In the wake of Barbie’s big summer, adaptations of intellectual properties (IP if you’re in the know) are inescapable. And like any monolith, there are good and bad. For every LEGO Movie, there’s an Emoji Movie. Thankfully, Theatre Cedar Rapids’ Clue is a very silly slice of slapstick to be shared with an audience and […]
Eastern Iowa Arts & Entertainment
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Refocus Film Festival’s second year displays ‘very promising’ trajectory for future
The fall film festival season is upon us, and thanks to the dedicated organizers at FilmScene, Iowa finally has a venue to participate. This year’s Refocus Film Festival provided Hawkeye State cinephiles the chance to see exciting films, hear from a panoply of artists and bolster a thriving community of people whose passion has been […]
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‘My films are my voyage, and writing is home’: Werner Herzog proselytizes his love of poetry, reading and the U.S. Heartland after receiving local film award
More than 700 people filled Iowa City’s Englert Theatre on Sunday night to hear the legendary voice of Werner Herzog. The German filmmaker and author was greeted with nearly a minute of applause, and received two standing ovations before the night was out. The event concluded both FilmScene’s second Refocus Film Festival and the 15th […]
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‘Nosferatu’ and a live, electronic symphony of horror will invade the James Theatre on Oct. 23
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is one of the most unsettling visual tales ever imprinted on celluloid, with an origin story and afterlife as shadowy as its vampiric subject matter. The 1922 German Expressionist film, directed by F.W. Murnau, first crept into this world by sinking its teeth into Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, which […]
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Mindy Mejia’s latest thriller is inspired by her own Iowa-based trauma
Mindy Mejia was only at the University of Iowa for one year of undergrad, but she still remembers the storm. “During one trip back [to UI] to visit friends, I actually got caught in an ice storm, so very similar to the setting of the book,” the Minnesota-based author recalled. “Everything was shut down, only […]
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Five questions with Julia Jessen, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art’s new lead curator
Since she started as the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art’s lead curator in July, Julia Jessen has been exploring their 8,000-piece permanent collection, scouring shelves, drawers and boxes in preparation for her debut exhibition, “Surprise!” Little Village caught up with Jessen to see what’s catching her eye. Tell me a little bit about your background. […]
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Improvising with her trombone, FEaST performer Kalia Vandever creates ‘music that is reflecting on itself’
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and FEaST is a sonic smorgasbord best consumed with ears wide open. The off-kilter brainchild of Iowa City-based experimental music maker and promotor Chris Wiersema, this annual festival builds on his aptly named Feed Me Weird Things live performance series — which pushes the boundaries of convention in […]
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A moment of blues ‘magic’ brought the Avey Grouws Band together in the Quad Cities
Having twice climbed into the top 10 of Billboard’s Blues Charts, the Avey Grouws Band is hitting the road for its first West Coast tour. “Musicians support other musicians in the Quad Cities,” said Jeni Grouws, thanking fans and fellow musicians for helping create a space where her band can flourish. The QC-based roots rock […]
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‘I love collaboration, I eat it up’: Lex Leto to help launch Englert’s new Track Zero series with Emily Wells on Wednesday
If multi-instrumentalist and composer Lex Letourneau (Leto) isn’t on Iowa City music fans’ radars just yet, they’re bound to make a few blips by the end of autumn. A Georgia native, Leto started grad school at the University of Iowa in 2019 to study with flute professor Nicole Esposito. Experimental, contemporary music, specifically “weird flute […]
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237 Collective’s new hub for local fashion, vendors and ‘underrepresented artists’ in Cedar Rapids opens Friday
Next time you’re heading down 1st Avenue SW in Cedar Rapids near the Coe College campus, you might be able to spot the vibrant teal, pink and yellow of a new mural on the former Wayfair Roofing building. The piece by EBiSU graces the side of the new 237 Collective gallery, their first brick-and-mortar space […]
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Englert hosting 50 Years of Hip Hop celebration on Friday
From hip hop’s roots in DJ Kool Herc’s Sedgwick apartment in the Bronx, to its countless iterations across coasts, countries and decades, the Englert Theatre plans to celebrate “50 Years of Hip Hop” on Sept. 15. The event will feature fun visuals and displays that highlight and honor the core elements of MCing, DJing, beat […]
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Ahzia Hester is still rendering
It is hard to say where someone will find Iowa City-based artist Ahzia Hester on any given day. Maybe he’s opening for GZA at the Englert Theatre, or Cautious Clay at the Iowa Memorial Union. He might be at Gabe’s, performing his own songs and DJing the artists that influenced them, all over the same […]
