Sound the trumpets!

After 12 years in the making Museum Square completed and open

Like trumpeting the start of something great, a locomotive blasted its horn loudly and often while moving slowly on the tracks on Peoria's river front. It seemed it was about to threaten ribbon cutting ceremonies for the new Peoria Riverfront Museum and Caterpillar's Visitors Center.

The locomotive, painted mostly a familiar shade of yellow and towing a few flatbeds holding Caterpillar machines, stopped. From the cab an arm waved at the throng gathering for the ribbon cutting ceremony, then people began descending from the locomotive.

It was Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman, his wife Diane and a couple other company executives, arriving in grand style upon a Caterpillar-owned locomotive to help open Museum Square in the cool fog Saturday morning.

"This is an eventful day for Caterpillar, an eventful day for our community," Oberhelman said minutes later from the podium under a tent pitched between the two buildings. Seated around him or in front of him were local, state and national dignitaries, including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, as well as many who made the day happen through their work.

"What would Peoria be without Caterpillar," asked LaHood, who was Peoria's 18th District Congressman when work on Museum Square started. It was LaHood, in fact, who pulled together, more than 12 years ago, the leaders from many public and private sector organizations to figure out how best to make it happen.

"We worked around the idea that with Caterpillar and everything else in the region we had so much history to share we needed to do it all in one place. The fact we came together and provided this opportunity was really all about the leadership we have in our community," LaHood said.

The ribbons for each building were cut at the end of the hour-long ceremony and an hour before the doors to the Peoria Riverfront Museum and the Caterpillar Visitors Center opened to the public. By then the fog had burned off, sunshine was intermitten and people began arriving to see what all the fuss created the past several years — and in recent weeks by numerous television commercials and advertising — was all about.

It didn't take long before opinions, all positive, were formed.

"Impressive. I guess if I had to pick one word, that would be it," said one man who had just completed a portion of a tour through the Caterpillar center, his young daughter close at hand. "She sure has enjoyed it."

Indeed, it seemed in both buildings children were having fun as they got to enjoy interactive displays, including those offered at the Peak Performance Center at the museum. Sponsored by the Illinois High School Association the Peak Performance Center enables people to test their skills in several areas, from athletic (arm strength, jumping ability) to tactical (chess knowledge) to academic (quizzes).

Younger kids were enjoying Discovery World, an interactive area for kids up to age 6 where they can crawl through an obstacle course, build things or do other activities meant to enhance creativity and vocabulary and motor skills.

At the Caterpillar center, kids of all ages crawled into the cabs of various machines and pretended they were moving dirt, digging holes or whatever their imaginations allowed.

One little girl ran from one machine to another, trying perhaps to see if she could reach the pedals and gears on any of them. He dad, a Caterpillar employee, was surprised to learn there was a whole other building next door, the museum. "I thought this was it. We'll have to check that out," he said.

There was plenty for adults to enjoy, as well, in each building. A popular attraction in the museum was the International Features Gallery, which for the time being has numerous pieces of art by local residents. "It is really neat to look at all these great pieces of art and to know the people who did them. I mean, these are all names we know, people we see all the time," said State Sen. Dave Koehler while walking through the gallery with his wife, Nora Sullivan.

People enjoyed The River, an exhibit that discussed the history of the Illinois River District and invites exploration of the river's three major ecosystems. It includes a display that demonstrates how the river's lock-and-dam system works and why it's necessary, the types of fish and wildlife that can be found in or around the river and even the type of hunting that is popular.

The Street exhibit drew acclaim for its depiction of Peoria through the years, including facts given by people wearing costumes from the period. Some got a laugh from seeing one of the actors, dressed in clothing from the days Peoria was a big whiskey distilling city, talking on his cell phone.

"This is really something. I'll tell you, I never though I'd see something like this in a town this size," said a man at the museum who explained he'd been able to get an earlier look at the Caterpillar center. "I can't wait to bring some out-of-town guests down here."

Several speakers at the opening ceremony talked about how Museum Square was poised to become a destination spot for tourists and visitors from all over. Caterpillar officials have talked about the visitors the company gets from around the world and the pride they will have while showing off the new buildings to those visitors.

