Although audiences for its live performances, due to current health and safety measures, are being restricted to the college's students, faculty, and staff, the general public will still be able to see the Augustana College theatre department's season-opening production of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, the thrilling and terrifying Christopher Marlowe classic that will be shown in virtual format on November 7.

Two short films celebrating American courage, character, and perseverance will enjoy virtual presentations the day before Veteran's Day, with the Moline Public Library hosting November 10 screenings of Fourth Wall Films' A Bridge Too Far from Hero Street and Riding the Rails to Hero Street, a pair of lauded documentaries in the Hero Street series by area filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle.

As home to one of the largest collections of Haitian art in the United States, the Figge Art Museum is set to celebrate its vast assemblage of beautiful, evocative, fascinating pieces in Haitian Masterworks, an arresting exhibition, on display through May 16, that focuses on prevalent themes in Haitian art including spirituality, transformation, the natural world, everyday life, and Haitian history.

Estate planning and other legal issues facing artists will be the subjects of the Figge Art Museum's Virtual Scholar Talk on October 29, with Iowa City attorney David Bright and artist T.J. Dedeaux-Norris discussing the legal efforts taken to preserve the artistic legacy and estate of Tameka Janean Norris, whose currently running Figge exhibit is designed to explore the complex legacy of an artist’s identity after their passing.

A series of arresting, colorful, large-scale paintings is currently filling the gallery at the Quad City Arts Center, with the Rock Island venue, through December 11, hosting Jaclyn Garlock: Extraordinary Women depictions of life-sized women engaging in non-salaried work from cooking to laundry to volunteering … and enjoying themselves as they do it.

Continuing its presentation of virtual fall programming in the venue's annual PASS (Performing Arts Signature Series) program, Quad City Arts hosts an eagerly awaited November 5 concert event with the Japanese-drumming wizards of Ho Etsu Taiko, its collection of gifted musicians delivering a dazzling musical and cultural event recorded specifically for Quad City Arts patrons.

On November 1, a traditional Mexican holiday will be celebrated online – and in interactive, family-friendly style – when Davenport's Figge Art Museum hosts its Virtual Family Fiesta focused on the Day of the Dead, a chance to celebrate and remember the lives of our lost loved ones through the collective traditions, art-making, and storytelling that are among its integral elements.

Although this year's event will be taking place not at the Davenport venue but from the comfort of your own homes, the Putnam Museum & Science Center's annual fundraiser the Mad Scientist Ball is set to take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on October 17, the virtual party delivering experiments, entertainment, and a question-and-answer session with Daytime Emmy Award nominee Emily Calandrelli.

Continuing the group's season-long celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven's 250th birthday, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra teams up with WVIK Public Radio to present their first Signature Series event of 2020-21: Naha Plays Beethoven, an October 23 evening at Davenport's Figge Art Museum showcasing the talents of QCSO Concertmaster Naha Greenholtz and pianist Marian Lee.

An absurdist classic made newly relevant by the global pandemic, the legendary tragicomedy Waiting for Godot enjoys an October 22 through 31 run at Moline's Black Box Theatre, with Samuel Beckett's timeless story of hope amidst existential dread described by New York Stage Review as “the great play of the 20th century.”

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