Music
Mark Schultz
Augustana College
Saturday, November 19, 7 p.m.
The latest in Augustana College's lineup of visiting artists is a Dove Award-winning musician who will appear in a special concert titled An Intimate Evening with Mark Schultz. I should mention that this event isn't to be confused with An Intimate Evening with Mike Schulz, which is also great fun, but features a lot more griping about Hollywood reboots and surcharges for 3D glasses.
Arriving at Augustana on November 19, the frequently touring Schultz is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and over the past decade has emerged as one of Christian music's most acclaimed artists. Since the release of his self-titled CD in 2000, the singer/songwriter has been praised for his gifts for telling personal, heartfelt stories through music, and has gone on to release an additional seven albums - including 2011's Renaissance and The Best of Mark Schultz - that have earned both critical acclaim and music-industry accolades. 2010 found the artist nominated for Dove Awards in the categories of "Male Artist of the Year" and "Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year," and in 2005, Schultz's DVD Mark Schultz Live: A Night of Stories & Songs received the Dove for "Long-Form Music Video of the Year."
A platinum-selling artist with 10 chart-topping singles to his credit - among them modern Christian-music staples "Remember Me," "I Am the Way," "He's My Son," "Letters from War," and "Walking Her Home" - Schultz is sure to provide an exceptional evening of musical entertainment in his Rock Island engagement. And again, despite the considerable similarities in our names, I assure you that it isn't me who was invited to grace Augustana's Centennial Hall stage on November 19 ... even though I did pay four years' worth of tuition to that school ... and I do make frequent mention of Augie's events in the What's Happenin' pages ... . No big deal ... .
Tickets to An Intimate Evening with Mark Schultz are $10 in advance and $12 at the door, and more information on the night is available by calling (309)794-7306 or visiting Augustana.edu.
Theatre
The Turn of the Screw
The District Theatre
Tuesday, November 15, through Sunday, November 20
[UPDATE: On November 13, co-producer Tristan Tapscott announced the cancellation of Turn of the Screw's run.]
In his most recent production for the District Theatre, actor Steve Lasiter played the famed "sweet transvestite" in The Rocky Horror Show. In his next production for the District Theatre - playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's The Turn of the Screw - he'll be playing the British owner of a palatial estate, an elderly female housekeeper, and a 10-year-old boy.
In other words, in less than three weeks, Lasiter has gone from being a Frank-N-Furter to a hot dog.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Heh heh heh ... . Hmm.
Yeah, apparently it's gonna be one of those days on the What's Happenin' pages, folks.
A special, spooky treat recently added to the theatre's 2011 lineup, The Turn of the Screw is Hatcher's take on the famed Henry James novella, a one-act ghost story called "a beautifully executed adaptation" and "a dazzling act of the imagination" by the New York Times ... though I actually prefer the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's reference to it as "a Mensa Halloween." Set in a lonely English manor house, the story concerns a new governess who is sent to care for two recently orphaned children. Yet not long after arriving, the woman must contend with a host of difficulties not mentioned in the job description - most notably the ghosts of her charges' former caretakers, who have either returned to inflict further harm on the kids or are perhaps products of the woman's fevered imagination.
Directed by popular area performer Patti Flaherty, and produced by Tristan Tapscott and Lora Adams, this creepy presentation will find Adams portraying the slowly unraveling governess, and Lasiter portraying everyone else the woman encounters in Hatcher's 90-minute play. That's right: Even given its numerous characters, The Turn of the Screw is a two-actor show. Or, as I like to think of the work, a pas de "Boo!" Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
Oh, come on! That was way funnier than my hot-dog joke!
Never mind. Running November 15 through 20, The Turn of the Screw will be staged on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m., and tickets are available by calling (309)235-1654 or visiting DistrictTheatre.com.
Music
Cornmeal
The Redstone Room
Friday, November 11, 9 p.m.
On November 11, Davenport's Redstone Room will serve up a special treat for music lovers: a Cornmeal jam. Trust me, it's gonna be a lot tastier than that might sound.
The bluegrass and roots-rock outfit Cormeal began as a side project for bass player Chris Gangi in 2001, when he and his bandmates performed weekly gigs at Martyr's Bar in Chicago. Ten years later, the group has not only released four CDs but has become one of the most popular touring ensembles based out of the Midwest, averaging roughly 130 nationwide stops annually, and opening for such noted acts as Umphrey's McGee, the Yonder Mountain String Band, the David Grisman Quartet, and moe.
Composed of Gangi, guitarist Kris Nowak, drummer J.P. Nowak, banjo player Wavy Dave Burlingame, and fiddler Allie Kral, Cornmeal may be described as a jam band, but there are a lot of different ingredients in that particular jam. While the performers are known primarily for their infectious bluegrass stylings, they're just as musically fluent in roots rock, jazz, country, funk, and blues, and it's partly their ease in covering so many genres that has earned the Cornmeal artists scores of fans and major plaudits by critics.
