'Heathers' to open Corn Stock winter season

Nyk Sutter believes all of us, at one time or another, had to deal with a bully or two. Or perhaps we were bullies.

“Either way, most of us will be able to relate to a situation involving bullies and realize it’s all dealing with choices and repercussions. Violence is not the way; it’s never the way,” Sutter said before a dress rehearsal of the musical “Heathers” at Corn Stock Theatre’s Winter Playhouse.

“Being that kid who was bullied and tormented in high school, this show struck me. It’s got a message, and that’s why I submitted it,” he said.

Sutter is directing the show that is making its regional premiere when it opens Friday at the Playhouse in Upper Bradley Park. It is the first show of Corn Stock’s winter season. Show times during the six-show run are 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 12-14 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15.

“Heathers” is a dark comedy that focuses on a high school student named Veronica Sawyer who comes to a new school and starts hanging with a clique of girls all named Heather and all bullies in their own way. But she falls for another student and the Heathers aren’t pleased and they make plans to get rid of Veronica. But the plans backfire in gunfire and havoc ensues.

The music is mostly rock, with some that is reminiscent of musicals from the 1980s, Sutter said. Sutter is using a live, seven-piece band conducted by Dana Sloter.

Songs from “Heathers” include “Fight For Me,” “Dead Girl Walking,” “Blue,” “Our Love is God,” and “Seventeen.”

His cast is a mixture of Corn Stock veterans and newbies, headed by Rebekah Dentino as Veronica. Dentino showed her talent for turning innocence into darkness last year in “Shape of Things” at Corn Stock. “She is Veronica,” Sutter said.

Joey Banks is making his Corn Stock Theatre debut as JD, the boy Veronica falls for who becomes the Heathers’ biggest enemy.

The Heathers are portrayed by a trio of local community performers who makes their names bigger with every role they play. Mariah Thornton is Heather Chandler, the boss lady of the bunch, while Nora Drew is Heather McNamara and Jillian Risinger is Heather Duke. While believing all three are perfect in their roles, Sutter said the biggest surprise may be Risinger. “She plays mean very well, and that is not her personality at all,” he said.

Maggie Sloter, who also was music director for the show, portrays Martha Dunnstock, the student who gets the bulk of the bullying. Madison Boedecker will play Martha Dunnstock in the final performance.

Bullies Ram Sweeney and Kurt Kelly are portrayed by Jake Van Horn and Alex Scranton, respectively. Their fathers are portrayed by Mike Reams and Matt Stubbs, and Sandra Iadipaolo is Miss Fleming/Veronica’s Mom.

This show, Sutter said, has roles that are “the high school stereotypes; geeks, the preppy stud, young Republicanettes, the spastic space case. They are funny. It is a funny show; dark but funny. It is certainly not family friendly,” adding there is gunfire and rough language.

In fact, Sutter said he got signed parental consent before casting the five high students in his cast. “Anybody under 18 had to have their parents’ consent. I felt it was important because of the theme of the show,” he said.

The theme was why the cast performed last Friday during a cabaret at the Waterhouse in downtown Peoria. Proceeds from that show went to the national “Stamp Out Bullying” campaign.

“Everybody had that Heather in school that they had to deal with. This is a show that is really about coming to terms with yourself and learning to make the right choices. It’s about learning that high school and bullies are only temporary and that the beauty of the heart will always prevail. I really believe that and that’s what I want audiences to take away from this show,” Sutter said.

Tickets for “Heathers” are $18 each, $12 for students and can be ordered by calling 676-2196 or visiting www.cornstocktheatre.com. Season tickets for all the winter productions also are sale for $50 each.

Review: 'Bridge of Spies' among Spielberg's best

(8 out of 10 stars)

(141 minutes) 

(Rated PG-13 for some violence and brief strong language.)

