Touring in support of his standup special Woke-ish that debuted to millions of delighted Netflix subscribers this past June, the gifted multi-hyphenate Marlon Wayans brings his wildly popular "Wild Child Tour" to Davenport's Adler Theatre on September 19, the actor, writer, director, and comedian famed for numerous television series and scores of movies ranging from the high comedy of In Living Color to the gritty drama of Requiem for a Dream.
Hard as it is to believe, the iconic TV sitcom Friends debuted its first-ever episode three decades ago this month, and in celebration, the East Moline Public Library will host a Friends 30th-Anniversary Party on September 20, demonstrating that they'll be there for you with crafts, trivia, fan-favorite episodes, and more.
An eagerly awaited autumnal tradition will get the blood pumping on September 21 and 22, as the weekend brings with it the Vibrant Arena at the MARK's Active Endeavors Health & Fitness Expo on Saturday followed by the 27th Quad Cities Marathon, presented by TBK Bank, on Sunday, the latter a Boston Marathon qualifier and the only such event in the country to incorporate six races, four cities, three bridges, two states, and one island.
Held in conjunction with the September 22 through 28 Banned Books Week – a celebration of our collective freedom to read – the Midwest Writing Center's and Rock Island Public Library's annual Banned Books Read-In will take place on September 24, with more than a dozen participants gathering at the library's Watts-Midtown Branch to read from frequently challenged works and unite in the fight against censorship.
With his debut album Oh Me, Oh My released in 2022, country and Americana singer/songwriter will perform new and familiar numbers and deliver life tales in Songs & Stories with Forrest McCurren, a special September 26 event introducing audiences to the nascent artist's talents at the Rock Island Public Library's Watts-Midtown Branch.
It’s been an open secret for weeks that at least some members of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Intergovernmental Affairs staff would be leaving after the Democratic National Convention, including its director, Sydney Holman. That happened last week. Holman quit, and two others were forced out of the IGA office, which liaisons with both the city council and the Illinois General Assembly.
“It seems crazy, but it’s true that when I serve out the end of this second term, I will be the longest-serving Democratic governor in the history of Illinois,” Governor JB Pritzker said last month during the Democratic National Convention. I looked it up and it’s true.
Several stories and columns appeared in the national news media shortly before and during the recent Democratic National Convention about Vice President Kamala Harris’ emphasis on the concept of “freedom” in her speeches and messaging.
Since the 2022 election, far too many Illinoisans have been far too eager to pine for a repeat of the past.
Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch has said he thinks he can flip somewhere between four and six Republican-held House districts to Democratic control, upping his super-majority to between 82 and 84 seats, from his current 78. Which Republican districts are flippable? I talked with a high-level source close to Speaker Welch’s caucus who pointed to the following races.
Alexander Richardson’s new play is set in the 1840s, but it feels painfully contemporary.
“Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” Or so goes the quip famously attributed to Benjamin Franklin – and 157 years after Franklin’s death, Tennessee Williams’ renowned A Streetcar Named Desire was first performed, perfectly embodying Franklin’s quote.
The funny, moving, and profound stage version of one of literature's all-time classics enjoys an October 3 through 13 run at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre when the Geneseo venue stages Of Mice & Men, John Steinbeck's adaptation of his revered 1937 novel included as one of Amazon's list of “The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written.”
Kitty: I adored this production – which honestly surprised me, because I’ve seen this musical performed elsewhere and … didn’t love it.
Mischa: I’ve never seen this show before, but also really enjoyed it. Okay, I’ll admit, the storyline is not amazing. But the execution was superb.
Appropriately embarking on a Midwestern tour in support of their August release We Made a Mess in Middle America, the Americana musicians of The Way Down Wanderers return to Davenport's Redstone Room on September 18, their concert sure to demonstrate why Rolling Stone Country raved about their “intricate, hypnotic rhythms,” and why Best New Bands wrote, “Their live show is full of energy and just a damn good time.”
Two venerated rock outfits with their origins in Washington D.C. will co-headline a special September 18 concert event in downtown Davenport, with the Raccoon Motel proud to host the hardcore and punk rockers of Scream alongside the post-hardcore trailblazers of Soulside.