David Ransburg, chairman of the Riverfront Museum board, said Museum Square will be Peoria's "window to the world." Combined, he added, "this is going to be a block like no other in the world."

Current Mayor Jim Ardis and Peoria County Board Chairman Tom O'Neill spoke about the collaboration of the various government and business organizations. "It is sometimes challenging to get something done in the city of Peoria, but we did it. We got it done," said Ardis.

"This is only going to build on more. This area is going to be thriving again," said O'Neill.

U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, the Peoria Republican who replaced LaHood in the 18th District four years ago, said Museum Square "stands as a monument to what can be accomplished when we all come together."

Jim Richerson, the president and CEO of the new Peoria Riverfront Museum who came to Peoria 12 years ago with the task of expanding Lakeview Museum (which closed and moved to the new museum), named all the partners involved in making Museum Square happen.

Besides Lakeview Museum and Caterpillar, they include the Peoria Historical Society, the Illinois High School Association, the African American Hall of Fame Museum, the Peoria Regional Museum Society, the Nature Conservancy and Heartland Foundation.

"This unique cultural corporate campus demonstrates where we've been and how far we've come. It shows the world our stage," Richerson said.

Paul Gordon is editor of The Peorian. He can reached at 692-7880 or editor@thepeorian.com

Angry men take the stage at Peoria Players

Classic drama "Twelve Angry Men" opens Friday at Peoria Players Theatre; seven performances set

"Twelve Angry Men," the classic drama about a jury of 12 men deciding the fate of a young man accused of murdering his father, opens Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Peoria Players Theatre.

The play is set in the mid-1950s, when jurors were made up only of men, and tells the story of how one juror holds out on convicting the accused and tries to convince the others there is reasonable doubt. Tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for patrons 18 and under.

When community theatre groups talk about what shows to schedule, the discussion inevitably turns to "Twelve Angry Men" when dramas are brought up. Yet, it's not a show that gets produced very often in central Illinois.

Drama fans will get the chance to see the play written by Reginald Rose starting Friday, when it opens at Peoria Players Theatre on North University Street. It continues through seven performances, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and on Oct. 11, 12 and 13. Matinees will be at 2 p.m. Sunday and on Oct. 14.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for students 18 and under and can be purchased by calling 688-4473 or visiting www.peoriaplayers.org.

"Twelve Angry Men" is a drama about 12 jurors who must decide the guilt or innocence, and thus the death penalty, of a young Mexican man accused of murdering his father. When the play opens, only one of the 12 jurors refuses to cast a guilty verdict. Throughout the play he remains open to being convinced of the young man's guilt while also demonstrating to the other jurors how there could be reasonable doubt about some of the evidence.

A verdict in the case must be unanimous among the 12 jurors.

Originally produced in 1954 and made into a well-known feature film starring Henry Fonda and a stellar cast of actors in 1957, the play will be presented in that period when only men served on juries, said co-directors Mike Decker and Amy Williams.

In fact, they said, there was never any thought given to bringing it up to date.

"We really didn't see a reason to do that. We wanted to go with everything the author intended and the themes of the play are still relevant today," Williams said.

The recurrent themes in "Twelve Angry Men" is prejudice. It comes out not only in how many of the jurors feel about the accused — his race and his youth — but also in how they feel about witnesses and about each other as the tense deliberations continue. "We all carry prejudices whether we want to admit it or not and we have to face those prejudices. That's what we see in this show," Williams said.

"The prejudices really start to emerge through their arguments about the accused boy's guilt or innocence. They begin to recognize their own prejudices. We think a lot of audience members may recognize themselves and realize they can change their behavior," Decker said.

The set has the appearance of the 1950s, with a large wood table for the jurors, wood chairs, drab paint, old-looking windows and even fluorescent lights dropped from the ceiling and hanging directly over the table. An old oscillating fan is on a shelf in one corner and, of course, it doesn't work. Decker designed and built the set.

Costumes appear to be from the period, as well.

