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| | A Summer Soundscape
Midwest Big Band
featuring
Mary Kay Steele & Jim Bulanda
Saturday, June 17, 2023 • 8:00pm
Big band music of the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s has gifted American culture with arguably the greatest love songs on the charts. Listening to the crooning of “Rat Pack” members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop on the radio was enough to melt any icy heart until it skipped a beat to the thrill of a saxophone. Band leaders like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller drew crowds and bridged racial divides through the love language of swing.
For the past three years, this professional quality, historical, 18-piece big band has been thrilling audiences across Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland with their world-class talent. Instrumentalists include the best semi-professionals in the Region, some of whom have toured professionally with Ray Charles, played freelance in Los Angeles, or taught music at the high school and college levels. Local vocalists Mary Kay Steele from La Porte, who has performed in community theater in Northwest Indiana for many years, along with Jim Bulanda, who is famous for his “Tribute to Frank Sinatra Show,” have joined the band to style the jazz standards.
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| | Atlantic City Boys
A Tribute to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Saturday, June 24, 2023 • 8:00pm
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
The Atlantic City Boys are four dynamic lead singers who have wowed audiences at Las Vegas, Walt Disney World, Atlantic City, as well as cruise ships around the world.
Their show is an exciting mix of world class vocals and interactive comedy, featuring the rock-n-roll harmonies of the Beach Boys, Drifters, the Bee Gees, and of course, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The boys have performed with many greats, from Jay Leno to Huey Lewis, Pattie Labelle and the Temptations!
Get your tickets soon – this event sold out fast when they first appeared at Memorial Opera House in the summer of 2021. If you missed them last time, now is your chance to see this phenomenal act!
Website: acboys.com
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| | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Directed by Stephen Dean & Jordan Dollins
Conceived By Rebecca Feldman
Additional Materials by Jay Reiss
Music and Lyrics by William Finn
Book By Rachel Sheinkin
July 20, 2023 - August 6, 2023
Six awkward spelling champions learn that winning (and losing) isn't everything.
Winner of the Tony and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has charmed audiences across the country with its effortless wit and humor. Featuring a fast-paced, wildly funny and touching book by Rachel Sheinkin and a truly fresh and vibrant score by William Finn, this bee is one unforgettable experience.
An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming "ding" of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box.
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| | Film Fest at the Crossroads
presented by
The Beverly Shores Depot
Museum & Art Gallery
Thursday, August 10, 2023 • 6pm CST
Featuring films about Northwest Indiana along with a lively discussion with the filmmakers and local experts.
Walkable USA
16 mins
Directed by Tom Desch
Walkable USA chronicles the efforts of city planner Jeff Speck as he works to help Hammond, Indiana revitalize its downtown. Central to Speck’s design philosophy is the power of people walking. His work aims to shift the design and scale of cities from the car to the individual.
Tom Desch has been Producing and Directing documentaries about Northwest Indiana for years.
Calumet: The Region’s River
15 mins
Directed by Sam Love & Raymar Brunson
Calumet: The Region’s River is a video journey into the industrialized heart of the Calumet watershed in Indiana, along the branches, canals, and wetlands of the Calumet River system. Gary artists Samuel Love and Raymar Brunson travel along the Calumet, exploring how the very heart of the watershed was turned into a barrier between classes and races – and the consequences for communities near the river today. Along the way they also introduce the people working to address the legacy of pollution and environmental racism, building connections to communities separated by the river, and increasing public access to the water.
Samuel Love is the editor of The Gary Anthology (Belt, 2020). Raymar Brunson has documented the impact of coal pollution for the Sierra Club’s Indiana Beyond Coal campaign.
The Erosion Project
40 mins
Directed by Jonathan Jackson
In 2020 the water level of Lake Michigan was at an all time high. The residents of Beverly Shores, Indiana, a small south shore community were hit hard after years of erosion and the encroaching lake collapsed part of a lakefront road threatening homes. Faced with an environmental emergency on their doorstep this Verite documentary picks up as the residents begin a permanent “construction project” to solidify the compromised lakefront and protect the road. In the midst of The Erosion Project, one of the oldest residents of Beverly Shores, Carol Ruzic, reveals “this is nothing new...this has been going on forever.” At 21 years old she moved to Beverly Shores in 1951. She has been photographing the destructive effects of Lake Michigan on the town ever since.
