“It’s not so much about the reefer.” A bold statement regarding a production titled Reefer Madness, but actor John Watkins insists it’s true. “The operative word in the title is ‘madness,’...

In 1964, Rich Riggleman played the role of the bell announcer in the controversial play The Playboy of the Western World. Now, 45 years later, he is directing a production of that play for Dreamwell Theatre...

Dominating the contemporary world of music, the JACK Quartet is a four-man super squad armed with bows and strings. Whether it is decoding 700-year-old musical scripts for a modern-day audience or distorting...

Comedian Paula Poundstone was “born” to Tweet. Twitter allows her to make jokes about things she sees in her life that don’t always make it into her performance, she said. “I do the same goddamn...

Chris Ford is writhing on the floor. It’s his last song, and with his band still jamming on stage, he belts out improvised lyrics while curled up in the fetal position. An entranced audience circles...

For Brenda Hillman, falling in love with an art form is quite like falling in love with a person. Finding the excitement of new love and exploring its depths are exactly how she approaches her poetry,...

Regional string players have immersed themselves in the work of the “Father of the String Quartet” to pull off the largest cooperative performance of string musicians Iowa City has ever seen. Musicians...

Gretel Ehrlich’s prose is electrifying. Despite being struck by lightning on her ranch in 1991, the author has remained a powerful force in the literary world. Ehrlich is the last visiting writer...

In a matter of seconds, Between the Buried and Me vocalist Tommy Rogers can switch from the sweetest of melodic crooning to the most brutal death growling around. “I don’t want things to be easy,...

Military women are moving to the frontline to face missiles — something uncommon a decade ago. Cameras caught this transition in a documentary titled Lioness, which will be shown today at 5 p.m. in...

* out of ***** A million dollars or a human life? This is the problem facing the young couple in Richard Kelly’s (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales) latest film. The Box stars Cameron Diaz (My Sister’s...

** out of ***** Years ago, Miss Cleo, a self-proclaimed psychic, starred in her own infomercial. Supposedly, in the ’80s, the U.S. Army was full of “Miss Cleos” — training and developing a division...