The cast of 14, which includes a judge and bailiff, is mostly Peoria area theater veterans. They include Curt Rowden, who portrays juror number 8, the one who sets about trying to make the others realize there is enough reasonable doubt to acquit the accused. Bill Murphy plays the main protagonist in the cast. Other jurors are Brad Johnson, who plays the jury foreman and is in his first play, Steve Post, Tim Popp, Matt Stubbs, Alex Larson, Charles Brown, Fred Schoen, Jim Willard, Michael Wohl and Sean Howell.

Guy Sandy is the bailiff and Homer Dewey portrays the judge.

"We are very pleased with the cast we have. It's a nice mix of actors and they have come together well," Williams said.

"This is just an awesome show to be part of," added Decker. He said he and Williams decided to submit it together one night when sitting around the dressing room during an earlier play discussing what shows they would like to direct.

"This one kept coming up. So we decided to try and do it together. It has worked well. It has been a lot of fun," he said.

Originally the play had the numeral in the title, "12 Angry Men," and was written as a television play, then adapted for the stage.

It has been renamed for some productions as "Twelve Angry Jurors" or "Twelve Angry Men and Women" when brought up to date with men and women both cast as jurors.

Paul Gordon is editor of The Peorian. He can be reached at 692-7880 or editor@thepeorian.com

How the arts help

Arts study shows economic bright picture; Leunigs named ArtsPartners of the Year                

The Peoria-area's arts and culture sector pring in more than $20 million a year on average from audiences and support more than 850 full-time equivalent jobs, according to a new study unveiled Wednesday.

Arts Alliance of Illinois, which conducted the study known as "Arts and Economic Prosperity", released the findings during the annual meeting of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois.

The arts and culture sector contributes an average of $20.4 million to the Peoria-area economy each year, according to a new study released Wednesday by Arts Alliance Illinois and Americans for the Arts.

That sector also supports 850 full-time equivalent jobs generating $18.6 million in household income to area residents and produces $2.2 million in local and state government revenue, said the Arts & Economic Prosperity IV study released during the ArtsPartners of Central Illinois annual meeting at the Water House.

The study also showed cultural tourists who come to Peoria for arts events spend twice as much per person on average — $26.82 compared with $13.45 — as those who live in the Greater Peoria area, fueled largely by the expected disparity in overnight lodging expenses and money spent on meals and transportation.

"What this study shows is that the arts energize the Greater Peoria area," said Ra Joy, executive director of Arts Alliance Illinois, who attended the ArtsPartners meeting to deliver the report.

"This study unequivocally demonstrates the value of investments in the arts and cultural sector. Despite the recession, arts and cultural organizations were major contributors to the Greater Peoria Area's economy. The arts sector puts people to work in Peoria and is a magnet for attracting talent, tourists and investment to the region," Joy said.

The study said that nearly half of those interviewed for Arts & Economic Prosperity said they would travel to different location for similar cultural experiences if they were not offered in the Peoria region.

A key part of the study was the measure of impact to the local economy and workforce. The $20.4 million spent on average includes $14.8 million in direct spending by the arts and cultural organizations and $5.6 million by their audiences.

Of the latter, nearly $2 million is spent on meals, by far the largest source of revenue from audiences. Another $600,000-plus is spent on refreshments and snacks. More than $818,000 in spent on ground transportation, more than $750,000 on souvenirs and gifts, and $529,000-plus on overnight lodging. The rest is spent on such things as clothing and accessories, child care and miscellaneous items, the study showed.

None of that spending, it added, includes the price of admission to the various arts and cultural events.

The average money spent by cultural tourists appears low but is skewed by such factors as not everybody stays overnight, eats in restaurants while here, buys souvenirs or pays for ground transportation.

With those factors taken into consideration, the study showed:

• Cultural tourists spent an average of $5.98 a person on overnight lodging while arts and cultural audience members from the Peoria area spent an average of 50 cents per person.
• On ground transportation cultural tourists spent an average of $5.31 a person and local audiences spent $1.67 per person.
• Local audiences spent more, an average of $2.33 a person, on souvenirs and event-related gifts than cultural tourists, $1.49 a person.
• On meals and refreshments cultural tourists spent an average of $10.34 a person while local audiences spent an average of $6.64.

