Lauded by the L.A. Times as “stunning” and by the Chicago Tribune as “fabulous entertainment for the entire family” Branson, Missouri's wildly popular illusionist Rick Thomas brings his touring spectacle Mansion of Dreams to Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 24, the event delivering, up close and personal, some of most intriguing, innovative, and mind-blowing grand illusions in the world.
With the event co-presented by the Midwest Writing Center, the Quad Cities' longest-running reading series SPECTRA returns to Rock Island's Rozz-Tox on April 24 for its public event of the 2024-25 season, the evening showcasing a pair of lauded poets who will read from their latest collections; The Dead and the Living and the Bridge, written by MC Hyland, and None of It Belongs to Me, authored by Elizabeth Clark Wessel.
A seasoned comedian, ventriloquist, and musician whose career spans more than three decades and earned him a win on TV's Star Search, touring sensation Taylor Mason brings his act, and his memorable cast of characters, to Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre on April 25, this veteran of America’s Got Talent, Dry Bar Comedy, and the Disney Channel enjoying a performance sponsored by Supporters of Foster's Voice and Bridgeway’s Youth Empowerment Services.
A celebration of exhilarating Middle Eastern music and likely the most popular of all Middle Eastern dance forms, Davenport's Common Chord will host the two-day event So You Think You Can Belly Dance on April 26 and 27, the weekend experience boasting a concert with the Missouri ensemble of Bayati on Saturday and a belly-dancing workshop with live music on Sunday.
Sponsored in part by Arconic and developed by the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Putnam Museum & Science Center's new traveling exhibition Mystery of the Mayan Medallion will, through June 1, take visiting explorers through a multitude of archaeological dig sites, prompting them to gather clues and learn what happened to a group of lost scientists and a prized jade medallion.
Governor JB Pritzker said last week that the extreme uncertainty with the U.S. government and the international economy might mean that the legislature may have to reconvene to reconfigure the state budget after it adjourns at the end of next month.
You’ve probably read about the Republican Party implosion last week in suburban municipal and township campaigns, particularly in DuPage County.
[The following is an update to the "Rock Island Addresses Concerns Over Development Plan Near Casino" article published March 21, 2025. In the above photo by Jonathan Turner, Jeff Hughbanks (right), who heads Rock Island-based Rymak Construction Group, talks about his $12-million plan to build a new cannabis dispensary and gas station in southwest Rock Island, at the March 21 press conference at city hall. Mike Thoms (left) will end his two terms as mayor having been defeated by 150 votes in the April 1st city wide election by Ashley Harris who won 51 to 49 percent.]
The Civic Federation, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, and the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability recently released a report calling for the expansion of the sales tax to several services, claiming such a move could raise $2 billion for the state.
Lauded by Vulture as "a brisk, disconcerting brainteaser" that "gives you the satisfying rush of a good mystery," playwriting triumvirate Jeremy Kareken's, David Murrell's, and Gordon Farrell's The Lifespan of a Fact serves as the mainstage season closer for Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, its April 18 through May 4 run sure to demonstrate why Variety praised the work for its "terrifically funny dialogue," and for how the piece ultimately "transcends comedy and demands serious attention."
A glorious stage fairytale boasting a legendary score and a reimagined script by Douglas Carter Beane, the Tony-winning Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella will be presented at Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 19, this beloved classic and Breath of Encouragement production an entertainment, according to the Associated Press, that "crackles with sweetness and freshness, combining a little Monty Python's Spamalot with some Les Misérables."
Based on the kids’ picture book written by Melinda Long and illustrated by David Shannon, this upbeat little musical will leave you practicing your pirate vernacul-arrr and perhaps even wishing to sail the seven seas in pursuit of doubloons.
Deemed "an excellent and compelling play" by the New York Post and "brilliant, powerful, and cinematic" by the Associated Press, Tony Award winner John Logan's dramatic thriller Never the Sinner enjoys an April 24 through 27 staging by the theatre talents at Scott Community College, this tale of the infamous Leopold & Loeb killing hailed by the New Yorker as a work that "sweeps the audience into the boys' friendship without losing sight of the brutal murder."
In our recent phone chat about the new Haus of Ruckus play, it takes Calvin Vo more than a half-hour to drop a bomb that probably should've been dropped in the first five minutes: “We're thinking, with the format we have now, this might be the last time we write Johnny and Fungus.”
