Due to the abridged past summer season, there’s a good chance you may have missed the small, stellar offerings of Mississippi Bend Players, the professional regional theater at Augustana College, Rock Island.

Shelley Cooper starred in the one-woman musical revue, “Mary & Ethel: How I Learned to Sing.”

Well, you are in luck, as two of the three shows in the 2021 season (which only ran for one weekend apiece) will have virtual encores, with online screenings of “Mary and Ethel: How I Learned to Sing” and “No Child…”

“Mary and Ethel: How I Learned to Sing” will stream through Aug. 8. Conceived and performed by Shelly Cooper with musical arrangements by Mason Moss, the show pays homage to two of the great muses of the Golden Age of musicals.

Cooper belts out favorite tunes from hit shows as she entertains with stories about the lives of Mary Martin and Ethel Merman, their material, and how they influenced her own career as a performer. Featuring songs from “Anything Goes!,” “Hello, Dolly!,” “The Sound of Music,” “South Pacific,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Peter Pan,” and more, you can feel free to sing along while watching from the comfort of home!

A QuadCities.com review said: “Her passion and enthusiasm for theater… is simply infectious, both in songs and speech.”

Jalyn Greene starred in the one-woman show “No Child…”

“Beyond her overpowering, impressive, self-assured vocal technique, the visual flair of the MBP revue was a perfect complement to help Cooper tell her inspiring story.”

“No Child…” will stream July 31-Aug. 1. Directed by Sydney Chatman, inaugural recipient of the Golden & Ruth Harris Commission and this year’s Joyce Foundation award, “No Child…” follows the story of Ms. Sun, a visiting teacher who uses theatre as a means of connecting with students in the New York public school system.

This one-person show, based on the playwright’s own experiences, is a tour-de-force as Jalyn Greene plays over a dozen different characters including Ms. Sun, her students, other teachers and administrators, and even the school’s 80-year-old janitor. An insightful and often humorous examination of our educational system.

The QuadCities.com review of that one said: “It’s hard to put into words what Jalyn Greene accomplishes in Mississippi Bend’s latest triumph. No Child… is a unique and important piece that is masterfully crafted and needs to be seen.”

Tickets to stream the MBP shows are $9.99 each, and for more information and tickets, visit www.mississippibendplayers.com. If you have any questions, contact the Ticket Office at 309-794-7306.

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Jonathan Turner

Jonathan Turner -- who has called the Quad Cities home since 1995 -- has decades of experience as a professional journalist and pianist. His experience writing for daily newspapers, public radio and local TV encompasses a wide range of subjects, including the arts, politics, education, economic development, historic preservation, business, and tourism.

Jonathan most loves writing about music and the arts (which he now does as a freelancer for the River Cities Reader and Visit Quad Cities). He has a passion for accompanying musicals, singers, choirs and instrumentalists, including playing for QC Music Guild's 2023 productions of RENT and SWEENEY TODD. He is assistant music director and accompanist for the spring 2025 Music Guild show, ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE. He wrote an original musical based on The Book of Job, which premiered at Playcrafters in 2010. Jonathan penned a 175-page history book about downtown Davenport, that was published by The History Press in 2016, and a travel guide about the QC published by Reedy Press in 2022.