Music
Sara Watkins
The Redstone Room
Friday, March 15, 8:30 p.m.
On March 15, the Redstone Room will host an evening with a musician who received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, toured with the likes of Lyle Lovett and Dolly Parton, served as guest host for Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, and has been a nationally renowned vocalist and fiddle player for more than 22 years.
I will attempt not to seethe with resentment at the fact that the musician in question is only 31 years old.
Incredibly, though, Redstone Room guest Sara Watkins was indeed a pre-teen phenomenon, as she, brother Sean Watkins, and mandolin player Chris Thile formed the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek in 1989, when the young fiddler was only eight. By the time Watkins was 12, Nickel Creek had already released its 1993 CD debut Little Cowpoke and was on its way to recording four additional albums, scoring a pair of Grammy nominations for its self-titled 2000 release, and reaching the number-two position on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart for 2002's Grammy-winning This Side.
But Watkins hardly faded into obscurity after Nickel Creek's 2007 disbandment. Having earned raves for her self-titled 2009 CD - which found Paste magazine praising her "lush, warm, and perfectly controlled" voice - Watkins quickly made a name for herself as a gifted solo artist, performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, on Keillor's beloved NPR radio show, and alongside such touring partners as John Prine, Dar Williams, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. And following the release of her second solo album, 2012's Sun Midnight Sun, Watkins has cemented her status as one of our country's most energetic and accomplished folk, bluegrass, and pop musicians, one praised by BBC.co.uk for her "agile playing and the kind of voice that gives your goosebumps the shivers." My jealousy is officially turning green with envy.
Tickets to, and more information on, Sara Watkins' Davenport performance are available by calling (563)326-1333 or visiting RiverMusicExperience.org.
Music
New York Empire Trio
The Redstone Room
Saturday, March 9, 7:30 p.m.
The latest guests in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artists series are the gifted chamber musicians of the New York Empire Trio: violinist Entcho Todorov and cellist Kalin Ivanov, both of whom are native Bulgarians, and pianist Margrit Zimmermann, who's a native Russian. Given that their Quad Cities residency - which began on February 28 - has the ensemble members delivering roughly 30 outreach performances over a 10-day period, I'm guessing that these days, all three of them have been Russian.
(That joke only works if you say it out loud. But even then it's a terrible joke, so let's press on.)
With the New York Empire Trio's March 9 public concert at Davenport's Redstone Room, patrons will witness the spectacular skills and electrifying stage presence that will already have been witnessed by nearly 6,000 other Quad Citians during the group's outreach stops and school visits. Multiply that figure by 100 or so, and you might approach the total number of music fans who've been enchanted by the group's performances over the years, given the trio's frequent international tours and high-profile engagements at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
Lauded by NYConcertReview.com for performances that are "impassioned and unified, with each instrument shining individually," and praised by The Strad magazine for "alert and energetic" musicianship, the New York Empire Trio is clearly a classical force to be reckoned with. (Not for nothing were they chosen "Featured Artists of the Month" by the Obama Music, Arts, & Entertainment organization.) And if you think the ensemble's collective résumé is impressive, the musicians' individual credits prove just as intimidating, with Zimmermann a prize-winner at Austria's International Johannes Brahms Piano Competition, Ivanov the subject of a one-hour documentary film, and Todorov the veteran of numerous Broadway pit orchestras, including those for Fiddler on the Roof, Legally Blonde: The Musical, and The Book of Mormon. So if, in the midst of Saturday's classical-music repertoire, the trio suddenly bursts into a spirited take on "Tomorrow Is a Latter Day" or "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream," don't say you weren't warned.
For more information on the New York Empire Trio's area residency, call (309)793-1213 or visit QuadCityArts.com.
Theatre
Blues for an Alabama Sky
Playcrafters Barn Theatre
Friday, March 8, through Sunday, March 17
A new stage drama opens at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre on March 8, and it's titled Blues for an Alabama Sky. I just checked the weather report in Birmingham, and apparently, it's really sunny there today, and residents are enjoying temperatures in the mid-60s. As I'm writing this after two successive, gray days of heavy snowfall and cold temps, I'm thinking that anyone currently looking at an Alabama sky and feeling even the slightest bit blue really needs to get over it.
