22 Dec 2025

Picks 'o Six 2025: Highlights from the Year in Area Theatre

By Pamela Briggs, Madeline Dudziak, Kitty Hooker, Mischa Hooker, Alexander Richardson, and Mike Schulz

And they said it couldn't be done! Well, actually, no one to my knowledge ever said that … . But who cares? It was done, dammit! Our annual celebration of area theatre, the Reader Tony Awards, has made it to its 10th anniversary!

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.

22 Dec 2025

Local Theatre Auditions/Calls for Entry

By Administrator
Local Theatre Auditions/Calls for Entry

Updated: Monday, December 22

22 Dec 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 Dec 2025

12 Joyful Jurors: “Cheaper by the Dozen,” at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through December 21

By Alexander Richardson

The Playcrafters Barn Theatre closes out its 2025 season with Cheaper by the Dozen, adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel and directed by Emma Terronez. It offers family-friendly entertainment … if also entertainment devoid of yuletide cheer for the particularly Christmas-adverse.

08 Dec 2025

Bibbidi-Bobbidi Boon: “Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella,” at the Spotlight Theatre through December 14

By Pamela Briggs

The Spotlight Theatre’s current offering is the 2013 Cinderella, which has all the memorable songs and just the right amount of appealing humor. And I thoroughly enjoyed Friday’s opening-night performance, with director Sarah Greim, music director Christine Rogers, and choreographer Michelle Kabel wrangling a large, talented cast with terrific voices, and the show's crew contributing to the magic.

08 Dec 2025

I’ve Got 99 Problems, but a Grinch Ain’t One!: “Who's Holiday,” at the Circa '21 Speakeasy through December 19

By Mischa Hooker and Kitty Israel

M: It was an unmitigated pleasure to watch Sydney Richardson portray this part. She exuded the perfect mix of Midwestern charm and knowing experience to make it really come to life.

Kitty: Oh, absolutely. This show’s brisk run time of just over an hour could easily feel much longer if the script slipped into a singsong lull. But Richardson handles the verse like a pro.

02 Dec 2025

Fairy-Tale Dreams Can Come True: Ivy Jensen Stars in “Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella,” December 5 through 14 at the Spotlight Theatre

By Jonathan Turner

After years of struggle, Ivy Jensen is living her dream, on stage and off.

02 Dec 2025

“Mrs. Doubtfire,” December 17

By Reader Staff

Inspired by the Oscar-winning Robin Williams smash and hailed by the Hollywood Reporter as “a feel-good, family-friendly comedy that delivers,” the musical version of Mrs. Doubtfire brings its national tour to Davenport's Adler Theatre on December 17, its beloved faux Scottish nanny stealing laughs and hearts in a production the Chicago Tribune called “the lovable, big-hearted musical comedy we need right now.”

02 Dec 2025

“Cheaper by the Dozen” December 12 through 21

By Reader Staff

Based on the beloved novel by sibling authors Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, and the inspiration for movie comedies in 1950, 2003, and 2022, playwright Christopher Sergel's Cheaper by the Dozen closes the 2024-25 season at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, this heartwarming and moving family sure to deliver seasonal warmth, sentiment, and laughs during its December 12 through 21 run.

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