The times are a-changing, as they say, because when was the last time the American movie-going audience missed a Steven Spielberg movie opening?  Generally, Spielberg movie premieres generate more buzz than another naked Kardashian, but Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies” opened last weekend in third place in box office revenues behind “The Martian” (already in theaters for 3 weeks), and the kid’s movie “Goosebumps.”

It’s unfortunate that more people are not seeing this film because “Bridge of Spies” is Spielberg’s best work since the vastly underrated “Munich” in 2005. Moreover, I think this movie ranks right up there with other Cold War movie classics like “Hunt for Red October” and “Thirteen Days.”

But I am getting ahead of myself. “Bridge of Spies” is set in 1957 at the very height of the Cold War and tells the story of James Donovan, masterfully played by Tom Hanks, who is an insurance attorney recruited to defend Rudolf Abel, a low-level, yet high-profile Soviet spy who has been captured in Brooklyn, and Donovan’s involvement in Abel’s eventual release in exchange for U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers in 1962.

Wrapped around a five-year biopic snippet of Donovan’s public life, Spielberg does a stunning job of embracing the warmth of the heady June and Ward Cleaver days of the 1950s. He expertly wraps that nostalgia into the angst of potential war with Soviet Russia that permeated American lives, giving the moviegoer an extraordinary look at what it was like to grow up during the Cold War and everything that came with it—from children worried about “ducking and covering” to adults robbing others of their personal freedoms in an effort to crush the red, communist menace.

Hanks, as you would expect, is brilliant in his role. Once again, the Spielberg/Hanks duo gives us another seemingly effortless story that is compelling, layered, uplifting of the human condition.  

Finally starting to show his almost 60 years of age, Hanks plays Donovan with a Jimmy Stewart/Cary Grant style and flair. His character is written as a red-blooded, patriotic, and overly idealistic American attorney who believes, rightly so, in doing the right thing every time. The easy and obvious choice for Hanks would have been to play him as hokey and stiffly serious, but instead he gives us the Hanks charm and wit that makes him always so credible and likeable. It is not an Academy-award performance, simply because he has had better scripted parts. But it is a performance that continues to have him mentioned in the same small group of best film actors of all-time.

The supporting cast, as in any Spielberg film, is equally as good. Soviet spy Rudolf Abel is played by British stage actor, Mark Rylance, and his performance is alone worth the price of admission. His understated delivery and naively innocent expressions shows us the human side of warriors (even without guns, these men who fought the Cold War were soldiers and this fact plays a big part in this story). As an aside, if you have not seen Rylance as Thomas Cromwell in the British mini-series “Wolf Hall” you are missing an exceptional piece—it is that good. 

The other scripted parts of the cast are small and you see a shockingly old Alan Alda in a nothing part, but Scott Shepherd as the primary CIA handler of Donovan is the standout in a standout cast.

However, everything that makes a Spielberg movie a Spielberg movie is there. The script, penned initially by relative newcomer Matt Charman, and then fixed and re-written by Joel and Ethan Coen—yes, of “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men” fame—was for the most part tight, often witty, and intelligent.  The production captured the language and romance of the era and just when I was afraid it was going to turn into a Frank Capra-type courtroom film about doing-the-right-thing and flag-waving, it did not. Those themes were there, the words were said and Spielberg made his point, but he did it in a fresh, innovative manner.

Expansive and lavish sets are a hallmark of Spielberg films, and under the expertise of long-time Spielberg cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (“Saving Private Ryan” and “Schindler’s List”), this is visually stunning movie. The texture of the shots indoors and the stark and bleak sets of East Berlin are rich and detailed. Even 12 years after the Battle of Berlin, the Russians left their quarter of Berlin in ruins, and that extraordinary detail is not missed.

There were some historical elements that were simply wrong, and I can be somewhat forgiving for the sake of Hollywood drama. The Berlin Wall went up almost overnight in August of 1961, not in February 1962 during the Abel-Powers exchange as the movie depicts. Nor were the East Germans in a state of relative revolt either prior to or during its construction—again as the movie suggested—but instead it was a measured response to the “brain-drain” of young, educated individuals emigrating to the West.

