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DES MOINES – An Iowa lawmaker wants bogus knock-off musical groups posing as authentic, old-time rockers to knock if off.Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, has introduced legislation making it an unlawful practice in Iowa to advertise or conduct a live-music performance or production as a throw-back or classic musical act if the performing group does not contain at least one of the band’s original members.Dvorsky said he took up the cause of old-time rock ‘n’ roll at the bidding of Jon ... continue reading

MARION — The premiere of a documentary about love and valor will aid two Cedar Rapids groups rebuilding from the floods of 2008: Ushers Ferry Historic Village and the HD Youth Center.“Love & Valor — The Intimate Civil War Letters” will be shown at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, at Collins Road Theatres, 1462 Twixt Town Rd. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4.50 for children, available in advance by calling Ushers Ferry, (319) 286-5763.Narrated by acclaimed actor Brian Dennehy, the ... continue reading

By Diana NollenFiddler Natalie MacMaster grew up in a house full of music, steeped in the traditions of her Scottish Canadian isle.And in the seasonal spirit of sharing, she’s bringing that gift to her Hancher concert Saturday night at the Riverside Casino Event Center.“We’re making every effort to bring a piece of Cape Breton to Iowa — with a few surprises,” MacMaster, 37, says by phone from her current home in the village of Douro, about two hours east of ... continue reading

By Diana NollenOne star reached out and another one was born.A fortuitous phone call nearly 30 years ago helped point Richard Marx down his golden career path.It wasn’t just any caller on the line. It was Lionel Richie in Los Angeles, offering the 17-year-old songwriter some advice.“I remember how kind he was to me and how encouraging he was,” Marx, now 46, says by phone from a recent concert stop in Nashville. “He heard the first four or five songs ... continue reading

By Diana NollenCEDAR RAPIDS — When a heart of gold melts a heart of cold, both get a new deal for Christmas.Little Orphan Annie is back, working her charms on stodgy bachelor billionaire Oliver Warbucks through Theatre Cedar Rapids.The spunky holiday musical opens Friday and plays through Dec. 6 at TCR Lindale, 4444 First Ave. NE.It’s the third time the community theater troupe has staged the show, after mounting it in 1984 at the Paramount Theatre and in 1990 ... continue reading

By Diana NollenRIVERSIDE — Herb Alpert and Lani Hall make beautiful music together.The legendary trumpeter and his lovely wife of nearly 36 years, the one-time voice of Brasil 66, were perfectly in sync Friday night in a Hancher concert presented at the Riverside Casino Event Center.An estimated audience of 700 to 750 people were treated to a casual chic evening of Great American Songbook standards wrapped around Latin beats from a top-notch trio of piano, bass and percussion. The amalgam ... continue reading

There’s nothing wrong with mixing a little education with entertainment.The audience at Thursday night’s Orchestra Iowa Masterworks concert at Coe College’s Sinclair Auditorium was entertained by the music of Respighi, Stravinsky and Beethoven. Maestro Timothy Hankewich provided the evening’s educational component.The concert opened with Respighi’s “Gli Uccelli (The Birds),” a sparkling five-movement piece where the composer uses musical instruments to imitate birdsong.Hankewich noted that the third movement, “The Hen,” was the favorite of “4,000 school children” who heard Orchestra Iowa ... continue reading

 By Diana NollenBroken Lizard just keeps regenerating.The brains and brawns behind the movies “Super Troopers,” “Beerfest” and “The Dukes of Hazzard” remake are digging back to their standup comedy roots. They’ll plant their feet on the Englert Theatre stage in downtown Iowa City on Saturday night, for a mix of group sketches, individual shtick, songs, storytelling and film clips.“It’s like a good, old-fashioned cavalcade of humor show, with audience participation and characters from our previous movies doing bits with the ... continue reading

So you think you can dance? You may think again after seeing the ballroom pros in action.Champions of the Dance will be spinning onto the Englert Theatre stage in downtown Iowa City at 8 p.m. Friday.You’ll see the fancy footwork of dancers featured in ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” the BBC’s “Strictly Come Dancing” and “The American Ballroom Challenge.”Among those luminaries are Andrey Motyl and Inna Brayer from “Dancing with the Stars”; national champions Hugo Villanueva and Jessica McMorrow; German ... continue reading

By Diana NollenNora James hooked me up with “A Good Man,” for which I’m ever so grateful.She is the first character who intrigued me in Larry Baker’s third novel, released Sept. 17 through Ice Cube Press in North Liberty. James is that mysterious woman everybody knows, nobody sees and anybody can hear by tuning into her cooking show on the little radio station in St. Augustine, Fla. She’s a complete mystery you want to solve right away, but Baker wisely ... continue reading

By Diana Nollen“Tom and me found the money that the robbers hid in the cave, and it made us rich. We got six thousand dollars apiece — all gold. It was an awful sight of money when it was piled up.” — “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”CEDAR RAPIDS — The Friends of the Cedar Rapids Public Library are hoping to see at least that much money pile up from the sale of a rare, limited centennial edition of “The Adventures ... continue reading

Tickets go on sale at noon Friday, Nov. 6, for Papa Roach, Shinedown and Halestorm in concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, at the U.S. Cellular Center, 370 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids.The show is open to all ages and seating is general admission.Tickets are $29.50 in advance and $32 day of show, through the U.S. Cellular Center Box Office, 1-(800) 745-3000,  www.ticketmaster.com or  www.jadepresents.com

Semi-charmed lifeThe stars are still rising for alt-rockers Third Eye Blind, with the August release of their latest CD, “Ursa Major.”Stephan Jenkins, Brad Hargreaves and Tony Fredanelli emerged from the San Francisco scene with their self-titled debut album in 1997 and quickly shot to the top with the self-fulfilling prophesy, “Semi-Charmed Life.”After getting the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids jumping in 2000, they’re back to light a bonfire Monday in the Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City. The concert, ... continue reading

