With the Oscar-winning 1986 hit enjoying a local showing just in time for Halloween, Rozz-Tox guests are invited to "Be afraid ... be very afraid" on October 29 when the Rock Island venue screens David Cronenberg's The Fly as part of the community series Filmosofia, this evening in Rock Island also featuring a reading discussion on the movie's philosophical themes hosted by Augustana College's Dr. Deke Gould.

A Noël Coward masterpiece boasting period elegance, touching romance, loads of laughs, and more than a hint of the supernatural graces the stage at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre October 24 through November 2, the British classic Blithe Spirit treating audiences to one of the most popular comedies of 20th Century world theatre, as well as the show whose most recent Broadway version won co-star Angela Lansbury her fifth Tony Award.

If Halloween is approaching, it must be time for that theatrical command: “Let's do the 'Time Warp' again!” Consequently, the Circa '21 Speakeasy will stage its 10th-anniversary presentation of the cult-musical smash The Rocky Horror Show October 24 through 31, treating audiences to live performances of classic songs in this nutty, interactive experience that has been delighting show regulars and virgins alike for more than half a century.

With the Los Angeles Times hailing the "funny, earnest, and instantly likable" repertoire and Everything Theatre deeming the show "a great song cycle," the musical revue Edges opens Augustana College's 2025-26 theatre season with an October 30 through November 2 run.

A 2025 Tony Award winner hailed by the New York Times as "the perfect play for our age of disagreement," Jonathan Specter's hilarious, biting comedy Eureka Day enjoys an October 24 through November 9 run at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, the work also lauded by The New Yorker as "so brilliantly yoked to the current American moment – its flighty politics, its deadly folly – that it makes you want to jump out of your skin."

Boasting what will doubtless be the most heavily populated cast that area audiences have seen all year and will see for the remainder of 2025, Dare to Dream Jr.: A Disney Musical Revue runs at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts October 24 through 26, this presentation by Young Footliters Youth Theatre featuring many of your favorite Disney songs and an ensemble of 98 young talents.

A wildly popular comedy show filled with stage shenanigans, songs, contests, and prizes designed to lift the spirits, the touring hit Randy's Cheeseburger Picnic lands at Davenport's Raccoon Motel on October 26, treating patrons to a night with Canadian actor Patrick Roach and his alter ego: lovable Randy of Trailer Park Boys fame.

An associate professor of religion and highly decorated professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies at Augustana College, Dr. M. Wolff will be at the Davenport Public Library's Eastern Avenue Branch on October 30, discussing and signing her new book Body Problems: What Intersex Priest Sally Gross Teaches Us About Embodiment, Justice, and Belonging.

On October 18, Rock Island's Dan Vinar Furniture Company (and current Rock Island Haunted Roadhouse), will host the 2025 Quad Cities Archives Fair, allowing the public to experience Quad Cities history by visiting with regional cultural and historical organizations, learning about unique collections and services, listening to talks on historical topics, and discovering some of the area's hidden gems.

Hosted by River Action and themed "“A Piece of a Larger Puzzle," the 19th-Annual Upper Mississippi River Conference will be held at Moline's Stoney Creek Inn & Convention Center on October 15 and 16, the event designed to bring together conservationists, policymakers, scientists, students, and community leaders to collaborate on holistic solutions for the Mississippi River and its watershed.

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