The originator of one of the most indelible and popular sitcom characters of all time, the “Dy-no-mite!” Jimmie Walker of the 1970s classic Good Times brings his nationally touring standup set to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Rhythm Room on May 24, the Golden Globe-nominated comedian/actor's credits also including guests stints on Emmy winners The Larry Sanders Show, Cagney & Lacey, and Scrubs.
What does a hand pointing on a gravestone mean? Does an anchor mean someone was a sailor? On May 26, patrons of Davenport's German American Heritage Museum are invited to learn what the different symbols on gravestones mean during this lively "Kaffee und Kuchen" program Translating Tombstones: Eternal Memorials & Their Meaning, which finds Minda Powers-Douglas explaining common and uncommon symbols and helping participants understand the special language of tombstones.
Presented by the Quad Cities Bicycle Club and returning to the Village of East Davenport, an eagerly anticipated Memorial Day tradition returns for its 57th year in the Quad Cities Kwik Star Criterium – a May 27 event featuring hundreds of adult and youth cyclists from across the U.S., Canada, and Europe participating in a dozen bicycle races, with thousands of dollars in cash prizes awarded throughout the day.
Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action will again present a series of outdoor presentations in the first month-plus of the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks: weekly programs that, from May 28 through June 29, will address such topics as local abolitionist freedom fighters, steamboating, birds of prey, infrastructure, and the Quad City River Bandits.
From May 28 through September 15, fascinating stories of struggle, perseverance, tragedy, and triumph will be shared at Davenport's German American Heritage Center in the venue's Immigration Then & Now: Finding Refuge in the Quad Cities, a meaningful, locally themed exhibition presented in partnership with World Relief Quad Cities and supported by the Moline Regional Community Foundation.
Take a closer look at the candidates.
Back in April, the Executive Director of the American Nurses Association Illinois Susan Swart told my associate Isabel Miller that advanced-practice registered nurses are losing their jobs because of ongoing and severe state licensing delays. Swart said some of those nurses are waiting “a year to eighteen months” to get their licenses from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).
Much of the Illinois Statehouse appeared to be girding itself for battle with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson before his Springfield visit last week.
Governor JB Pritzker unexpectedly moved away last week from his long-standing opposition to taxing services, saying he didn’t want to start taking ideas off the table as lawmakers search for ways to fund and reform the Chicago region’s mass-transit system. A major business group predictably pushed back.
When public officers are appointed to positions by a bureaucracy or by fellow elected officials versus elected by the people, there is often a distinct lack of transparency that accompanies the process that can be antithesis to the public interest.
Taking flight once again, the Mockingbird on Main has returned with Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird, now playing at Moline’s Black Box Theatre. Directed by Mockingbird co-owners Tristan Tapscott and Savannah Bay Strandin, their newest production offers a searing look at a nearly century-old America that still feels all too relevant now.
I didn’t know much about John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves before attending Saturday’s performance, and to tell you the truth, now having seen the Playcrafters Nbarn Theatre's production directed by Kathy Graham, I still feel like I’m missing key insights.
Based on the 1943 Vera Caspary novel and the 1944 movie classic that the American Film Institute named one of the 10 best mystery films of all time, Caspary's and George Sklar's stage thriller Laura enjoys a run at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre from May 30 through June 9, the play a faithful adaptation of the Oscar-winning entertainment that Roger Ebert's cited in his famed "Great Movies" series.
Hailed by Variety as a slapstick in which "the audience almost never stops laughing," with "handkerchiefs wiping away tears of merriment," Larry Shue's screwball stage classic The Nerd opens the 2024 mainstage theatre season at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, its May 30 through June 9 run sure to demonstrate why the Milwaukee Journal raved that "Shue delivers a neatly crafted package that uses some classic comic forms to bring the audience to its knees laughing."
Lauded by Entertainment Weekly as "a dizzyingly romantic operetta and a farcical commentary on the fools that love and desire make of us all," legendary composer Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece A Little Night Music opens Quad City Music Guild's summer season from June 7 through 16.
On May 23, a pair of wildly popular metalcore acts will simultaneously land on the stage of Davenport's Capitol Theatre when the venue presents a night with Attila and Band of Osiris, the former in support of their ninth studio album Closure, and the latter in support of their sixth recording Angel or Alien.
