There will be something for everyone tonight, March 10, with the new Velvet Variety Show at the Circa ’21 Speakeasy, 1818 3rd Ave., Rock Island.
Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 the day of the show and available by calling the Circa ’21 ticket office at 309-786-7733, ext. 2 or at the theater’s ticket office at 1828 3rd Ave. in downtown Rock Island. Online reservations are not available for this show. Those attending must be 18 or older.
“The Velvet Variety Show will feature a collection of performers with talents that would normally never fit together into a single show,” Brett Hitchcock, Speakeasy director of audience development, said recently.
“We have everything from magic, drag, painting, dancing, comedy, hula hooping, to body painting, singing, belly dancing and much more,” he said. “It’s like an all-star show with many of the popular show formats we offered over the years with a great mix of other acts included.”
The show will be emceed by Evee Grey from Bottoms Up Burlesque. She will be interviewing the performers on stage so the audience can get to know them before their performance.
“The audience is always curious about the backstory on the performers,” said Hitchcock. “We’re excited to add that element to this show.”
The show lineup will feature these local performers:
- Cat Ziggy, hula hoop
- Shayne Neubert, comedy
- Jade Frias, drag
- Stacey Owen, burlesque
- David Casas, magic
- Riley Scranton, poetry
- Night Caps, improv
- Amy Butterfield, cabaret singer
- Cindy Oberuetter, monologue
- Kerry Cortez, singer
- Nikki Murray, body paint live
- Brooke Letma, canvas painting
- Samantha Karadesch, belly dancing
The theater is hopeful to make this a quarterly show moving forward. “It does take time to line up such a diverse number of acts,” said Hitchcock. “We want each show to be different from the last.”
Comedy on Saturday
The Speakeasy will present two comedy shows this Saturday. The first will be at 7 p.m., a standup comedy show with headliner Marz Timms from Chicago. It will also feature fellow Chicago comedian Matty Robinson and two local comics, Luke Swanson and Austin Ingels. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 the day of the show.
Marz Timms is an internationally known actor/comedian who plays the character Van Howard on the Netflix original series “Easy” seasons 1 & 2. You also can see him in Season 3 of the HBO Max comedy “South Side.”
Marz voices the character Jax in the popular “Mortal Kombat” video game and is the former In-Arena Host for the Chicago Bulls where he performed for 34,000 screaming fans at home games.
As a standup comedian, his style has been called “nerdy, yet urban,” and Marz has performed with well-known comics such as Tracy Morgan, Guy Torry, Nikki Glaser, Eddie Griffin and Louie Anderson.
Later that evening, the theater will welcome back the wildly popular improv comedy show from Chicago, PIMPROV.
You’ve seen the flashy suits and jewelry so bright that a blind man can see it shining. So ask yourself — who is more entertaining than a pimp? PIMPROV has been a hugely successful improv show in Chicago for many years, according to The Speakeasy.
The show revolves around four pimps who took comedy classes at Second City on accident. The group lacks political correctness, and outrageous costumes are only part of the reason they are so popular! You must be 21 or older to attend.
This show is critically acclaimed across North America — Now Magazine Toronto called it “Ho’larious”; The Chicago Tribune said, “Politically incorrect, and funny!” and the L.A. Times said: “More than traditional improv.”
Doors open at 9:30 and the show is at 10 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door, and both shows may be reserved through the Circa ’21 ticket office located at 1828 3rd Ave. in Rock Island or by calling 309-786-7733, ext. 2.
