Chris Hicks

Guys and Dolls is a classic musical comedy based on Damon Runyon’s stories about gamblers and showgirls in mythical 1940s New York. It follows the intertwined love stories of high-roller Sky Masterson and missionary Sarah Brown, and craps game organizer Nathan Detroit and his long-suffering fianceé, Miss Adelaide. It premiered on Broadway in 1950, garnering a Tony Award for Best Musical and spawned a film adaption in 1955 starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Frank Sinatra.

Suit up in your SCUBA gear and dive into The Black Box Theatre’s current production of The Shark is Broken by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon and directed by Jeremy Littlejohn which chronicles the behind-the-scenes drama of filming of what would come to be the genesis of the summer blockbuster genre “Jaws.”

To paraphrase a Neil Diamond song: Pack up your babies and grab the old ladies and everyone go…go to Playcrafters Barn Theatre’s production of The Stinky Cheeseman and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.

The Quad City Music Guild has the perfect summer offering leading into the USA’s 250th birthday anniversary: 1776. With book by Peter Stone and music/lyrics by Sherman Edwards it is a Yankee Doodle Dandy of a show that will set you up for the coming festivities.

The Rainmaker continues at Richmond Hill Players Barn Theatre in Geneseo, Thursday through Saturday, June11 through June 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 14 at 3:00 p.m.

Opera diva Maria Callas once said: “I will always be as difficult as necessary to achieve the best.” That quote perfectly encapsulates The Black Box Theatre’s current production of Terence McNally’s 1996 Tony Award winning play Master Class expertly directed by Ron May. This show is extra special in that it is a collaboration with Opera Quad Cities so you will get a healthy, but not overwhelming, dose of skyrocketing arias to accompany the phenomenal acting.

Oy, “miracle of miracles” the QCA has another chance, in less than 2 years, to take in one of theatre’s most beloved musicals: Fiddler on the Roof which is now playing at Circa 21 Dinner Theatre in Rock Island and directed by Georgette Kleier, who is making her debut at Circa. I certainly hope it won’t be her last visit.

The 2026 theatre season is off with a bang – literally. Playcrafters Barn Theatre’s second production is Charles Fuller’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize winning A Soldier’s Play, directed by Renaud Haymon and is a sterling example of Playcrafters’ conscious outreach toward inclusion in their theatre.

Fans of the popular “Church Basement Ladies” franchise have a similar but “different” show to add to their compendium of favorites, that being Richmond Hill Players current production of Bo Wilson’s The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church directed by Mike Skiles.

What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play…at Quad City Music Guild’s production of the groundbreaking, multi-award winning musical, Cabaret, with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, book by Joe Masterhoff and brilliantly directed by Luke Vermeire.