In 1903 (the year jazz legend Bix Beiderbecke was born in Davenport), the Catholic bishop of Davenport Henry Cosgrove called this Iowa city “the wickedest” in America, mainly because of its downtown Bucktown area, teeming with bars, brothels, and theaters.
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On April 11, visitors to Bishop Hill, Illinois, are invited to bid adieu to winter and welcome the beginning of the tourist season in the 2026 Bishop Hill Spring Fling, with various stores, museums, and restaurants offering special discounts, events, and live entertainment.
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Lauded by Louisville Theater as "opulent and magical with moments of heart and humor," World Ballet Company's touring presentation of Cinderella lands at Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 12, the beloved fairy tale coming to life in a spectacular Broadway-style production that delights all ages, blending enchantment, romance, and the timeless majesty of classical ballet.
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Taking place as part of the venue's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series, the German American Heritage Center's Verschleppt: The Carrying Off of Markus & Anna Mattes will offer a haunting, moving family saga on April 12, the program presented by John Mattes and Debbi Nitekman Kohl, the latter of whom will also deliver a powerful performance on piano.
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With the crowned winner receiving a cash prize and a featured spot in the Capitol Theatre's Wickedest City Burlesque & Variety Fest on Saturday, April 18, the Wickedest Performer burlesque competition will be held at Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 16, the evening featuring electrifying artists from across the country, including Arizona, North Carolina, Seattle, Des Moines, and the Quad Cities.
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Massachusetts-based Federal U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy suspended Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s (RFK Jr.) reduction of the CDC's Childhood Schedule of Vaccines from 17 to 11, including both Hepatitis A and B; Influenza; Rotavirus; Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV); and Meningococcal vaccines – all absurd inoculations that have no more conclusive science behind them than most of the other vaccines populating the Childhood Schedule on behalf of Big Pharma.
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As published back in March about one of the Reader's longest and most dedicated team members who passed in Februray, Jay Strickland's Celebration of Life was held April 4, 2026 at the Reader offices in downtown Davenport, Iowa. Below we publish Jay's younger brother Eric's eulogy he shared with us on Saturday.
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A YouGov poll conducted last month shows registered voters in Illinois overwhelmingly believe that the cost of renting and buying a home is a problem, think that there aren’t enough affordable homes for average folks and want the state Legislature to take action.
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The trend in special elections around the country for the past several months has shown spiking Democratic voter turn-out and tanking Republican turn-out. And some preliminary primary election results from earlier this month show the same trend here.
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One of the biggest stories to come out of election day was that several candidates with the most money came up short.
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Kitty: There’s something magical about experiencing theatre from a child’s perspective. Saturday’s audience was full of very eager young theatregoers who were clearly delighted by the show.
Mischa: It was especially interesting to see which moments they particularly reacted to.
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One of American theatre's most exciting, acclaimed, and tune-filled entertainments receives a Quad City Music Guild staging in the April 10 through 19 run of Cabaret, the legendary Kander & Ebb musical that earned a combined 12 Tony Awards for Broadway's 1966 original and 1998 revival, and that was adapted into a 1972 film classic that received eight Oscars including Best Actress for Liza Minnelli and Best Director for Bob Fosse.
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It’s no secret why The Secret Garden is beloved in theatre circles. Based on the classic 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the gorgeous 1991 musical has a book and lyrics by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon (late sister of Carly Simon).
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Hailed by Broadway World as "an endearing and humanly sound story that we didn't realize we needed more than ever," playwright Jennifer Haley's Breadcrumbs enjoys an April 9 through 12 run at Augustana College's Honkamp Myhre Black Box Theatre.
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With the Richmond Times-Dispatch insisting that while the title "might suggest another church lady play ... the charitable sisters are more like the women of Steel Magnolias, with a few unexpected twists," author Bo Wilson's The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church opens the 2026 season at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre with an area-debut April 16 through 26 run.
