With her bestseller Remarkably Bright Creatures lauded by Book Marks as “a truly tender masterpiece” that is “whimsical, immersive, and vibrantly written,” acclaimed author Shelby Van Pelt will take part in the Moline Public Library's in-person, October 9 author visit at Moline's Bartlett Performing Arts Center, van Pelt's debut novel noted for selling more than 1.4 million copies and reappearing on the New York Times bestseller list a year-and-a-half after its initial release.
With the author appearing in a special virtual program hosted by Illinois Libraries Present and the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries, the October 9 event Being Imperfect with Erica Sánchez will find the author of the New York Times bestseller I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter in conversation with Cynthia Pelayo, the Times having raved that Sánchez's book was "alive and crackling – a gritty tale wrapped in a page-turner."
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, the city's Capitol Theatre will host the October 10 event TEDxDavenport, a local, self-organized event that brings people together to share a TED-like experience, and that will find eight gifted speakers sparking deep discussion and connection through a number of fascinating subjects.
The expansive life story of a famed zither musician and zither manufacturer - one responsible for 10,000 of his personalized instruments being made in Washington, Missouri - will be explored on October 11 when Davenport's German American Heritage Center presents Franz Schwarzer: The History & Legacy of the Zither King, the program celebrating the man who won the Gold Medal of Progress in 1873, beating out all of the zither manufactures in Europe.
Last February, in the 50th-anniversary season of Quad City Arts’ Visiting Artist Series, hip-hop dancing and beatboxing illustrated how elusive world peace may be possible.
Last year, the Democratic Party of Illinois and Governor JB Pritzker targeted local school-board races to defeat candidates who wanted to ban books and/or were receiving support from right-wing political organizations. The governor ended up claiming victory in more than seventy percent of those campaigns.
For months now, Statehouse types have been talking about whether there’s a need for a fall veto session this year. The session is scheduled to run the two weeks after the November election. As one person put it, veto sessions are for things that the governor and legislators “have to do.” But with no gubernatorial vetoes to deal with, is there anything that absolutely has to be done before the end of the year?
Scott County has purchased all-new election equipment and software for the upcoming, highly contentious 2024 election. It is fair to say that the purchase was fast-tracked in 2023 with approval by the Scott County Board of Supervisors, even though relevant concerns and questions from the public were not addressed, let alone satisfied.
As I’ve been telling Statehouse types for a long while, lobbyists and legislators need to be paying very close attention to what’s happening in the corruption trials relating to and involving former House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The mainstream media was once the guardian of the First Amendment and democratic principles, but has since joined this systemic attack on democracy. Also, the media justifies their censorship on the grounds of combating misinformation, but governments and oppressors don’t censor lies, they don’t fear lies. They fear the truth, and that’s what they censor.
Kitty: This show definitely made an impact because we’ve both been singing the songs since Friday night.
Mischa: Curse you, Andrew Lloyd Webber!
The Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's Of Mice & Men is a skillful incarnation of this story, and director Justin Raver, alongside his cast and crew, brought it to vivid life in this production – one that's as stark and realistic as Steinbeck's words themselves.
An intimidating ogre, a feisty princess, a wisecracking donkey, a diminutive tyrant, an ambulatory gingerbread man, and other fantastical figures take over Davenport's Adler Theatre on October 10 with the nationally touring arrival of Shrek: The Musical, the Tony-winning fairytale slapstick based on the Oscar-winning animated smash, and a show that Variety called a work of “irreverent charm” that “never stints on spectacle or laughs."
Boasting a company name that suggests mysteries of its own, Ben Gougeon, Alexander Richardson, and the Sound Conservatory are back with Rock Island Tunnel Co.'s The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution. Running October 11 through 26, the production is both similar to and quite different from last winter's The Stacks – partly because, not long after that show closed, the library stacks themselves vanished.
A three-time Tony Award nominee also cited among the 2022 Drama League Award contenders for Outstanding Production of a Play, author Selina Fillinger's uproarious satire POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive enjoys its area debut at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, its October 4 through 20 run sure to demonstrate why the New York Times' Jesse Green said the work "lets us experience the double-bind of exceptional women unmediated by the men who depend on their complicity."
With Living Blues praising the artist for his "sizzling, slow-burning, gritty blues and rock" and "shimmering, swampy, downright funky vibes drenched with ... pure and crisp lead runs and fluid, jet-fueled solos," Tommy Castro and the ensemble the Painkillers headline an October 10 concert event at Davenport's Redstone Room, Blues Revue simplifying the plaudits by declaring, "Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”
With the rockers in their fourth decade of performance and beloved for songs such as "The Lumberjack," which famously features a chainsaw solo by lead singer Jesse James Dupree, the glam-metal artists of Jackyl bring their nation tour to East Moline venue The Rust Belt on November 11, the band also noted for setting two Guinness world records: one for playing 100 concerts in 50 days, and one for performing 21 concerts in a 24-hour period.
