Theatre
2015 Playwrights Festival
Village Theatre
Friday, March 6, through Sunday, March 15
Artistic Director Chris Jansen is doing something a bit different with the presentations in New Ground Theatre's annual Playwrights Festival, running at the Village Theatre March 6 through 15. On two of those days, there'll be a reading of a new, full-length play titled This Side Up, written by University of Iowa undergraduate Christopher "Kit" Grassi. On four of those days, there'll be staged productions of five plays by five separate authors, each lasting between 10 and 15 minutes.
And in one of those plays, Sam Collier's In My Mother's Tongue Like Winter, actor Michael Carron will play a poetry-minded grolar bear.
"Have you heard of grolar bears?" asks Jansen during our recent chat. "It's a real thing. Because of global warming, grizzly bears' and polar bears' territories are merging, and they're starting to inter-breed. So it's a new kind of bear. And they're fierce. They're very, very fierce."
So, to hear Jansen tell it, is the work itself, which was written by U of I graduate student Collier, and which Jansen is directing for the Playwrights Festival. "I was just knocked out when I read it. It's about a woman who finds a runaway camping out on her Christmas-tree farm, and what happens when a grolar bear escapes from the zoo."
And begins speaking poetry? "Yeah," Jansen says with a laugh. "It's just this perfect little world. It's got whimsy and it's got danger, and it's all wrapped up in this amazing little 10-minute package. And it's got a bear that speaks in poetry."
In My Mother's Tongue Like Winter might be the strangest presentation in the festival's lineup - but only if you don't find anything strange about imaginary friends. This Side Up, says Jansen, is "about a young boy who has an inner life, and at the age he's getting to be - he's approaching his 14th birthday - his imaginary friend in starting to be troublesome in the real world. It's been time to let go for a couple of years and he hasn't, and the play shows what happens to him and how he comes out of it."
Jansen is directing This Side Up's reading as well, and says her daughter Kylie - also a theatre student at the U of I - originally introduced her to Grassi's work. "She said, 'Mom, I'm sending you this script 'cause it made me laugh and it made me cry, and I think you'd really like it.' And she was right. This play just hit me, and it does make you laugh and does make you cry. I'm really excited about it. After 14 years [with New Ground], it takes a lot to get me really, really pumped up, but Kit is, I think, a really major emerging playwright. I want credit for discovering him!"
Also on the Playwrights Festival docket are four additional short works, among them writer/director Kate Kremer's Opera of the Telephone at Delphi. "That's based on an experience I believe Kate had when she was a telemarketer for a large arts organization," says Jansen. "It involves the work room there and all the different interrelations that go on, and it's actually the first act of a three-act play she's she's workshopping with a group in Chicago. But when I read this act, it really stands out on it own."
Another is playwright Jason Platt's Critic's Corner, directed by Fred Haris Jr., which Jansen calls "a lot of fun. It's basically about three friends who are ... . Let's just say they're critiquing things." (As someone who's read Platt's comedy, let me add that it is a lot of fun, and that you'd best watch your blood pressure if you have intensely strong feelings about Darth Maul, Joey Tribbiani, and the Ron/Hermione hook-up.)
Jansen herself is contributing a one-act in director Christina Myatt's Call Your Grandma. "I wrote it for two theatre girls when I was working at a private high school years ago," she says. "It's really short, and I wanted to do a re-write and an update because, first of all, I've always been fond of it, and secondly, it's just sort of a big, silly, nutty play with no apparent underlying message. I just thought we needed to throw in something like that."
And what of Myatt's other directorial offering, author Mary Katherine Gale's 1593 Farnum? "She's a wonderful writer," says Jansen of Gale, "and it's about two teenage girls - a homecoming queen and a girl on the court - who have a rather unusual part-time job. It's for this company that advertises socks worn by homecoming queens for a day." Hmm. Suddenly a poetic grolar bear doesn't sound so strange.
Readings of This Side Up will take place on March 6 and 14, productions of the five one-acts will be presented on March 7, 8, 13, and 15, and the $15 to $18 admission price covers entrance to both Playwrights Festival events. Performances at the Village Theatre (2113 East 11th Street, Davenport) begin at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)326-7529 or visiting NewGroundTheatre.org.
Music
The Jazz Ambassadors
Augustana College's Centennial Hall
Sunday, March 15, 2 p.m.
On March 15, Augustana College's Centennial Hall will host a concert with the Jazz Ambassadors, the official touring big band of the United States Army. As you might imagine, this wonderfully gifted ensemble is a huge hit wherever its members appear, so it wasn't surprising to read this rave about one of the group's concerts: "From the opening opus until the last note of the second encore, the Jazz Ambassadors held the audience in its thrall ... . It required utmost constraint not to literally jump up and down to the rhythm."