On the downside, the film did drag ever so briefly in the short time between Abel’s trial and sentencing as Spielberg and the Coen brothers explored Red paranoia to a small extent, but it quickly moved past it.

Those minor details aside, this is a well-constructed movie that is an entertaining visual feast with a strongly compelling story that moves its plot forward expediently, and documents an important time of our history. 

As the Russians again saber-rattle in 2015 and the Nazi-like ISIS terrorize the Middle East, it is an important film that reminds us of our history, and a time period in many ways that we do not want to repeat.

Go see this movie this weekend. It is well worth your time and movie dollar.

I give this film 8 out of 10 stars.

Winter is coming … got salt?

By Mark Fitton

Illinois News Network

Smaller Illinois cities and counties are hoping for an exceptionally mild winter or a breakthrough in the state budget impasse.

Smaller communities tend to have fewer sources of revenue and often need their share of motor fuel tax money to keep roads clear in the winter, said Brad Cole, executive director of the Illinois municipal League.   

“Many municipalities do, in fact, use these funds to pay for salt, plowing and overtime to help keep the roads safe,” Cole said.

The local government share of motor fuel taxes is being held up by the lack of a fiscal year 2016 state budget.

Illinois taxes gasoline at 19 cents and diesel fuel at 21.5 cents per gallon. Several specific statewide funds named in statute get their cut, and the rest of the fuel tax money is divided for road projects and maintenance, with roughly 46 percent going to the state and 54 percent going to local governments.

Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration says that without a signed appropriation bill, the state has no legal authority to disburse the money. And that’s putting many local officials on edge as the calendar hits November and the state enters its fifth month without a budget.

“The lack of pay-over puts us in an extreme predicament this winter and for the next year as to how we’re going to fund projects and how we’re going to do basic maintenance functions like plowing and patching,” said Freeport Mayor Jim Gitz.

Gitz’s community in northwestern Illinois typically gets upward of $600,000 a year and it will feel the pinch this winter without it, he said.

Tazewell County Engineer Craig Fink said his county has spent conservatively and, as a result, can probably get through the winter without a major scare. But very rural counties and many small townships may be in trouble, he added. “The more rural the community, the more highly dependent it’s going to be on user fees,” he said.

Some of the rural townships probably will head into the winter with zero-balance in accounts they’d normally use to fund salting and plowing, Fink said.

Effingham County Board Chairman Jim Niemann said several truck stops generate a lot of motor fuel tax revenue for his county, and the lack of those and other payments from the state means the county will deplete its financial reserves by the spring if nothing changes.

“If we don’t see some funding out of Springfield, either out of the Local Government Distributive Fund or the Motor Fuel Tax Fund, we’ll be hitting our reserves for certain,” Niemann said.

While the state has been distributing the income tax portion of the Local Government Distributive Fund by way of continuing appropriation, it has not been sending the local-government share of state sales tax. The comptroller needs a separate appropriation to distribute the local-government share of state sales tax, said Rich Carter, spokesman for comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger. To date, the state is holding $38 million in 2016 local-share sales tax revenue.

The Illinois Municipal League is asking local governments to pass resolutions and send letters urging the state’s leaders to release money set aside for local governments. Those funds include the motor fuel tax money, as well as local-government portions of the state’s gambling revenue and money to fund 911 dispatch centers, which is collected via telephone surcharges.

“The dollars we are talking about are not general revenue funds,” said Cole. “These are dollars that do not impact the state general-funds budget. This is pass-through money that is charged locally, collected by the state and then returned to communities.”

The Municipal League supports legislation to release the non-general fund money to local governments. Among the pending legislation that could do that are House Bill 4305 by Rep. Martin Moylan, D-Des Plaines, and House Bill 4320 by Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights.

To date, the Republican governor’s administration has opposed paying out the non-general fund dollars.

