Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning, it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer […]
I laughed a lot during the wonderfully cast “Grumpy Old Men,” running through May 6 at Rock Island’s Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, and I would bet you will too. Much like the movie it’s based upon, its charm is heavily dependent upon its cast. And much like the film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon […]
The staggering Covid-19 pandemic has forced most of us to lean on friends and alcohol to cope, and though we can’t (or shouldn’t) physically hug, the return of Circa ‘21’s mainstage aims to provide an emotionally comforting embrace. The historic dinner theater (1828 3rd Ave. Rock Island) opens its first main production Wednesday since theaters […]
Saturday in the Arts is a comprehensive, in-depth feature on a topic, trend or personality impacting the Quad-Cities, posted every Saturday morning on QuadCities.com. The day before the state of Illinois entered Phase 4 of reopening, affecting his longtime acting home of Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, Moline’s Tom Walljasper was filming scenes as a […]
Mark McGinn’s love of the theater is literally in his blood. His father Jack (who died in 2000) started performing at Quad City Music Guild in Moline within two years of its founding in 1949, and was in dozens of shows. Mark, a 67-year-old Bettendorf resident, started with Guild at Prospect Park in 1972, playing […]
What a difference a year makes… On June 11, 2019, I was lucky enough to be among the 11,000 or so packed into Moline’s TaxSlayer Center (11th row center on the floor) to witness the first (and possibly last) performance of Sir Paul McCartney and his band in the Quad-Cities. It was an electrifying, unforgettable […]
On this day – National Theatre Day – I’m taking it back to September 11, 2001. I know, I know… but stay with me. I was involved with Tom and Shelley Walljasper’s studio and we were set to preview a new musical version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on that fateful day and open the […]
Kinky Boots Through March 14 Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, 1726 3rd Ave., Rock Island (309) 786-7733, ext. 2 www.circa21.com We’re barely past two weeks into 2020 and already we’ve got a strong contender for best show of the year. Circa ‘21’s “Kinky Boots” is indeed that good, a fantastic staging of a fabulous show, […]
Circa ‘21’s “Elf” is a cute, fun holiday concoction, and was eaten up and greeted with smiles like Christmas cookies the night I saw it. With a fun live take on the blockbuster holiday film, a fantastic cast, wonderful sets and costumes and a terrific star giving it the perfect tone of goofiness and levity, […]
Circa ‘21’s “Shear Madness” is “sheerly” hilarious, a wild, raucous romp that lives up to its name. With a terrifically talented cast that exudes a goofy sense of fun every moment they’re onstage, it’s a must-see for anyone looking for a funny night out. As the longest-running non-musical theatrical production worldwide, the snappy show has […]