A founding member of the groundbreaking country, rock, and rap group, Danny Boone Alexander brings his legendary outfit to Rehab for a headlining concert on May 23, the touring artist of nearly a quarter-century landing in Moline on the band's "The Fusion of Sound Tour."
Black metal was born in Scandinavia more than three decades ago, the devilish creation of bored, angry, and misanthropic teenagers who sought to take the rawness of thrash and carry it to faster and more sinister extremes. Thirty-plus years later, the style is more popular than ever, but many bands have realized that reinventing the diabolical wheel is not enough.
With the acclaimed ensemble's top-10 Billboard smashes including "Through It All," "Crazy," "Hate Me Too," "Nightmare" and "Barely Breathing," the alternative-metal artists of From Ashes to New headline a May 25 concert event at Davenport's Capitol Theatre, their 2023 recording Blackout hailed by Wall of Sounds as a "fantastic" album that "tells a story, tackles some heavy but incredibly relatable subject matter, shows versatility, and is very fun."
Combining Influences of rock 'n' roll, country, blues, soul, surf rock, and rockabilly, the Midwestern tribute artists of Jonny Lyons & the Pride will play a special May 25 concert event at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, their exhilarating stage show designed to take audiences on a journey back in time to the golden era of '50s, '60s, and '70s music and showmanship.
Written, produced, and directed by co-star John Krasinski, the comedy fantasy IF concerns a bunch of imaginary friends (hence the acronym) eager to feel needed again, and when I first scanned the list of those voicing these beings, I practically needed an overnight bag and a canteen to get through it.
Going to the cineplex or staying in and streaming this weekend? Every Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on Planet 93.9 FM with the fabulous Dave & Darren in the Morning team of Dave Levora and Darren Pitra. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too.
Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your electronic device. Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again.
Thursday, May 23: Discussion of IF, The Strangers: Chapter 1, Back to Black, and I Saw the TV Glow, previews of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Garfield Movie, and a convo about childhood imaginary friends ... or, in Dave's case, imaginary girlfriends.
Considering that nearly all of its performances are motion-capture ones, I didn't expect to spend so much time at Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes marveling at the nuances of naturalistic human acting.
The leads are attractive and charming. The action is swift and loud. The jokes are unmissable. And if you spend more than five seconds thinking about The Fall Guy, the whole thing crumbles like a particularly flimsy house of cards.
Luigi Paul Balassone Sr. moved his music store to 1711 Fifth Avenue in Moline, Illinois, when his son Louie was a child. As Louie later said, “My dad had taught me practically every aria from every Italian opera.” He added, “It’s all music, whether it’s opera or jazz, and maybe you can hear a little of both in what I play.”
On May 30, area art lovers are invited to enjoy their "Last Chance" at touring the Figge Art Museum's popular 43rd Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition, with the Davenport venue's exhibit boasting 62 works – paintings, sculptures, installations, and more – by 42 artists living within a 200-mile radius of the Quad Cities.
An eagerly awaited tradition featuring dozens of recent and debuting works in a variety of artistic mediums, the 43rd edition of the Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition will be on display at the Figge Art Museum through June 2, with the Davenport venue housing 62 works - paintings, sculptures, installations, and more - by 42 artists living within a 200-mile radius of the Quad Cities.
With the exhibit's artist known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials, and technique, as well as for being one of the most famous of the "Mexican muralists," Revolutionary Artist: The Prison Fantasies of David Alfaro Siqueiros will be on display at Davenport's Figge Art Museum through April 9, this lithograph series on loan from the Deere & Company collection for an intimate exhibition on view in the Lewis Gallery.
Man’s best friend, barnyard creatures, playful kittens, circus animals, and bucking broncos are among the creatures portrayed in the Muscatine Art Center's exhibition Animals in Art, with paintings, prints, drawings, and sculptures from the venue's permanent collection – alongside selections of art pottery on loan from Mark and Marie Latta – on display through June 16.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Amy Alkon Advice Goddess, Real Astrology, Red Meat cartoon and RCR Crossword every week?)
Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!
