine Arts Center, the theatrical rendition of 1989's Oscar-winning film lauded by Broadway World as "a family-friendly stage musical with great visual punch."

True to Steve Martin’s storytelling sensibility, Bright Star is full of heart, laced with tragedy, and balanced by moments of laugh-out-loud humor. Oh, and there’s plenty of banjo.

Kitty: Full disclosure: We once dressed as Mary Poppins and Bert for Halloween. We’re very serious about our Poppins lore.

Mischa: But we promise to be absolutely objective in our reactions to this show.

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 closes Countryside Community Theatre's 2025 summer season with the show's July 25 through August 3 run, this stage sensation also praised by Variety as a "sweet, infinitely spirited, bubblegum-flavored confection" that "more than lives up to its promise."

For the fourth straight year, and with company favorite Jacob Lund directing, the Quad Cities' classical-theatre company Genesius Guild will close its summer season with a madcap, somewhat modernized slapstick co-written by Haus of Ruckus founders T. Green and Cal Vo, their adaptation of Aristophanes' ancient-Greek satire Peace running in Rock Island's Lincoln Park June 26 through August 3.

The Timber Lake Playhouse continues its hot streak with Waitress, directed and choreographed by Jennifer Hemphill. A crowd-pleaser through and through, with a charming book that's further buoyed by a wonderfully diverse cast of performers, this production is a saccharine slice of heaven.

Delivering what The Hollywood Reporter described as “a joyous blast of defiant analog vitality in a manufactured digital world,” the City Circle Theatre Company brings School of Rock: The Musical to the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts July 18 through 27, this stage sensation based on the beloved Jack Black comedy hailed by Broadway World as “a big, beautiful blast of musical comedy from start to finish.”

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