The Chicago Reader, for instance, praises Cormeal for its "very user-friendly bluegrass-jam fusion" and its "seductive detours into jazz, funk, or rock." The Indypendent newspaper raves about "the harmonies intertwined in a roaring cascade of electric jamgrass." The Illinois Entertainer calls them "a toe-tapping, hand-clapping, finger-snapping tour de force." And after one particular Cornmeal concert, the online music site GratefulWeb.com wrote, "They left us in a daze of bluegrass bliss with nothing left to do but recover on Sunday morning." Considering that Cornmeal's Redstone Room concert is on a Friday, it sounds like we're in for a lo-o-o-o-ong music high, folks.
Cornmeal's Davenport concert features an opening set by the Farewell Drifters, tickets are $10, and more information on the evening is available by calling (563)326-1333 or visiting RedstoneRoom.com.
Music
Paul Simon
i wireless Center
Wednesday, November 16, 7:30 p.m.
Cecilia:
I know I think too much, but I feel like you're slip slidin' away, and I can't take the sound of silence anymore. I feel like the boy in the bubble. So what say we call an armistice day? Come with me to Paul Simon's November 16 concert at the i wireless Center, and late in the evening, you'll learn how to fall for me again.
Remember when we realized there was something so right about us? It was a sunny day, and we were singing that song about the moon. Sitting by the cool, cool river under African skies - near that bridge over troubled water at the coast - it was like our love was born at the right time, and we felt that love in our hearts and bones. Like Rene and Goergette Magritte with their dog after the war, we had no further to fly.
But of course, everything put together falls apart. Before long, you were homeward bound to Graceland with the boxer - that one-trick pony who's still crazy after all these years. Congratulations.
Can I forgive him? I don't know; nobody does. But I know what I know, and while there may be 50 ways to leave your lover, I'm hoping one American tune by Paul Simon might bring you back.
So don't think of me as just some train in the distance. Whatever I do, I do it for your love.
Sincerely yours,
Jonah Duncan ...
... but you can call me Al
For tickets to Paul Simon's Moline concert on November 16 - and the chance to hear at least a few of the music legend's 36 aforementioned songs - call (800)745-3000 or visit iwirelessCenter.com.
What Else Is Happenin'... ?
MUSIC
Friday, November 11 - Peter Mayer Group. Award-winning singer/songwriter and his ensemble, with an opening set by the Whoozdads. Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street, Davenport). 7 p.m. $25-30. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.
Friday, November 11 - Artimus Pyle. Concert with Lynyrd Skynyrd's percussion legend. Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center (1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf). 7:30 p.m. $10-20. For tickets and information, call (800)724-5825 or visit Bettendorf.IsleOfCapriCasinos.com.
Friday, November 11, and Saturday, November 12 - Burlesque Le' Moustache Goes to the Movies. A humorous and provocative tribute to the silver screen, featuring comic skits, bawdy songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad female chorus. Circa '21 Speakeasy (1818 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $15. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
Saturday, November 12 - Rachael Yamagata. Concert with the folk-rock, acoustic, and pop performer, with an opening set by Mike Viola. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 9 p.m. $15. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RedstoneRoom.com.
Monday, November 14 - Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, Split Lip Rayfield, and Mountain Sprout. Rock Island Brewing Company. (1815 Second Avenue, Rock Island). 7:30 p.m. $12-15. For information, call (309)793-4060 or visit RIBCO.com. For a 2009 inteview with Th' Legendary Shack Shakers' J.D. Wilkes, visit RCReader.com/y/shakers. For a 2005 interview with Split Lip Rayfield's Eric Mardis, visit RCReader.com/y/rayfield.
Thursday, November 17 - C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band. Famed zydeco and blues musicians in concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 8:30 p.m. $12. For tickets and information, call (563)326-1333 or visit RedstoneRoom.com.
Friday, November 18 - Clint Black. Country-music superstar in concert. Riverside Casino & Event Center (3184 Highway 22, Riverside). 8 p.m. $40-50. For tickets and information, call (877)677-3456 or visit RiversideCasinoAndResort.com.
Friday, November 18 - American String Quartet. Solos and ensemble pieces with the classical musicians, in a Hancher Auditorium presentation. Riverside Recital Hall (405 North Riverside Drive, Iowa City). 7:30 p.m. $17.50-35. For tickets and information, call (319)335-1160 or visit http://www.Hancher.UIowa.edu.
Friday, November 18 - Greg Brown. Acclaimed folk-music singer/songwriter in concert. Englert Theatre (221 East Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m. $25-45. For tickets and information, call (319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Friday, November 18, through Sunday, November 20 - The Long Christmas Dinner. Annual holiday presentation by Opera@Augustana, featuring music by Paul Hindemith and a libretto by Thornton Wilder. Augustana College's Denkmann Memorial Hall (3520 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $8-12. For information and tickets, call (309)794-7306 or visit Augustana.edu.
