19 Jun 2017

Amphibians Rainbow: "A Year with Frog & Toad," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through July 1

By Victoria Navarro

I’ve been taking my nine-year-old granddaughter Ava to the theatre since she was three, and on June 15 she accompanied me to the matinée performance of A Year with Frog & Toad, where we agreed that children’s shows don’t always have to be high-energy to be fun. This Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse production is a gentle story of friendship, and under the direction of Kim Kurtenbach it has a nicely old-fashioned vibe.

18 Jun 2017

Lightning Strikes Thrice: “Cars 3” and “Rough Night”

By Mike Schulz
If asked to list Pixar features I felt more deserving of a second sequel than 2006’s Cars, I’d offer a simple “all of ’em except The Good Dinosaur.” So maybe it was low expectations that allowed me to find Cars 3 the best of its bunch, and by a considerable margin, to boot.
18 Jun 2017

A Bum Rap: “All Eyez on Me” and “47 Meters Down”

By Mike Schulz
Why do bad bio-pics happen to good people?
18 Jun 2017

Governor Finally Supports a Budget Plan, but Democrats Remain Spooked

By Rich Miller

One of the hottest rumors making the rounds among Statehouse types last week was that the governor and/or the Illinois Republican Party will be sending “trackers” to Springfield for the upcoming special legislative session.

The rumor, which was everywhere, was that the trackers would follow Democrats around to try to get them to say silly things or record them doing stuff that might not look good to the folks back home.

Nasty rumors thrive in the pea-soup fog of fear and loathing that pervades the Statehouse these days. At one time or another, it seems like everybody has fought everybody and now nobody trusts anybody.
15 Jun 2017

Red Meat: June 15, 2017

By Max Cannon
15 Jun 2017

Crossover Appeal: Jazz Meets Classical with Mike Conrad’s All Angles Orchestra, July 2 at the Village Theatre

By Mike Schulz

Bettendorf native Mike Conrad is an acclaimed jazz trombonist, composer, bandleader, and educator who’s currently completing his doctorate in jazz studies at the University of Northern Colorado. But in tracing his musical gifts and professional success back to their grade-school beginnings, the 29-year-old actually has another doctor to thank – one with the surname Seuss.

14 Jun 2017

Tree-Lined Triptych: “Selections from Menotti,” at Lincoln Park through June 18

By Dee Canfield
When my editor was doling out reviewing assignments for the month, I more or less said, “Please – anything but opera!” Then, due to availability issues, I ended up being assigned to review Opera @ Augustana's and Genesius Guild's Selections from Menotti.
13 Jun 2017

Crossword Puzzle: June 13, 2017

By Administrator

To download a PDF of the puzzle, click here.

12 Jun 2017

High Seas, High "C"s: "The Little Mermaid," at the Prospect Park Auditorium through June 18

By Brent Tubbs
Let me begin by stating, honestly, that I am a huge Disney fan, and have a major bias toward anything Disney-related. So when seeing The Little Mermaid come to life during Quad City Music Guild's June 8 preview, the show would've had to be a catastrophe for me to not enjoy myself. Thankfully, it wasn't one.
11 Jun 2017

E-gypped: “The Mummy,” “It Comes at Night,” and “Megan Leavey”

By Mike Schulz
Director Alex Kurtzman’s The Mummy aims to be an action blockbuster, a supernatural freak-out, a tongue-in-cheek comedy, a tentpole-starter, and the ultimate Tom Cruise vehicle all at once, and I have to give it a weird kind of credit, because I never imagined a film could fail so spectacularly on quite so many levels.
11 Jun 2017

Madigan, Rauner Have No Incentives to Compromise

By Rich Miller

As we’ve all seen over the past several months, Governor Bruce Rauner is adamantly refusing to provide any help whatsoever to Chicago – which is struggling mightily under the weight of years of fiscal misfeasance – until his Turnaround Agenda demands are met. A long-sought education-funding-reform bill, a 911 emergency-call-center fee, and even a bill to allow the expedited sale of the Thompson Center have been hit with Rauner’s broad (and often false) brush of being a “Chicago bailout.”

Rauner will never again get another “opportunity” like this one. Democrats have historically protected Chicago, and the city needs more help now than ever before. Going after the city is, by far, Rauner’s “best” leverage to force the Democrats to cut a deal with him.

Democrats, particularly in the House, won’t budge, partly because their city-based and statewide union allies are demanding all-out war.

08 Jun 2017

2017 Summer Guide on Stands Now!

By Administrator

The River Cities’ Reader’s 2017 Summer Guide – featuring more than 1,400 events from June through August – is on stands now. Pick up a copy wherever you find the River Cities’ Reader!