What was surprising was learning that this rave came not from anywhere in the U.S., but from The Statesman, a daily publication in New Delhi, India! Imagine! We're at war with India, and the talent and patriotism of these American musicians still had the power to ... !
Oh. My editor just informed me that we actually aren't at war with India. I really do need to pick up a newspaper one of these days ... .
Although formed in 1969 as a component of the U.S. Army Field Band, the Jazz Ambassadors' unofficial origins date back to 1946, when General Jacob L. Devers - commanding general of the U.S. Army Ground Forces - realized the need to maintain a relationship between the American people and the Army following World War II. Consequently, Devers commissioned Chief Warrant Officer Chester E. Whiting to form a touring group of musicians, and used these words in his message, which continue to promote the Field Band's mission: "I want you to organize a band that will carry into the grassroots of our country the story of our magnificent Army, its glorious traditions and achievements, and of that great symbol of American manhood: the Ground Solider."
The Jazz Ambassadors have carried that story across far, far wider terrain than merely our country's grassroots. Performing under its official moniker "America's Big Band," the 19-member unit has, fittingly, toured all 50 states in the union, thrilling audiences with its bold, brassy repertoire of big-band swing, bebop, Latin, contemporary jazz, standards, pop, Dixieland, and patriotic selections. The group has also performed stateside in numerous joint concerts with other acclaimed ensembles, with recent bookings including sets with the Detroit and Baltimore symphony orchestras.
But India isn't the only foreign land to be wowed by vocalist Master Sergeant Marva Lewis and the 18 musicians alongside her. The Jazz Ambassadors have also brought their talents to Canada, Mexico, Japan, Wales, and the Czech Republic and have performed at major jazz festivals in Montreux, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium, plus the highly regarded North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. Worldwide, it appears, the Jazz Ambassadors offer every reason for Washington's The Chronicle to call them "a hit with young and old alike," and the Boston Globe to label them "a cause to stand up and cheer." And, I'd imagine, salute.
Admission to the Jazz Ambassadors' 2 p.m. concert at Centennial Hall (3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island) is free, with a limit of six tickets per party, and more information on the afternoon is available by calling (309)794-7306 or visiting Augustana.edu.
What Else Is Happenin' ...?
MUSIC
Thursday, March 5 - Nick Moss Band. Concert with the 16-time Blues Music Award nominee and his ensemble, with an opening set by the Taya English Band. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $8.50-9. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org. For a 2007 interview with Moss, visit RCReader.com/y/moss.
Friday, March 6 - Joel Fan. The chart-topping pianist and Quad City Arts Visiting Artist in concert. Deere-Wiman Carriage House (817 11th Avenue, Moline). 3 p.m. Free. For information, call (309)743-2701 or visit ButterworthCenter.com.
Friday, March 6 - Sun Stereo. Concert of horns, vocals, and electrionica, with an opening set by Patio. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 9 p.m. $9.50-10. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Friday, March 6 - The Fab Four. Internationally touring Beatles tribute artists in concert. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $35-55. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Friday, March 6 - Pacifica Quartet. String ensemble performs a program featuring a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winner Shulamit Ran, in a Hancher Auditorium Visiting Artists presentation. Riverside Recital Hall (405 North Riverside Drive, Iowa City). 7:30 p.m. $10-35. For tickets and information, call (319)335-1160 or visit Hancher.UIowa.edu.
Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8 - Quad City Symphony Orchestra. Mark Russell Smith conducts the fifth Masterworks concerts of the season in a repertoire featuring a world premiere by William Campbell and accompaniment by guest pianist and Quad City Arts Visiting Artist Joel Fan. Saturday: Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street, Davenport), 8 p.m. Sunday: Augustana College's Centennial Hall (3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island), 2 p.m. $13.50-66.35. For tickets and information, call (563)322-7276 or visit QCSymphony.com.
Saturday, March 7 - Local Bands for Local Music Education Fundraiser. More than a dozen local musicians and bands perform the second-annual concert event, with proceeds benefiting music-education programs and the Rock Island Schools Foundation. River Music Experience (129 Main Street, Davenport). 1 p.m.-midnight. $5. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Saturday, March 8 - The Brat Pack. Concert with the nationally touring pop and disco performers. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m. $8. For information, call (309)793-4060 or visit RIBCO.com.
