Peoria is a city with a long and rich history.
For many years, The Central Illinois Landmarks Foundation has worked hard to celebrate and preserve the structures that exemplify this history.
The CILF has posted their current list of "Peoria Historic Properties" on their Facebook Page. There are some truly wonderful buildings and awesome photography here. Please take a few minutes to visit the site and be sure to FAN the CILF!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=156478&id=216454314536
As it was stated when the Peoria City Council voted to receive and file this list, it is a work in progress.
And since the document is fluid, please let us know what structures you think should be included that are currently missing from the list.
What are the places in Peoria that really MATTER to you?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Lady Gaga Takes Beyonce For a Ride
Lady Gaga continues to push the envelope and this time she takes Beyonce along for the ride.
The gospel according to Gaga:
"Once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger"
"Trust is like a mirror. You can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that m*f*ing reflection."
Watch more AOL Music videos on AOL Video
The gospel according to Gaga:
"Once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger"
"Trust is like a mirror. You can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that m*f*ing reflection."
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Roy Rogers Riders Club Rules (from 1948)
1. Be neat and clean.
2. Be courteous and polite.
3. Always obey your parents.
4. Protect the weak and help them.
5. Be brave but never take chances.
6. Study hard and learn all you can.
7. Be kind to animals and take care of them.
8. Eat all your food and never waste any.
9. Love God and go to Sunday school regularly.
10. Always respect our flag and our country.
Still good advice 62 years later...
2. Be courteous and polite.
3. Always obey your parents.
4. Protect the weak and help them.
5. Be brave but never take chances.
6. Study hard and learn all you can.
7. Be kind to animals and take care of them.
8. Eat all your food and never waste any.
9. Love God and go to Sunday school regularly.
10. Always respect our flag and our country.
Still good advice 62 years later...
Sunday, March 7, 2010
- Theater Review - Dancing at Lughnasa
As I have said before, the Corn Stock Winter Playhouse season has been simply excellent this year. They have chosen some really great plays.
All the choices have been edgy or seldom presented plays. With so many local groups doing the same things over and over, this line-up has filled a real niche in Peoria's cultural scene and defines what a "lab theater" should be.
Their final drama of the season, "Dancing at Lughnasa", can be summed up in one word....Wow!
This is the tender and engaging story of the five unmarried Mundy sisters living in Ballybeg, Ireland during the fall of 1936.
One of the sisters, Christina, has a young "love child", Michael. The adult Michael serves as the play's narrator.
The other sisters are Kate, the matriarch and bread-winner (Helen Englebrecht); mentally-challenged Rose (Katy Hawley) who along with sister, Agnes (Victoria Kapanjie-Rians) makes hand-knitted gloves for sale, and the free-spirited chef of the household, Maggie (Cheri Beever).
The sisters have recently welcomed home their older brother Jack. Father Jack is a priest who has spent the last 25 years working with lepers in Uganda. He was sent home by the church after abandoning his Catholic faith and embracing the pagan rituals of the African tribe.
The sisters are also visited by Michael's father, Gerry Evans. Gerry is a ne'er-do-well charmer who promises everything and delivers nothing.
There is one other named character in the play. Marconi is the wireless radio that delivers dance-inspiring music into the drab lives of the Mundys.
Nathan Irwin does a fine job as Gerry. Gene Bourke as Father Jack and Hugh Higgins as Michael are both excellent.
As for the Mundy sisters, these five actresses turn in virtually flawless performances. I cannot single out any one of them. Each is a good as the next in this ensemble cast.
This Corn Stock Winter Playhouse season has been a great one for strong female roles, from "The Goat, Or Who is Sylvia" through the deeply emotional women in "The Rabbit Hole", and then to close with this wonderfully rich show featuring FIVE great female characters is just the perfect choice.
"Dancing at Lughnasa" runs through next weekend. Do not miss it.
Thanks to everyone at the Playhouse for such an exceptional season!
All the choices have been edgy or seldom presented plays. With so many local groups doing the same things over and over, this line-up has filled a real niche in Peoria's cultural scene and defines what a "lab theater" should be.
Their final drama of the season, "Dancing at Lughnasa", can be summed up in one word....Wow!
This is the tender and engaging story of the five unmarried Mundy sisters living in Ballybeg, Ireland during the fall of 1936.
One of the sisters, Christina, has a young "love child", Michael. The adult Michael serves as the play's narrator.
The other sisters are Kate, the matriarch and bread-winner (Helen Englebrecht); mentally-challenged Rose (Katy Hawley) who along with sister, Agnes (Victoria Kapanjie-Rians) makes hand-knitted gloves for sale, and the free-spirited chef of the household, Maggie (Cheri Beever).
The sisters have recently welcomed home their older brother Jack. Father Jack is a priest who has spent the last 25 years working with lepers in Uganda. He was sent home by the church after abandoning his Catholic faith and embracing the pagan rituals of the African tribe.
The sisters are also visited by Michael's father, Gerry Evans. Gerry is a ne'er-do-well charmer who promises everything and delivers nothing.
There is one other named character in the play. Marconi is the wireless radio that delivers dance-inspiring music into the drab lives of the Mundys.
Nathan Irwin does a fine job as Gerry. Gene Bourke as Father Jack and Hugh Higgins as Michael are both excellent.
As for the Mundy sisters, these five actresses turn in virtually flawless performances. I cannot single out any one of them. Each is a good as the next in this ensemble cast.