Those watching this particular Alabama Sky, however, will likely be feeling far less melancholy. Directed by Fred Harris Jr. - the star of Playcrafters' 2010 Fences and director of the venue's wonderful A Raisin in the Sun from 2009 - the Moline venue's Blues for an Alabama Sky is a staging of author Pearl Cleage's much-admired 1995 work, one recently revived at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse. A 1930-set outing that finds the joys of the Harlem Renaissance giving way to the harsh realities of the Great Depression, Cleage's play takes an unflinching look at issues of sexual and racial politics in an economically deprived landscape. But the show is also filled with scenes of high comedy and touching romance as it follows a nightclub performer, her costume-designer roommate, and other characters through a specific, fascinating, too-rarely-discussed period in American history.
Featured in Harris' cast are the collected talents of Vincent Briley, Rita Jett, Matt Madison, Shanna Cramer, and Renaud Haymon, the latter also a Fences veteran and a frequent, always-topnotch actor at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre. And with Backstage.com calling Blues for an Alabama Sky "entertaining and engaging," and New Orleans' NOLA.com describing it as "timeless" and "exceptional," Playcrafters' latest should make for a sensational time - one no doubt aided by our inability to see the sky from inside the Barn Theatre. Seriously, this winter, I'd totally write a lengthy screed titled Blues for a Quad Cities Sky if I weren't worried about litigation by Pearl Cleage.
Blues for an Alabama Sky runs March 8 through 17 with Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday performances at 3 p.m., and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 or visiting Playcrafters.com.
Exhibit
Bodies Revealed
Putnam Museum
Saturday, March 9, through Sunday, July 14
I knew that kids would be intrigued by the Putnam Museum's new traveling exhibition Bodies Revealed the moment I learned that the exhibit featured nine separate galleries on internal chemistry, offering detailed explorations into our skeletal systems, respiratory systems, digestive systems, and such.
I knew that kids would love it the moment I learned that real, carefully preserved anatomical specimens would be on display, and that children would even have the chance to touch and hold real body organs at the exhibit's Interactive Desk.
An endlessly fascinating exhibit that has already attracted nearly 15 million visitors worldwide? Totally worth the $7 to $18 admission price.
Hands-on fun with livers and hearts and lungs? Priceless.
In preparation for your family's trek to Bodies Revealed, the Putnam has included on its Web site a terrific, downloadable guide to what you and your young uns can expect to see, along with a bunch of fun and informative quizzes on different aspects of the human body. Let's see how smart you are before Bodies Revealed makes you even smarter!
1) Babies have ____ bones in their bodies.
A) 206
B) 300
C) 94
2) The tongue is made up of ____ muscles.
A) 2
B) 100
C) 16
3) In an average lifetime, a person produces ____ gallons of urine.
A) 120
B) 1,000
C) 12,000
4) After the skin, what is the body's second-heaviest organ?
A) Stomach
B) Brain
C) Liver
5) What is the smallest human cell?
A) A man's sperm
B) A woman's egg
C) A nucleus
6) True or False: It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.
Bodies Revealed will be on display locally from March 9 through July 14, and more information is available by calling (563)324-1933 or visiting Putnam.org.
Answers: 1 - B, 2 - C, 3 - C, 4 - C, 5 - A, 6 - True. And if anyone wants to share that information with my editor, I'd appreciate it.
Events
Adler Theatre
March through May
I've studied the lineup of springtime happenings at the Adler Theatre, and I have to ask: Is it possible that those who schedule events at the Davenport venue have accepted a wager of some kind - a bet that the Adler couldn't deliver every conceivable type of stage performance over a two-month period? If so, those schedulers are about to collect big time. Music, for instance, will be covered through a number of high-profile engagements: the Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning contemporary Christian singers Brandon Heath and Mandisa performing in their "BranDisa Tour" (March 21); the return of the King in the hip-swiveling multimedia tribute Elvis Lives! (March 22); the chart-topping country star Justin Moore appearing with special guest Dustin Lynch (March 28); legendary balladeer Gordon Lightfoot (April 30); the musical satire Spank! The Fifty Shades Parody (May 7); and the final two offerings in the 2012-13 Masterworks series showcasing the Quad Symphony Orchestra (March 9 and April 13, with the concerts repeating at Augustana College's Centennial Hall on March 10 and April 14). Audiences will also get a rockin' dose of music - plus a blast of Tony-nominated theatre - when the venue's Broadway at the Adler series presents the thrilling '80s-hair-band spectacle Rock of Ages (April 24), while dance will be covered, and no doubt beautifully, with Ballet Quad Cities' production of Prokofiev's fairytale masterpiece Cinderella (April 20). Standup comedy, and a more-than-fair amount of goofy sound effects, will come courtesy of the touring and TV sensation Gabriel Iglesias (March 7), with more humor, and the joys of storytelling, in abundance when Davenport's venue hosts a night with the legendary Bill Cosby (April 27). And if you're thinking that the Adler's springtime schedule is devoid of the art of actual performance art - walking on nails after being dipped in chocolate and such - there's still the April 26 booking of Impractical Jokers Live! to consider. Apparently, the show will feature stand-up comedy, videos, and a Q&A, but I've seen Impractical Jokers on TV, and believe me: Those guys have dared each other to way worse than nails and chocolate. For more information and tickets to the Adler Theatre's springtime events, visit AdlerTheatre.com.
