Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- “Elvis My Way, Starring Brandon Bennett” kicks off the Freedom Hall 2022-2023 season on Thursday, October 25 at 11 a.m. Bennett is the 2008 winner of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. The show provides a retrospective on the career of Elvis Presley with performances of his greatest hits.
According to Chuck Sabey, Cultural Arts Supervisor at Freedom Hall, there will be twelve performances in the season, half in the evening and half matinees. Shows encompass a wide variety of entertainment from rock ‘n roll, soul, pop, and jazz in a season designed to appeal to a wide array of audiences.
Tickets for all performances are now on sale at the Freedom Hall box office or online via Eventbrite, which is accessible via the Freedom Hall website. Patrons who purchase three or more main series (evening) performances save $4 per ticket, but the purchase must be made at the box office, by phone, or by mail. A link to the ticket order form can be found on the Freedom Hall website.
The first evening performance on Saturday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m. features Abbey Road, an all-star Beatles tribute band. Featuring musicians from the Chicagoland area and accompanied by a mini-symphony orchestra, Abbey Road strives for a note-for-note replication of the Beatles songs we all know so well.
Next up is a Lionel Richie tribute matinee performance on November 8 by Gregory James and the All-Night Long Show Band, considered one of the best Lionel Ritchie tribute bands in the Midwest.
Booker T. Jones returns to Park Forest for his third appearance on November 12 at 7:30 p.m. with “Celebrating 60 Years of ‘Green Onions.’” The leader of Booker T. and the MGs has collaborated with legends such as Otis Redding and Albert King. His “Green Onions” instrumental recorded in 1962 sold over a million copies, ranks 181 in Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest songs of all time, and is the only instrumental on the list. Jones, a prolific keyboard player and producer, is currently touring worldwide with his new band.
Masters of Soul will perform for two nights, December 2 and 3, at 7:30 p.m. The group performs Motown and soul hits from Gladys Knight & The Pips, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Diana Ross, and others. Fully costumed and choreographed with a live band, the performance will cover some of the greatest performers and songs of the 60s and 70s.
On December 6 at 11 a.m., Freedom Hall will celebrate the holidays with “Someday at Christmas: John-Mark McGaha sings Stevie Wonder.” Two earlier Freedom Hall performances by McGaha were cancelled due to COVID related issues, so the third time is hopefully the charm.
“Three Hearts Lift Up & Rise – Songs of Hope & Love” brings something a little different to Freedom Hall. Three exceptionally talented performers, Alfreda Burke, Rodrick Dixon, and Jo Ann Daugherty will perform classic songs across many genres when they take the stage at 11 a.m. on February 21. Burke and Dixon have appeared in concerts across the world on stages such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and The Kennedy Center, as well as locally at Ravinia and the Auditorium Theatre. This year they were featured in the “PBS Great Performances Now Hear This: Florence Price and the American Migration.” Jo Ann Daugherty is well known to Park Forest audiences and is currently the Music Director of the national tour of “SIX The Musical.” She has performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in productions of Jesus Chris Superstar and West Side Story.
“Shining Star – A Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire” performs at 7:30 p.m. on February 24, covering many of the hits of this group, which came out of Chicago in the late 60s and went on to be one of the greatest jazz, R&B, and soul bands of all time.
Shayna Steele is next in the line-up with an evening performance on March 18. A singer with a wide range from soul, blues, gospel, R&B, and jazz, she has been a background vocalist for Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Bette Midler, and Steely Dan.
Considered one of the best vocalists of her generation, Karen Carpenter along with her brother, Richard, formed The Carpenters, one of the most popular groups in the 1970s. Backed by a six-piece band, their music will be recreated by Lisa Rock in a matinee performance on March 21, “Lisa Rock in Close to You: The Music of the Carpenters.”
Another vocalist of note, Judy Garland, will be covered in a matinee performance on April 11 with “Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland.” Ingersoll takes the audience through the life of Judy Garland with stories and songs that made her one of the best loved actors and singers of all time. Starring as Garland in “End of the Rainbow,” Ingersoll won Chicago’s Jeff Award and the LA Times Woman of the Year for her performance.
Closing out the season on April 14 is “Better Together presents The Jazz Sound of Al Jarreau” at 7:30 p.m. Jo Ann Daugherty returns along with vocalist Bruce Henry, guitarist Henry Johnson, bassist Joshua Ramos, and drummer Ryan Bennett to explore and celebrate the music of jazz great Al Jarreau.
Freedom Hall is located at 410 Lakewood Boulevard in Park Forest, Illinois. The box office is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
