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6 days ago | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
If you like your musical theatre honest, funny, and devastatingly intimate, you need to see Fun Home at the Black Box Theatre. Based on Alison Bechdel’s award-winning graphic memoir, this musical is about coming of age, coming out, and coming to terms with the past.
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1 month ago | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
Mischa: Arrr! Ye ready? Kitty: Aye, aye, captain!M: Who lives in a ship full of orphans at sea? K: Pirates of Penzance!M: With singing and dancing and idiocy!K: Pirates of Penzance!M: For duty and patter and tales of great woe!K: Pirates of Penzance!M: Just head to St. Ambrose and witness their show!K: Pirates of Penzance!M: Ahoy, me hearties! The Pirates of Penzance, directed by Daniel Hale, with music direction by Nathan Windt, is on stage now at St. Ambrose University.
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2 months ago | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
The Hawaiian shirts and leis were out in full force on Friday night for Quad City Music Guild’s premiere of Escape to Margaritaville, directed by Luke Vermeire. If you’re “growing older but not up” or have “a Caribbean soul you can barely control,” this show’s for you. Based on the songs of Jimmy Buffett, the musical follows resort singer and chronic heartbreaker Tully (Jack Bevans) and his whirlwind romance with Rachel (Kirsten Sindelar), a no-nonsense tourist.
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2 months ago | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
Heartbreak Hotel, now playing at the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, chronicles the rise of superstar Elvis Presley from his humble beginnings in Tupelo, Mississippi, to the height of his fame as an American icon. As you might expect, the musical features many of the King’s top hits, among them “Blue Suede Shoes,” “That’s All Right,” and, of course, the titular “Heartbreak Hotel.” The show's emotional core, though, lies in the touching moments from Elvis’ childhood.
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Feb 10, 2025 | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
Groundhog Day is back again! This beloved holiday inspired the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. A few years ago, that comedy hit inspired a Broadway musical. And now, that musical is making its Quad Cities debut at the Spotlight Theatre under director Noah Hill. Does this mean we’re in for six more weeks of winter?
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Dec 9, 2024 | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
The beloved musical Annie tells of how, in the midst of the Great Depression, the titular “little orphan” (played by Sloan Utz) escapes from under the thumb of mean Miss Hannigan (Sara Wegener), finds a rich protector in Oliver Warbucks (Matthew Downey), and continues her quest to find the parents who left her at an orphanage as a baby.
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Nov 18, 2024 | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
Life Sucks, Aaron Posner’s adaptation of the Anton Chekhov classic Uncle Vanya, is on stage now at Playcrafters Barn Theatre, and we attended opening night. In this comedy, Vanya (Mike Turczynski), his niece Sonia (Adrienne Jane Evans), and their family friends Babs (Stephanie Moeller) and Pickles (Pam Cantrell) all live together in the house formerly owned by Sonia’s now-deceased mother. Their neighbor Dr. Aster (Eric Landuyt) is Vanya’s close friend and the secret object of Sonia’s affections.
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Oct 14, 2024 | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
If you’re looking for a creepy Halloween activity that doesn’t involve killer clowns or bloodthirsty ghouls, we have the perfect solution for you. Coincidentally, if you’re also looking for an eerily relevant election-season event without Democrats and Republicans, we have the perfect solution for you. The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution, the new theatre experience presented by Rock Island Tunnel Co., will place you in a dystopian … . Future? Past? Present?
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Oct 7, 2024 | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
We know that she tells us “Don’t cry for me,” but we dare you not to shed a tear during the Spotlight Theatre’s production of Evita. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous musical about the life of Eva Perón (Sara Tubbs) traces her life story from poverty to political power as the wife of Argentine dictator Colonel Juan Perón (Matthew Downey), with continuous narration by the revolutionary Che (Matthew Call), often offering a more critical perspective on the revered Evita.
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Sep 9, 2024 | 
rcreader.com | Mischa Hooker |Mike Schulz
They’re kooky, spooky, and altogether ooky. They’re … The Addams Family, now on stage at the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse. Directed and choreographed by Ashley Becher, this musical is based on the famous characters (popularized by the 1960s television series and 1990s movie franchise) by cartoonist Charles Addams. In this latest incarnation, daughter Wednesday (JuJu Palmer) is all grown up and has fallen in love with – gasp! – a totally normal boy named Lucas (Samuel Sommer).