“The state lacks the appropriation authority to distribute money in these special funds because the General Assembly failed to pass a balanced budget,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in an emailed statement.

“Governor Rauner also proposed reforms that will help local governments by allowing them more flexibility to make decisions that will best serve their communities,” she said. “Unfortunately, the majority party refuses to consider any of his proposals that would benefit local governments.”

For its part, the Illinois Department of Transportation does have a nearly topped off supply of road salt for the highways it’s obligated to clear.

“We currently have approximately 460,000 tons on hand statewide. That’s just about 100 percent of our available capacity,” IDOT spokesman Guy Tridgell said in an email.

Tridgell said IDOT also has contracts in place to obtain an additional 592,000 tons, if needed, and does not anticipate delivery problems.

The state anticipates its salt needs based on average use from the previous five years. As Illinois winters can vary tremendously, so does the need for road salt.

The state used as little as 235,000 tons in 2011-2012, for instance, but as much as 839,000 tons in 2007-2008, according to IDOT.

Winter is coming … got salt?
Small communities worried by lack of payments

By Mark Fitton
Illinois News Network 

Canoe and kayak trail open

The new Illinois River Canoe & Kayak Trail, built through a joint effort of union volunteers and a charitable foundation, opened Thursday.

The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, armed with a grant from American Water Charitable Foundation’s Building Better Communities initiative, used local union volunteers through its Work Boots on the Ground conservation program to complete the project. The project was opened with a ribbon cutting in Pekin that was co-sponsored by the Sportsmen’s Alliance, Illinois American Water and the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council.

American Water, parent of Illinois American Water, gave the Sportsmen’s Alliance $25,000 for three conservation projects to improve public access to water-based recreation. The other projects are in Tennessee and West Virginia.

“Our partnership with American Water is unique and beneficial to everyone involved,” said Fred Myers, USA CEO and executive director. “By pairing the grant with Work Boots on the Ground, project funding makes a greater impact because superior work from skilled union members is performed on a volunteer basis. This allows grant funds to cover materials, equipment and other project expenses.”

According to a joint news release, the project came to USA and Illinois American Water via award-winning storyteller and author Brian "Fox" Ellis through his work on Greater Peoria Economic Development Council’s Water Resource Team’s Tourism and Recreation committee.  

“The Water Resource Team’s vision for the Illinois River is to raise awareness that this rich wildlife corridor is like a grand Central Park for the entire Midwest to enjoy,” Ellis said. “By linking the towns along the river via a canoe trail we are creating tourist activities and recreation opportunities. This collaboration is an important step toward realizing our vision of getting people out on the water so they can connect with the inherent value of this gorgeous river.”

The Illinois River Road Canoe Trail provides 12 scenic stations for paddlers to use as launch points or rest stops, with flood-resistant benches and commemorative signs with attached eyelets for tethering small watercraft. The ability to stop and rest will help people tackle longer, safer voyages and make it easier for young paddlers to enjoy the river. 

After getting the grant, the Sportsmen’s Alliance organized skilled union volunteers from the West Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council to complete Ellis’ vision, the release said.

"Partnering with Illinois American Water, the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council and the Union Sportsmen's Alliance to complete the water trail was a great experience,” said Marty Helfers, executive director of the West Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council. “The Carpenters Apprenticeship School built the benches, and union members from nearly every trade donated their time to install the benches and signs along our amazing river, which will showcase the union building trades’ commitment to the community and put our value on display every day."

The USA’s mission to unite the union community through conservation to preserve North America’s outdoor heritage goes hand-in-hand with American Water Charitable Foundation’s ongoing commitment to being a good neighbor in the communities it serves, the release said. This sort of alignment makes the partnership successful and paves the way for more collaborative projects ahead.

“Our employees in union-represented jobs are among the most talented and skilled professionals in the nation, and we are very excited to provide support to Work Boots on the Ground projects that will enhance the outdoor experience of our customers, our employees and their families,” said Darlene Williams, American Water Charitable Foundation president.