On April 3 and 4, Hancher Auditorium held its inaugural Stop/Time Festival, a multi-disciplinary, multi-venue fest spread throughout the University of Iowa campus and downtown Iowa City. “There’s a lot of stuff we know that’s cool that just doesn’t get on as many stages,” festival organizer Andre Perry said in an interview with Little Village […]
Iowa City events
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Review: Bob Dylan wasn’t afraid to start a song over to give Hancher a masterful show
Bob Dylan has never been afraid of surprising an audience. On a sunny day in late July at the Newport Folk Festival a young Dylan stood in front of a disconcerted public with a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar backed by a rock band—the very first time the famous folk singer did that.
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Worth a Rewatch: Say hello to ‘Scarface’ (1932), a blood-soaked tribute to Al Capone nearly eviscerated by censors
Welcome back to Worth a Rewatch — new reviews and reevaluations of old films featured at Iowa’s nonprofit cinemas. Think of it as a small historical adventure, an investigation of an artifact and perhaps, the way meaning has changed over time. Today we look at Howard Hawk’s 1932 gangster magnum opus Scarface, which the Bijou Film Board will be screening at FilmScene this weekend.
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Margaret Cho discusses performing in red states, conservative comedians and the benefits of bombing onstage
It’s been said that you should never meet your heroes. However, as a workaholic Asian-American trying to make her way in the comedy world from the heart of Iowa, I’ve never been one for listening to the word “should.” So, when I had an opportunity to have a conversation with comedy icon Margaret Cho, I had to go for it.
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Mission Creek Festival and Brink announce lineup for Day Party, a new, one-day festival of music, arts and food
Saturday, April 25 will mark the first Day Party, a one-day mini-festival in downtown Iowa City co-directed by Mission Creek Festival and Brink, a literary nonprofit supporting hybrid writing. Tickets went on sale Friday morning.
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Review: The Milk Carton Kids and Sierra Hull present two sides of folk in one big night at the Englert
Grammy Award nominees The Milk Carton Kids and Sierra Hull performed to a buzzing Englert Theatre crowd on Thursday night, co-headlining a show that would please most any folk music fan. The Milk Carton Kids opened up with a stripped down, folksy acoustic set that had incredible harmonies and intricate guitar and banjo work. The […]
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‘Art is my escape’: Paintings, drawings, a Popsicle stick sculpture and other intricate work make up the 2026 Art from the Inside Out exhibition, debuting Friday
“My biggest inspiration for my artwork is God, injustice and purpose,” said Ivan Flores, an incarcerated artist with work featured in the fourth annual “Art From the Inside Out” exhibition. Coordinated by Inside Out Reentry Community, the exhibition is currently on display in Iowa City through Feb. 14 at the Public Space One Close House. […]
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Worth a Rewatch: A Black American filmmaker shook up the French New Wave with 1967’s ‘The Story of a Three-Day Pass’
The Story of a Three-Day Pass was awarded the critics’ choice award at the 1967 San Francisco International Film Festival, and all of a sudden Melvin Van Peebles found himself in a position that was almost unbelievable. He was a Hollywood darling. A decade before, when Van Peebles went looking for a job in Hollywood, […]
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Worth a Rewatch: ‘The Thing’ finds normal people resisting a violent invasion of their snowy home
There’s nothing like beginning the year at the end of the world. As Iowa City’s FilmScene prepares for its yearly showing with two screenings, how does John Carpenter’s cult classic, a film infamously received as off-putting during the Reagan era, land on our laps as we face our own rising tide of conservatism and real-world violence? […]
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Review: A cozy costume party inside a fever dream, Dada Prom brought surreal fun and funds to Public Space One
On a cold, snowy Saturday night in Iowa City, around 150 costumed art-lovers gathered at the historic Close House mansion for Public Space One’s Dada Prom. Despite the total snow accumulation topping off at around five inches, PS1 announced that the fourth annual fundraiser was the “most successful Dada Prom by far.” Dada Prom also […]
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With ‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,’ chef Samin Nosrat boiled cooking down to its elements. At Hancher — and with her new book — she reflects on why we set a table in the first place
If there’s anything we all could use at the end of 2025, it’s comforting food with good company. Helping patrons get into the holiday feasting mindset, Hancher Auditorium hosted a conversation with acclaimed chef and author Samin Nosrat and Iowa City’s own Carmen Maria Machado on Nov. 13. The auditorium, buzzing with food enthusiasts of […]
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Review: Yo-Yo Ma reflects on finding his sound, overcoming doubts and what makes us human at Hancher
Yo-Yo Ma sits in the middle of the stage, one leg draped over the other, as he listens to a question from someone in the audience. “Ask me anything” appears on a large screen above him. One of the questions comes from a young man, a cello player who wants to know how to overcome […]