Ummm … what?!
A consistently popular and lauded presence on the Midwestern touring circuit, beloved folk singer/songwriter Cody Diekhoff – better known by his recording alias Chicago Farmer – headlines an April 18 concert with his band The Fieldnotes at Davenport's Redstone Room, the artist a soulful crooner and guitarist who inspired No Depression to rave, “If the Midwest is looking for a voice, the search is over.”
Hailed by BBC Radio 2 as "mesmerizing" and by The Quietus as "unique, exciting, and forward-thinking," experimental Celtic musician Brìghde Chaimbeul headlines an April 18 concert at Rock Island's Rozz-Tox, the artist revered for her exceptional playing of the traditional Great Highland bagpipe and the revived Scottish smallpipes.
Touring in support of their 2024 release Blonde, a recording lauded by Entertainment Focus as "a terrific first album for a duo who look set to go far," the sibling duo of Tigirlily Gold headlines an April 19 concert at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, the sisters also praised by Holler Country for their "infectious, instantly loveable melodies and unfiltered lyrical nous."
Hailed by rock legend Peter Frampton as "the gunslinger guitarist of the 21st century" and by famed rock guitarist Joe Satriani as "my favorite modern bluesman," revered blues rocker Davy Knowles headlines an April 19 concert event at Davenport's Redstone Room, his appearance co-presented by Common Chord and the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, and featuring an opening set by the homegrown talents of The Matt Fuller Band.
Critically acclaimed musicians renowned for their bold artistry and innovative approach to jazz, the talents of the Tal Cohen Trio enjoy a special April 19 engagement at Moline's Sound Conservatory, the lauded pianist and his fellow artists masterfully blending traditional jazz with global influences, creating a sound that is both refreshingly modern and deeply rooted in jazz history.
Technically virtuosic and undeniably gripping, Warfare seems to raise the bar in terms of realistic depictions of wartime atrocities, and that bar was already set awfully high. But while the movie isn't fun, nor is it meant to be, I also didn't find it satisfying … though the notion persists that it isn't meant to be that, either.
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 17: Discussion of The Amateur, Drop, and Warfare, and previews of Sinners, The Wedding Banquet, a one-night-only Neil Young doc ... and, somehow, exactly zero new releases about animated animals on a comic adventure. What kind of Easter weekend is this?
In his role as Steve, the miner (as opposed to minor) character at the heart of A Minecraft Movie, Jack Black is almost ferally over the top.
Yes, a horned, magical creature does perish – at least twice. But forget its demise(s): Nothing that happens to the apparently not-mythical beast is quite as grisly as what happens to most of the movie's humans, our collection of potential victims including a Big Pharma titan and a grown man who seemingly doesn't own a pair of long pants. So, you know … it's okay to laugh if they die.
Now playing at area theaters.
Notable and engaging works by 10 artists from Iowa and Illinois will be housed in the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through April 29, with Moline's airport showcasing floral paintings by Kathleen Rietz, landscape paintings by Evan Ventris, and 19 works by eight of the region’s finest woodturners.
Nearly 200 works by gifted student artists will be on display at Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center through May 1 in the expansive 48th 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.
With the exhibition's originator revered for creating Vodou flags known as drapo for more than 35 years, as well as for pushing the boundaries of this traditional Haitian art form, Myrlande Constant: DRAPO will be on display in the Figge At Museum's fourth-floor gallery through May 4, the artist's escalating interest in expansive proportions finding some of the 17 works in the exhibition spanning more than seven feet.
Boasting large woodcut prints and charcoal and pastel drawings of a dying willow tree from her yard in Dubuque, the arresting, fascinating exhibition Louise Kames: I Don’t See Anything That’s Not Beautiful – on display through May 11 – will be showcased in the Gildehaus Gallery of Davenport's Figge Art Museum, the artist focused on creating works that explore the beauty of natural decay, the line between life and death, and what remains after.
Delivering intimate explorations of the human condition through drawing and printmaking, the exhibition Fresh Steele, by area talent Priscilla Steele, enjoys a showcase at Dubuque's Voices Studios April 4 through May 31, with the artist present for an opening celebration on April 4.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?)
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