Peoria’s All-America City video released! And you can help the city win!

On Monday morning at the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s Giant Screen Theater, Peoria’s All-America City team released its video submission for the All-America City competition on June 14 in Denver, Colo. Over 250 people participated in the video, lip synching to Rod Stewart’s “Forever Young,” in various locations throughout the city.

The video is a critical part of the competition, which includes a 10-minute face-to-face presentation in Denver. The All-America City committee will consider how many YouTube “likes” the video receives leading up to the presentation. And those “likes” will count in the final scoring.

So here’s how you can get involved: like the video (on YouTube) and share it with other “like-minded” friends. It’s a small way to help Peoria be recognized once again as an All-American City.

'Music Man' to open Corn Stock summer season

It seems like many people have a personal reason for loving the musical "The Music Man" and for wanting to be part of it whenever a local community theatre stages it.

That's the case with the timeless musical that will open Corn Stock Theatre's 60th season under the tent at Upper Bradley Park on Friday.

For director Peggy Hupp, it was during an earlier production of "The Music Man" that she began dating her husband Ken Hupp.

For Amanda Humphreys, who portrays leading lady Marian Paroo in the Corn Stock production, "The Music Man" was the first play she ever saw and it was then she knew Marian the Librarian would be her dream role.

For others, the Meredith Willson classic made most famous by Robert Preston and Shirley Jones in the 1962 film by the same name is simply the most fun one can have at a theatre, said Cindy Hoey, manager of Corn Stock Theatre.

"It was the perfect choice for opening this season," Hoey said. " 'The Music Man' is one of the most popular musicals ever and we wanted this season, our 60th season under the tent, to be kind of a celebration of what we've done in the past."

"The Music Man" opens the season Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $18 for adults and $12 for students and they can be reserved by calling 676-2196.

The show boasts a cast of veterans and several family units staging the popular musical, said director Hupp. "With a cast of 70, it's definitely a family show and a lot of fun," she said.

Hupp said she jumped at the chance to direct "The Music Man" because of its meaning to her. Not only did she and Ken start dating during the 2010 production of the show at Peoria Players, "The Music Man" was the first show she saw at Corn Stock, when it was done in 1965.

"Ever since then I've loved the music and dialogue. It's happy, it's witty. Every generation of performer gets excited for this show. You just can't get this kind of music anymore," she said.

Seasoned actor Charles Brown portrays Harold Hill, the fast-talking con man. "He doesn't miss a beat and some of that music can be tough," Hupp said.

Brown said "The Music Man" is one of his favorites. "I have always loved this show and considered it the nearly perfect musical. Roles for children, teens, middle age and older people... males and females... funny, serious, romantic... great music. Yes, it is one of my favorites," he said.

In Humphreys, Hupp said, she found "one of the most sweet and most realistic Marians I've seen. She is such a pleasure to watch.

Humphreys, who mesmerized audiences two seasons ago when she sang "Memory" during the Corn Stock product of "Cats," said she enjoys the fact her songs as Marian Paroo are almost all ballads. "There are some beautiful songs in this show that are so fun to sing. In fact, 'Goodnight My Someone' is the song I've always sung to my kids at bedtime," she said.

Other chief cast members include Bryan Blanks as Harold Hill's sidebick Marcellus Washburn, Jaret Ledford as Winthrop Paroo, Roz Helms as Mrs. Paroo, Dave Schick and Amy Wyckoff and Mayor and Eulalie Shinn, Rose Blume as Zaneeta Shinn, Ryan Foulk as Tommy and Anja Olsen as Amaryllis.

The 10-piece orchestra and the show music are directed by Adam Windish, with choreography by Michelle Loeffler and costumes by Sara Blume.

The 2013 season

"We think this is going to be a wonderful season. Just look at the slate. It's a family friendly season for sure, with great music, dancing, a timeless comedy with a professional actor performing with us. It will be fun," Hoey said.

The slate of shows is why, she added, season ticket sales are up from last year. Season tickets are still $66 apiece and can be purchased by calling the Corn Stock box office at (309) 676-2196.