Saturday, November 19 - Holiday Pops. Featuring Olympic ice skater Todd Eldredge, jazz trumpet player Jon Faddis, actor John Getz narrating "The Night Before Christmas," and performances by the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, the Figure Skating Club of the Quad Cities, the Sanctuary Choir of First Presbyterian Church, and the Holiday Pops Children's Chorus. i wireless Center (1201 River Drive, Moline). 7:30 p.m. $20.50-44.50. For tickets and information, call (800)745-3000 or visit QuadCityArts.com or QCSymphony.com.
Sunday, November 20 - Tony Sconyers & Friends. Noted jazz musician performs and educates with Edgar Crockett, Corey Kendrick, Ron Wilson, and Manuel Lopez III, in an event in Polyrhythms' Third Sunday Jazz Matinée & Workshop Series. The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 3 p.m. all-ages jazz workshop - $5/adult, children free; 6 p.m. concert - $10-15. For tickets and information, call (309)373-0790 or visit Polyrhythms.org or RedstoneRoom.com.
THEATRE
Thursday, November 10, through Friday, December 30 - Nuncrackers. Holiday sequel to the off-Broadway smash Nunsense. Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island). Fridays, Saturdays, Wednesdays, and November 10 - 5:45 p.m. doors, 6-7 p.m. buffet, 7:15 p.m. pre-show, 7:45 p.m. performance; Sundays - 3:45 p.m. doors, 4-5 p.m. buffet, 5:15 p.m. pre-show, 5:45 p.m. performance; Wednesdays - 11:30 a.m. doors, 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. plated lunch, 1 p.m. pre-show, 1:30 p.m. performance. $41.28-47.55. For tickets and information, call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
Thursday, November 10, through Saturday, November 19 - Stick Fly. Acclaimed family drama by Lydia R. Diamond, directed by Tisch Jones. University of Iowa's E.C. Mabie Theatre (200 North Riverside Drive, Iowa City). Thursdays-Saturdays 8 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. $10-17. For tickets and information, call (319)335-1160 or visit UIowa.edu/~theatre.
Friday, November 11, through Sunday, November 20 - Leaving Iowa. Family-themed road comedy, directed by Tom Naab. Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline). Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 p.m.; Sundays 3 p.m. $10. For tickets and information, call (309)762-0330 or visit Playcrafters.com.
Friday, November 11, through Sunday, November 13 - Uh-Oh, Here Comes Christmas. The Pearl City Players' presentation of heartwarming holiday vignettes based on stories by Robert Fulghum. The Center for Non-Profits (129 West Second Street, Muscatine). Friday and Saturday 7 p.m.; Sunday 5 p.m. $10-13. For tickets and information, call (563)554-0921 or e-mail PearlCityPlayers@yahoo.com.
Sunday, November 13 - Young Frankenstein: The New Mel Brooks Musical. Tony Award-nominated musical comedy based on Brooks' film classic. Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street, Davenport). 7 p.m. $31.50-53.50. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.
Friday, November 18, through Sunday, November 20 - It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Joe Landry's adaptation of the Frank Capra holiday classic. Ohnward Fine Arts Center (1215 East Platt Street, Maquoketa). Friday and Saturday 7 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. $8-15. For tickets and information, call (563)652-9815 or visit OhnwardFineArtsCenter.com.
Friday, November 18, through Sunday, November 20 - Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Musical stage version of the holiday movie classic, presented by the Prairie Players Civic Theatre. Orpheum Theatre (57 South Kellogg Street, Galesburg). Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.; Sunday 3 p.m. $10-17. For tickets and information, call (309)342-2299 or visit TheOrpheum.org.
COMEDY
Friday, November 11 - Skellington's Last Resort. Dinner and a debuting, interactive comedy/mystery with the It's a Mystery troupe. Skellington Manor Banquet & Event Center (420 18th Street, Rock Island). 6:30 p.m. $35. For tickets and information, call (563)344-9187 or visit SkellingtonManor.com or ItsAMysteryQC.com.
SPORTS
Saturday, November 19 - MMA Extreme Challenge. Competitions between amateur and professional mixed-martial-arts fighters. Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center (1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf). 7:30 p.m. $20-30. For tickets and information, call (800)724-5825 or visit Bettendorf.IsleOfCapriCasinos.com.
EVENTS
Friday, November 18 - Civil War Ghosts & Legends. Singer/storyteller Brian "Fox" Ellis presents poetry by Walt Whitman, songs by Stephen Foster, and Civil War tales by Ambrose Bierce. Butterworth Center (1105 Eighth Street, Moline). 7 p.m. Free admission. For information, call (309)743-2701 or visit ButterworthCenter.com.
Saturday, November 19, through Sunday, November 27 - Quad City Arts' Festival of Trees. Annual event featuring numerous holiday vendors and exhibits. Davenport RiverCenter (136 East Third Street, Davenport). $3-8. For information and a daily schedule, call (309)793-1213 or visit QuadCityArts.com.
