What's Happenin'

  • Sep 28, 2022
    Ballet Quad Cities Resurrects Music of the Holocaust

    A ballet program that promises to be brilliant, bold-as-can-be and possibly precedent-setting will be brought to the Adler Theatre on October 8. Our Will to Live, Ballet Quad Cities’ contribution to the Out of Darkness series (OutOfDarknessQC.com) will present new original choreography by Courtney Lyon and Emily Kate Long celebrating and dramatizing works by Jewish composers who fled the Nazis or tragically died in the camps. [Read Mike Schulz's interview with Ballet Quad Cities' Artistic Director Courtney Lyon at: Ballet Quad Cities' “Our Will to Live,” October 8.]

  • Sep 28, 2022
    Ballet Quad Cities' “Our Will to Live,” October 8

    With their latest production staged in conjunction with the Quad Cities' area-wide Holocaust-remembrance project “Out of Darkness” (OutOfDarknessQC.com.), the professional dancers of Ballet Quad Cities present a remembrance of their own in Our Will to Live, an original program of dance vignettes boasting music by composers affected by the Holocaust. Taking place at Davenport's Adler Theatre on October 8, the repertoire for this two-act ballet runs the emotional gamut from exhilarating to painful – though the company's artistic director and co-choreographer Courtney Lyon realizes that potential patrons might incorrectly expect a night solely devoted to the latter.

  • Sep 27, 2022
    “Who Killed Margaret Treese?”, October 9

    An unsolved Iowa murder dating back 75 years will be the fascinating focus of an October 9 presentation at the German American Heritage Center, with local author John Brassard Jr. visiting the Davenport venue to explore the lingering mystery of Who Killed Margaret Treese?

  • Oct 04, 2022
    “A Conversation with Jesmyn Ward,” October 12

    Hailed by O the Oprah Magazine as "an attentive and precise writer who dazzles with natural and supernatural observations and lyrical details," bestselling author Jesmyn Ward will take part in a virtual conversation hosted by the Rock Island and Moline Public Libraries, her October 12 event treating participants to an audience with the talent lauded by Entertainment Weekly as "one of the most searing and singularly gifted writers working today."

  • Oct 04, 2022
    SPECTRA Reading Series International Edition: Tunay Őnder amd Chun Sue, October 13

    Presented in a collaboration between the University of Iowa International Writing Program, the German American Heritage Center, the Midwest Writing Center, and Rock Island's Rozz-Tox, the latter venue will host a special International Edition of the Midwest Writing Center's SPECTRA Reading Series on October 13, with the featured guests and readers being native German Tunay Őnder and Chinese native Chun Sue.

Commentary

  • Political Oath of Office Taker Cartoon Oct 2022 Cover Illustration by Ed Newmann & Monica Kendall
    Oct 05, 2022
    2022 General Election Questionnaire and Answers: Iowa and Illinois Candidates

    The 2022 midterm election will see voters pass the baton to candidates who will serve during a highly charged political environment as the 2024 general election approaches. Most candidates talk mostly about themselves, with an almost comical disregard for the subject matter they should be focused on to secure votes – the voters and our needs and expectations of them to represent us and not their own interests. With the Midterm General Election 2022 Questionnaire found below, we continue our longstanding practice of contacting political office candidates with what we hope are relevant and meaningful questions.

  • Oct 03, 2022
    2022 Ad Spending for State Supreme Court Candidates a War of Attrition

    The labor-union and trial-lawyer-backed All for Justice independent-expenditure committee has so far reported raising $3.5 million, with, I’m told, at least another $5 million in pledges. The committee’s sole purpose is to back the two Democratic candidates running for the Illinois Supreme Court, Appellate Justice Mary K O’Brien, and Judge Elizabeth Rochford. And its spending is finally beginning.

