Jacob Smith by any other name would be — Dennis. The last time we saw the Monticello native onstage, he was a Dennis. Next week, we’ll see him be a Dennis again. But neither of these Dennises are menaces. Smith was knightly Sir Dennis Galahad when the national tour of “Monty Python’s Spamalot” played at [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — The aerialists will spin and float among the rafters. Other artists will have their feet on the ground — sort of. Adrienn Banhegyi (pronounced “bahn/edgy”) stands on the cutting edge of rope jumping. She gave area media reps and VIPS a sneak peek today (5/21/13) at the fancy footwork that raises her [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — A full house of (mostly) female fans yelped and screamed throughout “SPANK!” last night (5/10/13) at the Paramount Theatre. They weren’t in pain — although some of the singing and writing was purposely painful. Instead, this “Fifty Shades of Grey” theatrical parody makes its audience writhe in laughter. I see no Tony [...]

  While we all should honor our mothers every day of the year, Sunday marks the official day for showering moms with love and appreciation. Flowers, cards, brunch and phone calls are the obvious ways for grateful husbands and children to say thank you. Here are several other ways to get Mom out and about [...]

DECORAH – Down in a valley, between majestic limestone bluffs and the rolling hills of northeast Iowa, the sound of music slowly dissolves from traffic whizzing by to the drone of a fly layered over a babbling brook, a bevy of birds, a band of frogs and a choir of insects. They join their voices [...]

  Armed with great genes and tight harmonies, Wilson Phillips soared to superstardom off the trio’s 1990 debut album and stayed there for three years. Then they were gone — off to explore new professional opportunities in solo recording and television, as well as marriage and motherhood. They’ve found their second wind, thanks to a [...]

On the stiletto heels of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which dominated last summer’s literary pop culture scene, comes “SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody.” Technically, it is not associated with or authorized by author E.L. James or Vintage Press, but considering James’ kinky trilogy made a mint in the fan-fiction genre and spawned plenty of print [...]

What better time to introduce a picture book titled “Thunderstorm” than at the start of Iowa’s flash-crash-boom season? Award-winning artist and author Arthur Geisert will launch his latest creation Saturday afternoon (5/11) at the bar across the street from his home studio in Bernard, a village off Highway 151, south of Dubuque. National Public Radio producer [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — Orchestra Iowa took a cheering audience on a wild ride through Grant Wood country Saturday night (5/4/13) with the world premiere of Michael Daugherty’s “American Gothic.” The 20-minute work in three movements — commissioned by the orchestra for its Paramount Theatre triumphant homecoming season — is brilliant and breathtaking in scope and [...]

Summer festivals are springing up all over, ushering in a season of fun in the sun. Whether your tastes run artistic, sporty, ethnic or historic, Eastern Iowa truly has something for everyone. Iowa City’s Summer of the Arts brings the best in music and art to the heart of downtown. Cedar Rapids reminds us of [...]

Composer Michael Daugherty and violinist Luke Witchger rip through the virtuoso orchestral bluegrass of “Pitchfork,” the final movement of “American Gothic,” during an Art Bites preview at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art at noon Wednesday (5/1/13). Orchestra Iowa commissioned Daugherty’s 20-minute sonic homage to Grant Wood and Eastern Iowa, and will stage the work’s [...]

  Under the green makeup and flowing gown, the Wicked Witch of the West is — GASP — a man. David Morton is stepping out of his comfort zone and into heels for the first time for Theatre Cedar Rapids’ third trek down the Yellow Brick Road. The journey starts Friday and continues through mid-May. [...]

The Midnight Swinger is getting ready for the longest one-night mic stand of his life. David Scott, 43, really is a standup guy from Cedar Rapids, but his larger-than-life alter-ego is a Vegas lounge comedian who does clean, upstanding material. One and the same, they aim to shatter the 40-hour Guinness World Record for longest one-man [...]

Specializing in electronic down-tempo and ambient rock Cedar Rapids native Ted Wendler and bandmates in Mansions On The Moon have been winning over music fans and fellow artists with their mesmerizing arrangements, creative remixes and wide range of musical capabilities. Formed a few years ago, this exciting Los Angeles trio of songwriters and producers have [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Orchestra Iowa School’s Discovery Chorus will honor the memory of composer Allen Koepke by singing a program of his works at 3 p.m. Sunday (4/21/13)  at First Presbyterian Church, 310 Fifth St. SE, Cedar Rapids. Admission is free, but organizers say seating is limited. The auditioned chorus, featuring area singers in [...]

  The show must go on, and so it shall. Follies, a Cedar Rapids tradition for more than 30 years, has come full circle, back in the hands of volunteers united by loyalty and a can-do spirit. And back at the Paramount Theatre, where it all began. From the opening strains of “As If We [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — Rain may be getting a little old outside our windows this week, but the Rain inside the Paramount Theatre on Tuesday night (4/16/13) will never grow old. The tribute band that emerged on the Southern California club scene in the 1970s has gone through several incarnations and even landed on Broadway from [...]

Weird Al Yankovic, that master of musical parody, is returning to Cedar Rapids, sure to shake up the Paramount Theatre with his “Alpocalypse” tour on Sunday night (4/21). We wanted to give away a pair of tickets to see Weird Al, so we hit the streets and quizzed people about some of Al’s most popular [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — Willie Nelson is immortal. Not only did he deliver the best hit parade ever Monday night (4/15/13) at the Paramount Theatre, but he’s never sounded better. The gentleman seated next to me summed it up perfectly: “He may be 79, but he’s playing like it’s 1979.” Sometimes concerts by our aging icons [...]