Our Summer Guide - featuring more than 1,800 events - can be found on newsstands and also browsed here. Below are Mike Schulz's highlights for the next two weeks and the whole summer.

River Cities' Reader - Issue 779 - May 26, 2011

Becky McCorkle and Don Hazen in Don't Talk to the ActorsTheatre

Don't Talk to the Actors

Richmond Hill Barn Theatre

Thursday, June 2, through Sunday, June 12

 

Throughout the history of American theatre, there have been a number of directors famed for their presentations of numerous works by one particular author: Mike Nichols directing Neil Simon plays, Elia Kazan directing Tennessee Williams plays, Lloyd Richards directing August Wilson plays, Susan Simosky directing Tom Dudzick plays ... .

If you're not familiar with those last two names, Simosky is the area helmer who, for the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, brought playwright Dudzick's charming, hilarious Pazinski-family trilogy to life in three excellent summertime productions: Over the Tavern in 2005, King o' the Moon in 2007, and The Last Mass at St. Casimir's in 2009. And like the swallows to Capistrano, this summer finds Simosky returning to Richmond Hill for another of the author's works: Don't Talk to the Actors, running June 2 through 12.

A behind-the-scenes comedy that explores the difficult and sometimes terrifying process of producing a new theatre piece, Dudzick's 2007 offering concerns Jerry Przpezniak, a fledgling playwright set to enjoy the first Broadway staging of one of his works. "Enjoy," though, isn't really an appropriate term when it comes to the show's rehearsal process, which finds Jerry and his fiancée struggling to deal with a persnickety stage manager, a pair of has-been stars from an early-'80s sitcom, and a director who offers the author the titular - and, sadly for Jerry, ignored - piece of advice.

Described by the Orange County Register as an "irresistible" comedy that "hits all the right notes," and by the Buffalo News as "drop-dead, scream-out-loud, tear-wrenchingly funny," Richmond Hill's production looks to be another biannual treat from Simosky and Dudzick. And while there's no word on whether Don't Talk to the Actors will lead to its own theatrical trilogy, I, for one, would totally welcome titles boasting equally fine advice for audiences, and can only hope that Dudzick gets cracking on Don't Slowly Open Cellophane-Wrapped Candy and Leave Your Freakin' Cell Phone in the Car.

For more information on, and tickets to, Don't Talk to the Actors, call (309)944-2244 or visit RHPlayers.com.

 

 

STS9Music

Summer Camp Music Festival

Three Sisters Park

Friday, May 27, through Sunday, May 29

 

If it's Memorial Day weekend, it must be time for the annual Summer Camp Music Festival, the three-day outdoor fiesta taking place May 27 through 29 at Chillicothe, Illinois' Three Sisters Park. With this eagerly anticipated campground event featuring workshops, art shows, vendors, family activities, and some of the country's finest jam and indie bands performing on six separate stages, there are hardly words enough to describe Summer Camp.

Unfortunately, my What's Happenin' pieces have gotten kinda lengthy lately, and I've been told I only have 100 words with which to suggest the Summer Camp experience. So, without further ado ... .

"Umphrey's McGee, moe., Widespread Panic, Huey Lewis & the rUMors, Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, Bassnectar, STS9, The Avett Brothers, The Pimps of Joytime, Euforquestra, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Chicago Farmer, Lubriphonic, Henhouse Prowlers, Ernie Hendrickson, Girl Talk, Yonder Mountain String Band, De La Soul, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Keller Williams, Slightly Stoopid, Lotus, Wiz Khalifa, EOTO, Cornmeal, The New Mastersounds, Big Gigantic, SOJA, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, The Wood Brothers, Tea Leaf Green, Mimosa, BoomBox, Papadosio, Deadelus, Family Groove Company, Future Rock, Gaelic Storm, Greensky Bluegrass, and Brainchild."

I actually could've squeezed a few more musicians in there, but my boss considers "STS9," "EOTO," and "SOJA" to be four words each. Damned acronyms.

Three Sisters Park is located at 17189 North Route 29 in Chillicothe, and tickets to the festival are available by visiting SummerCampFestival.com.

 

 

Tammy PescatelliComedy

Tammy Pescatelli

Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center

Friday, June 3, 7:30 p.m.

