Places To Go,  Book Look,  Movie & Videos,  The Arts,

Games,  Crossword

Book Reviews Elsewhere  (fresh daily from the Web)

 Movie Reviews Elsewhere  (fresh daily from the Web)

Places To Go

CoffeeHouse entertainment this weekend

[MAY 3, 2002]   

•  Tonight, Friday, May 3, 7-10 p.m.: Tom Quinn

Tom has been preparing more new music and said he will have some new songs in his repertoire. If you have never come and listened to TQ perform, then you need to set aside some time and allow yourself to be entertained. Tom Quinn is one of Lincoln’s cultural icons.

•  Saturday, May 4, 8-10 p.m.: Nathan Hall

Nathan Hall is a recent find that the CoffeeHouse considers another local talent asset.  His great style of music and quick wit allow for a fun evening of entertainment.  If you need your spirits lifted, then come on over and grab a seat early.

[Coffee With Einstein CoffeeHouse]

YMCA fund-raisers

The YMCA Youth Arts Council will be having a fund-raiser to help support their Art Outreach program. The fund-raiser will be May 3-5 at the YMCA Activity Center (old Odd Fellows Gym), 721 Wyatt Ave. Hours will be as follows: Friday 4-8, Saturday 9-5 and Sunday noon-4.

This is one event that you won’t want to miss! The YMCA will transform the gym into a grand and exotic garden setting with a garden cafe where you can enjoy a gourmet brunch, lunch or snack.

The youth instructors and volunteers will be designing and creating a vast assortment of mosaic potted planters, garden statues, fountains, hand-painted garden signs, steppingstones, garden plaques, an assortment of artwork, photography, organic body products (lotions, bath oils, body spritzers and bath salts), plus lots more.

Bring a friend and enjoy an hour or two of shopping and relaxing with a cup of herbal tea, or energize with aromatic coffees and cappuccinos.

Battle of the Bands

When: Saturday, May 18

Time: noon-?

Where: YMCA Activity Center, (old Odd Fellows Gym), 721 Wyatt Ave., Lincoln

The event is open to all bands (including garage bands) that would like to compete for this year’s title in the YMCA Battle of the Bands. For more information, call the YMCA office.

Admission is $3.

There will be a beverage and food stand. T-shirts and hemp jewelry will also be available.

Bring blankets or lawn chairs, kick back and enjoy a variety of music.

All proceeds help support the YMCA Art Outreach program and YMCA NYPUMS (minibikes program).

[YMCA news release]

[MAY 1, 2002]  ^"Journey to the River Sea." Eva Ibbotson. Dutton, 2001. 298 pages. Grades 5-9.

Ibbotson’s story is one that explodes with adventures. The year is 1910, and Maia, an orphan, has just learned that she will be sent from the school where she lives to Brazil to live with relatives she has never met. As she prepares to leave she is excited about the region where she will live and thrilled with the fact that she will live with a real family, which includes twin daughters her age. When she boards the boat she will meet her new governess, who will accompany her on the trip and remain in Brazil to teach Maia and the twins.

The boat ride is just the first of many adventures that Maia will encounter, and it is on the boat that she meets Clovis. Clovis is a child actor who is going to be appearing in some theaters in the cities of Brazil. He had been promised that he would become rich and famous, but so far that hasn’t happened. He’s been doing a lot of traveling, so he is anxious to hear all that Maia can tell him about London, where his adoptive mother still lives.

It doesn’t take Maia long after her arrival to realize that her relatives, the Carters, are willing to take care of her only because of the monthly allowance they will receive. The twins are greedy and hateful, and they use every opportunity to torment Maia.

Miss Minton realizes this from the beginning and has a plan so that Maia can study by herself. Miss Minton asks Maia to pretend to be a lot slower at learning than the twins, and then the governess will tell Mrs. Carter that Maia is holding the twins back in their studies. Actually, it is just the opposite. The plan works, and Maia gets to study maps and read interesting books that Miss Minton has brought with her in a trunk. The governess becomes one of Maia’s best friends and protects her from the twins whenever possible.

[to top of second column in this review]

Maia befriends the Indian servants who live in huts behind the main compound and also a boy named Finn. Finn’s father, an Englishman, and his mother, an Indian, have both died. Finn continues with projects his father had started. Maia also has renewed her acquaintance with Clovis, who is acting in the town near where she lives.

The plot picks up speed when the relatives of Finn’s father want him to return to London to live at the family estate. Since Finn does not want to return to England, he, Maia and Clovis develop a plan to keep Finn in Brazil and allow Clovis to go in his place.

