What a night of theatre Thursday night’s What Might Have Been opening proved to be.

Lauded by the New York Daily News as "fresh and original" with "bouncy, big-hearted songs," the acclaimed stage version of a film-comedy smash enjoys a February 6 through 15 run at Moline's Spotlight Theatre, with 9 to 5: The Musical deemed "a triumph" by The Guardian, which added, "It seemed improbable, given the cult status of the movie, but the stage show has met it and raised it, rather than being its pale imitation."

Adapted from the YA science-fantasy that has sold more than 10 million copies and was a 2018 Disney movie smash, Madeleine L'Engle's iconic A Winkle in Time enjoys a February 6 through 8 staging at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, the inspiration for this latest production by the student talents of Young Footliters Youth Theatre a work the National Education Association listed as one of its "Teachers' top 100 books for children."

With the latest stage presentation by Barely There Theatre a trio of brand-new one-act plays making their world premieres in the Quad Cities, playwright, producer, and Reader theatre reviewer's What Might Have Been runs at Moline's Black Box Theatre January 29 through February 7, the production boasting stories that explore the roads not taken, as well as the choices, chances, and curiosities that shape our lives.

From January 23 through February 1, the Center for Living Arts, the Penguin Project of the Quad Cities, and Augustana College's theatre department will team up to help turn adolescents and adults with special needs into stage stars for the eagerly awaited Frozen Jr., a one-act version of the Tony nominee based on Disney's Oscar-winning animated classic that stands as one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time.

As a longtime piano player and accompanist (on top of being a QC arts journalist since 1995), I love to play whenever I get the chance – be it for my part-time job at Davenport’s Zion Lutheran Church, or for singers and instrumentalists at private events and public shows.

Opening its 2026 with a musical comedy hailed by Tripod as "sublimely silly and highly entertaining," the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse presents the Quad Cities debut of Lucky Stiff from January 21 through March 7, this delightful song-and-dance slapstick inspiring RachelReviewsTheatre.com to rave that the stage treat "has that energy a good farce should have, and I was laughing throughout."

Returning to Iowa City's Riverside Theatre with her first solo show in years, area favorite Megan Gogerty – a co-star in last spring's The Lifespan of a Fact performs her self-written autobiographical play Fair State from January 22 through February 1, this debuting dramatic-comedy monologue production designed by Chris Rich and stage managed by Meenakshi Chinmai.

And they said it couldn't be done! Well, actually, no one to my knowledge ever said that … . But who cares? It was done, dammit! Our annual celebration of area theatre, the Reader Tony Awards, has made it to its 10th anniversary!

The Playcrafters Barn Theatre closes out its 2025 season with Cheaper by the Dozen, adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel and directed by Emma Terronez. It offers family-friendly entertainment … if also entertainment devoid of yuletide cheer for the particularly Christmas-adverse.

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