EntertainmentEntertainment
Checking in at a Hotel of Hilarity at Conklin's
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- Published on Monday, 15 April 2013 12:00
- Written by Paul Gordon
"Out of Order," a comedy by master farce writer Ray Cooney, opens a lseven-week run Thursday at Conklin's Barn II Dinner Theatre in Goodfield.
Bob Lane Jr., a favorite at Conklin's Barn II, stars in the play that runs Thursdays through Sundays from April 18 through June 7.
"Out of Order," from the...
Peoria Symphony to feature Andre Watts in concert
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- Published on Monday, 08 April 2013 17:11
- Written by Paul Gordon
Billed as "the concert of the season," the Peoria Symphony Orchestra will host Andre Watts, the world-renowned pianist, as he performs Beethoven at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Peoria Civic Center Theatre.
Watts will play Beethoven's Piano Concerto 5, "Emperor," as part of the concert, the symphony's penultimate concert of...
Everything's Jake: Watching dog stars
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- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 13:30
- Written by Bill Knight
A handsome two-year-old British lab barreled his way into my heart after I resisted our getting another dog. It was a relationship made in heaven.
Rescued from a shelter in St. Louis, where he not only was picked up a happy but homeless stray, but named Gunther by a well-meaning staffer who might have been a fan of a 5th century Burgundy...
"There was no possibility of taking a walk that day" Our Favorite Books (At the Moment)
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- Published on Friday, 29 March 2013 13:08
- Written by Kevin Kizer
The great thing about our murder of writers here at The Peorian is the diversity in tastes, especially when it comes to book and novels we love. And it would be silly to try and get our writers to select their favorite book of all time. That would be like trying to get a parent to select their favorite child, when everyone knows...
'Godspell' opens Friday at Peoria Players
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- Published on Wednesday, 13 March 2013 16:15
- Written by Paul Gordon
For Cheryl Dawn Koenig, the package can change as long as the contents remain the same.
That's the attitude she took into directing "Godspell" at Peoria Players Theatre for the second time.
Gone is the trademark Superman shirt worn by Jesus and some of the other characterizations...
Knight: "I Wish't I Was In Peoria" should get a new recording
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- Published on Monday, 25 March 2013 12:50
- Written by Bill Knight
Jerry Klein, the dean of central Illinois feature writers let go by the Peoria Journal Star after decades of work (but still churning out thoughtful essays in the weekly Catholic Post) this winter shared a lyric sheet to the classic song "I Wish't I Was in Peoria," written 87 years ago by Broadway's Billy Rose, one of the 20th...
The Night Hollywood Played in Peoria
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- Published on Tuesday, 12 March 2013 13:55
- Written by Kevin Kizer
For a brief moment, on July 14, 1936, Peoria, Ill., was the center of attention for Hollywood and the movie-going public. It was on that date that the Warner Brothers’ movie, Earthworm Tractors, starring Joe E. Brown, premiered in Peoria. It was the first Hollywood movie to premiere outside of Hollywood or New York. And for good reason. The movie was not only based on Caterpillar – its tractors and salespeople – it was also...
“Everybody say ‘Oh yeah!’” Our Favorite Concerts at the Madison Theatre
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- Published on Friday, 15 March 2013 11:31
- Written by Kevin Kizer
The bands and musicians that performed over the years at the Madison Theater ran the gamut in genres and styles – from B.B. King and Ray Charles to Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson to Blink 182 and KORN to Fuel and Fu Manchu to O.A.R and…the list goes on and on.
Sadly, it looks like the Madison Theatre will be meeting its final demise sooner than later. And while that is infuriating to us over here at The Peorian...
Peoria's forgotten "Great Agnostic" getting some attention
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- Published on Monday, 11 March 2013 11:27
- Written by Kevin Kizer
He was revered by a diverse group of people, from Abraham Lincoln (who encouraged him to run for president) to Christopher Hitchens (who quoted him extensively), but yet he is utterly unknown to many people -- even those in his hometown.
Yes, Robert G. Ingersoll was a well-known orator the country over during his heyday in the 1800s and he called Peoria home. What made Ingersoll so famous was his staunch agnosticism (or atheism) and his...