Finn teaches Clovis all the family history, including people, places and events he needs to know to successfully make the switch. The plan almost falls apart at the last minute when Clovis panics, but Miss Minton saves the day.

The suspense continues to the end as Finn readies his boat to go in search of his mother’s tribe and Maia continues to be on the alert for the next Carter family trick.

Anyone who loves adventure stories sprinkled with suspense and action will like Ibbotson’s latest offering.

[Pat Schlough, Lincoln Public Library]

• Lincoln Community Theatre

• Logan County Arts Association

‘Silk Satin and Swing’ closes
Community Concert series

[APRIL 25, 2002]  All this season, the Community Concerts have been lively, energetic and perhaps focused a bit more on entertainment than on good musicianship, though all of the artists who have been featured are wonderful musicians. Some people, though, prefer to go to a concert and listen to good music by good musicians. They don’t want gaudy entertainment, just serious strings. This concert was for them.

Concert number five of this year’s Community Concert series was much more toned down than the first four. With two violins and a piano, there is not a whole lot of room for rowdiness outside of the music.

The Galaxy Trio consists of Lenny Solomon, a jazz violinist who has won many awards (including Violinist of the Year three years running at The Jazz Report Awards); Moshe Hammer, a violinist and leader of The Amadeus Ensemble for 17 years; and Bernie Senensky, a pianist "recognized as one of the foremost accompanists in the world."

Their concert, "Silk Satin and Swing," consisted completely of instrumentals (it is rather hard to sing with a violin under your chin), including pieces by J.S. Bach, Beethoven and even Gershwin. There were smooth classical pieces (some originally written for violin and orchestra), inspiring jazz pieces and a suite written specifically for the group by Bill Bridges, entitled "Celtic Suite." The group performed the "Air" and the "Reel" from this suite in their concert, and then delighted the audience with the second movement, the "Gigue" (pronounced "jig"), as an encore.

[to top of second column in this article]

Many of the pieces were arranged for two violins and piano by pianist Bernie Senensky.

Other songs included "Blue Room" by Richard Rogers, "A Nightingale Sang in Barkley Square" by Eric Maschwitz and even "Matchmaker" by Jerry Bock (yes, that is from "The Fiddler on the Roof").

Smooth sounds and jazzy tunes dominated this concert. Though Solomon and Hammer tried to spice it up with witty comments and jokes between songs, the real appeal was in the music.

Yes, it’s true; this year’s Community Concerts are over. It’s sad, but don’t worry! The Concert in the Park series is right around the corner! (Bring your own lawn chair.)

[Gina Sennett]

Auditions for summer shows

[APRIL 9, 2002]  Lincoln Community Theatre is looking for local talent to sing, dance and act in its summer 2002 productions. Singing and non-singing roles are available.

If auditioning for a role in one of this summer’s musical productions, individuals should have a song prepared. An accompanist will be available. Individuals should also be prepared to learn a few basic dance steps at the audition.

Those auditioning for non-singing roles will be required to do cold readings from the script. Scripts may be viewed at the Lincoln Public Library two weeks prior to each audition. Library scripts may not be removed from the building.

All auditions will be conducted at St. John Church of Christ, 204 Seventh St. in Lincoln.

Production and audition dates are as follows:

•  "Hello, Dolly!"

Performance dates: June 14-22

Auditions:

•  Friday, April 12, 6 p.m.

•  Saturday, April 13, 10 a.m.

•  Sunday, April 14, 2 p.m., callbacks only

You will be asked to sing a song, your choice or one from "Hello, Dolly." You will also be taught a simple dance (you do not need to prepare one). The director is looking in the age range of 25 to 60, but all are welcome to audition.

•  "Dearly Departed"

Performance dates: July 12-20

Auditions:

•  Friday, May 10, 6:30 p.m.

•  Saturday, May 11, 10 a.m.

The director is looking for actors age 20 and above. There will be four to six men, six to eight women, a trio of singers and a part for one teenage girl. There are lots of parts for older mature actors. People auditioning should plan to be there for entire audition session (1½ to two hours).

[to top of second column in this article]

[Judy Rader, LCT publicity chairman]

Lincoln Community Theatre’s website is at www.geocities.com/lincolncommunitytheatre/index.html. Pictures from past productions are included.  The LCT mailing address is Lincoln Community Theatre, P.O. Box 374, Lincoln, IL  62656.  E-mail: lincolncommunitytheatre@yahoo.com.

Back to top