Nature takes the stage at next Symphony concert

The often-mesmerizing beauty of nature is put to music in the Peoria Symphony Orchestra’s next concert, titled “Nature’s Majesty,” to be performed Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Peoria Civic Center Theatre.

Featuring the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Williams and Jean Sibelius, “Nature’s Majesty” also will feature solo performances by the PSO’s own concertmaster Marcia Henry Liebenow on violin and Micjael Dicker on the bassoon.

Speaking about the music, Symphony conductor and music director George Stelluto said, “Our connection to nature is utterly primal. Nature was the source of our survival, our existential challenges, and our sense of awe from the moment we became cognizant beings. Its beauty, its creative and destructive power, and its sheer sublimity became the font of our first wonderment's, our first superstitions, and our first spiritual explorations. It was natural for us to want to empathize with it, to explain it, to control it.

“Whether through science, mythology, or art, nature initiated humanity's creative genius - from cave paintings to  shamans' tales to stone tools. And, nature continues to inspire us. Even now, as celestial travelers, our science, science fiction, and art-forms continue to explore the majesty and mystery of nature. And so we take three wonderful musical journeys on Nov. 22 to experience nature through music's ineffable magic of description, suggestion, and inspiration,” he said.  

Stelluto said Ralph Vaughan Williams' “The Lark Ascending” was inspired by the pastoral poetry of George Meredith. “In a tender irony, Vaughan Williams wrote it while watching troops embarking from England for the Great War - begun only 100 years ago this year. Both the poetry and the music soar effortlessly, mesmerizing us with the peaceful beauty of nature in harmony,” he said.

Liebenow plays the part of the Lark. “After hearing this bucolic masterpiece, one cannot help but look at nature with a deeper appreciation and care. Marcia's violin itself is a collaborative effort between humanity and nature - centuries in the making. From ancient lands and forests, human hands created an instrument that gives voice to the wood through her caring hands - much as the earliest cave dwellers may have carved instruments from wood and bone and paid homage to nature,” Stelluto said.

John Williams' “Five Sacred Trees” was written to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic. “You will create your own images as you listen to this virtuoso work for bassoon and orchestra. (Dicker) is out shaman for the evening, telling the story and showing the glory of this enchanted musical forest as if his instrument was hewn from those very woods,” Stelluto said.

Sibelius wrote his “Symphony No. 5”  as a government commission for an important Finnish national holiday - his 50th birthday, Stelluto said. “Imagine your birthday being declared a national holiday - while you are still alive!”

Stelluto will present a pre-concert lecture about the music at 7 p.m. and there will be a reception after the concert in the theater lobby.

Tickets are on sale for Saturday’s concert and start at $29. They can be purchased online at www.peoriasymphony.org, by phone at (309) 671-1096, at the PSO box office at 101 State St. in Peoria, which is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and noon to 2 p.m. the day of the concert. They also can be purchased at the Civic Center Theatre box office at 7 p.m. the night of the concert.

'Shape of Things' opens Friday at Corn Stock Winter Playhouse

How much would any of us be willing to change ourselves to please another person, particularly one with whom we’re in love? That question is probably as old as mankind itself but not easy to answer until one is in that position.

It’s also the question playwright Neil LaBute explored in his 2001 drama “The Shape of Things,” which opens Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Corn Stock Theatre’s Winter Playhouse in Upper Bradley Park.

The route LaBute takes to get to the answer from his four characters is typical of his other offerings in that it disturbs, angers and even shocks the audience, said Chris Gray, who directs the Corn Stock show that continues Saturday night and again next Thursday through Saturday evenings and the matinee on Sunday, Nov. 23.

The way LaBute studies the human condition is one of the chief reasons Gray, who is making his Corn Stock Theatre directorial debut, agreed to take it on when the original director was forced to pull out because of personal reasons. Because it was LaBute and because it was at Corn Stock’s Winter Playhouse, “it really wasn’t a very tough decision,” Gray said.

