The Decemberists
Monday, April 18
April showers don’t just bring May flowers. The Decemberists will be springing up for a SCOPE concert Monday at the IMU. The indie folk rockers from Portland, Ore., bring an eclectic collection of instruments to their lyrical storytelling styles. Think accordion, organs, bouzouki and upright bass. Ever evolving, the band known for grandiose musical gestures, as in “The Hazards of Love” song-cycle, strips down to its roots for its latest compilation, “The King is Dead.” Luckily, the music lives on. The band veers in a decidedly country direction with an acoustic flair that’s always in season.
The Decemberists
8 p.m. Monday (April 18), Main Lounge, Iowa Memorial Union, Iowa City; $28, http://imu.uiowa.edu/scope-presents-the-decemberists
Eurydice
Friday, April 15 to April 23
The hardest thing to grasp with the drama “Eurydice” is how to pronounce it. Let the folks at Theatre Cedar Rapids clear that up for you: “your-id-eh-see.” With two Pulitzer nominations to her credit, playwright Sarah Ruhl retells the Greek myth of Orpheus through the eyes of his wife, Eurydice. The young bride dies shortly after their wedding, then must choose whether to stay in the land of the dead with her father or return to the land of the living with her husband. Not our idea of a honeymoon.
Eurydice
Friday (4/15) to April 23, Theatre Cedar Rapids, 102 Third St. SE; Linge Series show at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. April 17; $20 and $25 at the TCR Box Office, (319) 366-8591 or www.theatrecr.org; $12 rush tickets at the door
Comedian Jeff Richards
Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16
Jeff Richards — the first actor to be on MADtv and Saturday Night Live — is a man of many faces, some of them female. Along with spot-on impersonations of Gary Busey and David Letterman, to name just two of 22, he’s perhaps best-known at SNL’s slobbering Drunk Girl. The California native once strapped a backpack on his back and traversed the country via motorcycle to deliver his standup routine. This time the road is leading to Cedar Rapids.
Comedian Jeff Richards
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (4/15 and 4/16), Penguins Comedy Club/Cedar Rapids Piano Lounge, 208 Second Ave. SE; ages 21 and over, $15, Penguins, (319) 362-8133 or http://penguinscomedyclub.com
CANCELLED: World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions
Saturday, April 16
An elite herd of horses will be putting on airs in two shows Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center. The gorgeous white Lipizzaner Stallions dazzled arena audiences with their horse ballet in 2008 and now they’re coming back, with all the leaps, kicks and choreography that have made them world famous. Their tradition reaches back 400 years, when they were bred and trained for military maneuvers in Austria. The intricate, fancy footwork that served them so well in battle is even lovelier in peaceful prancing.
World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions
2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday (4/16), U.S. Cellular Center, 370 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids; $21.75 to $29.75, www.uscellularcenter.com