Four Linn-Mar High School orchestra students will help two nationally-renowned tribute bands recreate the ’60s, when Beatles vs. Stones — A Musical Showdown comes to Cedar Rapids next week. Seniors Kara Lindsey, Kit Iyer, Allie Schumacher and junior Alex Drahos will join Abbey Road, a Beatles tribute band, and Satisfaction, a Rolling […]
Paramount Theatre
The Paramount Theatre and the streaker of the opera
In 1993, when I was 18 and pretending to be an adult, I figured it was about time I consumed some culture with a capital C — and that meant going to the opera. The Barber of Seville by Rossini was playing at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids, and I scored two tickets […]
Author Eoin Colfer and producer Steve Peters talk new musical ‘Noël’
There are holiday shows that are family traditions. Noël, produced by Ames-based Venuworks Theatricals, stands ready to become a new holiday tradition for Eastern Iowa families. […]
Five questions with: Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor
Old Crow Medicine Show will be bringing their Grammy winning presentation of traditional American music to the Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids on June 30, 2018, starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29.50-47.50. […]
Review: Joe Bonamassa shredded at the Paramount Theatre
Joe Bonamassa is an interesting kind of famous. On the one hand, you can say his name to many music-loving folk and receive a blank stare in response. On the other, he can sell out the Paramount Theatre with a bottom ticket price of $102. Which is to say: To know him, apparently, is to love him. […]
Review: Orchestra Iowa brings gusto and grace to John Williams’ beloved film scores
When I spoke with Maestro Timothy Hankewich a few days ahead of Orchestra Iowa’s presentation “John Williams: A Night at the Movies,” he was insistent about one thing. The audience should come to the Paramount Theatre in costume. So Saturday night, I donned a Superman t-shirt and grabbed my reviewing notebook and a pen. With […]
Interview: Lyle Lovett on Bob Dylan, Shakespeare and old vaudeville venues, ahead of his Cedar Rapids show
An Evening with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen Paramount Theatre — Sunday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Texan Lyle Lovett began performing forty years ago this year, in the college town of College Station, where his alma mater, Texas A&M, makes its home. After four decades and four Grammy awards, Lovett is still full […]
Photos: Ghost holds mass at the Paramount Theatre
Grammy Award-winning metal band Ghost brought their dark mass to the Paramount Theatre Wednesday night. The Swedish six piece are touring on their latest record, Popestar, and brought French electro act Carpenter Brut, who sound like the the most badass ’80s action movie soundtrack you’ve ever heard. Everything about Ghost’s set was big and dramatic, […]
Elvis Costello rocks the Paramount in Cedar Rapids
The world’s oldest enfant terrible, Elvis Costello, performed a long-overdue (for his Iowa fans) concert Oct. 3 at the Paramount Theater in Cedar Rapids. The audience was mostly — like Costello — angry young punks gone grey and sedate, but Costello was equal to the difficult task of staying fresh and relevant. Costello charmed and challenged […]
Essay: On ‘The Nutcracker’ and ballet’s diversity problem
The Nutcracker The Englert Theatre ($16-$18) Fri., Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 5, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 6, 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Paramount Theatre ($87-$128) Sat., Dec. 5, 2:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 6, 2:30 p.m. The Nutcracker has a wild and complicated history. The original creepy tale by […]
Holiday movie ‘Up on the Wooftop’ makes its Iowa debut
Up on the Wooftop Premeire Paramount Theatre — Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. A feature-length holiday movie shot in Iowa premieres this weekend at Paramount Theatre. Up on the Wooftop, the family friendly tale of a talking dog who dreams of leading Santa’s sleigh, directed by UI alum Joe Clarke and produced by Iowa […]