The latest guest in the college's River Readings at Augustana series, renowned author and poet Anders Carlson-Wee will deliver examples of his lauded works at Augustana's Wallenberg Hall on April 23, his 2023 poetry collection Disease of Kings lauded by The Los Angeles Review as a work in which "readers are presented with readable poetry that resonates with the heart of humanity," adding that the work "reveals our deepest secrets and failings with complex sympathy."
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Presented by Dustin Joy, director of Muscatine's National Pearl Button Museum, Iowa's Pearl Button Industry continues the popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series at Davenport's German American Heritage Center, the April 28 program designed to explore the fascinating history behind the state's formerly massive export, as well as its lingering legacy.
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Enchanting audiences of every age with dramatic storytelling using myths and fables from ancient and modern Japan, Kuniko Yamamoto enjoys a residency as the latest guests in the Quad City Arts Visiting Artist series, her area performances from April 29 through May 4 spiced with social revelations to educate and amuse.
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Deemed "a side-splitting spectacular" by the Washington Blade, the touring celebration of a beloved and iconic TV sitcom comes to Davenport's Adler Theatre in Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue, an adult-themed comedy that, with its all-male cast, Play Off the Page described as "a wonderful blend of nostalgia and witty dialogue mixed with the sex appeal of drag."
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Boasting objects of significance from its vast collection, as well as ancient Asian, Middle Eastern, and Roman artifacts on loan from the Putnam Museum, the German American Heritage Center will treat guests to a fascinating historical exploration in Breaking Barriers: Walls Throughout History, the new homegrown exhibition on display in the Davenport venue's first-floor gallery through May 5.
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Just eight of 78 Illinois House Democrats openly sided last week with the once-indomitable Chicago Teachers Union. The CTU hotly opposed a bill to halt all public-school closures and prevent disproportionate budget cuts and changes to admissions criteria at Chicago’s selective-enrollment schools until a fully-elected Chicago school board is seated in 2027. The final roll call was a lopsided 92-8. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose popularity has plummeted along with his Statehouse influence, ought to take this as a warning not to follow the CTU’s example. And so should some other Chicago-based organizations.
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Chicago-area news outlets have been so intent on amplifying every possible angle on the proposals for new publicly-financed sports stadiums that they’ve sometimes missed the bigger picture. Senate President Don Harmon last week tried to make it simple for everyone what that bigger picture is.
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The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has been a very big state problem for a very long time. The department now has new leadership under Director Heidi Mueller, whose appointment was met with widespread praise. The former director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice was confirmed by the Senate without a single “No” vote last month, minutes before I interviewed her.
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How did the Scott County Auditor and Supervisors fast track the most expensive pollbook vendor pricing to eliminate the incumbent system during a general election year?
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Lauded by the New York Times as a "big bearhug of a musical" in which "even the most stalwart cynics may have trouble staying dry-eyed," the Tony Award-winning Come from Away makes its Quad Cities debut when the show's national tour lands at Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 23, this 2017 entertainment also hailed by Broadway World as "inspiring, funny, and kick-ass beautiful.”
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A 1930 Noel Coward play that has emerged as one of the most enduring comedies of the last 100 years, Private Lives will enjoy a student-directed and -performed April 25 through 28 run at Augustana College's Honkamp Myhre Black Box Theatre, with past productions of this supremely witty work attracting such stage and screen talents as Richard Burton, Alan Rickman, Tallulah Bankhead, Elizabeth Taylor, Elaine Stritch, Maggie Smith, and Succession's Matthew Macfadyen.
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A trio of chilling, humorous, and entirely surprising tales by history's master mystery writer will be told at Moline's Black Box Theatre when the venue houses its latest series of live "radio" plays, the April 26 through May 4 production of Murder in the Studio treating audiences to three mesmerizing works by the legendary Agatha Christie.
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As faithful theatre-goers have proved their devotion to Church Basement Ladies (and its many offspring) since 2007, the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse has resurrected it for the third time. At Thursday's preview night, I saw everything they had made, and behold – it was very good. Yea, those lutefisk-loving Lutherans on the lowest level of the Lord's House have returned.
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A wonderfully funny and moving solo performance designed to make audiences question how preconceived notions about disability can blur the truth, writer/actor Aaron Pang's autobiographical Herein Lies the Truth enjoys its world-premiere staging at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre April 18 through 28, its author a University of Iowa MFA nonfiction candidate who will relate the story of how an accident changed the trajectory of his life.
