You could call Ryan Murphy’s staggering TV output campy, corny, unrealistic, melodramatic, or overly idealistic. But you can never call it dull, unwatchable, or ignore-able. The flamboyant 54-year-old writer, director and producer certainly has style and confidence to burn. The latest series in his new Netflix home is the excellent, addictive second season of “The Politician,” which stars Ben Platt and Gwyneth Paltrow and debuted last September. The new season is now available. Murphy (“Glee,” “American Horror Story,” “American Crime Story”) – the winner of six Emmy awards,... Read More

As a center in the Quad-Cities for comfort during grief, and celebration of life, Trimble Pointe is using art to reflect both. The nearly six-year-old facility at 701 12th St., Moline, recently commissioned Detroit artist Marcus Glenn to create three mixed-media hearts which are now on permanent display in the entrance atrium of Trimble Pointe, as a colorful sign of support for the community, especially healthcare workers and first responders during the Covid-19 pandemic. The three unique mixed-media paintings are entitled  “Look for Love Among the Chaos,” “See Love Among the Chaos,” and... Read More

Like most entertainment around the world during coronavirus, the Levitt AMP Galva Music Series moved online this summer. All recipients of a 2020 national grant for a free summer music series will be part of a virtual free broadcast, all available on levittamp.org/virtual. Galva’s entry kicked off the series on June 20, with performances by Chicago Farmer and Edward David Anderson. “Each recipient of the Levitt AMP grant will be featured in one concert over the course of the summer as part of the national series — we just happened to be the first,” said John Taylor of Cambridge, president... Read More

After being closed since mid-March, Davenport’s German American Heritage Center will reopen with specific health and safety conditions on Tuesday, June 23. The museum at 2nd and Gaines streets, will offer ticketed and timed visits to groups of less than six, every 45 minutes during normal hours – which start at 10 a.m. Tuesday to Saturday, and noon on Sunday. The center will have new cleaning procedures, social distancing, sanitization areas, and mask requirements for all at the front desk, executive director Kelly Lao said recently. All patrons must wear a mask or face covering to enter the... Read More

Mark McGinn’s love of the theater is literally in his blood. His father Jack (who died in 2000) started performing at Quad City Music Guild in Moline within two years of its founding in 1949, and was in dozens of shows. Mark, a 67-year-old Bettendorf resident, started with Guild at Prospect Park in 1972, playing clarinet for “Fiddler on the Roof,” and his first stage role was in 1976’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” (as one of the apostles). McGinn has since been involved in more than 70 other shows (including last summer as John Wilkes Booth in Black Box’s “Assassins” in Moline), mostly... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly look at intriguing personalities and trends on the local arts scene, presented every Saturday morning, on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com.   October 1978 was a heavenly time to be a Billy Joel fan. Just days before I got to see “The Piano Man” live for the first time (in Milwaukee), I bought his new record, “52nd Street” at the mall, and nearly floated all the way my walk home, devouring the lyrics on the back cover. Despite the technological advances of CDs, MP3s, YouTube, and digital streaming services, many... Read More

At a time of unprecedented economic, racial, social and health upheaval, some Quad-Cities LGBTQ leaders are taking comfort in the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on workplace civil rights. But during Pride Month, they say much still needs to be done. “It’s the most important LGBTQ decision to date,” Michelle Royal of Moline, a transgender activist and vice president of QC Pride, said this week of the June 15 high-court ruling that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. “It’s better than marriage... Read More

Like most everything else in this time of social distancing, the annual awarding of scholarships and other recognition for Rock Island High School students was done online last month. The Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation (RIMEF), led by executive director Monta Ponsetto, assembled a video presentation to detail and honor the accomplishments of 114 RIHS students, including awarding nearly $90,000 in scholarships. You can see the video at YouTube.com . The ceremony recognized the top 10 students in each Rocky class, the departmental AAAA winners, and scholarship winners through the RIMEF Austin... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a new regular feature running every Saturday on QuadCities.com! Saturday In The Arts offers an in-depth, comprehensive and extensive look at a subject, trend or issue on the local arts and entertainment scene. In our debut feature, Jonathan Turner looks at the major concert venues and outdoor fests in the Quad-Cities and how they’ve been impacted, and could continue to be impacted, by covid-19.   If the Iowa State Fair is canceled, can the Mississippi Valley Fair be far behind? The Davenport fair – which would mark its 101st year Aug. 4-9, at 2815 W. Locust... Read More

High-school graduates this spring encountered a vastly different end of school year commencement season. As the Covid-19 crisis pushed classes and graduations online (Moline, Rock Island and United Township still plan in-person ceremonies later in the summer), nothing has been normal for graduating seniors and college students. The Moline Foundation made the day for 29 scholarship recipients recently, when they were asked to participate in a Zoom conference call. Excited cheers and applause broke out as the students found out during the call that each would get at least a $1,000 scholarship award... Read More