Oak Park's Performing Arts Center Presents: 'Irish Stew'

An evening for anyone who wishes St. Patrick's Day lasted a while longer. Irish Stew will recreate what it is like to visit a rural Public House in Ireland, a public gathering place in the country where people exchange ideas, love of life, stories and song. The event will feature master storytellers Margaret Burke and Kim Hoag, Irish musician and bard Geri Dignan, and VPT President Paul McKenna.

Margaret Burk was named in "100 Women Making a Difference" by Today's Chicago Woman Magazine in 1997 for her fundraising and development work with the Chicago Sinfonietta. Since 2000, she has turned her attention to the art of storytelling. Margaret's telling crackles with warmth and wit. A resident of Oak Park, she treats story and audience as old friends, delighting in the success of her matchmaking! Additionally, Margaret is on the Board of Illinois Storytelling Inc., a member of the National Storytelling Network and a member of the Oak Tree Storytelling Guild.

Kim Hoag is an actor, educator and storyteller of the mythic within us all. A resident of Forest Park, he has traveled throughout Ireland, Scotland, Australia and around the states picking up dreams that have grown old with the human soul, tales where the commonplace becomes enchanted and enchantment becomes reality, and myths from the heart that have been sown upon the wind and have been given life again for a space in time.

Gerry Dignan has sung Irish folk music for many years in various Chicago establishments. He has spent a year in Ireland immersed in the rich culture and folklore of relatives and locals. During the St. Paddy's season, he holds an annual evening of Irish stories and songs with much sharing of poems, jokes, stories and music. His music work has included: member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Holy Family Parish Gospel Choir. He appears as "Uncle Gerry" on the internationally acclaimed family music program Music Together collection. Gerry and his wife Denise have produced two CD's –"Harvest of Life: Songs of Hope and Celebration", and "Heart's Desire"– a collection of Celtic songs of love.

Irish Stew will perform Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 7:30 PM. All tickets are $20.

Presented in the Playground Theater of the newly renovated Village Players Theatre located at 1010 W. Madison St., Oak Park. Plenty of parking is available on the street. The theater is handicap accessible; please call ahead to arrange for special seating.  Tickets available at www.village-players.org or by calling 866-764-1010.

Village Players Theatre, Oak Park's Performing Arts Center offers an eclectic mix of entertainment that empowers and inspires while exploring the human condition.

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