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Praised by the Memphis Flyer for "eschewing de rigueur hoarse screaming for simple but effective melodies (and yes, screaming!)," resulting in "an irresistible combination," the Japanese punk rockers of TsuShiMaMiRe make their debut at Davenport's Raccoon Motel on April 23, the female trio famed for mixing pop instrumental sounds with idiosyncratic, quirky, and oftentimes funny and disturbing lyrics.
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Described by the Examiner as “a band unlike any other” and by Blurt magazine as “a hybrid of Idris Muhammad, George Clinton, Ohio Players, and Earth, Wind & Fire,” the tightly-wrapped funk, rock, and R&B musicians of Here Come the Mummies headline a n April 26 concert at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, their infectious grooves leading The Bob & Tom Show co-host Bob Kevoian to call one of their concerts “the most fun I've had in 20 years.”
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A gifted country-music singer/songwriter and daughter of genre legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Georgette Jones headlines an April 26 Country Vibes Series event at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Rhythm Room, her most recent album Skin inspiring Saving County Music to rave that "her talent for singing and finding songs that embody all that's great about the country genre is on full display."
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Currently touring in support of their most recent album TEN to 1, which allowed its musicians the opportunity to revisit and even potentially improve upon some of their biggest hits, the country superstars of Lonestar bring their national tour to the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on April 27, treating fans to a musical history that boasts more than 10 million album sales to date and such chart-topping singles as “No News,” “Come Crying to Me,” and the crossover smash “Amazed.”
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Currently touring in support of his recently released album Blue Genes 2, a work showcasing the more serious alter ego of comic hick-hop performer Upchurch the Redneck, country rapper Ryan Upchurch headlines an April 27 concert event at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, his remarkable discography including more than 20 albums released since 2016, as well as such platinum-selling singles as "Outlaw" (featuring Luke Combs), "Rolling Stoned," and "Holler Boys."
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What is a marketing team to do when the element guaranteed to get butts in seats – in truth, the film's entire reason for being – is the one element that shouldn't be spoiled in advance?
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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, April 18: Discussion of Civil War, Arcadian, Vanya, and Hundreds of Beavers, and previews of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The People's Joker, Abigail, and Sasquatch Sunset. Last week it was humans in beaver suits, this week it's humans in Yeti suits ... the mind boggles at what might be in store a week from now.
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With the April 28 event hosted by Quad Cities Pride in Memory, Inc., audiences are invited to Davenport venue The Last Picture House for an exciting and important red-carpet fundraiser for Our Story: Pride in Memory, a forthcoming documentary, currently in production, by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Moline's Fourth Wall Films,
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Unbiased journlalists may seem hard to find these days. But as Alex Garland's film reminds us, they're still out there, and they're not the problems – they're the messengers. And you don't shoot the messengers. Except that here, other Americans very much do.
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Now playing at area theaters.
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With each artist capturing the natural world in abstraction and their works complementing one another through color and texture. a trio of gifted Iowa artists combines their talents in the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery's new exhibition Ciccotti, Davis, & Stewart, a showcase on display through April 22 boasting glass vessels by Art Ciccotti, paintings by Larry Davis, and pastels by Deb Stewart.
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New works by a pair of gifted Iowa artisans will be decorating the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery from April 24 through July 1, with thoughtful and arresting pieces in the Schafer & Rocca exhibit showcasing the talents of oil painter John Paul Schafer of Cedar Rapids and wall-sculpture artist Kimberlee Rocca of Solon.
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On April 25, guests of Davenport's Figge Art Museum are invited to enjoy an early "Last Chance" exhibition tour for the venue's popular Peter Xiao: A Room That One Is In (And All Things In It), an installation of arresting paintings by our area's beloved, longtime Augustana College Professor of Art and the college's Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts.
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Nearly 200 works by gifted student artists will be on display at Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center through April 25 in the expansive 47th Annual High School Art Invitational, a glorious celebration of local talent featuring the Quad Cities’ most promising artists expressing themselves through paintings, drawings, sculpture, paper, recycled materials, and film.
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A celebration of work completed by graduating seniors in the Department of Digital Art and Design, the DART Senior Thesis Art Show will be on display at the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Art Gallery through April 27, the exhibit boasting a variety of pieces in illustration, animation, digital painting, motion graphics, and digital artwork, and displaying the wide range of skills students cultivated during their time at UD.
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