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| | Marrakesh Express
A Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young Experience
Saturday, August 12, 2023 • 8:00pm
Marrakesh Express is dedicated to tributing CSNY which is often unheard of due to the difficulty in replicating the 3- and 4-part vocal harmonies that made the group international superstars. Marrakesh Express excels at reproducing their complex songs and cascading, layered harmonies. The band takes the audience back to the late 1960s with youthful musicians who bring an authentic hippie vibe and visual to the stage.
Marrakesh Express upholds the integrity of their music with vivid and realistic performances of CSNY’s most recognizable songs. Featuring four harmonizing vocalists backed by a top-flight band, they deliver a unique and energetic concert performing the classic acoustic and electric CSNY hits, deep cuts, and fan favorites.
Marrakesh Express has played to tens of thousands of appreciative fans at music festivals, theaters, fairs, performing arts centers, and casinos, including headlining the Woodstock 40th Anniversary Tribute Concert. The music of CSNY has stood the test of time and fans of the classic rockers, as well as young people who are curious about “the 60s,” are anxious to venture out to hear it represented live.
Listen to their music and watch their videos!
Website: reverbnation.com/marrakeshmusic
Facebook: facebook.com/marrakeshmusic
OPENING ACT!
The Broken Hipsters
Featuring Soto, Chronister, & Flat
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| | Bonfire
The AC/DC Tribute
Saturday, August 19, 2023 • 8:00pm
We welcome the Midwest's Premier AC/DC Tribute -- BONFIRE -- for a live concert performance at Memorial Opera House! Get ready for an incomparable kick to your senses.
Highly colorful stage antics, true addictive sound, and exciting energy mix with a wall of Marshalls, bagpipes, a Hells Bell, cannons, video screen and a large inflatable Rosie that will leave you feeling like you had a literal kick in the teeth!
Experience the spectacle that is Bonfire, a true exciting production likeness and tribute band to the real AC/DC. Legitimate right down to their guitar pickups! Jim Hillegonds as Tiny Johnson, 17 year old Peyton Walter as Angus Real Young, Dylan Grant as Malcolm Hung, Craig Cutler as Phil Pudd, and Scott Hicks as Riff Williams.
Facebook: facebook.com/chicagobonfire
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| | Songs & Stories with
Roger McGuinn
Saturday, August 26, 2023 • 8:00pm
As the founder of The Byrds, Roger McGuinn is firmly established as an indisputable industry icon. From his signature 12 string Rickenbacker sound, to his instantly recognizable vocals on hits like “Turn,Turn,Turn”,“Eight Miles High” and “Mr. Tambourine Man”, McGuinn didn’t just make music; he made history.
That feeling continues today as Roger offers shows that are as mesmerizing and magical as ever. He delivers the gift of an evening with a master, that is as intimate as it is spellbinding. He guides his audience along a journey of story and song, populated by the “old friends” they expect to hear, as well as some new acquaintances from the folk music that Roger so passionately embraces.
An evening with Roger McGuinn is an event you will cherish forever.
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| | Laugh for Life
Comedy to Heal a Lot of Hurts
featuring
Pat Tomasulo & Mike Toomey
From Chicago’s Top News Show
Saturday, September 16, 2023 • 8pm
Join us for a night of Comedy as we welcome regional comedians Mike Toomey and Pat Tomasulo. In support of Suicide Awareness month, we present an evening of Comedy to Heal a Lot of Hurts.
Proceeds benefit the SE Miller Suicide Prevention Fund
Pat Tomasulo
Pat Tomasulo is a Chicago-based stand-up comedian, TV host, actor, and podcaster. One of the top headlining acts in Chicago, his very first one-hour comedy special, “What A Time To Be Alive,” was released in early 2022. You can also see and hear him weekly on “The Pat Tomasulo Podcast,” one of the highest-charting podcasts on Apple’s “Stand-Up Comedy” podcast rankings. And if you live in the Chicagoland area, you can see Pat every morning as one of the hosts of the WGN Morning News, the highest-rated AM news program in Chicago for over 10 years running.
