BEST BET: Divapalooza

Forces of nature

By Diana Nollen

Get ready Elkader. Your opera house is about to need a new roof.

The Divas will shiver your timbers and raze your rafters. Toupees, wigs and hats will land somewhere in Canada or Kansas, depending on which way the winds blow.

Each is a force of nature on her own. Together, they're explosive.

Woodstock rocker Jane Pini of Mechanicsville, her daughter and blues belter Janelle Lauer of Cedar Rapids and cabaret queen Lynne Rothrock of Cedar Rapids are heading your way.

They'll be hitting the Elkader Opera House stage, 207 N. Main St., at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 8, 2010. Reserved seat tickets are $15, available by calling (563) 873-2378 or e-mailing tickets@icsbbs.com

Pini and Lauer perform regularly with SPT Theatre, a troupe this mother-daughter duo helped establish in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. Both have sung with other bands and had leading roles at Theatre Cedar Rapids and various area stages.

Rothrock spent more than 20 years bringing her sass and class to cabarets in Nashville, Cape Cod, Chicago and Minneapolis. She and her husband, Iowa Blues Hall of Fame guitarist Ron DeWitte, have been hitting the high seas, as well, performing on cruise ships in exotic locales.

DeWitte will join the Divas in this dynamite concert, along with other local megawatt musicians Gerard Estella on keyboards, Dave Ollinger on bass and Greg Kanz on drums.

Elkader, you won't know what hit you. But you'll be glad it did. For a sneak peek, go to http://lynnerothrock.com/divapalooza.html

Road-trip anyone?