Praised by Top40-Charts for their "thoughtful lyrics, powerful hooks, dynamic stage show, and obsessive hard work," the Canadians indie rockers of Autopilot headline a September 19 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the popular outfit also hailed by Top40-Charts as a group that "somehow seem to effortlessly walk the line between passionate art and massive appeal."
Performing a special concert event with a fresh style all his own, rising country singer/songwriter Brett Westgrove performs a September 19 engagement in the John & Alice Butler Hall of the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, an evening that will find the headliner sharing his journey from aerospace engineering to Nashville, and detailing how he overcame the challenges to pursue his musical dream.
Nominated for more than a dozen Grammy Awards and winner of three Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, singing/songwriting superstar and Grand Ole Opry member Dierks Bentley brings his “Gravel & Gold Tour” to Moline's Vibrant Arena at the MARK on September 20, his 2023 Gravel & Gold inspiring AllMusic to rave that "when combined with the occasional barn burner, such as the jocular bluegrass closer 'High Note,'" the album "delivers a recipe for a good time."
Currently boasting a 97-percent "freshness" rating on aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, where the film's critical consensus calls it "a visually awe-inspiring science-fiction classic from the silent era," Fritz Lang's legendary 1927 opus Metropolis serves as the third presentation in the German American Heritage Center's German Expressionist Film Series, this masterpiece also lauded by Roger Ebert as "a work so audacious in its vision and so angry in its message that it is, if anything, more powerful today than when it was made."
I didn't dislike James Watkins' fright flick because it wasn't frightening, though that certainly didn't help matters. I disliked it because, in a rarity for this genre, its (adult) heroes and villains truly seemed to deserve each other.
Going to the cineplex or staying in and streaming this weekend? Every Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on Planet 93.9 FM with the fabulous Dave & Darren in the Morning team of Dave Levora and Darren Pitra. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too.
Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your electronic device. Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again.
Thursday, September 12: Discussion of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and The Front Room, previews of Speak No Evil and The Killer's Game, and a head's up on next weekend's area screenings of a 1989 Tim Burton smash and a Christopher Nolan superhero trilogy. Holy synergy, Batman!
You won't get Catherine O'Hara, against her will, leading a supernaturally choreographed “Day-O.” But you will get O'Hara, and supernatural choreography, and “Day-O” – just not in ways you may have anticipated.
Now playing at area theaters.
With the goal of the evening's guest the creation of a rich environment in which emergent behavior can occur without a preconceived outcome, visual artist Leo Villareal takes part in a September 19 artist talk at Davenport's Figge Art Museum, this fascinating and thought-provoking discussion held in conjunction with the September 21 opening of the artist's new Figge exhibition Interstellar.
Original works from nearly 90 juried regional and national artists will be on hand at the September 21 and 22 Riverssance Festival of Fine Art, with the 36th Lindsay Park event, hosted by Quad City Arts, boasting a children’s art-activity tent, food and beverage vendors, live music, and the presentation of the prestigious Harley Award, an honor given to an individual who has affected the arts and artists in the Quad Cities during their lifetime.
With its creator's artistic practice belonging to a tradition that intertwines nature, technology, and human experience, Leo Villareal: Interstellar, on display at Davenport's Figge Art Museum from September 21 through January 19, will showcase nine works from light sculptor Villareal’s Nebula series, inviting patrons into the realms of space, time, and perception through LEDs and custom software.
Work of couture by Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Auguste Rodin, and other artists recognized around the world will be on vivid display in the Muscatine Art Center through September 22, with the venue's Fashionably Dressed exhibition pairing drawings, paintings, and prints of women, men, and children with historic clothing from the Muscatine Art Center’s permanent collection.
In the first exhibit of the venue's 2024-2025 season, award-winning children's book author Arthur Geisert's original etchings of pigs building a treehouse with letters hidden amongst the pages will decorate the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Gallery, the exhibition Arthur Geisert: PIGS from A to Z, through September 27, on loan to UD from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Amy Alkon Advice Goddess, Real Astrology, Red Meat cartoon and RCR Crossword every week?)
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