In an April 20 program in which she will share her family history and how that history became the basis for her new book, the Quad Cities' esteemed poet, actor, and performance artist Shellie Moore Guy will take part in a special local-author visit at the Rock Island Public Library's Watts-Midtown Branch, treating family audiences to the saga behind her new release The Family Tree.
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."
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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?
Unfortunately, the activist Jesus, the political dissident who took aim at injustice and oppression, has been largely forgotten today, replaced by a congenial, smiling Jesus trotted out for religious holidays, but otherwise rendered mute when it comes to matters of war, power and politics. Telling Americans to blindly obey the government or put their faith in politics and vote for a political savior flies in the face of everything for which Jesus lived and died.
This spring, the student talents of Augustana College's OperX ensemble will treat audiences to alternating performances of both a full opera and excerpts from the operatic repertoire, with the gifted singers and director Patrick McNally staging composer Henry Purcell's Dido & Aeneas on April 19 and 21, and works by Mozart, Bernstein, Bizet, and Donizett in the vocal revue Set the Scenes on April 20.
2013's Exit Laughing is at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, and it is a damn good time. Director Mike Skiles and his cohorts have built an entertaining, satisfying production on the foundation of a solid script.
Director Aaron Baker-Loo created a memorable musical production – though, admittedly, I found the whole saga more depressing than I remembered. Luckily for the Spotlight, their presentation is also an enchanting spectacle that is more than enough to keep even the youngest viewer interested.
I've visited this little theatre, and knew it was in the mainstage's large green room, but o, my brothers and sisters – I'd never seen it like it is now.
Hailed by the New York Times as “a perfect joy” and by the Los Angeles Times as “a timeless farce,” Tony- and Oscar-winning author Tom Stoppard hysterical one-act comedy The Real Inspector Hound enjoys an April 18 through 21 staging in Scott Community College's Black Box Theatre, this theatrical satire also lauded by The Telegraph as a work that "brilliantly nails the clichés of the reviewer's craft."
Renowned for such Billboard smashes as Ride 'Til I Die, The Hard Stuff, 2120 South Michigan Ave., and 2011's chart-topping The Dirty Dozen, blues-rock icons George Thorogood & the Destroyers play Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on April 20, thrilling fans with a repertoire that ranges from originals such as “Bad to the Bone” to covers of “Move It on Over” and “Who Do You Love?”
In celebration of the ensemble's 10th anniversary, the gifted vocalists of the Quad City Music Guild Youth Chorus will present their springtime concert at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium on April 20, treating patrons to delightful group numbers from past Music Guild hits, forthcoming summer titles, and shows that may just appear in future seasons.
With the musicians inviting audiences to sing along, dance, put their hands up, smile, and have a good time, the hip-hop performers of Shady: A Live Band Tribute to the Music of Eminem headline an April 20 concert at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, delivering high-energy numbers from the repertoire of one of the greatest rappers of all time.
Boasting numerous chart-topping albums on the iTunes Blues Chart and top-10 smashes on Billboard's Blues, Heatseekers, and Tastemaker charts, the roots and country-blues musicians of The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band headline an April 20 concert event as Davenport's Redstone Room, their discography including such hits as So Delicious, Poor Until Payday, Between the Ditches, and 2021's Dance Songs for Hard Times.
Lauded by the Chicago Reader as a talent who "makes meaningful, seamless connections, rigorously integrating disparate styles so they make musical sense," award winning Palestinian-American composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Wanees Zarour will perform three area concerts as the latest guest in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artist series, his styles praised for transcending borders and drawing from traditions spanning the entire globe.
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.
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.
Where Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley adaptation was luscious, passionate, and emotional, Steven Zaillian's Ripley is chilly, controlled, and cerebral – an entertainment for the head rather than the heart. But yowza did this thing make my head spin. Not for nothing, but at least once per episode, it also made me laugh my ass off.
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,
Now playing at area theaters.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