 

In all honesty, the process of writing bi-weekly What's Happenin' pieces that aim to be not only informative but funny is oftentimes a challenging one. These pieces, though, are much easier to compose when I'm writing about someone who's already pretty darned funny, so allow me to offer a huge "Thank you!" to the folks at the Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center for the venue's June 3 booking of comedienne Tammy Pescatelli. Let the hilarity commence!

To be sure, this star of TV and the touring circuit - and a former Quad Citian who spent two years as a morning-show co-host for former radio station 98.9FM - has had plenty of opportunities to make people roar. With her appearances on such talk shows as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Last Call with Carson Daly, and The Bonnie Hunt Show, Pescatelli has wowed both hosts and audiences with her unique and pointed observations on fame, motherhood, and her Italian-American heritage. She was a finalist for the second and third seasons of NBC's Last Comic Standing, plus the grand-prize winner of Comedy Central's 2010 Standup Showdown. And her comedic talents have even extended to the big screen, with Pescatelli featured prominently in the independent comedies Made in Brooklyn and Everybody Wants to Be Italian (plus, though she might prefer I didn't mention it, a locally made 1991 release titled Beauty Queen Butcher, which is hysterical in its own right).

But nothing will give you a better sense of Pescatelli's buoyant sense of humor than Pescatelli herself. It is, therefore, a pleasure to let the comedienne speak for herself: Click here for a YouTube clip from a 2008 standup set, here for Pescatelli's performance on the comedy showcase Just for Laughs, and here for a sampling from her reality series A Standup Mother, featuring shots of her playing before a crowd at the Quad Cities' own Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse!

Trust me, this What's Happenin' piece is a lot funnier online than it is in print.

Tammy Pescatelli plays the Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are available by calling (800)724-5825 or visiting Bettendorf.IsleOfCapriCasinos.com.

 

 

NunsenseTheatre

Nunsense and Altar Boyz

Clinton Area Showboat Theatre

Thursday, June 2, through Sunday, June 12

 

The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre is about to begin its 2011 season of stage entertainment, and you'd expect that the venerable venue would launch its summer, as it has in years past, with a rollicking musical comedy enjoyed by audiences the world over. This time around, however, Artistic Director Patrick Stinson isn't jump-starting Clinton's season with one of those productions. He's jump-starting it with two of them.

In a delightful piece of synergy, the Showboat will not only stage Dan Goggin's beloved off-Broadway smash Nunsense, but its boy-band doppelgänger Altar Boyz, with both shows running in repertory June 2 through 12. (Nunsense debuts on Thursday, and Altar Boyz premieres the following night.) With Nunsense presenting the sweet and hysterical stylings of its five Little Sisters of Hoboken, and Altar Boyz gently satirizing its squeaky-clean young singers on their "Raise the Praise" tour, both shows are sure to deliver two hours' worth of sensational music and comedy. And while the productions will alternate performances on Thursdays and Fridays, you can actually catch a double-feature on Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesday the 18th, with one starting at 3 p.m. and the other at 7:30 p.m. It's heavenly! It's divine! It's nonsecu-larious! It's Nunsense and Altar Boyz!

Altar BoyzMeanwhile, character gender aside, let's see how good you are at telling them apart! Which of the following song titles is from Nunsense, which is from Altar Boyz, and which one is actually from neither?

 

1) "Benedicite"

2) "Body, Mind, & Soul"

3) "The Calling"

4) "Epiphany"

5) "Everybody Fits"

6) "Growing Up Catholic"

7) "Holier Than Thou"

8) "I Am Here for You"

 

A) Altar Boyz

B) Nunsense

C) Neither

 

For Nunsense and Altar Boyz tickets, and for further information on the Clinton Showboat's 2011 season, call (563)242-6760 or visit ClintonShowboat.org.

 

 

Answers: 1 - B, 2 - A, 3 - A, 4 - A, 5 - A, 6 - B, 7 - B, 8 - C. That last song is actually from Broadway's current musical-comedy smash, The Book of Mormon. In a future Showboat season, who else is up for three shows performed in repertory?

 

 

Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, and Danielle Colby-CushmanEvent

American Pickers Weekend

Downtown LeClaire

Saturday, June 4, and Sunday, June 5

 

"Hey, Jeff!"

"Hi, Mi - . I don't believe it. What have you done to yourself this time?"