"The Music Man" will run from Friday through Saturday, June 8. Individual show tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for students and are on sale now. Show time is 7:30 p.m. each night.

"The Music Man" is the story of Prof. Harold Hill, a con man who comes into River City to sell the children and their parents on the idea of a school band, complete with instruments and uniforms they are quick to give him money to buy. Hill intends to abscond with the money without delivering the goods; that is, until he falls in love with Marian Paroo.

Songs from the show include "Ya Got Trouble," "Gary, Indiana," "Marian the Librarian," Goodnight My Someone," "My White Knight," "The Wells Fargo Wagon," "Till There Was You," and "76 Trombones."

The second show of the season is the comedy "The Foreigner," which is scheduled for June 21 through June 29. Individual tickets for this show, a non-musical, are $12 for adults and $10 for students and will go on sale June 10.

Written by Larry Shue, "The Foreigner" tells the story of a British man named Charlie pretending to be a non-English-speaking foreigner in order to stay out of trouble when visiting the south with another British friend. The southerners, believing he can't understand them, don't hesitate to tell secrets in front of him.

Highlighting the show will be the performance of guest artist Steve Vinovich as Charlie, a role he has played professionally.

A native of Peoria, Vinovich has performed on Broadway and in many professional theatre venues as well as in many films and on television.

"Bringing Steve in as a guest artist is sort of our anniversary gift to our patrons. We wanted to do something special for our anniversary season and it was a happy coincidence that Steve was going to be in town for his high school reunion this summer," Hoey said.

"The Foreigner" also will mark the return to directing of Jeff Sloter, a Corn Stock veteran whose job kept him from directing for many years. A personal friend of Vinovich, he was asked to return for this show.

In the third slot "Anything Goes" will be staged July 12 through July 20. Individual tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for students and will go on sale July 2.

Directed by Travis Olson, it is the type of show, with a lot of big dance numbers (choreographed here by Erica Franken) that works well in Corn Stock's middle slot, Hoey said. "We specifically look for a fun musical with a lot of dancing for the third slot and 'Anything Goes' certainly is that," she said.

The popular Cole Porter musical with such songs as "Anything Goes," "You're the Top" and "I Get a Kick Out of You" the show is about the antics of several people about an ocean liner on its way from New York to London. There's a stowaway in love with an heiress, a nightclub singer and her dancers and the gangster hiding from the law.

In the fourth slot "The Wiz" will make its Corn Stock Theatre debut Aug. 2 through Aug. 10. Tickets will be $18 for adults and $12 for students and will go on sale July 22.

Directed by Bryan Blanks, "The Wiz" is a pop musical version of "The Wizard of Oz" with a mostly African American cast in the lead roles. The 1978 film adaptation starred Diana Ross as Dorothy and featured Richard Pryor as The Wiz and Michael Jackson as the scarecrow.

"It's no secret we've been trying to diversify with our shows, our casts and our audiences and last year's success of "Hairspray," with a very diverse cast, showed how well being diverse helps the theatre. We wanted to capitalize on that and bring some of those very talented performers back this summer," Hoey said.

In the fifth slot the musical "Company" will take the stage Aug. 23 through Aug. 31. Tickets will be $18 for adults and $12 for students and will go on sale Aug. 12.

Directed by Nate Downs, "Company" is a look at relationships told through the life of bachelor Robert, his relationships and those of his married friends. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, the musical is done in a series of vignettes linked by Robert's 35th birthday party.

"This is the first time we've done 'Company' in the tent but it was done before at the Winter Playhouse. It's a smaller musical and it's more adult and sophisticated," Hoey said.

"It's going to be a great season. We're anxious to get started," she said.

Bookmobile returning to the road

The Peoria Public Library Bookmobile will soon be back in service after more than five months off the road because of library budget problems, the library announced Friday.

The library said the Bookmobile will resume running Monday, June 10 and will run a summer schedule through Aug. 30. The fall and winter schedules are not yet set, said Trisha Noack, manager of public relations for Peoria Public Library.

"We are excited we can get the Bookmobile on the street again," Noack said. "The Bookmobile may not be the most cost-effective way to deliver library services but for some people, it is the only way to get library services."

