ART
- Two exhibits continue at the Contemporary Art Center through Oct. 14: “Artists of The Pharmacy,” a group show from a collective venue in Springfield, here in CAC’s Preston Jackson Gallery, and “Tanya Bayer & Janet Brutcher,” the former a CAC resident artist and the latter an artist from Moberly, Mo., and both working with items from Nature — in Gallery 3R.
- Bradley University is hosting the 6th Biennial Midwest Women Artists Symposium, a hybrid event on campus Oct. 19 and 20, and virtual the morning of Oct. 21. That Thursday in the Global Communications Center’s room 126, Catherine Morris, curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, will give the keynote address, “A Shove in the Right Direction: Elizabeth Catlett and 20th Century Feminism.” Friday’s five presentations will be in the Student Center Ballroom.
CINEMA
- Opening Oct. 6, “Burial” stars Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones in a legal drama about an underdog fighting the power in a courtroom. Based on a a true story, its issue is about conglomerates taking over funeral homes and cemeteries. Amanda Warren and Alan Ruck are featured.
- Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited “Killers of the Flower Moon” will open in moviehouses on Oct. 20. The western/crime drama about a grab for land, resources and power is structured as an overlooked part of U.S. history. Adapted from David Grann’s nonfiction bestseller, its focus is the string of Osage killings in the 1920s, genocidal serial murders stemming from powerbrokers’ targeting the oil under Oklahoma’s reservation. Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone star in the three-hour epic that shows how greed can contribute to poverty, despair, lawlessness, alcoholism, illness and violence.
COMEDY
- Comic Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesius will appear at the Peoria Civic Center Arena on Oct. 28.
DANCE
- Tchaikovsky’s classic “Swan Lake” is set to appear at the Civic Center Theater Oct. 16, performed by the Ukrainian National Opera and Ballet Theater.
- Emmy Award-winning Derek Hough will present “Symphony of Dance” at the Civic Center Theater Oct. 21.
MUSIC
- The Blue Ridge Community Farm concludes its fall concert series Oct. 1 and 8 in the rural venue west of Chillicothe, with Chicago Farmer and the Mama Said String Band Oct. 1, and Erin Zindle & the Ragbirds, Stone & Snow, and Projekts on Oct. 8. Sarah Marie Dillard hosts.
- The Peoria Symphony Orchestra presents “Viennese Gala” the afternoon of Oct. 14 at the Civic Center Theater.
- “Songs of Hope,” Oct. 27 at Bradley’s Dingeldine Music Center, will feature vocalist Angela Yoon, bassist Carl DuPont, and pianists Elizabeth G. Hill and Jason Terry playing material touching on social issues.
- Halloween will be celebrated a few days early Oct. 27 at the Contemporary Art Center, where the Brazilionaires will entertain.
THEATER
- “Clue: On Stage” takes elements of the board game and movie, and mixes them with dinner, presented Wednesday-Saturday Oct. 5-Nov. 5 at the Barn III in Goodfield.
- Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde” is “modernized” in “Jekyl & Hyde: The Musical” at Peoria Players Oct. 6-8 and 12-16. Directed by Chris Ennis, it features songs by the award-winning Leslie Bricusse and Grammy- and Tony-nominated Frank Wildhorn.
- Corn Stock Theatre’s winter season’s October feature is “Destry Rides Again,” a stage version of Max Brand’s western novel and the Jimmy Stewart/Marlene Dietrich 1939 movie. CST’s production stars Jarrod Hazzard and Leah Cooper.
STREAMING
- Debuting on Apple TV+ on Oct. 3, “Lessons in Chemistry” stars Brie Larson as a frustrated scientist who ends up hosting a TV cooking show — which she uses to teach chemistry. Beau Bridges co-stars.
- Without most of its original cast, the “Frasier” sitcom returns Oct. 12 on Paramount+ as a sequel of sorts, still starring Kelsey Grammer in the title role — having returned to Boston.
TV
- At press time, Hollywood’s Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers seems about as popular as radio’s Kars for Kids commercials, barely bargaining with the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA, together on strike for months. Variety reports 67% public support for the strikers among likely voters, with 18% opposing them. Consequences will be evident: ABC will rely on “unscripted” programming such as “Dancing with the Stars,” and reruns; CBS will use “reality” shows like “Survivor,” plus reruns; NBC mostly will promote episodes completed before the work stoppages, such as “Magnum P.I.” (which moved from CBS).
- NBC’s “Found,” premiering Oct. 3, stars Shanola Hampton as a kidnapping survivor and crisis expert who now wants to help others.
- “Fellow Travelers,” premieres on cable’s Showtime Oct. 29, mixing romance and a political drama starting in the McCarthy era and moving through decades of protests and plagues. Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey are very different but find common ground and love amid the chaos of the times.