Events
Hancher Auditorium Presentations
March through May
Chamber musicians who play Pink Floyd? A dance company featuring performers in wheelchairs? A children's-theatre production about sheep migration in Europe? What exactly is happening in the forthcoming Hancher Auditorium schedule? From the look of things, I'd say that some incredibly diverse and potentially unforgettable events are happening in the University of Iowa's springtime Visiting Artists series. To begin with, there are the seemingly mismatched artists Pandit Chitresh Das and Jason Samuels Smith, the former a 68-year-old master of north-Indian classical dance, and the latter a 32-year-old, Emmy Award-winning American tap dancer. Together, however, they've fashioned an explosive spectacle of dazzling choreography and epic storytelling titled India Jazz Suites (March 7 at the Englert Theatre), and their talents will be followed, in Hancher's lineup, by those of another duo: Christopher O'Riley and Matt Haimovitz, who are redefining - or rather, obliterating - the limits of chamber music in their pop/rock/classical concert hybrid Shuffle. Play. Listen (March 28 at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts). A Hancher performance by a jazz saxophonist might not sound out-of-the-ordinary ... unless that jazz saxophonist is 82 years old, and was awarded the 2011 Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama, and is named Sonny Rollins (April 2 at the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort). Two unusual, wildly eclectic theatre experiences follow in the Hancher schedule: the interactive-performance group Compagnia TPO's immersive and hands-on family experience Kindur: The Adventurous Life of Icelandic Sheep (April 9 at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts), and the Working Group Theatre's blend of professional actors and community members in the memory-loss exploration The Broken Chord (April 12 through 14 at the Englert Theatre). Innovative contemporary choreography performed by both able-bodied and physically disabled dancers will be showcased in the latest touring production by the award-winning AXIS Dance Company (April 25 and 26 at the University of Iowa's Space/Place Theatre). And ending Hancher's spring season on a less-offbeat note, May 17 brings with it Iowa City Ped Mall performance by the Grammy-winning Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, whose leader also wrote music for Disney's The Princess & the Frog. That's right. In Hancher's springtime season, the guy who arranged compositions for talking insects and lovestruck amphibians is considered traditional. For more information and tickets to the Hancher Auditorium's upcoming events, visit http://www.Hancher.UIowa.edu.
Exhibits
Figge Art Museum
March through June
Let's say you've been to the Figge Art Museum recently. Let's say you've already taken in the woven and embroidered textiles of the Sculpting with Fiber exhibition (on display through March 18), the bold and thematically resonant sculptures of Alison Saar: STILL ... (through April 14), the wide variety of media employed for the University of Iowa Art Faculty Biennial (through May 5), and the collection of historic maps amassed in Marking Territory: Cartographic Treasures of the Mississippi River & the World Beyond (through June 16). And let's say that after enjoying your time with these remarkably diverse exhibits, you're now saying to yourself, "So what's next?" Well, to you I would first say, "What do you mean 'What's next?' After all that, you want even more? Sheesh! Talk about demanding!" And then, after I'd calmed down and realized my outburst was idiotic and rude, I'd say, "Why, let me gladly tell you what's next!" From May 4 through September 1, the Figge will house works inspired by such consumer-culture touchstones as billboards, tabloids, and the gaudiest of bric-a-brac - a modern-art cultural critique titled American POP Art! Three weeks later, the Davenport museum will host the opening of Questionable Architecture: Terry Rathje in Collaboration with Steve Banks & Monica Correia (on display June 1 through August 25), the Quad Cities artists' original sculptural installation that explores the interaction of function and form in structures designed digitally and built by hand. And for Figge guests who have been enjoying the paintings and drawings in the museum's annual celebration of student artists, you'll be happy to learn that the Young Artists at the Figge exhibition will continue this spring with four additional showcases of area-youth talent, in displays dedicated to the community school districts of Bettendorf (March 9 through 24), Davenport (March 30 through April 14), Geneseo (April 20 through May 5), and Pleasant Valley (May 11 through May 26). As someone who had his own artworks prominently displayed as a youth, I offer these students a hearty congratulations. Of course, had my works been displayed anywhere other than my mother's fridge, that praise might actually mean something ... . For more information on the Figge Art Museum's springtime exhibits and their related programming, visit FiggeArtMuseum.org.
