The performance is the fifth in The Classic Center Theatre’s 2011-2012 Broadway Entertainment Series.

The show is a night of the best music, the best moves and the best comedy you’re likely to see this side of Chicago.

Jake and Elwood are joined by the sassy Bluettes, three amazing ladies with voices to knock you clean off your perch. All your favorite songs are here –"Everybody, Shake Ya Tail Feather," "Sweet Home Chicago," "Think," "Respect," Gimme Some Loving" and loads more. It’s a journey through decades of Soul, Blues and Rhythm and Blues music.

Since its inception, “The All New Original Tribute to The Blues Brothers™” has extensively and regularly toured mainland Europe, Ireland and Great Britain and completed four limited seasons in London.

The show is a regular production in major European cities/countries such as: Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg, Germany; Amsterdam, Holland; Zurich, Switzerland; Barcelona and Madrid, Spain; Milan and Rome, Italy; London, England; Copenhagen, Denmark; Dublin, Ireland; Oslo, Norway; Paris, France; Austria; Luxembourg; Sweden; Scotland and Wales.

On the international stage the show has encompassed and toured productions in Japan (Osaka, Tokyo), South Africa (Cape Town, Johannesburg), New Zealand (Christchurch) and Sydney, Australia. The Australian production starred and featured Russell Crowe in the lead role of Jake Blues.

After a successful run in Chicago last summer, the show is now touring the United States.

Visit www.ClassicCenter.com to buy tickets, call 706.357.4444 or stop by The Classic Center Theatre Box Office in Downtown Athens.

The performance is the fourth in The Classic Center Theatre’s 2011-2012 Broadway Entertainment Series.

Visit www.ClassicCenter.com to buy tickets, call 706.357.4444 or stop by The Classic Center Theatre Box Office in Downtown Athens.

Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and their quest for the Holy Grail, “Monty Python's Spamalot” features a chorus line of dancing divas and knights, flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits and one legless knight.

Monty Python isn't a person, but a group of British actors and writers (and one American) that performed their famous comedy show “Monty Python's Flying Circus” on the BBC from 1969 to 1974, with subsequent international fame and success.

Lovingly "ripped-off" from the internationally famous comedy team's most popular motion picture, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the musical is the winner of three 2005 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Director, as well as the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for Best Musical.

Based on the Tony Award winning direction of Mike Nichols and the riotous choreography of Casey Nicholaw, “Monty Python's Spamalot” features a book by Eric Idle, based on the screenplay of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” by Monty Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, with music and lyrics by the Grammy Award-winning team of Mr. Idle and John Du Prez.

The original cast recording of “Monty Python’s Spamalot” won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

For more information on the musical, visit www.MontyPythonsSpamalot.com.
 

“The Classic Center Cultural Foundation is please to give the community the opportunity to buy a brick in memory or honor of a loved one, a friend, their company, as a gift of recognition of a special event that was held here at The Classic Center or for someone who has been a significant influence in their life, “ stated director Julie Walters. She continued, “ Just imagine seeing your name engraved outside The Classic Center theatre or bringing your children or grandchildren to see their very own name on one of the bricks.”

To purchase a brick paver, buy on on-line at www.ClassicCenter.com or contact Julie Walters at 706.357.4417 or Julie@ClassicCenter.com for an order form.

The Classic Center Cultural Foundation will provide resources to entertain and educate our community by providing and supporting diverse performing and visual arts programs, while working to maintain The Classic Center in a state-of-the-art condition.

ATHENS, Ga. -- Last weekend roughly 30 Georgia football players headed over to The Classic Center after Outback Bowl practice to celebrate the holidays with hundreds of kids from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Athens. Dressed in their game jerseys, the young men walked amongst the children like red and white giants, signing autographs, posing for pictures and giving countless hugs. It was all part of the Holiday Festival, an event designed to help the less fortunate in the Athens area.

Dave Van Halanger is the Bulldogs' new director of player welfare. He had spent the previous 10 years as Georgia's director of strength and conditioning. This year he went from molding players' physiques to molding his charges into contributing citizens of a community. Not that the latter was too hard.