"I'm getting prepped for the June 4 and 5 American Pickers Festival in downtown LeClaire! How do I look?! Could I pass as a Picker?"

"I hate to ask what you were thinking."

"I'm thinking the weekend is gonna be a blast! For the second year in a row, LeClaire is taking two days to celebrate the success of that great History Channel reality series - and stars Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, and Danielle Colby-Cushman - through an enormous outdoor festival. And this year's fest promises to be even bigger and better than last year's, with live music, a classic-car show, a petting zoo, a flea market, karaoke, food vendors, and garage sales held throughout the city!"

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

"Frank, unfortunately, is unable to be there. But both Mike and Danielle will be around for question-and-answer and autograph sessions, and you can even enter a raffle for the chance to win lunch with the Pickers while they're in town! Doesn't that sound great?"

"Yes, it does."

"Twilight Cruises is going to be offering boat trips along the Mississippi River on Saturday, and both days will find Roy 'Mushroom' Flachs - who previously appeared on the American Pickers show - appraising people's antiques. Oh, and I forgot to mention the contest! There's going to be a Picker Lookalike Contest, with prizes going to festival visitors who most resemble one of the series' stars! Hence, the new look!"

"Yes, but you don't look anything like Mike or Frank."

"I know! But check out the tats! I've got that contest prize in the bag!"

"I hate to break it to you, Mike, but you don't look like Danielle, either. So for your sake, I hope those press-on tattoos weren't expensive."

"Um ... press-on tattoos ... ?"

 

For a full schedule of American Pickers Festival events, go to VisitLeClaire.com. For a 2010 feature article on American Pickers, visit RCReader.com/y/pickers.

 

 

Iris DeMent and John PrineEvents

Adler Theatre

June and July

 

Among the high-profile guests taking the stage at Davenport's Adler Theatre this summer, one of the highest has to be country/folk singer/songwriter John Prine, the multiple Grammy Award winner who was a 2003 inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and 2005's Artist of the Year at the Americana Music Awards. Yet just how gifted is Prine, whose Adler concert takes place on June 18? Well, Bob Dylan is quoted as saying that the musician "writes beautiful songs," and that "Prine's stuff is pure Proustian existentialism - Midwestern mind-trips to the nth degree." In a slightly more down-to-earth analysis, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters stated, "His is just extraordinarily eloquent music - he lives on that plane with Neil Young and Lennon." And offering an even more down-to-earth compliment, Kris Kristofferson reportedly told a friend that Prine was such a fine guitarist and songwriter that "we'll have to break his thumbs." At least I presume that was a compliment. John Prine's June 18 appearance finds him sharing the stage with the similarly acclaimed country musician Iris DeMent, and several other big-ticket events will provide further Adler entertainment this summer: the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's Spring Pops concert, with vocals provided by Movin' Out's Tony Award nominee Michael Cavanaugh (June 4); the adored, Grammy-nominated gospel quartet Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (July 29); and a host of lovely young talents participating in the Miss Iowa and Miss Teen scholarship pageants (June 9 through 11). Tickets for all Adler events are available by calling (800)745-3000, and for more information, visit AdlerTheatre.com.

 

 

Josh GrobanEvents

i wireless Center

May through August

 

On May 28, multi-platinum-selling recording sensation Josh Groban takes the stage at Moline's i wireless Center, and theoretically, it should be easy to hold your attention in this space by listing the man's significant accomplishments since the release of his self-titled debut CD less than 10 years ago. I can talk about how that album and Groban's four follow-ups - Closer, Awake, Noël, and Illuminations - have collectively sold more than 24 million copies worldwide, and how the Grammy winner has delivered acclaimed solo performances at the Kennedy Center Honors, at the Primetime Emmy Awards, and for the 2004 Super Bowl and 2005 Worlds Series. I can discuss how his light-comic charm on a 2001 episode of Ally McBeal eventually led to appearances on Saturday Night Live and Glee, plus this summer's forthcoming Steve Carell/Emma Stone comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. I can mention how Barnes & Noble ranked him the "Number-One Best-Selling Artist of All Time" in 2007 - with more than 20 million CDs sold in less than seven years - and how, in 2008, he was named one of People magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People." But if you're anything like my mother, you're not paying any attention to that. You're just staring at that photo of Groban and sighing. If, however, you are one of the few actually reading this, know that Groban's May 28 gig is just one of many exciting concerts scheduled for the i wireless Center this summer - with others including Michael Bublé's on June 24, Keith Urban's on June 30, and Mötley Crüe's and Poison's combined gig on August 6 - and tickets to all of the Moline venue's events are available by calling (800)745-3000 or visiting iwirelessCenter.com.