Noting the number of jobs supported by that spending and the household income generated by it — about three times more than the revenue generated by audiences — Joy said, "This shows that the arts and culture are not only food for the soul, but help put food on the table."

Also at the meeting, Doug and Eileen Leunig of Peoria were named the 2012 ArtsPartners of the Year for the work they have done not only as artists, but to promote arts and culture in the region.

The husband-and-wife team, both former Caterpillar Inc. employees who are accomplished photographers, start giving back from their own pockets, donating the net profits of sales of their art through their not-for-profit  organization, Purpose Drive Art, for social and environmental benefit. One such local beneficiary has been the Sun Foundation.

They don't stop there. They do what they can to promote all arts in the Peoria area as well as all artists. They are, for example, curators of the local art exhibit that will be displayed at the new Peoria Riverfront Museum when it opens Oct. 20 and they put together a book called "Art Lives in Central Illinois" that highlights the artists in the museum exhibit.

They were among the drivers of an exhibit featuring the works of nearly 200 local artists called Vernissage, open now through Nov. 16 at Prairie Center of the Arts, 1506 SW Washington St. They also were instrumental in establishing the Central Illinois Artists Organization, commonly known as CIAO, and that organization's First Friday events that promote local art and artists.

In 2011, the Leunigs were invited to present their production, "100 Good Reasons to support the Arts," at Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C.

"There is no doubt the positive effects of Doug and Eileen Leunig will be felt on the arts community in central Illinois for many years to come. Through their dedication, innovation and tireless efforts in improving and growing the arts, they truly exemplify what it is to be ArtsPartners," ArtsPartners said in announcing the award.

"It's hard to imagine a higher honor for us," Doug Leunig said. "We like to say we are following our bliss. We are doing what we love."

Said Eileen Leunig, "This award is not just about us. Everything we've done has been a collaboration with the community. We're only a part of the picture."

Paul Gordon is editor of The Peorian. He can be reached at 692-7880 or editor@thepeorian.com 

'Laramie Project' festival opens Corn Stock winter season

Plays about the hate crime murder of Matthew Shepard and the effects on a small college town are featured

"The Laramie Project" and "The Laramie Project 10 Years Later" will open Corn Stock Theatre's 2012-2013 Winter Playhouse season on Friday.

To be presented in repertoire, with four performances of each show, it tells the story and the aftermath of the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, who was tied to a fence and beaten because he was gay. The incident eventually led to federal anti-hate crime legislation.

Ask people if they have heard of the play "The Laramie Project" and most of them these days will simply ask what it's about.

Tell them it's about the Matthew Shepard murder and most will nod knowingly and respond with something like, "Oh yeah, the college kid beaten to death because he was gay."

It is, said Tim Wyman, a case that people will always remember in part or in whole because of its horrifying nature when it occurred in Laramie, Wyo. in 1998. And while it did pave the way for federal hate crime legislation, it largely shined light on a national problem that is a long way from being resolved, that of the lack of gay rights.

Still, when Corn Stock Theatre presents "The Laramie Project" and its sequel "The Laramie Project 10 Years Later" starting Friday night at its Winter Playhouse, that problem is secondary to the message that hate harms and often kills.

"This show is about hate and how it affects all of us," said Wyman, who is director of the Corn Stock productions that will be shown in repertoire fashion. "Some plays are subtle with their themes. This one is in your face with its themes and with its messages that we should all stand up for each other, practice tolerance and acceptance of one another regardless of who we are or our sexual preferences or whatever. We're all equal."

Wyman equated the gay rights issue ongoing now with the civil rights movement in the 1960s as gays strive to overcome the prejudices against them to gain the same rights as everbody else. He acknowledges, however, that having rights does not automatically end intolerance or even hate. "It also shows how many people won't stand up and doing anything when they see an injustice being committed. That to me is as big of a crime as the intolerance itself," he said.

Wyman said "The Laramie Project," which he also directed at Corn Stock in 2003, has always spoken to him. "I was bullied in grade school and I have had to watch my daughter be bullied physically and emotionally. It is wrong, just wrong. And people need to be aware that it exists every bit as much today as it ever did," he said.

