Willa Cather - The Opera House Announces Its 10th Season Of Events

The Wartime Escape & Jerry Finnegan's Sister at the Opera House!

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The Red Cloud Opera House will host a day of events and a traveling exhibit on Saturday, March 3 as part of its 10^th season of events.

An exhibit on loan from Exhibits USA, a division of the Mid-America Arts Alliance, entitled, The Wartime Escape: Margret and H.A. Rey's Journey from France, will be on display in the gallery through March 10. The exhibit is about the true story of the journey that saved the storybook character Curious George.

More than three generations of Americans have grown up reading the stories of an irrepressible little brown monkey known in this country as "Curious George." But few people know about the incredible journey made by his creators, Margret and H.A. Rey, to escape the Nazi invasion of Paris at the start of World War II.

Stashing a few precious belongings and manuscripts in their knapsacks and the baskets of their bicycles, the Jewish couple fled Paris in June 1940, starting a five month odyssey by bike, train, and boat that would eventually bring them to American shores in October 1940.
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The Wartime Escape: Margret and H.A. Rey's Journey from France tells the story of the Rey's journey, featuring 27 framed art prints by artist Allan Drummond and supplemental archival images from the extraordinary holdings of the DeGrummond Collection of Children's Literature at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Based in part on the 2005 publication, The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey, written by Louise Borden and illustrated by Allan Drummond (Houghton Mifflin Company, New York), The Wartime Escape: Margret and H.A. Rey's Journey From France was organized by the Institute for Holocaust Education in Omaha, Nebraska. More than just the tale of a rousing escape from occupied France, this exhibition celebrates a timeless survival story, one that serves as a potent reminder of the power of human creativity and the cost when voices and visions are silenced by the impact of war.

In addition to the exhibit, complimentary programming will include a showing of the movie Curious George at 10:00 a.m. and a humanities program by David Nienkamp, "Teachers in Nazi Germany" at 1:00 p.m.

The comedy Jerry Finnegan's Sister by Hastings Community Theater will be performed at 3:00 p.m. This comedic play was well received at its February engagement in Hastings and described as "a delight . . . a gem! Has enough chuckles, guffaws, and belly laughs to please any patron."

Click here to buy tickets to Jerry Finnegan's Sister!

Click here to buy Curious George books including, The Journey That Saved Curious George!

Read more information about the Red Cloud Opera House 10th season of events below!

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The Red Cloud Opera House is pleased to announce its 10th season of events in 2012!

Many of the most popular performers since the re-opening of the facility in 2003, as well as some new additions will be highlighted in programs of various genres including music, exhibits, humanities presentations, and theatre.

The season is set to begin on February 11 with "Joseph Hall's Elvis Rock N' Remember" show. This special Valentine's show is sure to leave spectators warm inside. Advance purchase of tickets is recommended for this wildly popular event! elvis_final_2

An exhibit on loan from Exhibits USA, a division of the Mid-America Arts Alliance, entitled, The Wartime Escape: Margret and H.A. Rey's Journey from France, will be on display in the gallery February 3 through March 10 . The exhibit is about the true story of the journey that saved the storybook character Curious George. In addition to the exhibit, complimentary programming will include a showing of the movie Curious George and a humanities program by David Nienkamp, "Teachers in Nazi Germany" on Saturday, March 3. The comedy "Jerry Finnegan's Sister" performed by Hastings Community Theater will also be presented on March 3.

Ezinma Piano Trio will perform a free concert on March 18 featuring selections from several of the world's most famous classical composers.

One of the main highlights of the year will be the return of Matthew and Gunnar Nelson to perform their personal tribute to their father, "Remembering Ricky Nelson," on Tuesday, April 24.

A series of workshops and conferences will populate the spring schedule including the 5th annual Prairie Writers' Workshop, a Poetry-writing Workshop: Exploring Your "Gift of Song" with Mary K. Stillwell, artist-in-residence, May 17-20. The 57th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference and Symposium titled "Willa Cather: Making Herself Born" will be held May 31-June 2. April Twilights is the featured work for the conference and participants will enjoy panel discussions, special tours, original artwork, and musical productions inspired by Cather's poems. Immediately following Spring Conference will be the Road Scholar program "Red Cloud: Willa Cather's Window to the World" from June 4-June 8 with instructor and Cather scholar Steven B. Shively. For more information or to enroll for this lifelong adventure immersion learning program, go to www.RoadScholar.org. sarah_arneson

Missoula Children's Theatre will return with Hansel & Gretel in the summer with auditions for 1st through 12th grades on Monday, July 30 and performances on August 3 and 4. The newly founded Hastings Boxcar Youth Theatre will perform Anne of Green Gables in August as well.

Musical performances for the fall and holiday schedule include Red Cloud native and world class operatic singer Sarah Arneson, with pianist George Kern on September 2, the nostalgic Rat Pack Jazz featuring Adams & Cooley on September 22, the hot cover band Taxi Driver on October 13, and a Christmas show by one of our favorite groups, Thalken, Tesdall, & Thalken jazz band, on December 8. wartimeescape-20110511172227

Click here to buy tickets!

Click here for more information on 2012 events!