A Tony Award nominee for both Best Musical and Best Revival of a Musical that inspired one of the most popular movie musicals of all time, Grease is the word as the 2023 season-starter at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, the endlessly popular show beloved by audiences for its unforgettable characters and songs including "Greased Lightnin'," "We Go Together," and the karaoke staple "Summer Nights."

A boisterous, hilarious, critically acclaimed adaptation of Nickelodeon’s long-running animated children’s sitcom SpongeBob Squarepants, The SpongeBob Musical makes its eagerly awaited area debut at Moline's Spotlight Theatre, the show's June 2 through 11 run sure to demonstrate why this family treat earned 12 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical, and why the New York Times deemed it "a ginormous giggle of a show."

Director Michael Brindish’s production is the perfect introduction to this venue; even the Rock Island theatre's seasoned patrons are in for a treat. While this Mamma Mia! felt familiar – here I go again – there were a few tricks up its sleeve, making it, for me, a unique experience.

I must begin with an apology and a confession. Sorry to my British Literature professor in college: I never read Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility, nor did I read her Pride & Prejudice. If you were generous, you could say I skimmed. But it’s okay (at least for me), because the most recent production at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre is so good, it makes me regret being a negligent student.