Beloved for playing the obsequious standup Kenny Bania, one of Jerry's many nemeses, on the sitcom smash Seinfeld, touring comedian Steve Hytner kicks off the 2025-26 "Laugh QC" Thursday Night Comedy Series in the Davenport RiverCenter's Mississippi Hall, his December 11 show treating fans to a night with the funnyman also seen on such Emmy-winning series as Modern Family, Friends, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
An Augustana College graduate, former Moline teacher/coach, and Superintendent of Rock Island-Milan Public Schools takes part in a conversation about his recent memoir From Dubuque to Selma & Beyond, a December 11 "Community Connections" book talk with Dave Markward that finds the author, at the Bettendorf Public Library, sharing his personal journey of understanding racism in America.
A two-evening celebration of the Swedish tradition based on the legend of Saint Lucia, Queen of Light, the 2025 Lucia Nights Festival in Bishop Hill will, on December 12 and 13, deliver a seasonal treat featuring live music, a barn dance, a chili supper, a tree-lighting ceremony, carriage rides, and much more.
An avidly anticipated holiday tradition returns to Augustana College from December 6 through 12 when the John Deere Planetarium hosts the week-long presentation Season of Light, a fascinating and beautiful holiday presentation hosted by the college's planetarium director and professor of physics Dr. Lee Carkner.
On December 13 and 14, one of the Quad Cities' most adored holiday traditions returns to Davenport's Adler Theatre when the professional talents of Ballet Quad Cities perform Tchaikovsky's holiday dance classic The Nutcracker. This eagerly awaited family experience boasts original choreography by Artistic Director Courtney Lyon, live musical accompaniment by Orchestra Iowa, a cast of 60, and the return of popular guest artist Domingo Rubio, the longtime portrayer of the company's dancing Dracula.
The Fertilizer Institutes Heralding MAHA's Second Report Brings Attention to Biostimulants That Grateful Graze and Soil Saviors Also Advocate
What if the ubiquitous dandelion plant was not a weed to be destroyed as a pest to the soil it emerges in, but rather a natural, resilient and restorative plant with many soil and human health benefits? What if the dandelion is an abundant plant we should embrace as a soil health monitor and recovery system? What if the dandelion was only one example of many natural or chemical free practices few land owners use to maintain healthy soil?
In the days after the horrific burning of a woman on a CTA train, allegedly by a clearly deranged habitual criminal suspect last month, some in the news media immediately focused on their go-to issue: The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T Act. “Illinois leaders blast SAFE-T Act after repeat offender charged with lighting woman on fire on CTA Blue Line,” reported WGN, as just one example. Former Cook County and federal prosecutor Bob Milan told the station: “The SAFE-T Act forces state attorneys to file petitions instead of just giving judges the discretion [to detain arrested suspects].”
Congress’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which passed last summer, could prove to be far more damaging to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Illinois than most people know. A SNAP “death penalty” is built into the budget reconciliation law.
You likely already know that U.S. Representative Jesus “Chuy” García, D-Chicago, dropped out of his re-election race in a way that essentially handed his seat to his top aide. García said his doctor advised him not to run again because of his heart condition, as did his spouse, who has multiple sclerosis that didn’t respond to her most recent treatment. And he and his wife had just adopted a grandchild after the death of his daughter. Amid all that, García said he decided the Friday before the Monday petition-filing deadline to drop out. And he decided the same day to back his chief of staff, Patty García, to replace him on the ballot.
House Democratic legislators received a stern lecture during the second week of veto session about leaks from their private party caucus meetings. During the first week of veto session in October, I posted a photo on my blog of a caucus PowerPoint presentation showing the range of revenue ideas under consideration in the House to fund mass transit ... while the caucus was still meeting. That apparently caused quite a stir.
M: It was an unmitigated pleasure to watch Sydney Richardson portray this part. She exuded the perfect mix of Midwestern charm and knowing experience to make it really come to life.
Kitty: Oh, absolutely. This show’s brisk run time of just over an hour could easily feel much longer if the script slipped into a singsong lull. But Richardson handles the verse like a pro.
The Spotlight Theatre’s current offering is the 2013 Cinderella, which has all the memorable songs and just the right amount of appealing humor. And I thoroughly enjoyed Friday’s opening-night performance, with director Sarah Greim, music director Christine Rogers, and choreographer Michelle Kabel wrangling a large, talented cast with terrific voices, and the show's crew contributing to the magic.
Based on the beloved novel by sibling authors Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, and the inspiration for movie comedies in 1950, 2003, and 2022, playwright Christopher Sergel's Cheaper by the Dozen closes the 2024-25 season at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, this heartwarming and moving family sure to deliver seasonal warmth, sentiment, and laughs during its December 12 through 21 run.
