The roots of the play The 39 Steps were in a 1915 magazine serial by Scottish novelist John Buchan, which became a popular novel, which spawned four more books about its protagonist. It was adapted for film three times, notably (and to great acclaim) by Alfred Hitchcock, and once for television. The first version of the play, written by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon and billed as a "parody," toured in 1995. Patrick Barlow consequently rewrote their script, premiering his adaptation in London in 2005. His version hopped the pond to become a long-running Broadway smash, nominated for six Tonys in 2008 (including Best Play) and winning two. This month, more than 100 years later, a form of Buchan's story is playing live at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre. And I highly recommend you see this ingeniously staged, well-performed lark of a show.

Held in conjunction with the Figge Art Museum's Miracles & Glory Abound exhibition running through September 1, museum staffers will visit the Moline Public Library on August 24 for a special presentation on the exhibit's creator Vanessa German, the Pittsburgh-based artist who inspired the Los Angeles Times to rave, “Strength, physical and spiritual, exudes from her work as if audibly – a proud shout.”

Lauded by Sounds Like Nashville for “her warm, yet driving, vocal approach” that “turns the listener on an emotional dime,” country-music singer/songwriter enjoys an August 24 headliner concert at the Rock Island Brewing Company, her most recent album Trophy described by Country Exclusive as “filled with honest, clever songwriting” that shows “an artist being vulnerable and sharing a part of herself with listeners through her music.”

Alternating Currents is an area celebration of the finest in art, music, comedy, and film. But from August 22 through 25, the weekend festival also has events scheduled in downtown Davenport that don't precisely fit into any of those four categories – including children's activities, sporting entertainments, forums, sales, and more.

Nearly 20 local, regional, and national comedians will be bringing the funny to this year's Alternating Currents festival, with August 23 and 24 standup sets – plus one hilariously awful movie – scheduled to make patrons roar with laughter at four venues in downtown Davenport.

Between August 22 and 25, art in a wide variety of mediums will brighten the streets and venues of the 2019 Alternating Currents festival, with the scheduled events in downtown Davenport including an arts & crafts marketplace, a paper-art festival, a pop-up art show, and much more.

Who doesn't like a singing and dancing nun? Because everyone seemed to be delighted at Thursday night's preview of Quad City Music Guild's Sister Act. The evening was filled with comedy and profound contemplation as the habit-wearing sisters praised the Lord in song and dance proclaiming, "It's good to be a nun!"

It’s a dog-eat-dog world. Literally, in fact, at New Ground Theatre’s production of playwright Micah Schraft's A Dog’s House, when Jock – the dog of Michael (Kyle Taylor) and Eden (Tabitha Oles) – kills the dog new neighbors Robert (Jordan L. Smith) and Nicole (Ashley Hoskins). As Michael and Eden struggle with the moral implications of what to do next, they find out a lot about themselves and their relationship, and Friday's opening-night performance of director Jacque Cohoon’s production was an intimate, emotional experience I wasn’t expecting.