Touring in support of his most recent album Jump for Joy that Rolling Stone called "a whirlwind ride of rock and folk elements that is both playful and bouncy," the Grammy-nominated indie-folk Hiss Golden Messenger headlines an October 11 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the group's latest also hailed by The Guardian as "their best yet – a warm distillation of country-soul and folk, and every song tells a story."
Described by the Examiner as “a band unlike any other” and by Blurt magazine as “a hybrid of Idris Muhammad, George Clinton, Ohio Players, and Earth, Wind & Fire,” the tightly-wrapped funk, rock, and R&B musicians of Here Come the Mummies headline an October 11 concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, their infectious grooves leading The Bob & Tom Show co-host Bob Kevoian to call one of their concerts “the most fun I've had in 20 years.”
Globally touring sensations who have routinely sold out international theatres and concert halls since their 1999 debut, the talents of MANIA: The ABBA Tribute bring their stage spectacle back to Davenport's Adler Theatre on October 12, thrilling patrons with such iconic pop anthems and familiar Mamma Mia! tunes as “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo,” “The Winner Takes It All,” and “Take a Chance on Me.”
If you thought the title and genre were initially baiting and galling to die-hard Joker acolytes, just wait'll you get a load of Folie à Deux itself, which is like a big, extended middle finger to everyone who adored the original movie – as well, perhaps, as a giant eff-you to Warner Bros. for making it, the motion-picture academy for awarding it, and the global marketplace for turning it into a billion-dollar smash.
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, October 3: Previews of Joker: Folie à Deux, White Bird, Sam & Colby: The Legends of the Paranormal, and Monster Summer, and discussion of The Wild Robot, Lee, Will & Harper, My Old Ass, and Megalopolis, those latter two films constituting an Aubrey Plaza double-feature. Helps make up for one of those movies being absolutely nuts, and not in a fun way.
Upon leaving our screening of The Wild Robot, I asked my favorite 10-year-old what she thought of the film, and she answered that it was one of the best movies she'd seen in her life. If I ever choose or am forced to retire from weekly reviewing, I hope this smart kid becomes my replacement, because as family-friendly adventures go, writer/director Chris Sanders' animated outing is one of the best I've seen in my life, too.
Lauded by The Independent as "both sweeping and intimate" and by The Upcoming as "a remarkable tale of companionship that hits in all the right spots," Chinese writer/director Guan Hu's Black Dog enjoys an October 10 screening at Davenport's Figge Art Museum, the film's world premiere at this past May's 77th Cannes Film Festival earning it the prestigious Un Certain Regard prize, as well as, for a canine named Xin, the Palm Dog Award last won by Anatomy of a Fall's unforgettable pup Messi.
Now playing at area theaters.
With the event held in partnership with Hola America and LULAC and sponsored by MidAmerican Energy Company, Davenport's Figge Art Museum will house a delightful Day of the Dead celebration in the October 13 Día de los Muertos Family Day Fiesta, an afternoon-long tribute honoring the memories of passed loved ones through music, dance, food, and community.
Held in conjunction with the venue's current exhibition Revolutionary Artist: The Prison Fantasies of David Alfaro Siqueiros, Davenport's Figge Art Museum will host a special Artist Celebration in honor of the exhibit's creator, the October 18 event inviting guests to participate in mural-making activities while learning about Siqueiros from Figge curators.
Inspired by Carl Sandburg’s poem of the same name, Lisa Nelson Raabe's Prayers of Steel serves as the first art exhibition of the 2024-25 academic year at Galesburg's Carl Sandburg College, its display in the Lonnie Eugene Stewart Art Gallery treating patrons to the talents of the Peoria-based artist who has enjoyed solo exhibitions in locales including San Antonio, Chicago, Peoria, Decatur, and Quincy.
Vibrant color, bold design, and a whole lot of water will be showcased at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through October 28, the collective Buchholz, Kugler, & Mitchell exhibition boasting enticing figurative paintings by Holly Buchholz and K. Nadine Mitchell alongside mixed-media sculpture by Dean Kugler.
Formerly known as the German Theological College and Seminary, the University of Dubuque has a strong and vibrant history, and it's one that will be celebrated in a series of arresting and heartwarming photographs, with the exhibition UD: Then & Now on display in the university's Bisignano Art Gallery from September 30 through November 8.
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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