You can also browse it online or use our online calendar to find everything happening in the Quad Cities this summer!

08 Jun 2017

Red Meat: June 8, 2017

By Max Cannon
06 Jun 2017

Crossword Puzzle: June 6, 2017

By Administrator

To download a PDF of the puzzle, click here.

06 Jun 2017

What's Happenin': Summer 2017

By Mike Schulz

All Quad Citians who routinely travel between the Iowa and Illinois sides of the Mississippi River know to expect occasional delays because of bridge repairs. But if those delays sometimes seem more frequent than “occasional,” I’m not sure that’s because of regular upkeep and enhancements. I think it might be because our area’s annual lineup of summertime festivals and major events keeps us excitedly hopping between states for three solid months. Given the sheer tonage of happenings, no wonder our poor bridges need some TLC.

06 Jun 2017

What's Happenin': Thursday, June 8, through Wednesday, June 21

By Mike Schulz

FESTIVALS

Saturday, June 10 – Gumbo Ya Ya. Mardi Gras celebration with Cajun food, arts and crafts, and concert sets with the Backwater Bayou Band, Environmental Encroachment, Dikki Du, and Playlist QC. District of Rock Island. 4 p.m. gates. $9. For information, call (309)788-6311or visit DowntownRockIsland.org.

Saturday, June 10 – Quad City Juneteenth Celebration. Annual celebration of slavery’s abolition featuring food and retail vendors, history and information booths, live music, games, children’s activities, and more. LeClaire Park (400 Beiderbecke Drive, Davenport). 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. For information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Friday, June 16, through Sunday, June 18 – The Muddy Fest: Motorcycles & Music. Inaugural festival featuring motorcycle activities and two-lane ride-alongs, live music, regional cuisine, vendors, and entertainment, with guests including Sublime with Rome, The Doors guitarist Robby Kreiger, Olympic gold medalist Dan Gable, and actor William Baldwin. Centennial Park (315 South Marquette Street, Davenport). $20-74.99. For information, tickets, and an event schedule, visit TheMuddyFest.com.

Friday, June 16, through Sunday, June 18 – Junetopia. Summer celebration of music, visual art, comedy, and more, with dozens of artists performing at the Figge Art Museum (225 West Second Street, Davenport) on Friday, the Village Theatre (2113 East 11th Street, Davenport) on Saturday, and Rozz-Tox (2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island) and Rooster’s Sports Bar & Grill (2130 Third Avenue, Rock Island) on Sunday. $15 day pass, $25 weekend pass. For information, visit QCJunetopia.com.

05 Jun 2017

Breastplate Armor and Cotton Briefs: "Wonder Woman" and "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie"

By Mike Schulz
Obviously, the summer months – by which I mean Hollywood’s May through August – bring with them superhero movies. On some weekends, they bring with them only superhero movies. But I can honestly say I never planned on a superhero two-fer quite as delightful, unexpected, and satisfying as this past weekend’s debuts of Wonder Woman and Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. Despite their shared release date and origin-story setups, you wouldn’t think that much would connect director Patty Jenkins’ live-action blockbuster and director David Soren’s featherweight animated comedy. In truth, though, the works are nearly identical in basic yet crucial ways that too many costumed-crime-fighter sagas aren’t: They’re blessedly unpretentious, they’re (mostly) angst-free, and they’re entertaining as hell.
05 Jun 2017

Pan-tastic Voyage: "Peter & the Starcatcher," at the QC Theatre Workshop through June 18

By Jeff Ashcraft

It's opening night, and it's intermission at the QC Theatre Workshop. I wander out into the warm evening for some fresh air, wondering what, exactly, I'm witnessing. I mean, it doesn't really fit into any genre or theatrical category I can recall previously seeing. And yet, it's not only entertaining; it's exciting. At times, I feel as if I'm watching a silent movie in a nickelodeon. No, it's more like a sketch comedy. Wait: It's really a fable or children's story. A-ha!

05 Jun 2017

Calculating Love: "I Love You Because," at the Black Box Theatre through June 17

By Victoria Navarro

The 2006 musical love story I Love You Because, its music by Joshua Salzman and its book and lyrics by Ryan Cunningham, is a modern spin on Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, exploring the age-old notion that opposites attract. And in its current presentation at the Black Box Theatre, the show provides a light and entertaining theatre experience.

05 Jun 2017

Monkey-Trial Business: "Inherit the Wind," at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre through June 11

By Brent Tubbs
Sometimes a play is written to highlight societal troubles at the time it was written. And sometimes that play gets performed nearly 65 years later, and its message and themes are just as powerful and meaningful now as they were then.

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