"The Laramie Project" refers to the decision by playwright Moises Kaufman and others in his company to chronicle the Matthew Shepard case and present it as told to them by the residents of the town who lived through it and its aftermath, including the unfavorable spotlight shone on the town by the media.

"The Laramie Project 10 Years Later" is what the title suggests, a retrospective of the crime and how the town and its residents dealt with it in the decade since it occurred.

Wyman was asked by Corn Stock to direct "The Laramie Project 10 Years Later" to open the Winter Playhouse's 2012-2013 season. He asked if he could do both shows in repertoire to give each a more proper perspective. Because of the suggestions made in the subsequent play that perhaps it wasn't as cut-and-dry of a hate crime as first shown, Wyman said, "I felt it was important to show audiences both shows, if nothing else than to give them a reminder of what it was about from the beginning."

Repertoire means that the two shows will be presented on subsequent nights. "The Laramie Project" will be presented Friday, followed by "10 Years Later" on Saturday. Both shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

On Sunday, they will be shown back-to-back, with about a 30 minute break in between, starting at 2:30 p.m.

Next week, "The Laramie Project" will be presented Wednesday and Friday nights and "The Laramie Project 10 Years Later" will be presented Thursday and Saturday nights. Show times all are 7:30 p.m.

Wyman said Corn Stock is the first theatre in the country to show the two plays in repertoire.

Tickets are $10 for adults and a special price of $2 for students, with a 50 percent discount available for adults for the second show if they purchase a ticket for the other, including for the Sunday shows.

As part of "The Laramie Project" event, a special showing of the HBO film about the play will be presented next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Winter Playhouse theatre. It is free to the public.

Each showing of the plays will be followed by a talk back for the audiences to talk with Wyman and the actors as well as some special guests. On Friday and Saturday nights the guest will be Susan Burk, Laramie Project coordinator for the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

After the Wednesday, Oct. 3 show members of the Bradley University Common Ground Students organization will lead the talk-back discussion.

On Thursday, Oct. 4 discussion will be with Chris Leasor, a member of the Corn Stock cast who was a student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie when the Shepard murder occurred and knows many of the people portrayed in the plays.

On Friday Oct. 5, Peoria psychologist Dr. Tim Drew will discuss "The Psychology of Murderers."

Wyman said "The Laramie Project" remains an important piece of theatre because it brings the debate about hate "into a complete context and show how things can go terribly wrong."

He was referring to the fact that the two young men convicted of murdering Shepard — Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, both of whom were sentenced to life in prison — started out to rob him. They told police the beating occurred when Shepard tried to touch McKinney sexually.

"They robbed this kid in 20 seconds, then spent the next hour beating and torturing him because he was gay. That is a hate crime," Wyman said.

Wyman said the cast he assembled for the two shows has had to learn twice the number of lines as usual but have been up to the task. "They have worked very hard, not only on the lines but on bringing these characters to the stage in a way the audiences will understand what happened. It's a very talented cast with a nice picture of veterans and Corn Stock rookies," he said.

Leasor is now a Peoria resident and a prosecuting attorney. He was a theater student in Laramie when the murder occurred and held one end of a banner in Shepard's memory while marching in a University of Wyoming homecoming parade that year. He has appeared in several Corn Stock productions the last several years.

Other veterans include Dave Cook, Jack Duffy, Helen Engelbrecht, Victoria Kapanje, Bill Liesse, Mollie Huisman, Justin Leuba and Nathan Irwin, who narrates both productions. Newcomers to the Corn Stock stage include Doug Luman, Tim Drury and Justice Parker, who is appearing in her first play of any type.

Wyman said he hopes audiences will leave the Winter Playhouse after seeing the shows feeling challenged. "This plays do that; they challenge people to think about what they've seen and to examine or reexamine their feelings about more than one subject. That's what good theatre will do," he said.

To order tickets in advance call the Corn Stock ticket office at 676-2196.

Paul Gordon is editor of The Peorian. He can be reached at 692-7880 or editor@thepeorian.com