17 Nov 2025

The Parents Trapp: Quad City Music Guild's “The Sound of Music,” at the Prospect Park Auditorium through November 23

By Madeline Dudziak

A handful of transitions land a little differently on stage, which can take a moment to adjust to if the classic film is your primary Sound of Music reference point. Luckily, if you’re willing to be a little flexible, director David Blakely’s production is most enjoyable overall.

17 Nov 2025

Parydice: “Eurydice,” at St. Ambrose University through November 23

By Alexander Richardson

Directed by Daniel Hale and beautifully written by Sarah Ruhl, Eurydice is now playing in the studio theatre at St. Ambrose University. and this production offers a theatrical treat to warm your heart.

17 Nov 2025

Holmes for the Holidays: “A Sherlock Carol,” at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre through November 23

By Mischa and Kitty Hooker

Mischa: I thought it was a fun mash-up of these two classic fictional worlds, and appreciated the cleverness with which they were combined.

Kitty: Maybe I’m a Scrooge, but I kept thinking, “Okay, so it’s A Christmas Carol starring Sherlock Holmes. But … why?”

12 Nov 2025

“The Lion in Winter,” November 21 through December 6

By Reader Staff

Hailed by the New York Times as "a work of intelligence, astringent wit, and much theatrical skill," William Goldman's stage classic The Lion in Winter enjoys a November 21 through December 6 run at Moline's Black Box Theatre, this acclaimed theatre piece also the inspiration for the 1968 film classic that won Goldman an Academy Award for his adaptation and secured Katharine Hepburn the third of her four Oscars.

11 Nov 2025

“Santa Claus: The Musical,” November 25 through December 21

By Reader Staff

Santa Claus will soon be coming to town, but in the meantime, he's coming to Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse in the theatre's November 25 through December 21 run of the family adventure Santa Claus: The Musical, a delightful, hour-long entertainment that Theatre Jones described as "a toe-tapping, joyous musical extravaganza."

10 Nov 2025

Holiday Chestnut: “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through December 28

By Madeline Dudziak

It’s a long-running joke at our house that I get Irving Berlin’s Christmas-y shows confused, as both feature his music and plots about saving a small-town lodging facility from financial dire straits. So to be clear: The Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse is not currently staging Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn, but rather Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, directed and choreographed by Ashley Becher. And if you’re in the mood for a little holiday fun, you will not be disappointed.

04 Nov 2025

“Proceed to Checkout,” November 20 through 23

By Reader Staff

A collection of 10 death-affirming plays, sketches, and monologues that includes Silence, which the Miami Herald called “deeply moving,” author Henry Meyerson's Proceed to Checkout serves as the 2025-26 season-opening production at Bettendorf's Scott Community College's, the show's November 20 through 23 run also treating attendees to the short work Pop Goes the Weasel, which NYTheatre hailed as “a sharp, very original piece."

17 Nov 2025

River Cities' Reader Theatre Reviews: July 2000 to the Present

By Administrator

Reviews by Rochelle Arnold, Jeff Ashcraft, Patricia Baugh-Riechers, Audra Beals, Pamela Briggs, Dee Canfield, Madeline Dudziak, Kim Eastland, Emily Heninger, Heather Herkelman, Kitty (née Israel) Hooker, Mischa Hooker, Paula Jolly, Victoria Navarro, Roger Pavey Jr., Alexander Richardson, Mark Ruebling, Mike Schulz, Joy Thompson, Oz Torres, Brent Tubbs, Jill Pearson Walsh, and Thom White.

15 Nov 2025

Manor of Death: “The Mousetrap,” at Augustana College through November 16

By Pamela Briggs

I was immediately drawn into the little world of this slightly run-down manor owned by Giles and Mollie Ralston. Both are on edge about the launch, and with no staff, the guest services and upkeep of the entire place is on their shoulders. They don't know that matters are about to get much worse.

06 Nov 2025

“Eurydice,” November 14 through 23

By Reader Staff

Delivering what the New York Times deemed "the subliminal potency of music, the head-scratching surprise of a modernist poem, and the cockeyed allure of a surrealist painting," Tony-nominated playwright Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice enjoys a November 14 through 23 staging in the Galvin Fine Arts Studio Theatre at St. Ambrose University, the Times adding that the genre-spanning show is a "devastatingly lovely – and just plain devastating – theatrical gloss on the Orpheus myth."

Pages

more

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

 

Tagged Content

    

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?) 

Subscribe!

* indicates required

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Get 12 issues mailed monthly for $48 per year.

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Click this link to Subscribe now.

 
 

Theatre Calendars

Submit your event listings to calendar@rcreader.com