Events
i wireless Center
March and April
There's a monster jam coming to the i wireless Center this spring, and I'm not referring to the type that resulted when Billy's mom trapped that gremlin in the microwave. (Sorry. I just watched that movie again a few weeks ago, and the image is now freshly embedded in memory.) I am, instead, referring to the four-wheeled explosion of simulated road rage that is the capitalized Monster Jam, the engine-revving, windshield-crushing, monster-truck extravaganza that hits the Moline venue on April 27 and 28. But in actuality, all manner of jamming is sure to take place during the i wireless Center's spring engagements. Sports fans, for instance, will be jamming to the ice-hockey professionals of the Quad City Mallards, whose 2013 season wraps up with matches against Missouri (March 9 and 17), Denver (March 19), and the Bloomington Blaze (March 10, 15, 22, and 24), the latter of whose team you'd think would melt that ice upon first contact. Fans of ass-kicking arena rock, meanwhile, will have plenty to jam to this March and April. On April 20, the i wireless Center will host a special trifecta of legendary artists when the combined talents of Styx, REO Speedwagon, and Ted Nugent unite for an evening of pulse-pounding musical entertainment. And unless you're a "Lazy Bones" or an "American Idiot," you won't wait to secure tickets to March 29's i wireless Center event with the chart-topping rock sensations of Green Day, performing their re-scheduled February 1 concert with opener Best Coast, and with all the fiery musicianship you'd expect from Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool. You hear that, folks? There's a Green Day coming! This endless and crappy winter weather isn't going to last forever! For more information and tickets to the i wireless Center's springtime events, visit iwirelessCenter.com.
Events
Englert Theatre
March through June
Iowa City's Englert Theatre recently announced its lineup of springtime events, and you're again encouraged to write the venue a thank-you note for (a) having such an eclectic variety of them, and (b) having so freaking many of them that my word-count precludes me from opening with a dopey joke. On tap musically: Iowa City's Old Capitol Chorus (March 9); Celtic chart-toppers Gaelic Storm (March 10); legendary singer/songwriter Janis Ian (March 11); Icelandic composer/producer Valgeir Sigurösson (March 13); Canadian violinist (and Quad City Symphony Concertmaster) Naha Greenholtz (March 22); country-folk sensation Iris DeMent (April 3); the Brooklyn-based indie musicians of Grizzly Bear (April 4); the rock-fueled, 30-piece marching band Mucca Pazza (April 6); English alternative rocker Billy Bragg (April 15); the virtuoso string players of the California Guitar Trio and Montreal Guitar Trio (April 17); Irish-American show-stoppers Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul (April 19); one-woman orchestra Zoe Keating (May 8); prolific singer/songwriter and Pieta père Greg Brown (May 11), Austin-based swing trio Hot Club of Cowtown (May 19); the Tex-Mex indie rockers of Calexico (May 31); the Grammy-winning, platinum-selling They Might Be Giants (June 2); and alt-country ensemble Son Volt (June 3). Indian music meets exquisite tap dancing in the Hancher Auditorium presentation India Jazz Suites (March 7), while Hancher also offers a new theatrical drama with the Englert's staging of the Working Group Theatre's The Broken Chord (April 12 through 14). British stage works performed live and re-broadcast at the Englert are on hand in the venue's National Theatre Live Series, with forthcoming presentations of Alan Bennett's People (March 30) and James Graham's This House (June 8). And those looking for evenings of laughs won't be disappointed with the Englert's scheduled funnymen and -women this spring: the ever-unpredictable Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock performer Tracy Morgan (March 16); Last Comic Standing breakout Ralphie May in his "Too Big to Ignore Tour" (March 28); and two comediennes performing at the same April 5 event - current Louis C.K. favorite Tig Notaro, and TV and film star Janeane Garofalo. The latter, by the way, was the sardonic, hysterical, all-around-awesome co-star of those great '90s series The Larry Sanders Show and The Ben Stiller Show, and remains the only celebrity I've ever written a gushing fan letter to. And now I've written two of them. For more information and tickets to the Englert Theatre's springtime happenings, visit Englert.org.