CONCERT REVIEWMaria Muldaur and her Garden of Joy jug band played two hours of music from the 1920s and ’30s on Wednesday night with lyrics that resonate today.The CSPS stage that also hearkens back to an earlier age was the perfect venue to showcase the talents of Muldaur and her band, four young men accomplished on everything from banjo, mandolin, guitar and bass to kazoos, tomato cans, silverware, a suitcase, washboard and moonshine jug.At first glance, you know nothing conventional ... continue reading

Grab your boas and stilettos. Put your hands on your hips and get ready to do the “Time Warp” again.“The Rocky Horror Show,” the R-rated play that spawned a cult classic film and penchant for tall men in torn fishnets, has been produced by Theatre Cedar Rapids three times in recent years.This time, the show is taking a jump to the left to step right onstage at CSPS, 1103 Third St. SE.Lots of faces familiar to TCR audiences will be ... continue reading

By Diana NollenEmbodying the spirit of Anne Frank has been an emotional journey for student actress Natalie Kropf."Both of my grandparents were in the Holocaust,” says Kropf, 21, a junior majoring in theater at Cornell College in Mount Vernon. “My grandmother lived in Holland — in The Hague — and was about the same age as Anne.“It’s really brought me closer to my own personal history and made me curious to learn more about it,” Kropf says.“It’s such an important ... continue reading

By Rob ClineFreelance writerCEDAR RAPIDS — Tom Stoppard is a playwright well known for the complexities of both his language and his ideas. Nevertheless, the Theatre Cedar Rapids production of Stoppard’s 2006 drama "Rock ‘N’ Roll," performed at TCR Lindale for a moderately sized but appreciative crowd on Saturday night, can be summed up simply: This is strong work.Under the direction of Leslie Charipar, the committed cast conquers an intricate script in which Stoppard explores the interior spaces where political, ... continue reading

By Diana NollenAMANA — There’s this play, see, and it’s got all dese shady peoples in it, see. But I didn’t see nothin’ or hear nothin’ Friday night except for a whole lotta laughin’.Other than that, my lips are sealed, I promise Big Mack. Cross my heart and hope to, um, well, NOT to die.See, to say too much about “Shady Business” at the Old Creamery Theatre would be bad, very bad for me and my digits, which I would ... continue reading

Catherine Blades doesn’t really know what it’s like to live in New York City.“I know the theater,” she says. “I get on the train and go to the theater, then come home. I don’t really have much time at all, but I don’t mind. Once the show starts running, I’ll have time in the day. It’ll be nice.”That day has come.It’s a day she’s been dreaming of through all the shows she’s seen in New York, all the roles she’s ... continue reading

My nearly-6-year-old daughter was contemplative at intermission of the world premiere performance of “Curious of George Live!” On our way to the water fountain at the U.S. Cellular Center, she looked up at me and said, “I wonder if they’re lip-syncing.”My first thought was that it’s a sad state of affairs when a nearly-6-year-old is quick to consider the possibility that the performers she is watching aren’t actually performing. My second thought was that she’d just identified, albeit in a ... continue reading

Besides having a name that’s fun to say, Grammy-winner Boz Scaggs has a string of hits that are fun to hear again.“Lido Shuffle,” “It’s Over,” “Miss Sun,” “Look What You’ve Done To Me,” “You Make It So Hard (To Say No),” “We’re All Alone,” “Heart of Mine” and “Lowdown.”All are part of his musical legacy stretching back to the ’60s.It’s a pretty sure bet he’ll play at least some of those hits at the Riverside Casino Events Center on Friday. ... continue reading

Dontcha be minding the title. It’s a shurbetcha audiences will quickly embrace the quirky characters in “Don’t Hug Me,” playing through Oct. 11 at the Old Creamery Theatre, 39 38th Ave.REVIEWBilled on its Web site as “a love story with singin’ and stuff,” this comedy set in the dead of winter in the northwoods of Ely, Minn., had Thursday’s opening crowd howling with laughter.All five cast members speak with a Norwegian singsong accent that adds to the merriment during a ... continue reading

Now that we have your attention, indie recording artist Michelle Shocked will bring her Texas roots and Americana folk ways to the Iowa Women’s Music Festival this weekend.The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter will hit the outdoor stage in Upper City Park at 4:15 p.m. Saturday. But music trembles all around, before and after Shocked. Jazz, folk, pop, rock, country, Americana, roots, comedy, hip-hop, blues, honky-tonk, soul and gospel will all find a spotlight, as well as comedy and performance art.Festivities get under ... continue reading

Pat Benatar has been kicking her way through the rock ’n’ roll battlefield since the ’70s, and we’re betting she could still plant her flag at the top of the heap.We’ll find out when Benatar and her husband/collaborator Neil Giraldo celebrate 30 years of hard-rockin’ bliss Saturday night at the Veterans Convention Center inside the Meskwaki Casino, just off Highway 30 west of Tama.This tour promises “All the Hits ... All the Memories.”Hmmm, let’s see. Maybe she’ll hit us with ... continue reading

What better way to celebrate everything Hawkeye than hosting a festival honoring one of Iowa’s most beloved coaches?FRY Fest, named after legendary Hawkeye football coach Hayden Fry, will be held Friday in Coralville.“It’s to celebrate Hawkeye spirit,” says Alyssa Dahmer, communications intern for the Iowa City-Coralville Convention and Visitors Bureau.The festival also will celebrate Fry’s 20-year coaching career at Iowa and his humanitarian effort supporting local farmers, Dahmer says.RELATED: Jake Owen brings his rising star to FRY FestThis year marks ... continue reading