Sunday, March 8 - QC Wind Ensemble. Annual winter concert with the area ensemble. St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center (2101 Gaines Street, Davenport). 3 p.m. Free. For information, visit QCWindEnsemble.org.
Sunday, March 8 - Exotic Voice of South India. Vocal and instrumental concert led by musicians from South India and the United States. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 5 p.m. $5-18. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Wednesday, March 11 - The Nile Project. Concert featuring performers from the 11 countries sharing the Nile River, in a Hancher Auditorium Visiting Artists presentation. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 7:30 p.m. $10-30. For tickets and information, call (319)335-1160 or visit Hancher.UIowa.edu.
Thursday, March 12 - Henhouse Prowlers. Chicago-based bluegrass ensemble in concert, with an opening set by Frankie Joe & Kinfolk. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8:30 p.m. $9.50-10. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Thursday, March 12 - Whose Song Is It Anyway? Cabaret in which the audience chooses songs to be performed by cast members from Les Misérables. Circa '21 Speakeasy (1818 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 7 p.m. $10. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13 - Justin Townes Earle. Concerts with the Americana and country singer/songwriter. Thursday - Rozz-Tox (2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $15-20. Friday - Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $22-25. For tickets and information, call (309)200-0978 and visit RozzTox.com, or call (319)688-2653 and visit Englert.org. For a 2008 interview with Earle, visit RCReader.com/y/earle.
Friday, March 13 - Joe Huber. Alt-country musician in concert, with an opening set by The Perez Farm. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m. $6. For information, call (309)793-4060 or visit RIBCO.com.
Friday, March 13 - Samantha Fish. Folk/pop guitarist and singer/songwriter in concert, with an opening set by the Zach Harris Band. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8:30 p.m. $11.50-14. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Saturday, March 14 - Avon Dale. Concert with the Memphis-based soul and blues musicians. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m. $6. For information, call (309)793-4060 or visit RIBCO.com.
Saturday, March 14 - The Weight. Classic-rock musicians play the songs of The Band. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $22-25. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Saturday, March 14 - American English. Concert with the internationally touring Beatles tribute band. Ohnward Fine Arts Center (1215 East Platt Street, Maquoketa). 7 p.m. $25-30. For tickets and information, call (563)652-9815 or visit OhnwardFineAtsCenter.com.
Sunday, March 15 - Third Junday Jazz. Polythryhtms presents artists delivering a 3 p.m. workshop ($5 for adults, free for kids) and 6 p.m. concert ($10-15). The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). For tickets and information, call (309)373-0790 or visit Polyrhythms.org or RiverMusicExperience.org.
Sunday, March 15 - The Russian Guitar Festival. Concert featuring Kiev's Taras Kompanichenko and Danylo Pertsov and New York's Julian Kytasty from New York. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 7 p.m. $14-17. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Tuesday, March 17 - Nikki Hill. Roots and rock musician in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $11.50-14. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org. For a 2013 interview with Hill, visit RCReader.com/y/hill.
Wednesday, March 18 - Jimkata. Electronica, indie-rock, and jam musicians in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8:30 p.m. $11.50-14. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
THEATRE
Thursday, March 5, through Sunday, March 22 - The Mousetrap. Agatha Christie's manor-set murder mystery, directed by Deb Shippy. District Theatre (1623 Second Avenue, Rock Island). Thursdays through Saturdays 8 p.m., Sundays 2 p.m. $20; "pay what you can" preview performance on March 5. For tickets and information, call (309)235-1654 or visit DistrictTheatre.com.
Thursday, March 5, through Saturday, March 14 - Luck of the Irish. Kirsten Greenidge's drama of racial and class issues, directed by Tlaloc Rivas. University of Iowa's David Thayer Theatre (200 North Riverside Drive, Iowa City). Wednesdays through Saturdays 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $10-18. For tickets and information, call (319)335-2700 or visit Theatre.UIowa.edu.
Friday, March 6, through Sunday, March 15 - Walking the Wire: Classified. Annual presentation of monologues chosen from submissions by local and national playwrights, directed by Jody Hovland. Riverside Theatre (213 North Gilbert Street, Iowa City). Thursdays through Saturdays 7:30 p.m., Sundays 2 p.m. For tickets and information, call (319)338-7672 or visit RiversideTheatre.org.
Friday, March 6, through Sunday, March 8 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Tennessee Williams' dramatic classic produced by the Orpheum and Prairie Players Civic Theatre, directed by Ross McIntire. Orpheum Theatre (57 South Kellogg Street, Galesburg). Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. For tickets and information, call (309)342-2299 or visit TheOrpheum.org.