What Else Is Happenin' : Thursday, March 7, through Wednesday, March 20
MUSIC
Thursday, March 7 - Man in Black: The Music of Johnny Cash. Concert of Cash favorites performed by recording artist Robert Shaw & the Lonely Street Band. Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 1 p.m., $42.32; 7 p.m., $25-30. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
Friday, March 8 - Will Hoge. Grammy Award-nominated rock and Americana musicians in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 9 p.m. $15. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Friday, March 8 - Charlie King & Karen Brandow. Massachusetts-based folk duo performs in a fundraiser for the Oaks of Mamre Catholic Worker House in Davenport and the Palomares Social Justice Center. Broadway Presbyterian Church (710 23rd Street, Rock Island). 7 p.m. $8-10 requested donation. For tickets and information, call (309)786-6944 or e-mail magmthomas@gmail.com.
Saturday, March 9, and Sunday, March 10 - Quad City Symphony Orchestra. The Masterworks V concerts featuring conductor Mark Russell Smith, with a program including Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Saturday - Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street, Davenport), 7:30 p.m. Sunday - Augustana College's Centennial Hall (3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island), 2 p.m. $10-53. For tickets and information, call (563)322-0931 or visit QCSymphony.com.
Sunday, March 10 - Bobby Messano. New Jersey-based musician in a concert co-presented by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society. The Muddy Waters (1708 State Street, Bettendorf). 6 p.m. $8-10. For information, call (563)322-5837 or visit MVBS.org.
Sunday, March 10 - Gaelic Storm. Celtic classics and originals with the award-winning touring ensemble. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 7 p.m. $25-35. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Sunday, March 10 - Artie Shaw Orchestra. Concert of big-band standards, with an opening set by Sarah Hayes. Ohnward Fine Arts Center (1215 East Platt Street, Maquoketa). 2 p.m. $25-30. For tickets and information, call (563)652-9815 or visit OhnwardFineArtsCenter.com.
Monday, March 11 - Janis Ian. The legendary folk singer/songwriter in concert. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $25-27.50. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Friday, March 15 - Ana Popovi?. Serbian blues guitarist and singer in concert. Rascals Live (1418 15th Street, Moline). 9:30 p.m. $15-20. For tickets and information, call (309)797-9457 or visit RascalsLive.com. For a 2010 interview with Popovi?, visit RCReader.com/y/popovic.
Friday, March 15 - John Primer & the Real Deal. Concert with the Chicago-based blues musician and his ensemble. The Muddy Waters (1708 State Street, Bettendorf). 9 p.m. $5. For information, call (563)355-0655 or visit TheMuddyWaters.com.
Friday, March 15 - Valgeir Sigur?sson. Icelandic musician, composer, and producer in concert, with a performance by violinist Nadia Sirota. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $10-15. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Sunday, March 17 - Tony Sconyers Quintet. Jazz ensemble performs and educates as part of Polyrhythms' Third Sunday Jazz series. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 3 p.m. all-ages jazz workshop ($5/adult, free for children), 6 p.m. concert ($10-15). For tickets and information, call (309)373-0790 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org or Polyrhythms.ning.com.
Tuesday, March 19 - Heatbox. Funk and hip-hop musician in his "Take Off Tour." The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 9 p.m. $8-10. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
THEATRE
Thursday, March 7, through Saturday, March 16 - A Dream Play. Caryl Churchill's adaptation of August Strindberg's classic drama, directed by David Hanzal. University of Iowa's David Thayer Theatre (200 North Riverside Drive, Iowa City). Thursday-Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $10-17. For tickets and information, call (319)335-1160 or visit Theatre.UIowa.edu.
Friday, March 8, through Sunday, March 17 - A Walk in the Woods. New Ground Theatre's presentation of Lee Blessing's Cold War comedy/drama, directed by Michael McPeters. Village Theatre (2113 East 11th Street, Davenport). Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $15-18. For tickets and information, call (563)326-7529 or visit NewGroundTheatre.org.