 

 

Dick HymanMusic

Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival

Downtown Davenport

Thursday, August 4, through Sunday, August 7

 

This year's Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival - the annual, four-day salute to Davenport's legendary jazz coronet player - will take place August 4 through 7, and it's a most appropriate (long) weekend for the fest, as August 6 marks not only the 80th anniversary of Beiderbecke's death, but the 40th anniversary of the Quad Cities' first Bix festival. Yet with this year's celebration featuring a whopping 19 musical acts performing at four Davenport locales, I found myself asking: Is it humanly possible to catch all of them? Believe it or not: Yes! Here's how you do it. Spend Thursday night at the Col Ballroom, where, from 6 to 11 p.m., you'll enjoy one-hour sets with the Bix Youth Band, the Jimmy Valentine Quartet, the Josh Duffee Corchestra, the New Wolverines, and Bill Allred. On Friday, hit LeClaire Park for 1 and 2 p.m. gigs with the River City 6 and the Bix Memorial Jazz Band, then pop over to the Hotel Blackhawk's Gold Room for a 4 p.m. concert with Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks. Return to the Col for 6-to-10-p.m. sets with the West End Jazz Band, Jim Cullum Jazz, the Andy Schumm Gang, and the Manny Lopez Big Band, and then zip back to the Hotel Blackhawk for the 11 p.m. gig with the Davenport Jazz Band. On Saturday, enjoy LeClaire Park's noon concert with Dave Greer's Classic Jazz, then hit the River Music Experience for a 1:30 p.m. Statesmen of Jazz event. Then it's off to the Hotel Blackhawk for a 4 p.m. piano concert with Dick Hyman, and a 9 p.m. collaboration between Vince Giordano and our area's Josh Duffee. Finally, you can finish your weekend at LeClaire Park, with Sunday's 1 p.m. set by Hot Club Davenport, and the 3 p.m. gig with the Manny Lopez Quartet. And there you have it - 19 jazz sets in four days! Don't worry, though, if your schedule doesn't quite mesh with the one I've outlined; there are still about a million other variants to choose from. For a complete schedule of jazz-festival events, visit BixSociety.org.

 

 

Otis ClayMusic

Mississippi Valley Blues Festival

LeClaire Park

Friday, July 1, through Sunday, July 3

 

Presented by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, 2011's Mississippi Valley Blues Festival will be held July 1 through 3, and if you visit the society's Web page for the event, you'll find this quote by legendary singer/songwriter John Lee Hooker: "The one thing the blues don't get is the backing and pushing of TV and radio like a lot of this garbage you hears." Thanks goodness, then, for bi-weekly independent Midwestern newspapers, huh? As always, this year's LeClaire Park event will feature numerous vendors, music workshops, and children's activities via the annual BlueSKool program. But the true claim to the festival's fame is the outstanding lineup of blues artists performing on two separate stages, with no fewer than 27 separate acts sharing the 2011 spotlight. LeClaire Park's Bandshell stage will host thrilling blues sets by (in order of appearance) Linsey Alexander, Eric Gales, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, Smokin' Joe Kubek with B'Nois King, Chocolate Thunder, the Lionel Young Band, Ryan McGarvey, Mississippi Heat, Joe Louis Walker, the Candymakers, Studebaker John & the Hawks, Chris Beard, Sherman Robertson, and Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88s. And on the Tent Stage, crowds will be treated to the incendiary blues stylings of Jimmy Burns, Paul Rishell & Anne Raines, R.J. Mischo with Earl Cate & Them, the Way of the Blues Revue, Kevin Burt, Johnny Nicholas, Peaches Staten, the Koko Taylor Tribute, the Winter Blues Academy Kids, Harper, the Paul Smoker Notet, Rich DelGrosso & John Richardson, and Otis Clay. All told, it's three days of musical nirvana for blues fans. But even newbies to the genre might find themselves so inspired by the fest that they'll want to purchase a few artist CDs to keep the fiesta alive; to again quote the late, great Mr. Hooker: "There is no stop and go for the blues - the blues go, but it don't stop." For a full schedule of Mississippi Valley Blues Festival concerts and events, visit MVBS.org/fest.