"I genuinely thought the players wanted to give back at Christmas," Van Halanger said. "So I told them the Boys and Girls Clubs are having a function over at The Classic Center, and I asked how many guys wanted to come. We had about 30 guys raise their hands."

After practice last Saturday, the players cleaned up and headed downtown, where the kids had gathered to eat, play in bounce houses, listen to a gospel band and collect their individual bags of goodies before meeting the Bulldogs. Later in the afternoon, the children would treat their parents to a fashion show. Everything used for the event, from the food to the toys to the formal wear, was donated by local businesses.

"I think giving back is something Coach [Mark] Richt has taught the kids, because we are so blessed and our kids really seem to want to do that," Van Halanger said. "We have guys that are always doing it, like Aaron Murray, Ben Jones and Aron White. Your leaders do it. And it is not something they have to do -- it is something they want to do. And they get involved with the kids and the players have a ball.
Pick every bowl game

ESPN.com's free pick-the-winner game asks you to predict the outcome of all 35 bowl games -- and gives you the option of ranking them according to the confidence you have in each pick.
College Bowl Mania

"It is part of the Georgia Way. There is a big responsibility being a Georgia Bulldog, because you are under such a microscope. You sometimes only hear the bad things, but our guys do some great things and this is just one of them. I don't think our guys ever do it for the media, but rather they want to do it for the young kids that are here. If they can put a little joy in their life for today, then our guys will be happy."
The players were received as instant heroes as they walked into the throng of children. More than one toddler appeared anxious at the thought of talking to the players, but the older children scrambled all over the likes of Blair Walsh, Kenarious Gates and Chris Conley.

"It is a great opportunity to give back to the community, to be thankful for what we have," Conley said. "It's an opportunity to just be in the Christmas spirit of giving. It is great to be able to go and do that in public. I love kids. I consider myself to be a people person, so I love being around kids."

Conley is quite familiar with outreach programs like the Holiday Festival. He and his family have a tradition of giving back to their community.

"My family has a thing where, on Christmas, we will go to a shelter and serve breakfast or something," Conley said. "That is what we are doing this year."

Gates was all smiles as he posed with the children and adults alike. The sophomore guard is known for being a big kid himself.

"I came here to see the kids," Gates said. "I am a playful guy, I like to have fun. I might wrestle some with the kids to see how tough they are."

Walsh was impressed by the reception he and his teammates received.

"Coach Van asked us to come out and see these kids and try to brighten their day up a little bit," Walsh said. "It is very humbling to see all these people that are excited to see all the players. It is just a nice feeling to be wanted, to know that you are looked up to by people."

The Holiday Festival is run under the direction of Minister Betty Boyd of Deliverance Temple Ministries of Winterville, Ga. She started it four years ago when she was asked to put on an event for the children of the community.

"The first one we put on was for Friends for Life, a program for kids whose parents are incarcerated," Boyd said. "They asked me to do a Christmas event. Every year it grew. Last year we did it for the Boys and Girls Clubs. We have done it for DFACS kids and the Sherriff's Department's kids. Last year we registered 423 kids at the door and we were standing room only. This year the wonderful people at The Classic Center donated this big space to us and we have close to 600 kids here today."

The generosity of The Classic Center was also matched by local businesses that wanted to help out with the event.

"What I really like about this year is that everything was donated," Boyd said. "Papa John's and Stevie B's helped, Lowe's donated all the decorations that you see here. Perno's Formal Wear donated the tuxedos for the boys and I Do I Do Bridal donated all the dresses for the girls for the fashion show. Wal-Mart made monetary donations and different churches donated. Everybody helped."

The Georgia football players donated the one thing they have in short supply -- their free time.

"I had no idea they were going to send this many," Boyd said. "I wanted the guys to come and be an inspiration, but not just as football players. A lot of these kids stay in areas of poverty that are drug-infested. They see a lot of stuff that a normal kid doesn't get to see. So these guys are bringing a lot of inspiration with their smiles and their hugs. I want to do it again next year."

If she does, the Georgia players will be back.

