Hello, Sauk Valley and beyond!
Can you believe it’s the end of 2024 already? I hope you all had a tremendous year and have the best year yet in 2025!
The Dixon: Historic Theatre had a fabulous year, with shows featuring comedians Yakov Smirnoff and Micheal McCreary, bands like Lonestar and Big Love: The Fleetwood Mac Tribute, movies like “Star Wars” and “A League of Their Own,” video game tournaments, The Dixon Lounge with The Heartland Crooner, local artists like the Dixon Municipal Band and Rosbrook Studios’ very own Jay Vonn, special events like the “Reagan” premiere with Dennis Quaid and much, much more. But the best is yet to come!
If you visit our website at www.dixontheatre.com, there is a page dedicated to construction updates with pictures. They are doing incredible work. We have found some surprises, though, which should be expected with a 102-year-old building. There are also new building codes that we must follow for your safety.
This has raised our construction costs unexpectedly. We have bricks falling from the exterior on Galena, and we need updates to our heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. For a professional concession stand, we need to run power to our lobby and running water. We also need new theater seats to match the new beauty of the auditorium and will replace many of the current reconstructed seats.
We have added a button to our website where you can donate directly to our construction needs. Thank you so much for your love of The Dixon and keeping this gem of the Sauk Valley moving forward.
We have announced our 2025 season and have our season ticket packages ready to buy. What an amazing gift to give this holiday season! It’s a gift that keeps giving lifelong memories all year long.
We have Broadway shows, tribute bands, festivals and big bands like Orianthi and Dishwalla! We are building our list of movies and getting ready for more video game tournaments. We are producing our own plays and musicals as well.
The Dixon had been averaging about 24 shows a year. In 2025, we’re going to have over 60 events with 90 nights of entertainment to choose from. We want to be the first place you check when you want something fun to do!
Go to our website and choose your favorite season ticket package. Or choose a Golden Ticket and get into every event all year in your favorite seat! Or, for a business or family, buy the Golden Box and get all six seats in an opera box for every event with concession delivery throughout!
Our grand opening show will be March 2 with the national touring Broadway show “Spamilton!” Be the first to see our new construction upgrades and be a part of the opening of 2025 party! A season ticket will guarantee you a seat. Single-show tickets will go on sale Feb. 1. Season ticket sales will end Feb. 28. Don’t miss out on the biggest year yet!
Our board members are volunteers who do some incredible work with the theater. When doing your gift-buying and supporting your needs year-round, please consider supporting some of their businesses as they support us: Venier Jewelers, the Law Offices of Paul and Thomas Whitcombe, and American Leak Detection. We are also a proud supporter of the Honor Flight.
We are reloading our volunteer list. We have fantastic volunteers, but going from 24 shows to 90 is a big jump. If you’d like to be part of The Dixon’s family, please contact us and we’ll add you to the list.
In January, the Rock River Theater Company, in association with The Dixon, is producing the two-act play “It Had To Be You!” It’s a hilarious romantic comedy about an actress who kidnaps a commercial director on Christmas Eve to convince him that she’s talented. Opening night is Jan. 17, and the show runs through Jan. 26. Tickets are on sale now! Student and senior citizen ticket prices are available. It’s the perfect show to see between Christmas and Valentine’s Day!
The Rock River Theater Company is a community of people who want to be a bigger part of The Dixon and have opportunities to perform, direct, write for and participate in productions on the Dixon stage and other locations. We need art lovers of all kinds with any kind of skill set. From grant writing and carpenters to marketing gurus and anyone with nonprofit experience, as well as actors, crew, directors and artists of all kinds – be part of a fun new club in the area! The next audition and meeting date will be in early January. Please follow The Dixon on Facebook and sign up for our newsletter.
The Discover Dixon Christmas walk was a huge success. All the shops look so good!
I tried the new breakfast burrito at the River City Ale House and Eatery. I highly recommend it. The Sunday Morning Bloody Mary at the Mad Water Saloon made by Tobias is a grand slam! And his homemade chili – five stars!
We’d like to thank our newest sponsor, White Rabbit Broadcasting with WLLT. Your investment in our 2025 music lineup was incredibly generous and will bring smiles to all our patrons!
Thank you to Mad Water Saloon for hosting our season reveal party! We can’t wait to partner with you for more events in 2025.
We truly hope that all of you have an amazing holiday season and a wonderful new year!
We can’t wait to see you at The Dixon!
Darren Mangler is the artistic producer at The Dixon: Historic Theatre.