 

 

Quad Cities CriteriumEvents

Outdoor Festivals and Events

Rock Island

May through August

 

Cycling through city streets at speeds of over 35 miles per hour. Setting off thousands of dollars worth of fireworks that can be seen for miles. Playing dodgeball. All things I wouldn't do in a million years. But I'm more than happy to have others do them, and these enjoyable(-to-watch) happenings are just a few among Rock Island's lineup of summertime festivals and outdoor events. The fun on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River starts with the Memorial Day weekend concerts headlined by disco greats The Travoltas (performing in the District alongside openers Funktastic Five on May 28 and Standard Deviation on May 29), followed by May 30's 46th Annual Modern Woodmen Bank Quad Cities Criterium, in which hundreds of professional, amateur, and child bicyclists compete for a combined $12,000 in prizes. Things then get a little spicy with the annual Gumbo Ya Ya festival on June 10 and 11 - that celebration of Cajun culture boasting vendors, outdoor art, and musical performances by the likes of Gumbohead, Davina & the Vagabonds, and the Funky Butt Brass Band. The District's Daiquiri Factory hosts its seven-year anniversary party on June 17 with outdoor sets by Hairbanger's Ball, 4th & 20, and Sleepin' on the Couch, and gets ballsy the following Saturday with June 25's annual Dodgeball Showdown, featuring live music by Trash Martini. The Fourth of July is celebrated with the happy sound and fury of July 3's Red, White, & Boom! fireworks event, held in Rock Island's Schwiebert Park, while the rockers of Tesla make a July 16 appearance in the Daquiri Factory's annual Rock the District concert. July 21 through 24 brings with it Schwiebert Park's eagerly awaited 2011 Train Festival, with demonstrations, displays, vendors, and train rides for young and less-young alike. Caribbean food, culture, and music will be celebrated in the District's annual Ya Maka My Weekend festival, held this year on August 12 and 13. Finally, for outdoor entertainment in extremis, be sure to check out the annual Rock Island County Fair, which will house six days of activities and events between July 19 and 24. All told, it's a sensational season of Rock Island-based entertainment, wouldn't you say? (And yes, I know - the Rock Island County Fairgrounds are actually located in East Moline. But we're so close to the end of the piece, why spoil the motif by mentioning it now?) For more information on Rock Island's summertime events, visit RIDistrict.com; for info on the county fair, visit RockIslandCountyFair.com.

 

 

Bix 7 Road RaceEvents

Outdoor Festivals and Events

Davenport

June through August

 

Although I spend most of my days, and many of my evenings, in Davenport, I actually reside in Rock Island. But given the exciting schedule of festivals and outdoor events that Davenport has lined up over the next few months, I'm not sure there's any reason, for the rest of the summer, to ever bother going home. (Of course, my bed is in Rock Island. And I'd have to get my driver's license updated, which is a pain in the ass. So maybe there are a few reasons ... .) Davenport's fun in the sun commences on June 4, when Second Street's Rainbow District plays host to the annual GLBT celebration the QC Pride Street Fest, featuring food and craft vendors, live music, and outdoor entertainment galore. Bikes of all styles, speeds, and personalities will be on hand when the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds hosts the 2011 Mississippi River Motorcycle Rally June 15 through 18, while the last day of that outdoor happening marks the first day of the 25th Annual Quad City Air Show, the June 18 and 19 event featuring presentations, vendors, and feats of aerial amazement above the Davenport Municipal Airport. As with its Rock Island neighbors across the river, Davenport will pay tribute to our country's birthday in colorfully explosive fashion, with the annual Red, White, & Boom! celebration on July 3 at Centennial Park and Modern Woodmen Park. There'll be dancing in the streets when downtown Davenport hosts the 30th Annual Wells Fargo Street Fest on July 29 and 30, while thousands of others will no doubt dance with joy upon their completion of that yearly endurance test the Quad-City Times Bix 7 Road Race, taking place on July 30. The Davenport air will be filled with jazz during the August 4 through 7 concerts scheduled for the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, while rock, roots, and the enticing smell of smoked ribs will waft through LeClaire Park during the August 19 and 20 River Roots Live concerts. And wrapping things up with a country/rock bow, the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds hosts the annual Great Mississippi Valley Fair from August 2 through 6, with this year's grandstand acts including Joe Nichols, Blake Shelton, Darius Rucker, the Steve Miller Band, the Charlie Daniels Band, and Miranda Lambert. So let's hear it for Davenport's 2011 summertime events! All together now: "Yee-haw!" Okay, you didn't see that coming. Let's try that again. One ... two ... three: "Yee-haw!" Tha-a-a-at's better. For more on Davenport's summertime-entertainment options, visit DowntownDavenport.com.