That despite the fact rehearsals began only two days after he closed the musical “Avenue Q” at Illinois Central College, where he is dean of arts and communication. Not to mention he is trying to complete his doctorate.

“I believe in the work they do over here at this theatre. The types of shows they do (at the Winter Playhouse) are my type of shows, good drama and comedy pieces that look at the human condition. Add to that it was Neil LaBute, with whom I am very familiar and I was excited to take it on,” he said.

“This is a strong character study piece, which LaBute is known for. He explores that dark side that exists in all of us and he highlights it in an enthralling way. We all can see ourselves in some of his characters and perhaps that’s why we really dislike what the characters do, but we seem to be able to forgive the rotten stuff,” Gray said.

“The Shape of Things” is about four students at a small, fictitious Midwestern College and focuses on Adam, an average guy who falls so hard for Evelyn he agrees to change his looks and even his personal traits in order to keep her interested.

Another couple is in the mix, as well, serving as temptations and possible foils as Adam and Evelyn grow closer together.  

There is “a big reveal” at the end of the play, but Gray refused to divulge it for this story.

In “The Shape of Things,” Gray said he found the characters to be similar to people he knew while going to college in the 1990s. “I knew people like that. Probably all of us did. We didn’t always like them, though,” he said.

Gray said his cast has been a pleasure. “They are awesome. I wasn’t sure what I was going to have because the original director had already picked the cast before I came on board. Kudos to him because they are great. He did a good job. These actors came in with experience and knew the basics of acting. They had already started studying their characters,” he said.

Adam is portrayed by Andrew Rhodenbaugh, a Corn Stock veteran who also is a founding members of the theatre group called The Great Work Begins.

Evelyn is portrayed by Rebekah Dentino, who wowed audiences as the daughter in “Next to Normal” at the Winter Playhouse two years ago.

Alex Buchko, who was assistant choreographer for “Spamalot” at Corn Stock’s tent this summer and who has performed in many summer shows there, portrays Jenny in her Winter Playhouse debut.

Cody Cornwell makes his Corn Stock debut as Phil. He is a recent graduate of the theatre program at ICC, where he portrayed Gordon Gottlieb in “Dead Man’s Cell Phone.”

Gray hopes to direct more shows at Corn Stock Winter Playhouse in the future. “This is the type of theatre I think is important. I consider myself a story teller. I love telling stories and theatre is the way I do it. That’s how I approach directing and acting. I love to engage the audience in the story,” he said.

“The Shape of Things” has adult themes and language.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students. They can be reserved by calling 676-2196 or online at www.cornstocktheatre.com.

This weekend Corn Stock is offering two adult tickets for the price of one.

Frizzi: What a Difference a Year Makes

I was walking out to my car one evening this past week. There were snow flurries and the ground was covered with a thin rug of snow. We had been hit with an early cold snap, apparently the result of another polar vortex.

“Sure is cold out here!” said a person who walked past me. “I wish it was a lot warmer!”

A year ago, it was a lot warmer in November. The temperature was in the 70s a year ago, on Sunday, Nov. 17. That’s when the area was hit by a horrible set of storms, one of which was an EF-4 tornado that wreaked havoc in the small town of Washington, Illinois.

The twister barnstormed its way northwest, trashing a golf course and leveling an AutoZone store while leaving the TSC store directly behind it without a scratch. It then proceeded to lay waste to a whole suburb before stripping barren a ranch house of roof and brick on Main Street. It turned a wooden farm house and barn into splinters before it crossed Highway 24. It narrowly missed the Crossroads United Methodist Church, which would become sanctuary for hundreds of homeless. First aid and insurance trailers would occupy church’s parking lot for the next several weeks.

The farm land around the area looked like a junk yard. Piles upon piles of debris that used to be furniture in homes were cleared off of Main Street. A chain link fence acted as a strainer, capturing shreds and shards.

My wife Heddy and I live in Washington, just a block off the town square. I saw the tornado from the front porch of my house. It was just behind the water tower. I still see it when I look at the water tower. Astoundingly, there were only three casualties. Most of the homes were empty because their occupants were at church.

