Another light summer theatrical read.

 

Rutherford,Anne  The Opening Night Murder
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre was built in 1599, burned down in 1613, was rebuilt and reopened in 1614, operated until the closure of all theatres in 1642, and was demolished in 1644. Anne Rutherford’s 2012 historical mystery, The Opening Night Murder, posits that the Globe actually stood vacant until the Restoration in 1660 and was reopened by a former kept woman and her son who was fathered by a Royalist nobleman. Suzanne Thornton is the doxy turned impresario and all is going well until a body drops out of the heavens at their opening performance of Henry V. As luck would have it, the fresh corpse turns out to be the fearful Puritan who kept Suzanne during Cromwell’s reign. 

While the box office receipts remain strong our fiercely independent heroine must find the real killer to keep her own son from the gallows. The theatrical atmosphere was over-shadowed somewhat by Suzanne’s on again off again longing for the thoroughly unlikable Earl who fathered her son and now has returned to London with Charles II the new King. 

Another plot limitation is that the denouement, though exciting, strains credibility.  But on the plus side the period detail is vibrant and the feminist leanings in the character of Suzanne Thornton could be explored in further books capitalizing on the introduction of women as performers on the Restoration stage.

Let’s give it a three out of five stars.   

Buchanan Center for the Arts opens Photo Show

Above-Landcape blue ribbon winner Linda Lee Blaine poses next to her shot of the harbor at Bergen, Norway.

Below-A group of guests enjoy the opening.



Judges John Vellenga and John Van Kirk present an award to a prize winner.


Jim Vugteveen, a local pharmacist, won two awards.



Almost two hundred photos, double the number of last year, graced the walls of the Buchanan Center for the Arts in Monmouth, IL last night (July 6, 2007) as the Security Savings Amateur Photography Exhibit opened to the public for its month long run. Categories range from Landscapes and Children to Animals and Flowers. Rene Burton, who captured Best of Show honor, was not in attendance at the opening, but a number of the other award winners were there to receive their ribbons as the pictures above will attest.

You may visit the exhibit Mon-Fri from 9-5 and Saturdays from 10-2. It is open free of charge to members of the Center. Non-members are encouraged to make a donation.

Should you wish to combine your attendance with a chance to hear from two local artists, you can come to OFTA (Old Friends Talk Arts) on Wednesday, July 11th at 10:00 AM. Linda Sickmon and Carol Tenold will display some of their ceramic creations and give a talk titled "The Soul of the Potter." There is no admission charge to attend OFTA programs and free refreshments are also available.

OFTA is partially supported by grants from the Buchanan Center for the Arts and the Ilinois Arts Council, a state agency.