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Hello Sauk Valley and beyond! It’s great to be back! I’m so glad I didn’t miss Venetian Night in Dixon – it was a blast – and the Mendota Sweet Corn Festival was a hoot.
In July, I was performing in a comedy play called “Esconaba in Da Moonlight,” in Marshall, Michigan. While this was happening, I was working with the The Dixon: Historic Theatre board and staff on upcoming events in 2024 and building ideas for 2025.
On Aug. 22, we’ll be showing the new movie, “Reagan,” on our enormous screen with our state-of-the-art sound system. This film premiered in Los Angeles at the Ronald Reagan Public Library. If you ever travel to Los Angeles, the Ronald Reagan Public Library is a must go! They have a space shuttle inside! (Also visit Disneyland, The Griffith Observatory and eat at Malibu Seafood on the beach!)
“Reagan” has an all-star cast, including Dennis Quaid, Penelope Ann Miller, Jon Voight, Kevin Dillon and Mena Suvari. It chronicles the life of President Reagan from a child to presidency. The Young America’s Foundation, which runs the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, has rented the theater for this once-in-a-lifetime event!
There will be a procession, which includes the fantastic Dixon Municipal Band, that will proceed to the theater. A red carpet will lead the way to the entrance. The community is invited to come see what stars and politicians may be in attendance. One actor we do know that will be showing up is lead actor Dennis Quaid!
He is the star of such movies as “Innerspace,” “The Right Stuff,” “Any Given Sunday,” “The Rookie,” “Breaking Away,” and my two favorites, “Dreamscape” and “Tough Enough.” He will be doing a question-and-answer session before the film with a special guest moderator.
Unfortunately, he will not be around for pictures or autographs after the movie as he must fly directly to Florida to be the grand marshal at a NASCAR event. The busy life of an A-list actor!
You may be wondering, how does a magical event like this happen? It starts with a small meeting. Kyle Ferrebee, the program director of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, set up a meeting at the theater to discuss the possibility of bringing in children for educational tours. President Reagan used to frequent our theater as a child.
The next phone call we received came from Katie Cupp, who works in Washington D.C. She pitched the idea of bringing the film to Dixon. I pleaded to bring Dennis Quaid with the film. We would also love if Dennis came back with his band, The Sharks, and played a gig for us!
Katie flew to Dixon and we gave her a tour of the theater. From there, it was getting permission from the studio and asking for the availability of Dennis, who is currently doing a publicity tour for the movie. The timing worked out.
We are so excited to host this movie about a man who changed the world and started as a drum major right here at Dixon High School! We are also over the moon that Mr. Quaid has put us on his busy schedule to visit our town and fill our theater with a thousand smiles.
I wish we could tell you that tickets were still available. The event sold out in 75 minutes. We are actively trying to get another showing of the film before the Aug. 30 release. Please sign up for the newsletter on our website to receive updates for early access tickets and other deals as we head toward the end of the year.
Speaking of our newsletter, we are planning to stuff some events into September before any inside construction starts. There is another monster event on Sept. 19 that is already locked in! There will be music! There will be mayhem!
Look to our newsletter, website and Facebook page for our September lineup! We’d like to thank all of those who have been donating on our website and sending us monetary gifts through the mail. Your support of The Dixon is appreciated by the entire staff and board. Thank you!
Also, those that have been buying costumes and props for the children’s theater through our Dixon Kids and Young Actors Facebook Page! Our costume shop looks like a Disneyland parade exploded! Jan, Tori and Quinn started rehearsals this week for “Frozen Jr.” and “Beauty and the Beast.” The kids are super excited and so are we, so thank you so much for your support!
Even as we navigate through the construction, we want to bring you the arts any way we can. Please follow us as we may have some more surprises for you! And if you’ve never been to The Dixon, come give us a try. Thank you for reading all the way through and we can’t wait to see you at The Dixon!
- Darren Mangler is The Dixon: Historic Theatre’s artistic producer.