  • Reader 30th Anniversary Edition Cover Concept Sketch Courtesy, Ed Newmann
    Sep 26, 2022
    Iowa Quad Cities' Midterm Election 2022 Candidate Questionnaire

    Publisher Note: The River Cities' Reader has emailed the publicly available emails for all party's candidates in the certain selected Iowa General Election 2022 races, a candidate questionnaire with four topics and eight questions.  That communication is published in part below, along with the complete questionnaire. 

    The Reader will publish all responses in the printed October edition out on the streets October 6, 2022. All the printed responses will also be published online shortly thereafter. 

  • Reader 30th Anniversary Edition Cover Concept Sketch Courtesy, Ed Newmann
    Sep 27, 2022
    Illinois Quad Cities' Midterm Election 2022 Candidate Questionnaire

    Publisher Note: The River Cities' Reader has emailed the publicly available emails for all party's candidates in the certain selected Iowa General Election 2022 races, a candidate questionnaire with four topics and eight questions.  That communication is published in part below, along with the complete questionnaire.  The Reader will publish all responses in the printed October edition out on the streets October 6, 2022. All the printed responses will also be published online shortly thereafter. 

  • Sep 26, 2022
    People Who Play by Their Own Rules PAC: Dan Proft’s Political Tactics

    Far-right activist Dan Proft has proved time and time again that he is very effective at calling attention to himself and getting under Governor JB Pritzker’s skin in the worst way.

Theatre

  • Sep 26, 2022
    “Church Basement Ladies,” October 7 through 9

    Based on the beloved Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson book Growing Up Lutheran and an ever-popular stage entertainment for more than 15 years, Church Basement Ladies serves as the 27th fundraising production presented by Muscatine's New Era Dinner Theater, its October 7 through 9 run sure to demonstrate why Broadway World called the experience “a completely fun evening” that's “really, really funny.”

  • Oct 03, 2022
    Dog Daze: ”Sylvia,” at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through October 9

    If you were to tell me a marriage could teeter on the brink of destruction simply due to the addition of a dog … I’d have countered that no one would let canine conflict get that far. Only that’s exactly what happens in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's production of Sylvia, written by A.R. Gurney and directed by Kathy Graham. Friday’s performance ultimately left me feeling like I am killing it with marriage, as both my husband and I agree on our position on getting a dog: While they’re great, dog ownership simply isn’t for us.

  • Oct 03, 2022
    Flop Suite: “The Producers,” at the Spotlight Theatre through October 9

    On Saturday night, I had the great pleasure of introducing a friend to The Producers. Her only prior knowledge of the show was me incessantly singing “Springtime for Hitler” at her and my assurances that the musical was funny. And director and Spotlight Theatre co-owner owner Brent Tubbs and his talented cast of 29 held up their end of the bargain, offering a virtual – and visual – smorgasbord of humor.

  • Oct 03, 2022
    Foley Committed: “Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play” at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre through October 9

    Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre is currently presenting Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play, adapted by Joe Landry – another production canceled due to COVID, then rescheduled, with most of the original cast intact. It's a tasty helping of suspense and murder, with a sprinkling of humor.

  • Sep 26, 2022
    “Defending the Caveman,” September 29 through October 9

    Hailed by the Chicago Sun-Times as an "outrageously funny and surprisingly sweet exploration of the gender gap,” the one-man riot Defending the Caveman enjoys a September 92 through October 9 run at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, with author Rob Becker's 1991 work still standing as the longest running solo play in the history of Broadway.

Music

  • Sep 27, 2022
    ONO, October 7

    Led by core members vocalist travis and multi-instrumentalist P. Michael, the musical collaborators of ONO headline an October 7 concert event at Davenport's Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, the group – still performing 42 years after its inception – offering a unique combination of experimental noise and industrial music with gospel and spoken-word performance.

