Sean Kelly Sean Kelly is the founder, lead singer, and guitarist for the Samples, the Colorado-based bluegrass- and reggae-inspired rockers who make their Rock Island Brewing Company debut on October 13. And if you visit Kelly's MySpace page, you'll find a link labeled "My Musical Family Tree," which includes a list of the musicians who've been members of the band in the years since its inception.

All 19 of them.

Stan Weimer and Diane Greenwood in California Suite For my money, California Suite is the ideal Neil Simon play, as it's actually composed of four independent one-act plays, giving you far less chance to grow exhausted by his characters' persistent wisecracking.

Ben Stiller and Malin Akerman in The Heartbreak KidTHE HEARTBREAK KID

Outside of a few pornos, I don't think I've ever seen a beautiful actress being treated quite so offensively on-screen as Malin Akerman is in The Heartbreak Kid.

Maria Bello and Hugh Dancy in The Jane Austen Book ClubTHE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB and THE GAME PLAN

On their surfaces, The Jane Austen Book Club and The Game Plan would seem to have nothing in common. One's a dramatic-sitcom wherein a sextet of bibliophiles dissect a noted author's works and unintentionally enact her plotlines; the other's a Disney slapstick wherein an adorable moppet teaches fatherhood lessons to a professional quarterback. (No points for guessing which film is which.)

Othello, The Glass Menagerie, and All My Sons

Rock Island Masonic Temple, The Green Room, and St. Ambrose University

Starting Friday, October 12

 

Reader issue #653 In 1989, area natives Kelly and Tammy Rundle moved to Los Angeles in the hopes of jump-starting their movie-making careers, armed with little more than a title for their nascent production company: Fourth Wall Films.

And in the spring of 2007, after the release of their first, mostly self-financed feature, and with a second film nearing completion, the married couple took the next logical step.

They moved back here.

Charlize Theron and Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of ElahIN THE VALLEY OF ELAH

Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah continually approaches greatness without ever really getting there.

Walter Day and Steve Wiebe in The King of Kong: A Fistful of QuartersTHE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS

Well before Seth Gordon's documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters was released (in other markets) six weeks ago, the director/editor had also been tapped by New Line Cinema to remake it as a more traditionally crowd-pleasing Hollywood narrative. Having now seen Gordon's hugely enjoyable doc, I can barely fathom a more redundant film concept.

California Suite

Richmond Hill Barn Theatre

Thursday, October 4, through Sunday, October 14

 

California Suite cast members"Mike?"

"Jeff!"

the Almost Heaven ensemble On Sunday morning, I started writing my piece on the musical revue I'd seen the night before, and here's how I began my first draft:

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