That was just one year ago.

Since then, this town has lived up to its new slogan, “Washington Strong.” Those signs were everywhere. So were the black and orange t-shirts. Both told the world that Washingtonians were battered and bruised but not beaten. They would rebuild.

It was like the scene from the movie “Going My Way” when the church burned down. The long-time parish priest, played by Barry Fitzgerald, watched his whole life vanish before his bespectacled eyes. His assistant, played by Bing Crosby, tried to comfort him. While looking into the flames, Bing told the old Father, “Don’t worry, we’ll build again!”

Washington did exactly that.

This Saturday, Heddy and I went out about town and ran our errands. We decided to stop by Cummins Family Restaurant. We like to belly up to the counter and get our breakfast.

Cummins Family Restaurant is on Peoria Street. It missed getting smacked by the tornado by about a block. Fortunately it was between shifts when the tornado plowed by, so the restaurant was not packed. The staff took shelter in the bathrooms.

Nearby, the La Gondola restaurant was battered. The Georgetown Apartments directly behind it lost the upper level. Then, the tornado barreled across Peoria Street and blew out the windows of the John Bearce Auto dealership before it headed toward the subdivision.

Tornadoes are random like that.

So, on the way back home, Heddy and I drove through the subdivision to check out the progress. I would drive through from time to time, to see how things were going.

It looked like the creation of a whole new subdivision. Going up Dallas Road, through Kingsbury, Westminster, Devonshire and over to Cruger Road, we saw new houses springing up like a crop of spring corn. Many of the homes that weren’t quite leveled had new windows.

The best sight was signs on the homes that proudly proclaimed that “The Smith’s Are Home! Washington Strong!” For the most part, the families stayed and rebuilt. They had been relocated into rental property for the past year.

We did see a couple of “For Sale” signs. We assumed the owners had purchased a home elsewhere in the area and rebuilt on their property to sell.

Sadly, there were a couple of vacant lots here and there. All that was left was a foundation and driveway with the hope that someone will come and build again.

The day the tornado hit, I went over to the subdivision to volunteer. I found myself at what was left of a house on Hampton Road.

I ended up helping a man who was helping his son salvage some clothes for his granddaughters. His son was standing on the rubble that was his daughter’s bedroom. The room was tilted at a 30 degree angle. The little girl’s father was pulling wet, soiled clothing out of drawers and a closet, putting them into any type of container he could find; he handed it to his father, who handed it to me and another person, who walked it out to a pickup truck. Footing is bad when you walk on rubble. I picked up a scraped up scale model Dale Earnhardt car and put it into a bag with some laundry. A Tony Stewart model was badly damaged, so they told me to leave it. The son’s van was parked on the far side of his pile of house.

I was hoping they had rebuilt. I wasn’t sure of the exact address but on his side of Hampton, there were two vacant lots. I think one was his former home and wondered how he and his family were doing.

I found a green battered softball in the street and took it home. I hope that isn’t considered looting. I’m looking at it right now. It has the name “Leonard” written on it.

The brick ranch house on Main Street near the church has been torn down. A new one has replaced it, complete with a brand new barn. The lot across the street, where the old wooden farm house and barn used to be, has long since been cleared. Weeds sprout on the site. The driveway is the only reference point left.

The farmland on both sides of Main Street has been cleared. Crops were able to be planted and harvested, although the land behind the brick ranch house was considerably littered. The land directly to the left of the house could not be used for planting. Throughout the year, volunteers, like farm workers, would pick a harvest of tornado trash from the field. Next year, the field should yield a more productive crop.

Personally, I’m a warm weather type of guy. I dislike the bone chilling cold of November. But not this November! Let it get cold. Let the wind sting my face. Let it snow, but not too much. My snow blower is still in the shop!

Because that’s what weather is supposed to be like in Washington, Illinois in November.

FrizziToon: What a washout!