 

 

What Else Is Happenin'...? : May 24 - June 8

 

MUSIC

Thursday, May 26 - From Broadway with Love. Show-tune favorites in a cabaret performance with Happy Days: A New Musical performers Maeve Martin and Andrew J. Smith. Circa '21 Speakeasy (1818 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 6 p.m. $10-12. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733, extension 2, or visit Circa21.com.

Thursday, May 26 - David Lowery & Johnny Hickman. Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven leader Lowery in concert with Cracker bandmate Hickman. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $15. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RedstoneRoom.com. For an interview with Lowery, visit RCReader.com/y/lowery.

Friday, May 27 - T-Model Ford & Gravelroad. Mississippi blues legends in concert. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m. $15. For information, call (309)793-4060 or visit RIBCO.com.

Friday, May 27 - Kansas. Legendary pop rockers of "Carry On, Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind" fame. Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center (1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf). 7:30 p.m. $30-40. For tickets and information, call (800)724-5825 or visit Bettendorf.IsleOfCapriCasinos.com.

Saturday, May 28 - Josh Groban. Multi-platinum-selling recording artist in concert. i wireless Center (1201 River Drive, Moline). 8 p.m. $49.50-69.50. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit iwirelessCenter.com.

Saturday, May 28 - Birth Control Productions Fifth-Anniversary Party. Featuring a 2 p.m. outdoor concert with Mija, Reelfoot Rift, Emplyfi, Plagued by Saints, Six to the Chest, X+X, Sinjo Thraw Mash, Unbecoming, T.B.P.O.P.R.R.I.O.F., and Lethal by Default, and a 10 p.m. indoor concert with Human Aftertaste and The Pimps. Racer's Edge (936 15th Avenue, East Moline). $10. For information, call (309)755-8131.

Saturday, June 4 - Plies. American rap artist performing in the Summer Kick-Off Jam. Davenport RiverCenter (136 East Third Street, Davenport). 9:15 p.m. $30-43. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit RiverCtr.com.

 

THEATRE

Thursday, May 26, through Saturday, May 28 - Icaria. Merrill Sparks' historical musical, telling of French communists who settled in Corning, Iowa. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). Thursday and Friday 7:30 p.m.; Saturday 2 p.m. $10-15. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.

Thursday, June 2, through Sunday, June 12 - Sunset Boulevard. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tony Award-winning musical, based on the classic film noir. Timber Lake Playhouse (8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll). Tuesdays-Saturdays 7:30 p.m.; Wednesdays and Sundays 2 p.m.; June 5 at 6:30 p.m. $15-23. For tickets and information, call (815)244-2035 or visit TimberLakePlayhouse.org.

Thursday, June 2, through Sunday, July 3 - G.I. Jukebox. Rick Lewis' musical revue of beloved 1940s standards. Old Creamery Theatre (39 38th Avenue, Amana). Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 p.m.; Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays 3 p.m. $17.50-27. For tickets and information, call (800)352-6262 or visit OldCreamery.com.

 

EVENTS

Monday, May 30 - Modern Woodmen Bank Quad Cities Criterium. Annual Memorial Day event featuring competitive bicycle riders from novice to professional, races for children, food and product vendors, memorabilia, and more. The District of Rock Island. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Free admission. For information, call (309)788-6311 or visit QuadCitiesCriterium.com.

Saturday, June 4 - 2011 QC Pride Street Festival. Annual celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender pride, featuring performances by local bands, vendor booths, door prizes, and more. Second Street in the Rainbow District of Downtown Davenport. Noon-midnight. $5, with $1 going to the non-profit vendor of the attendee's choice. For information, call (563)940-9630 or visit QCPride.org.

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