The Bookmobile was parked in a garage at the North Branch at the start of the year because of budget constraints. Noack said the library took a $600,000 hit on its budget this year because of cuts by the city and lower property tax revenues. "Recently we were able to reconfigure parts of our budget and find a way to get the Bookmobile running again. The board of directors approved it, so here we go," she said.

The summer schedule, launched just in time for Summer Reading programs, includes 23 separate stops in neighborhoods and at daycare centers around town.

The Bookmobile is a fully stocked library on wheels and has a good selection of books, magazines and even DVDs.

The Peoria Public Library has continued to purchase materials for the Bookmobile that were circulated out of North Branch during the service hiatus, so the materials will be up to date. Patrons can put materials on hold using the online catalog and request that they be delivered by the Bookmobile, offering access to the complete and extensive library holdings.

While the Bookmobile was out of service, the Peoria Public Library Outreach Department was delivering collections of books to locations that requested the service as a stopgap measure. But Noack said that was a problem for some agencies that made the request because it would require that they have one of their staff act as librarian for the agency.

"Not many of them were equipped to do that. A lot of people were unhappy with the decision to park the Bookmobile. We're very glad to again be able to serve people who need the Bookmobile or don't live near a library branch," she said.

Below is the summer schedule for the Bookmobile.

Peoria Public Library Bookmobile for June 10th through Aug. 30th, 2013

Monday

9-9:45 a.m.: Proctor Child Care, 5409 N. Knoxville

10:15-10:45 a.m.: Scottwood Drive/Antler Place

11-11:45 a.m.: Bermuda Court/Nassau Drive

1-2:30 p.m.: Rogy's Educational Center, 1523 W. Candletree

3-4 p.m.:  Melissa Cole Home Day Care, 3227 W. Birkshire Drive

Tuesday

9-10 a.m.: Methodist Family Child Care Center, 415 St. Marks Court

10:15-11 a.m.: Christ Lutheran Pre-School, 2020 W. Malone

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: RiverWest, Phoenix Drive/Kersee Street

Wednesday

9-9:45 a.m.: Salvation Army Child Care, 210 Spalding Ave.

10:15-11 a.m.: Johnson Street/Saratoga

11:15 a.m. - noon: Parkview Estates, 2401 N. Gale

1:30 - 2:15 p.m.: Reservoir Estates, 3336 W. Kiva Court

3 - 4 p.m.: Greenwich Place/Ivy Leaf Court

Thursday

9 - 9:45 a.m.: Everyday Discoveries Day Care Center, 8823 N. Industrial Road

10:15 - 11 a.m.: Rogy's Educational Center, 6101 N. Big Hollow Road

11:15 a.m. - noon: Ancient Oak Drive/Heather Oak Drive

1:30 - 2:15 p.m.: Hollow Trace Drive/Idlewhile Drive

2:45 - 3:45 p.m.: Chartwell Park

Friday

9 - 10 a.m.: Fun & Fit, The Clubs at River City, 8615 N. University

10:30 - 11:15 a.m.: 1,2,3 You & Me, 809 W. Detweiler Drive

11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.: Kingsway Drive, Miramar Drive

1:45 - 2:45 p.m.: Imperial Drive/Riviera Drive

3:15 - 4 p.m.: N. Billtmore Ave./W. Albany Ave.

Movie review: 'Star Trek Into Darkness' has issues

(6 stars out of 10)

(132 minutes. Rated PG-13 for intense action and violence, adult situations, and profanity.)

The second big blockbuster of the summer came warping into the theaters this past week in the form of wünderkind J.J. Abrams' second installment of the rebooted franchise "Star Trek Into Darkness."

If you are big into an edge-of-your-seat popcorn movie starring your favorite sci-fi characters, then no doubt Abrams knocks this film out of the park for you. If you are a die-hard-built-phasers-with-legos-as-a-kid-hate-everthing-Star-Wars-Trekkie, unfortunate(ly) for you, chances are you are going to be mildly disappointed at the end of this two-hour Trekfest.