  • Oct 02, 2022
    “Voices Behind the Art,” October 7

    Presented on October 7 in collaboration with the area collective “My Arts Voice,” Voices Behind the Art will fuse visual and musical art in a showcase of more than a half-dozen Midwestern talents. The event stands as the latest cultural offering by Common Chord, the Davenport venue previously known as River Music Experience. And as Executive Director Tyson Danner explains, the institution's new moniker isn't the signal for a new direction for the former RME: “The name change has been the end of the process, really."

  • Sep 27, 2022
    Kelsey Waldon, October 7

    Praised by American Songwriter for her "superb talents and determined approach to her profession," acclaimed country singer/songwriter Kelsey Waldon headlines an October 7 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist's August release No Regular Dog lauded for a creative force, according to Americana Highways, "whose skill and resolve make her an indispensable force in Americana."

  • Oct 06, 2022
    Live Heavy Music Report, October 2022

    Another calendar page has turned with the season, bringing with it a loaded month for live music in the Quad Cities. Looming large among the many shows scheduled for October is Judas Priest's October 29 appearance at the Vibrant Arena at the MARK, with Queensrÿche in tow. While most rockers and metalheads in the area are no doubt aware of the metal gods' imminent arrival, there are several other smaller shows happening this month that are equally worthy of consideration. Whether or not you have tickets for Priest, these displays of heavy metal thunder will make October 2022 a heavy and memorable month.

  • Sep 27, 2022
    Nova Singers: “A Procession Walking Around Me,” October 8 and 9

    For their first concert events of the 2022-23 season, Galesburg's professional vocal ensemble the Nova Singers will explore the unique blend of choir and guitar in October 8 and 9 performances of A Procession Winding Around Me, performed under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane and alongside a special guest artist: classical guitarist Dr. Angelo Favis.

Movies

Art

  • Oct 04, 2022
    Peter Xiao's “Thingamajigs & Right-Facing Nudes,” October 7 through 30

    The talents of one of the area's most respected and educators will be on display at Rozz-Tox from October 7 through 30 when the Rock Island venue houses Peter Xiao's Thingamajigs & Right-Facing Nudes, a collection of new works by the gifted painter who has also taught drawing and painting at Rock Island's Augustana College since 1989.

  • Aug 17, 2022
    Jennifer Lynn Bates and John Nelson Exhibits, through October 7

    Evocative works by a pair of gifted central-Illinois artists will have their talents showcased at the Quad City Arts Center through October 7, with the Rock Island venue housing beautiful color-field paintings by John Nelson of Quincy, as well as arresting mixed-media portrait paintings in the Dictators & Dreamers exhibition by Jennifer Lynn Bates.

  • Oct 06, 2022
    Buried Stories: Ernest “Ober” Oberholtzer

    The Quad Cities are graced with vast rolling lawns that stretch for acres under magnificent, stately trees: our cemeteries. Here are some of the region’s finest statues and architecture, with a breadth of symbolism drawn from ancient Egypt, Classical Greece, Medieval and Victorian Europe. Family names on the cemetery’s monuments and mausoleum – such as Davenport, Bettendorf, Deere, Fejervary, Sudlow – are cornerstones of our communities. The name “Oberholtzer” isn’t as immediately familiar as these, but this environmentalist, writer, musician, photographer, and explorer’s impact is still felt today.

  • Aug 24, 2022
    “When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears,” through October 14

    A collection of evocative drawings by a gifted area artist, musician, and frequent contributor to the River Cities' Reader, the exhibition When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears will be on display in Black Hawk College's ArtSpace Gallery through October 14, the works showcasing the talents and vision of former Augustana College instructor and University of Iowa alumnus Bruce Walters.

  • Aug 30, 2022
    “Captivated by Japan: Laura Musser McColm & Her Era” and Sean Fitzgibbon Exhibits, through October 23

    Visitors to the Muscatine Art Center can explore two very different stories from Muscatine’s past through October 23, with the venue's main floor hosting Captivated by Japan: Laura Musser McColm & Her Era, and the Stanley Gallery's middle floor housing a series of graphic illustrations by Sean Fitzgibbon.

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