Mike Toomey
An integral part to WGN Morning News (9-10am), Mike Toomey serves as the “Announcer” for the show. He started out doing bits on WGN Morning News in 2003. By September 2013, Mike had become an everyday part of the show.
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| | Little Shop of Horrors
Directed by Scot MacDonald
Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman
Music by Alan Menken
October 5 - 22, 2023
A deviously delicious Broadway and Hollywood sci-fi smash musical, Little Shop Of Horrors has devoured the hearts of theatre-goers for over 30 years. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, and Aladdin) are the creative geniuses behind what has become one of the most popular shows in the world.
The meek floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant he names "Audrey II" - after his coworker crush. This foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore promises unending fame and fortune to the down and out Krelborn as long as he keeps feeding it, BLOOD. Over time, though, Seymour discovers Audrey II's out of this world origins and intent towards global domination!
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| | Phantoms of the Opera House
THRILLER Costumes &
KILLER Cocktails for a Cause
featuring
The 1985
Totally 80's Dance Party!
the1985band.com
Saturday, October 28, 2023
7pm - midnight
Porter County Expo Center • Ages 21+
This Year's Theme: The Thriller 80's!
Leave your little ghouls and goblins at home and join us for this haunted affair, as we present our SECOND ANNUAL Halloween Fundraiser Extravaganza!
The 1985 Band will kick off the event at 7:30 pm, and Emcee some phantasmic entertainment throughout the evening, including...
- Costume Contest
- Norman Basile - Magician
- Raffle Winners Announced Throughout the Evening
Park your broomsticks and hearses, and enjoy an unearthly and unnerving graveyard of chilling fun, including...
- Macabre Merchants
- Devilish Dancing w/The 1985!
- Bewitching Beverages
- Frightening Food Trucks*
- Ritualistic Raffles
- Paranormal Photo Ops
- Reanimated Creatures
Clear the cobwebs, exorcise your inhibitions, let your spirit lurk about, and enjoy the boos and bones as we hex, cackle and curse our way through a heart-pounding evening of tricks, treats, and morbid magic.
Mere mortals, capture your friends and drag them to the party of the year!
Costume Contest Categories TBA:
"Listen to them - children of the night. What music they make!" - Dracula, Bram Stoker
*Food Trucks are not included in the entrance fee. ATM onsite. Credit & Debit Cards accepted by most vendors. | Buy Tickets |
| | Singin' & Swingin' the Standards
Midwest Big Band featuring Mary Kay Steele & Jim Bulanda
Saturday, November 4, 2023 • 8 pm
Big band music of the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s has gifted American culture with arguably the greatest love songs on the charts. Listening to the crooning of “Rat Pack” members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop on the radio was enough to melt any icy heart until it skipped a beat to the thrill of a saxophone. Band leaders like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller drew crowds and bridged racial divides through the love language of swing.
For the past three years, this professional quality, historical, 18-piece big band has been thrilling audiences across Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland with their world-class talent. Instrumentalists include the best semi-professionals in the Region, some of whom have toured professionally with Ray Charles, played freelance in Los Angeles, or taught music at the high school and college levels. Local vocalists Mary Kay Steele from La Porte, who has performed in community theater in Northwest Indiana for many years, along with Jim Bulanda, who is famous for his “Tribute to Frank Sinatra Show,” have joined the band to style the jazz standards.
| Buy Tickets |
| | Irving Berlin’s
White Christmas
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Book by David Ives and Paul Blake
Based Upon the Paramount Pictures Film
Written for the Screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama and Melvin Frank.
November 30 - December 17, 2023
Veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis have a successful song-and-dance act after World War II. With romance in mind, the two follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge, which just happens to be owned by Bob and Phil's former army commander. With a dazzling score featuring well-known standards including “Blue Skies,” “I Love A Piano,” “How Deep Is the Ocean” and the perennial title song, White Christmas is an uplifting musical worthy of year-round productions.
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Information
Please contact the box office for group sale info
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