Abrams brings back the original cast and, to his credit, this is a rather spectacular cast because, boy, when given a chance to demonstrate their acting chops (and not in front of a green screen), they show again and again how well they can act. And given Hollywood's recent 10-year penchant for taking well-worn 1960s television series and bringing them back to the big screen, never before has a cast been able to capture and embody their characters so well — from all their quirks and mannerisms to speech patterns and physicalities — and yet go beyond and grow those characters something that a 21st century audience would embrace.

Chris Pine (who is also the next Jack Ryan) brings the wild-west cowboy/golden boy persona of Captain James Kirk to life yet again. Believe it or not, he is better this time around and has a lot more screen time if you can believe that. While the script lends itself to more action than dialogue it is painfully obvious that Pine understands the subtleties and nuances of acting that Shatner never garnered.

The best acting done in this movie began with Zachary Quinto as Spock and was emphatically punctuated by Benedict Cumberbatch as the unnamed antagonist (oh, he has a name. I am just not going to give it to you). If you have not followed the acting career of Quinto, his first big break was in "24" and just like this movie, he stole every scene (I know. Like that was a challenge). His depth of character and his ability to grow Spock into something more than we ever saw out of Nimoy is wildly entertaining. Maybe it is because Nimoy played Spock so close to the vest that Quinto's Spock becomes much more than we have seen to date. Regardless, it is fascinating.

Cumberpatch as the primary antagonist plays evil exceptionally well and is as good as anyone we have seen since Tom Hiddleston in "The Avengers." While he does not have the name or face recognition that other British actors of his age enjoy, he is likely to be the next biggest acting sensation from across the pond. At least that is what my household of teenage girls report.

It is not just the primary actors who stand out in "Darkness." Karl Urban as McCoy, Simon Pegg as Scotty, John Cho as Sulu, and Anton Yelchin as Chekov round out the principal characters from the old TV series. Unfortunately I found myself wanting more screen time for all of them. Partly because they were so good, but for some unexplainable reason the writers forgot to give them much to do in this movie. I do not know if I am alone in this regard, but as a quasi-Trek fan myself it was almost maddening not seeing these characters grow further in "Darkness" as they did in the first reboot.

In particular, Yelchin (who is so good in everything he does and was a standout last time) had so little screen time, I wondered if he had other movie obligations at this time or perhaps there was an issue that left Abrams with no choice but to give him no more than two minutes of dialogue.

This lack of story telling was part of a bigger issue that I had with this movie. Abrams is an exceptional filmmaker — perhaps the most talented of his generation — but to be honest I was hoping for and expecting more. For the most part the plot was as thin as a good piece of prosciutto and had as many holes as the accompanying Swiss cheese. But if you are into cliffhangers this movie starts with a great one and moves from one to another to the end of the movie.

Please do not misunderstand. I like that the movie was fast, brisk and paced well. However, the brilliance of Star Trek is something much more. Star Trek has always related back to issues that permeate the society of today, placed its characters against moral issues and quandaries, and had an über amount of geeky science stuff to blow past you.

Star Trek was cerebral.

This movie, conversely, was too busy keeping the audience on the edge of its seat rather than considering anything else.

If you are a fan of special effects and CGI, then run — do not walk — to the nearest movieplex. I can honestly say I have not seen such jaw-dropping special effects with such expanse. Be warned, however; in exchange for these effects there is a complete lack of respect for the laws of physics, nature, and Star Fleet. How can a starship with such forward surface area not snap at the neck when leaving water? How can a starship get bumped at warp speed and not disintegrate? How can a starship take at least 50 direct laser strikes, blowing major holes in the hull and spilling tens upon tens of people into the vacuum of space, then still report its shields at 4%?

But for all that was bad for my closeted-Trekkie self, there was much to admire. The costumes, sets and cool tech props (when we saw them) were all outstanding. Abrams and his crew can edit a movie and move a story like few others.

In the end, this movie was a lot like a good stack of pancakes. It was awesome going down, but did not offer much substance and you were hungry again in an hour.

Let us hope that the Force is with Abrams on the next "Star Wars" film and he offers up more story and a little less lens flares.

I give it 6 out of 10 stars.