Sunday, June 9, 7 p.m.
Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
Two bona-fide entertainment legends team up for one unforgettable night at Davenport's Adler Theatre on June 9, with iconic comedians and musicians Steve Martin and Martin Short presenting new material in a variety of sketches and conversations about their careers, memorable encounters, show-business lives in the touring sensation “Now You See Them, Soon You Won't.”
A beloved comic for more than four decades, the 73-year-old Martin first came to public notice in the 1960s as a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show. In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before packed houses on national tours, becoming a film star as well with the 1979 release of the comedy smash The Jerk. Since the 1980s, Martin has become a successful actor in both comedic and dramatic roles, with his credits including memorable turns in All of Me, Little Shop of Horrors, Roxanne, Parenthood, The Spanish Prisoner, Bowfinger, and two Father of the Bride movies. He has also cemented his legend as an author, playwright, pianist, and banjo player, eventually earning Emmy, Grammy, and American Comedy Awards, among other honors. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Martin at sixth place in a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics, and in 2013, he was awarded an Honorary Oscar at the Academy's fifth-annual Governor Awards.
While he has played banjo since an early age, and included music in his comedy routines from the beginning of his professional career, he has increasingly dedicated his career to music since the 2000s, acting less and spending much of his professional life playing banjo, recording, and touring with various bluegrass acts including Earl Scruggs, with whom he won a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance in 2002. He released his first solo music album, the Grammy-winning The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, in 2009, and his Adler performance will find Martin performing with the touring ensemble the Steep Canyon Rangers.
A Canadian-American comedian, actor, voice artist, singer, and writer, the 69-year-old Short first gained national prominence for his work on the television programs SCTV (for which he won an Emmy Award for writing) and Saturday Night Live, for which he was a cast member on the show's legendary 1984-85 season. Although he had a supporting role in the 1979 comedy Lost & Found, Short found true film stardom with the 1986 comedy Three Amigos, in which he co-starred with Chevy Chase and Steve Martin, meeting the latter for the first time. He consequently went on to appear in such Hollywood comedies as Three Fugitives, Father of the Bride and its sequel (both opposite Martin), Pure Luck, Captain Ron, Mars Attacks!, and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and has become a household name in part to his wildly offbeat sketch-comedy characters such as Jiminy Glick and Ed Grimley. Martin is also an accomplished stage performer, earning a Tony nomination for his leading role in the 1993 musical The Goodbye Girl and winning the Tony six years later for his turn in Little Me. He most recently co-starred on the Great White Way in the 2015 revival of It's Only a Play, and authored the bestselling 2014 autobiography I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend.
Steve Martin and Martin Short take the Davenport stage at 7 p.m. on June 9, admission is $89-249, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 or visiting AdlerTheatre.com.