The B-52s were formed on an October night in 1976 following drinks at an Athens, GA, Chinese restaurant. Naming themselves after Southern slang for exaggerated 'bouffant" hairdos, the band soon attracted an ardent following, becoming the talk of Athens. Before long they began making trips to New York City for gigs at CBGB’s, their thrift store aesthetic and genre-defying songs electrifying the post-punk underground. A record deal soon followed and their self-titled debut sold more than 500,000 copies on the strength of its first singles, the garage rock party classic "Rock Lobster," and "52 Girls."

Thirty five years and more than 20 million album sales later, the B-52s remain one of rock music’s most one-of-a-kind and enduring bands. Looking back at band’s pioneering fusions of punk, new wave, and vintage rock, it would be tough to imagine the contemporary musical landscape without Keith Strickland’s matchless guitar stylings and the trademark call-and-response vocals of Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. From groundbreaking songs like “Rock Lobster,” “Dance This Mess Around” and “Private Idaho“ to chart-topping hits like “Love Shack” and “Roam” and “Deadbeat Club” to their thrilling reemergence on the pop scene with their 2008 CD Funplex, the B-52s can surely take credit for a body of work that is unique, beloved and timeless.

THE B-52’S 35TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9 | 8PM

TICKETS ON-SALE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16TH AT 10AM

Ticket Locations
The Classic Center Box Office, ClassicCenter.com or by phone at 706.357.4444

Ticket Prices

$59.50 / $49.50 / $39.40 plus applicable fees (all seats reserved)

$175 Platinum VIP package* / $125 Gold VIP package*

*only available online at www.theb52svip.com

More Info:
Theb52s.com | classiccenter.com | nationalshows2.com
 

Actress Aurora Florence played Cockney girl Eliza Doolittle, who longs to be a lady, and did a phenomenal job of butchering the English language — so much so that subtitles would have been a welcome interruption at certain points in the show.

Timing and delivery were spot on for all of the jokes.

However, humor was only a small part of the show’s entertainment factor, which also included a series of set pieces and strong production design that made the show look as good as it sounded.

Fabulous, flashy costumes, elaborate sets (complete with plush furniture and a winding staircase), awesome vocals and lively choreography made for a captivating show.

During a scene at a horse race, enormous hats bedazzled with rhinestones and feathers stole the show until Eliza caused an uproar when she lost her composure over a bet.

The cast’s English accents sounded authentic – not forced – and attention to detail even carried over to the high-water hemlines of the poor people’s pants.

If the show wasn’t a musical riddled with spontaneous singing, audience applause and laughter would have been the only cues indicating that the scenes weren’t real.

But though the show itself was excellent, it wasn’t perfect either.

Some of these quirks help make live shows special though.

They are constant reminders that the note held for 10 seconds in the last song came from a real person only feet away; it makes the precision of the line dancing in the last scene a really, truly impressive.

And in the song “Get Me to the Church on Time,” actor Arthur Wise (playing Alfred Doolittle) gets drunk and had convincing missteps that had to be improvised.

By the end of the show, the theater was clearly a better study break than living room TV would have been.
For a night where the SLC showed that the Arch wasn’t the only area being occupied, foregoing pencils and notebooks to watch an actress practice her vowels was the right choice to make.

By SYDNEY KIDA on December 8, 2011, reprinted in part from The Red & Black
 

“It was a very satisfying total, especially for a first-year event,” said Prittie, Project Safe’s executive director.

Stomp Out Domestic Violence, a competition of step teams formed by local businesses and civic organizations and led by local step-dancing experts, featured eight step teams.

See the rest of the story at www.onlineathens.com

Tickets go on this sale Friday, Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. Visit www.ClassicCenter.com to buy tickets, or call 706.357.4444.

Known as the “gentle giant” of country music, Williams has amassed 17 No. 1 hits since he began his solo career in 1971. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

Williams, whose hits include “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” “I Believe In You,” “Love Is On A Roll,” “Amanda and Tulsa Time,” has always had a knack for finding songs that speak directly to people’s hearts. He also has built an international audience in far-flung places like Zimbabwe, Australia, England, Monaco, Finland and Brazil.

With a warm hickory baritone that balances strength with a gentle concern, Williams draws his listeners into the intimate world of an old friend, someone who cares deeply about one’s quality of life. Enlisting the help of his accomplished road band, Williams creates the kind of music that speaks to everyone. There’s a broken-in familiarity among his players – and those lived-in grooves fit Williams like the custom-Stetson hat he’s known for.
 