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With Masterworks' moving 2025-26 season finale presented in partnership with Violins of Hope, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra will present Johann Sebastian Bach’s beautiful Concerto for Two Violins and Gustav Mahler's gripping Sixth Symphony on April 11 and 12, the respective concerts at Davenport's Adler Theatre and Augustana College's Centennial Hall finding members of the QCSO – including soloists Emily Nash and Sabrina Tabby – performing on historic violins that serve as symbols of resilience, hope, and remembrance.
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Beloved for hit songs that include "Spill the Wine," "The World Is a Ghetto," "The Cisco Kid," "Why Can't We Be Friends?," "Summer," and the iconic earworm "Low Rider," the venerated rockers of WAR bring their national tour to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on April 11, the group's massive discography to date boasting 18 studio albums, three live albums, seven compilation albums, and no fewer than 60 singles.
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With the headliner and her bold five-piece band creating impressive, immersive renditions of “Feel the Earth Move," ”Chains," “You’ve Got a Friend," and other beloved songs from the Tapestry album and additional favorites, chanteuse Tina Naponelli brings her stage tribute Tapestry Unraveled: The Music of Carole King to Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre on April 11, the artist's powerful voice and soulful dedication paying homage to the iconic Queen of Pop.
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Their collection of 17 studio albums including top-10 Billboard smashes The Amazing Jeckel Brothers, The Might Death Pop, and Bang! Pow! Boom!, the Insane Clown Posse of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler - performing under the respective personas of wicked clowns Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope - bring their tour to Davenport's Capitol Theatre on April 12, the horrorcore musicians also members of the current super-group 3 Headed Monster.
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With their special concert event performed by husband-and-wife duo Steven Lasiter and Jennifer Barnaba, both currently appearing in the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's mainstage musical Honky Tonk Angels, Cash, Carter, & Company: A Musical Tribute enjoys a one-night-only staging at the Rock Island theatre on April 16, the show boasting dozens of Johnny Cash's and June Carter's greatest hits along with songs from the era and an all-star band of talented musicians.
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Prior to writer/director Kristoffer Borgli's transfixing, deeply uncomfortable A24 romance The Drama, I think you'd have to go back to 1992's The Crying Game to find a film that made you – by which I mean me – quite so antsy to learn its heavily promoted Big Secret.
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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, April 9: Discussion of The Drama and Pizza Movie, previews of You, Me & Tuscany, Beast, and Faces of Death, and Dave makes an argument for an Oscar for Best Trailer, which he believes The Drama would win in a walk. Hard to argue.
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Is anyone else exhausted, and continually upset, by this year's plethora of movies in which women get the crap viciously kicked out of them?
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Having not read the Andy Weir novel on which their film is based, it's hard to tell if Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were the right directors for the science-fiction adventure Project Hail Mary, or – for the book's many admirers, and maybe a few of us newbies – the absolute wrong ones.
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Now playing at area theaters.
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An eclectic display of artwork created by students in the University of Dubuque’s Department of Digital Art and Design is on display at the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Art Gallery, with works by numerous student talents in The 2026 EDGE Show showcased through April 15.
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With the works in the artist's current exhibition reflecting a busy life filled with art and visual experience, Living Collection: Works on Paper by Jason Eisner will be on display in St. Ambrose University's Morrissey Gallery through April 24, his latest pieces, as Eisner says, "found out of the corner of the eye and drawn while on break, sitting in the grass."
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Culling through artists Lisa Lofgren's and Matt Erickson's archive or shared studios, shared conversations, and shared life over the last years, the exhibition Tongue + Groove will be on display in St. Ambrose University's Catich Gallery through April 24.
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A wide range of disparate mediums and gorgeous artworks will be on display at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through April 27, with art lovers area-wide invited to view new metal and fiber sculpture by Amanda Langer, encaustics by Cindy Lesperance, and Japanese tiles by Nick Schroeder in the exhibit Langer, Lesperance, & Schroeder.
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Nearly 200 works by gifted student artists will be on display at Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center through April 30 in the expansive 49th-Annual High School Art Invitational, a glorious celebration of local talent featuring the Quad Cities’ most promising artists expressing themselves through paintings, drawings, sculpture, paper, recycled materials, and film.
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