Star treatment
There really is no business like show business, and
when you add an overly ambitious mother with a talented kid to the mix,
well, things can get downright bizarre. Loosely based on the memoirs of
Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, Gypsy chronicles Lee’s mother’s over-the-top efforts
to push her children up the ladder to stardom. Sullivan’s Little
Theatre on the Square presents the musical through Aug. 3. The Broadway
classic features such memorable tunes such as “Let Me Entertain
You,” “You Gotta Get a Gimmick,” and
“Everything’s Coming Up Roses.
Thu.-Wed.July 24-30
(Ending Aug. 3)
Gypsy
Little Theatre on the Square, Sullivan
217-728-7375
www.thelittletheatre.org
$28; seniors & kids $26
All that jazz
The Dana-Thomas House Foundation throws open the
doors to the Springfield architectural gem this weekend for the annual
“Jazz in Bloom” celebration. The Dana-Thomas House, a regular
party palace when it was owned by the woman who commissioned it, Susan
Lawrence Dana, covers 12,000 square feet and houses original Frank Lloyd
Wright-designed art glass, furniture, and fixtures. Visitors can walk the
grounds to the sound of homegrown jazz by John Crisp’s Chahrm: The
Band with Ada Louand nosh on a tasty spread from Johnny Oh’s.Bid on such silent-auction
items as entertainment tickets, baseball-game packages, and art. Advance
registration is required to attend the event.
SaturdayJuly 26
Jazz in Bloom
Dana-Thomas House, Fourth & Lawrence
www.dana-thomas.org
6-9 p.m.
$60
War time
Sit back in your lawn chair at Union Park and watch
21 singing performers portray soldiers, civilians, and politicians, both
Union and Confederate, in the historical production The Civil War: A Musical. Beginning,
as the war did, at Fort Sumter, the musical — penned by Frank
Wildhorn, Gregory Boyd, and Jack Murphy — spins personal letters and
diaries, as well as the poetry of Walt Whitman and the words of Abraham
Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, into a series of songs that question the
purpose, celebrate the victories, and mourn the human loss of the Civil
War. The production features a live orchestra.
Thu.-Sun. July 24-27
The Civil War: A Musical
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum,
212 N. Sixth St.
www.alplm.org
8 p.m.
$12; members $10, kids $8
Art works
On Wednesday, the Robert Morris Gallery opens an
exhibition by Brooklyn-based illustrator and children’s author Javaka
Steptoe, whose first book, In Daddy’s
Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Their Fathers, won wide acclaim, including a nomination for the NAACP
Image Award. Steptoe works in the medium of collage, using such found
objects as buttons, scraps, and even pocket lint. Along with the exhibit,
Steptoe will host art workshops and a story session at the Boys and Girls
Club of Springfield on July 31 from 4 to 6 p.m. Copies of Steptoe’s
book will be available for purchase at the gallery during the opening
reception. The exhibition closes Sept. 13.
Wednesday July 30
Javaka Steptoe Opening Reception
Robert Morris Gallery, 607 E. Adams St.
www.javaka.com
5-7 p.m.
Free
This article appears in Jul 17-23, 2008.