This Corn Stock Winter Playhouse season has been a great one for strong female roles, from "The Goat, Or Who is Sylvia" through the deeply emotional women in "The Rabbit Hole", and then to close with this wonderfully rich show featuring FIVE great female characters is just the perfect choice.
"Dancing at Lughnasa" runs through next weekend. Do not miss it.
Thanks to everyone at the Playhouse for such an exceptional season!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Rube Goldberg Lives!
OK GO pays tribute to Rube Goldberg in their latest video for "This Too Shall Pass".
Saturday, February 20, 2010
- Theater Review - Beauty and the Beast
OK, I confess.
I am a bit prejudiced against this play. It is definitely not one of my favorites and one that I have seen (at least) once too often. While I usually anticipate going to the theater, I spent days actually dreading this one. I considered giving the tickets away, but in the end my friend convinced me to give it a try.
After sitting through it yet again, I have come to the conclusion that it is not such a bad play....
IF YOU ARE ELEVEN YEARS OLD!
The kids in the audience loved the show and why not? It is a special night out, possibly their first theater experience, and a live action version of a favorite cartoon.
But for adults, there just isn't much here. Aside from "Be Our Guest" and the title song, this is a largely forgettable score. The sets and effects were good and actually overpowered the performances. While Belle sang well in the higher range, she missed several of the lower notes. The other players turned in adequate performances, offering no threat to Angela Lansbury.
Let us hope that it will be a long, long time before this beastly show plays Peoria again.
I am a bit prejudiced against this play. It is definitely not one of my favorites and one that I have seen (at least) once too often. While I usually anticipate going to the theater, I spent days actually dreading this one. I considered giving the tickets away, but in the end my friend convinced me to give it a try.
After sitting through it yet again, I have come to the conclusion that it is not such a bad play....
IF YOU ARE ELEVEN YEARS OLD!
The kids in the audience loved the show and why not? It is a special night out, possibly their first theater experience, and a live action version of a favorite cartoon.
But for adults, there just isn't much here. Aside from "Be Our Guest" and the title song, this is a largely forgettable score. The sets and effects were good and actually overpowered the performances. While Belle sang well in the higher range, she missed several of the lower notes. The other players turned in adequate performances, offering no threat to Angela Lansbury.
Let us hope that it will be a long, long time before this beastly show plays Peoria again.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
- Theater Review - Rabbit Hole
The Corn Stock Winter Playhouse continues its stellar 2009-2010 season with "Rabbit Hole" by David Lindsay-Abaire.
This Pulitzer Prize winning play is a dead serious drama about loss and grief and emotional recovery. It is the story of a young couple, Becca and Howie (Mollie Huisman and Tim Wyman) who are dealing with the death of their four-year-old son, Danny. The boy ran after his dog into the street and was struck and killed by a young teenage driver, Jason, played by Tadd Maddalozzo.
Other characters are Becca's newly-pregnant sister Izzy (Katherine Marchetta) and Becca's and Izzy's mother, Nat, played by Connie Sinn. This play is filled with complicated emotions and interactions. Becca and Howie deal with their grief as Becca also deals with the news of her sister's pregnancy, coming so soon after the loss of her own child. We also learn that Becca shares with her own mother the loss of a son, one an innocent 4 year-old; the other a 30 year-old heroin addict who has taken his own life.
A play of this emotional intensity demands a high level of skill and engagement on the part of the actors, and this troupe very nearly delivers. While Tadd Maddalozzo's Jason is decidedly one-dimensional, the others turn in admirable performances. Kathryn Marchetta's Izzy is especially convincing, and Connie Sinn comes through in her delivery of what is perhaps the most important dialogue of the play, an explanation of the grieving process and how its internalization is necessary for survival.
In the end, the performance hits shy of its mark. Perhaps it is the fault of the direction or perhaps this is simply too complex a play to tackle at a local level. However, I am grateful for my first exposure to this exceptionally written piece and I will look forward to seeing it again someday in a professional venue.
This Pulitzer Prize winning play is a dead serious drama about loss and grief and emotional recovery. It is the story of a young couple, Becca and Howie (Mollie Huisman and Tim Wyman) who are dealing with the death of their four-year-old son, Danny. The boy ran after his dog into the street and was struck and killed by a young teenage driver, Jason, played by Tadd Maddalozzo.
Other characters are Becca's newly-pregnant sister Izzy (Katherine Marchetta) and Becca's and Izzy's mother, Nat, played by Connie Sinn. This play is filled with complicated emotions and interactions. Becca and Howie deal with their grief as Becca also deals with the news of her sister's pregnancy, coming so soon after the loss of her own child. We also learn that Becca shares with her own mother the loss of a son, one an innocent 4 year-old; the other a 30 year-old heroin addict who has taken his own life.
A play of this emotional intensity demands a high level of skill and engagement on the part of the actors, and this troupe very nearly delivers. While Tadd Maddalozzo's Jason is decidedly one-dimensional, the others turn in admirable performances. Kathryn Marchetta's Izzy is especially convincing, and Connie Sinn comes through in her delivery of what is perhaps the most important dialogue of the play, an explanation of the grieving process and how its internalization is necessary for survival.
In the end, the performance hits shy of its mark. Perhaps it is the fault of the direction or perhaps this is simply too complex a play to tackle at a local level. However, I am grateful for my first exposure to this exceptionally written piece and I will look forward to seeing it again someday in a professional venue.
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