Friday, March 13, through Sunday, March 22 - 13th of Paris. Romantic comedy by Mat Smart, directed by Dana Moss-Peterson. Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline). Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 p.m., Sundays 3 p.m. $13. For tickets and information, call (309)762-0330 or visit Playcrafters.com.
Friday, March 13, through Sunday, March 29 - A Steady Rain. Two-man cop drama by Keith Huff; directed by Tyson Danner. QC Theatre Workshop (1730 Wilkes Avenue, Davenport). Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 p.m., March 22 and 29 at 3 p.m. "Pay what it's worth" ticket pricing. For tickets and information, call (563)650-2396 or visit QCTheatreWorkshop.org.
Friday, March 13, through Saturday, March 21 - Bob: A Life in Five Acts. Dreamwell Theatre presents Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's Americana satire, directed by Nate Sullivan. Unitarian Universalist Society (10 South Gilbert Street, Iowa City). Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 p.m. $12-17. For tickets and information, call (319)423-9820 or visit Dreamwell.com.
DANCE
Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8 - The Joffrey Ballet. Vignettes with the world-renowned dance troupe, in a Hancher Auditorium Visiting Artists presentation. University of Iowa's Space/Place Theatre (20 Davenport Street, Iowa City). 7:30 p.m. $10-65. For tickets and information, call (319)335-1160 or visit Hancher.UIowa.edu.
COMEDY
Thursday, March 5 - Etta May. Standup comedy with the "Queen of Southern Sass." Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 7 p.m. $25-30. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
LITERARY ARTS
Wednesday, March 11 - Zach Savich, Dan Rosenberg, and Andy Stallings. Poets read from their works in the college's "River Readings" series. Augustana College's Wallenberg Hall (3520 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island). 7 p.m. Free. For information, visit Augustana.edu/arts.
Friday, March 13 - SPECTRA Poetry Readings. Authors Noah Eli Gordon, Matthias Svalina, and Joshua Marie Wilkinson read from their works in an event co-sponsored by the Midwest Writing Center. Rozz-Tox (2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. Free. For information, call (563)324-1410 or visit MidwestWritingCenter.org.
MOVIE
Tuesday, March 17 - Rudy Maxa's South Africa. Documentary screenings in the World Adventure Series. Putnam Museum (1717 West 12th Street, Davenport). 1 and 7 p.m. $6.50-8.50. For tickets and information, call (563)324-1933 or visit Putnam.org.
SPORTS
Saturday, March 14 - Quad City Rollers. Flat-track bouts featuring the Quad Cities' all-female roller-derby team. QCCA Expo Center (2621 Fourth Avenue, Rock Island). 6 p.m. $10-12. For information, visit Facebook.com/quadcityrollers.
EXHIBIT
Friday, March 7, through Sunday, March 15 - Young Artists at the Figge: Moline. Exhibit of works by elementary art students. Figge Art Museum (225 West Second Street, Davenport). Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursdays 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sundays noon-5 p.m. Free with $4-7 museum admission. For information, call (563)326-7804 or visit FiggeArtMuseum.org.
EVENTS
Friday, March 6, through Sunday, March 8 - Antique Spectacular. Annual winter event featuring 70 exhibitors with antiques and vintage collectibles for sale. QCCA Expo Center (2621 Fourth Avenue, Rock Island). Friday 5-9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. $7 admission for all three days. For information, call (712)324-9964 or visit AntiqueSpectacular.com.
Saturday, March 7 - Wine at the Warehouse. Annual wine-and-food fundraiser with proceeds benefiting St. Ambrose University student scholarships. Dimitri's Wine & Spirits (1735 West Third Street, Davenport). 4 p.m. $35-45. For tickets and information, visit SAU.edu/winefest.
Saturday, March 7 - Burlesque Box's Burlesque Invasion. Event featuring Bottom's Up Quad City performers and artists from New York City, Chicago, and Des Moines. Circa '21 Speakeasy (1818 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $25-30. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
Friday, March 13, through Sunday, March 15 - Kelly's Irish Pub & Eatery St. Patrick's Day Party. Live music, dancing, skydiving leprechauns, and literal tons of corned beef and cabbage in the annual weekend celebration. Kelly's Irish Pub & Eatery (2222 East 53rd Street, Davenport). For information, call (563)344-0000 or visit KellysIrishPubAndEatery.com.
Saturday, March 14 - Grand Parade XXX. Two-state parade starting in Rock Island, crossing the Centennial Bridge, and ending in Davenport. 11:30 a.m. For more information, visit StPatsQC.com.
