With 32 plays presented in 2020 and 19 staged in 2021, Mirrorbox Theatre may be one of the area’s most prolific theaters — and all of those plays were virtual. Audience members joined the show via Zoom from the safety and comfort of their own homes. This year is no less exciting for Mirrorbox because […]
Cedar Rapids events
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Celebrate Black History Month in the CRANDIC
Happy February, readers! It’s time to begin celebrating Black History Month in the CRANDIC. Throughout the month, you’ll find numerous events to take part in as we celebrate Black culture and the achievements and legacies of Black Americans. Editor’s Pick: Visiting Writer: Danez Smith, Mt. Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, Monday, Feb. 21, Free In celebration […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Cedar Rapids Community Orchestra debuts new conductor at first performance since March, 2020
Dr. Ghyas Zeidieh has waited a long time to take to the podium and lead the Cedar Rapids Community Orchestra in concert. The orchestra’s concert on Sunday, Dec. 5 will be a moment nearly two years in the making. The CRCO last performed in March of 2020. Since then, the ensemble has experienced both lows […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
After a year off, NewBo Oktoberfest returns to downtown Cedar Rapids
NewBo Oktoberfest is returning to NewBo City Market a year after the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the 2020 event. This year’s celebration will be spread out over the course of four days, from Wednesday, Sept. 29 to Saturday, Oct. 2. There will be a mix of ticketed and free events, including a dinner featuring a wide […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The once and future Olympic Theater
Once upon a time in Cedar Rapids, there was an Olympic Theatre. Located at 1124 3rd St, the records of the History Center show that it was built as a private home, but became the Olympic in 1912, remaining under that name until 1939. “The building showed silent flicks early on and then often showed […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids tree lighting at Greene Square Park will be virtual this year
The holidays will look a bit different this year due to the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean traditions have to end — including the city of Cedar Rapids’ holiday tree lighting. As with many activities this year, the lighting of the tree in Greene Square is going virtual. It will be streamed on the city’s […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A virtual tour and drive-through book signing explore Iowa City’s brewing heritage
The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library and John’s Grocery have teamed up for a two-day celebration of beer and Iowa City’s Northside District that includes a virtual beer tour and socially distant book signing. Iowa native and University of Iowa alumnus S.C. Sherman will sign copies of his newest book, Beer Money: A […]
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Halfloves fold a food drive for HACAP into a return visit to CSPS
Halfloves are back at CSPS Legion Arts this Saturday night, March 7, along with eastern Iowa Americana legends Dave Zollo & the Body Electric and former Cedar Rapidian Tyler Stück, who will be bringing his electronic beats as the opening act (if his name seems familiar, it’s because he was half of the husband/wife duo […]
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Event celebrating wine and classic cinema is returning to NewBo City Market
Wine and classic cinema are making a comeback at NewBo City Market this Saturday night with the return of CinéVino. Wine and cinema-loving attendees will have access to two screenings, wine tastings from various local wineries and one pour of wine.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
TCR shows how to murder your way to the top, with humor and music
TCR’s staging of ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’ features an outstanding cast, ensemble and musical direction. Although based on a serious question (“What will people do to get what they believe deserve?”), this musical comedy is energetic and humorous throughout.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
RHCR gets wonderfully messy with ‘Five Women Wearing the Same Dress’
Full disclosure, I don’t love the script of this play. Alan Ball is not my favorite playwright and I don’t typically enjoy the female characters he writes. … successful performances of it are heavily dependent on the women who inhabit the roles and the team in charge of putting it up. And every person involved in this production really did the work.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Foundry Performance Laboratory raises stakes with Conor McPherson’s ‘The Seafarer’
I have always subscribed to the philosophy that theater has a responsibility to use the tools at its disposal to expose hypocrisy, contextualize truths and show people who they really are. There is no better way fiction has achieved this goal than with stories that include magic or the supernatural. People are just more honest when they’re making things up.