“That’s one of the things we’re doing here,” organizer Raymond Castleberry told the small crowd gathered to watch the concert. “We’re trying to expose the populace to the beauty of the tuba and euphonium.”

The tradition of TubaChristmas concerts started in 1974 when a crusading tubist named Harvey Phillips led an army of tuba players into New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza on Dec. 22 and for an impromptu Christmas concert.

“People were staring at us like crazy,” said Jim Becker, who participated in that first TubaChristmas and in Athens’ TubaChristmas this morning. “They had no idea what was going on ... We did end up with quite a crowd by the time we were done.”

Since that first concert, tubists in other communities have organized their own concerts to help shed light on their shiny instruments. The last time tubists came together in Athens for Christmas was 2008, but Castleberry hopes to make concerts like this morning’s an annual event.

The concert included professional musicians, music teachers and music students from several different schools, who practiced together for about an hour before taking their seats in a makeshift orchestra pit outside the front door of the Classic Center.

A group of curious onlookers, parents and friends gathered to sing along with the carols and cheer on the TubaChristmas players.

“You could really hear it,” said Collin Shiver, a fifth-grade tubist who had never played music with so many other tubas before. “It was really loud.”

In most marching bands or orchestras, there are only a few tubas so those musicians don’t often have the chance to play together in a large group, said Castleberry, who teaches music at Youth Middle School in Walton County and played tuba with the University of Georgia Redcoat band from 1994 to 1998.

TubaChristmas allows them to do that and gives them a chance to show off the range of the instruments, he said.

“It’s kind of a brotherhood thing,” Becker said.

For more information about the national TubaChristmas project or the Athens TubaChristmas concert, visit www.tubachristmas.com or find the Athens, Ga., TubaChristmas page on Facebook. 

By MERRITT MELANCON - merritt.melancon@onlineathens.com
Published Thursday, December 1, 2011 in the Athens Banner-Herald

Clara E. McKinnon Stewart passed away Tuesday, November 15, 2011. A native of Clarke County, Mrs. Stewart was the daughter of the late Walter E. McKinnon, Sr. and Lillie Ann Christian McKinnon and was preceded in death by her husband, Harry J. Stewart; infant son, Reginald Stewart; daughter, Marcia S. Pittard; sister, Emily McCants, and two brothers, Walter E. McKinnon, Jr. and Wesley McKinnon. Mrs. Stewart graduated from Athens High School, where she was a member of the Beta Club. She was employed at the Georgian Hotel and The University of Georgia. As an employee of the FBI in Washington, DC, she worked in the Identification Bureau and the Washington Field Office.

She married Harry J. Stewart and after the birth of their first child, the family returned to Athens, where she was a homemaker. Mrs. Stewart was a faithful wife, loving mother, friend and counselor to many.

Upon returning to the work force, she was employed at the University of Georgia in the Rehabilitation Counselor Training Program, and the School of Journalism, where she was secretary to the Dean.
Upon her retirement from the University of Georgia School of Journalism, Mrs. Stewart volunteered for the 1996 Olympics, Classic Center, Athens Welcome Center, Athens Convention Center, American Red Cross, and the University of Georgia Performing Arts. She was a member of Young Harris United Methodist Church and the Friendship Sunday school class. She loved nature, gardening and reading.

Survivors include two sons, Timothy M. Stewart and his wife, Kathy of Social Circle and Vance E. Stewart and his wife, Carol of Athens; daughter, Pamela R. Stewart of Athens; three grandsons, Matthew Pittard, Daniel Pittard, and Thomas C. Stewart; three great-granddaughters, and a sister, Keener M. Eidson.

A celebration service will be held 2PM Friday, November 18th in the chapel at Bernstein Funeral Home with Rev. Luther Fouche officiating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Young Harris Methodist Church, 973 Prince Ave, Athens, GA 30606 or to the charity of your choice .

Online condolences may be offered at www.bernsteinfuneralhome.com

Bernstein Funeral Home and Cremation Service is in charge of arrangements.