Friday, March 8, through Sunday, March 17 - The Royal Family. George S. Kaufman's and Edna Ferber's Broadway-behind-the-scenes comedy. Iowa City Community Theatre (4265 Oak Crest Hill Road, Iowa City). Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $8-16. For tickets and information, call (319)338-0443 or visit IowaCityCommunityTheatre.com.
Wednesday, March 13, through Saturday, June 1 - A Mighty Fortress Is My Basement. Musical-comedy follow-up to Church Basement Ladies. Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island). Friday, Saturday, Wednesday, and March 13 and 14 previews - 6 p.m. buffet, 7:45 p.m. show. Sunday 4 p.m. buffet, 5:45 p.m. show. Wednesday 11:45 a.m. plated lunch, 1:30 p.m. show. $28.22-47.55. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
Friday, March 15, through Saturday, March 30 - Avenue Q. The Tony Award-winning "Sesame Street for grown-ups" musical, directed by Marc Ciemiewicz. District Theatre (1611 Second Avenue, Rock Island). Wednesday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $20. For tickets and information, call (309)235-1654 or visit DistrictTheatre.com.
Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17 - Godspell. Composer Stephen Schwartz's nonsecular musical smash. First Presbyterian Church of Davenport (1702 Iowa Street, Davenport). Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m. $8-12. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1691 or visit FPCDavenport.org.
DANCE
Thursday, March 7 - India Jazz Suites. Pandit Chitresh Das and Jason Samuels Smith perform an explosive, largely improvised dance celebration in a Hancher Auditorium Visiting Artists presentation. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 7:30 p.m. $10-35. For tickets and information, call (319)335-1160 or visit http://www.Hancher.UIowa.edu.
COMEDY
Thursday, March 7 - Gabriel Iglesias. TV and touring comedian in his national tour. Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $40. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.
Saturday, March 16 - Tracy Morgan. Stand-up with the comedian and former Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock star. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 7 p.m. $49.50-59.50. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
MOVIES
Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17 - Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 & 3. Documentary sequels by area filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle, on the Native American tribe that inspired Iowa's state name, featuring Q & As with the filmmakers and other film participants following the presentations. Saturday - Black Hawk State Historic Site (1510 46th Avenue, Rock Island). 6:30 p.m. Free admission. Sunday - Putnam Museum (1717 West 12th Street, Davenport). 6:30 p.m. $7. For information, call (309)797-0544 or visit FourthWallFilms.com.
EVENTS
Friday, March 8 - Henry Farnam Dinner. Annual event hosted by River Action, featuring an illustrated presentation by Patrick Nunnally on "The Upper Mississippi in 2054." Jumer's Casino & Hotel (777 Jumer Drive, Rock Island). 5 p.m. $40/person, $375/reserved table of 10. For tickets and information, call (563)322-2969 or visit RiverAction.org.
Friday, March 8 - Tutu Fabulous! Ballet Quad Cities fundraiser featuring a wine tasting, silent auction, choreographer Margaret Huling's jazz dance "Black Coffee," and more. Hotel Blackhawk (200 East Third Street, Davenport). 6 p.m. For tickets and information, call (309)786-3779 or visit BalletQuadCities.com.
Wednesday, March 13 - The Women's Connection's 15th-Anniversary Event: "It Is Achievable." Featuring a presentation by Tererai Trent, the internationally recognized scholar, motivator, and humanitarian. St. Ambrose University's Rogalski Center (518 West Locust Street, Davenport). 5:30 p.m. cocktails, 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. presentation. $30-38. For tickets and information, call (309)631-0167 or visit Womens-Connection.org.
Friday, March 15, through Sunday, March 17 - Kelly's St. Patrick's Day Weekend. Annual holiday celebration featuring three days of live music, one ton of corned beef and cabbage, drink specials, the Flying Leprechauns, children's activities, and more. Kelly's Irish Pub & Eatery (2222 East 53rd Street, Davenport). Free admission. For information, call (563)344-0000 or visit KellysIrishPubAndEatery.com.
Sunday, March 10 - The Prides of March Masquerade Ball. Annual fundraiser for QC Pride Inc., featuring hors d'oeuvres, drinks, dancing, gift drawings, and more. Radisson Quad City Plaza Hotel (421 West River Drive, Davenport). 7 p.m. $25-30. For tickets and information, e-mail contactus@qcpride.org or visit QCPride.org.