A legendary mystery thriller that stands as the longest-running West End show of all time, the play having reached its 30,000th performance this past March, Agatha Christie's timeless classic The Mousetrap enjoys a November 28 through December 14 run at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, The Times calling the show "elaborately skillful" and The Daily Express praising its "atmosphere of shuddering suspense."
A legendary holiday-film perennial and thrilling song-and-dance showcase for Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye will be brought to theatrical life when City Circle Theatre Company presents Irving Berlin's White Christmas at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, the show's December 5 through 14 run treating audiences to a Tony-nominated treat featuring timeless Berlin hits in “Blue Skies,” “Happy Holiday,” “Let Me Sing and I'm Happy,” and “I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”
The lauded indie-pop project of Chicago-based singer/songwriter Owen Ashworth, Advance Base headlines a December 9 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist's most recent album Horrible Occurrences a work that, as hailed by AllMusic, "shows that Ashworth's songwriting is as strong and affecting as ever."
Designed as a Grand Ole Opry performance mixed with old-time radio and a healthy helping of Texas flair, the nationally touring Grand Ol' Christmas Show brings favorite seasonal classics and original sketch-comedy antics to Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre on December 10, this family-friendly holiday entertainment featuring Americana masters Blue Water Highway along with a cast of acclaimed artists from the Lone Star State.
Delivering two hours of classic rock alongside a selection of skits and one-liners from live-show bootlegs between 1978 and 1984, the touring tribute musicians of Jump: America's Van Halen Experience return to East Moline venue The Rust Belt on December 12, the band's lineup composed of a group of young talents all born in the mid-to-late '90s and early 2000s.
An annually beloved holiday-music tradition returns to the area as the Nova Singers present their latest pair of A Nova Christmas concerts, with exciting and moving arrangements of favorite carols, traditional melodies, glorious ballads, and fascinating songs from around the world performed on December 12 at Galesburg's First Lutheran Church and December 13 at Davenport's St. Paul Lutheran Church.
On December 13 and 14,, music fans are invited to ring in the holiday season with members of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's brass and percussion sections in the yuletide delight Holiday Brass, an uplifting repertoire of classical and seasonal favorites being performed at Rock Island's Second Baptist Church and Davenport's St. Paul Lutheran Church.
Although the film is anchored by a ferocious Jessie Buckley and a frequently moving Paul Mescal, it might be impossible, after seeing director/co-writer Chloé Zhao's Hamnet, to reflect on the movie without the face of its titular portrayer coming instantly to mind, and potentially making you well up all over again.
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, December 4: After a week off, a lightning-round discussion of Wicked: For Good, Rental Family, Train Dreams, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Sentimental Value, Eternity, and Zootopia, and previews of Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, Hamnet, Merrily We Roll Along, and Fackham Hall ... the latter, because lof the FCC, a title the boys pronounce ve-e-e-ery carefully.
While Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is fun, it's mildly underwhelming fun – like that three-minute roller-coaster ride you realize wasn't worth the half-hour you waited in line for it.
The only real reason to see this musical continuation is Ariana Grande, who deepens her portrayal of Glinda (née Galinda) to such a degree that both the character and the performer feel remarkably fresh, almost as though we're meeting them for the first time.
Now playing at area theaters.
With the project supported by Quad City Arts' re-granting program Arts Dollars, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, and the Quad Cities Community Foundation - Isabel Bloom Art Education Endowment, Lucas Berns' exhibition Artificial and Still: Woven Works on Paper is on display at St. Ambrose University's Morrissey Gallery through December 12, a Q&A and reception scheduled for November 6.
An eclectic mix of practical lettering and expressive pieces that involve letters, historical recreations, and three-dimensional collages, Cheryl Jacobsen's Lettering and Assemblage: (things I love, my art so far) is on display at St. Ambrose University's Catich Gallery through December 12.
An arresting exhibition of sculptural works is on display at the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Gallery through December 17, with Nature's Faces: Crow Haven Ceramics and Mississippi Mud Studios treating visitors to the talents of Dean Wellman and Denise McCullough, as well as Mississippi Mud Studios' Gary Carstens.
An arresting exhibition designed to capture the sensation of the memory of a place – its mood, its texture, its atmosphere – through imagery and abstraction, Kristin Quinn: Luminous Flux Paintings from the Watershed enjoys a showcase through December 28 in the Gildehaus Gallery of Davenport's Figge Art Museum.
A dazzling, visually rich celebration of fascinating felines and the artists who love them, Cats! (the exhibit, not the musical) can be viewed in the third-floor gallery of Davenport's Figge Art Museum through January 4, this rich showcase inspired by our four-legged friends boasting works from both the museum's collection and on loan, and on display through the aid of contributing sponsors Carrie Kimple and Sue Quail.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?)
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