Get ready for ‘Spamilton’, Classical Blast in Kilts at The Dixon

Hello Sauk Valley and beyond!

Are you ready for St. Valentine’s Day? There are a lot of food specials going on all over the place.

At The Dixon: Historic Theatre, we are in love with the renovations going on! The paint job looks amazing. We’ve also added a few surprises that we’re going to wait on revealing until our opening day, March 2!

“Spamilton” is our first show of the 2025 season! It is a musical, comedy spoof of one of the biggest Broadway shows ever, “Hamilton.” This national touring show comes straight off Broadway and onto the Dixon stage. There will be concessions and specialty drinks. We’d love it if our first show was packed! We now have three working bars!

We have a band coming in on March 14 that has played multiple times for the Blackhawks and other Chicago sporting events and festivals. They are coming here to start off St. Patrick’s Day right! Classical Blast in Kilts takes classical music, mixes it with classic rock, then covers it all in traditional Irish music. Beethoven, Led Zepplin, and Oh, Danny Boy! That would be a good mix! There will be green beer and necklaces!

Then the Dixon Municipal Band comes back to The Dixon and they are bringing a beat box flutist. Greg Pattillo, The Beat Box Flutist, will also be teaching a jam session at the theater. So, grab your favorite instrument and join the fun!

This Wednesday I get my knee replaced. So, when you come to the theater in March to see these amazing shows, I might have a limp. We have so many projects coming up this year that we don’t want to let you down. No matter my pain level, I’ll see you there!

During the renovations, there were a few surprises. Big money ones. But that is to be expected from a 103-year-old building. The unfortunate upper-cut we got from this news is that we had to cut a few more of the renovation upgrades off our list.

Between a roof that was more rotten than originally thought and lead paint abatement to asbestos removal and a few other gut punches, it was over $160,000 of unexpected expenses. This meant we couldn’t upgrade the stage, update the brass, replace the seats, fix the terrazzo floor, finish the entire building’s tuckpointing, and other needs.

Since Covid, prices have skyrocketed. What once was all covered by the federal grant now only covered the desperately needed things.

When you come to The Dixon, you are going to see new bathrooms, paint and plaster. You are going to see some of our other amazing surprises. But most of the money went into the things you don’t see. The roof and the removal of harmful substances. Your safety comes first. Please come to our shows this year so that we can keep upgrading the theater and bringing in bigger acts!

If you haven’t seen our schedule for this year, it is out of this world! It includes musicals; tribute bands that cover Pink Floyd, Billy Joel, Oasis, and Chicago; big bands like Dishwalla and Sister Hazel; the Bikes, Blues, Brews, and BBQ Festival starring Orianthi; our USO show on Memorial weekend called America’s Sweethearts; a one-act play festival for Halloween and so much more! There is something for everyone from here to Chicago to the Quad-Cities to Wisconsin and Dubuque, Iowa. Once you walk in, you’ll want to come back!

The staff of The Dixon recently visited The Egyptian Theater in DeKalb. It’s beautiful, I would love to do a show there. The staff was very cool as well and we hope to partner with them into the future.

I recently spoke at meetings for the Rotary Club, Kiwanis and Lion’s Club International to talk about the renovations and upcoming season. All of them, fantastic groups doing meaningful things. If you’d be interested in having me come do a quick presentation for your group, club, party, school or bingo night, just reach out. I’d love to meet all of you.

Stand up and sketch writing/acting classes will be starting in March. There will be a performance on my birthday, May 31, and June 1 at The Dixon for Dixon Night Live!

If you’ve ever wanted to try standup, this is the perfect opportunity to start. It’s a safe space to hone your craft until it’s time for a live audience. If you’ve watched Saturday Night Live and thought, “I could write better than that!” come and join us.

I worked for Conan for a decade and have been a professional writer/stand-up comic for 20 years. You’ll be ready to win those contests at The Rusty Fox! Come make the Sauk Valley laugh. I’d especially like to invite women to take the class. We need jokes from everyone and I know there are some funny ladies out there! Don’t hesitate!

We’re dropping the price to $30 and there is a way you can make your money back! Classes are every Wednesday until show week in May. That’s only 10 bucks a month and you get to do comedy on The Dixon stage! Plus, we will be filming all of the sketches!

Here is your calendar: “Spamilton” on March 2, comedy classes on March 5, Classical Blast in Kilts on March 14, and the Dixon Municipal Band on March 22. We also have two movies at the end of March: “The Sandlot” and “Wicked!”

Did I mention we just signed Sister Hazel and “Menopause 2″? What a year!

Have you seen the renovations at Lena’s Social Club? It’s going to look nice! I had a pepperoni and black olive pizza there. I devoured it quickly, it didn’t stand a chance. It looks like DQ is doing some upgrades, too. I’ll have to check that out. You know, for research.

Movie reviews

“Heart Eyes” had a tough time trying to figure out what it wanted to be. A comedy? A romance? A slasher film? The very first scene was funny and super gross. Loved it. Don’t go looking to be scared, but be prepared to watch a bloody rom-com.

“Love Hurts” has a script that may have been written by AI because it was so bad. It has a great lead actor…that’s about it. If you want to see some martial arts on the big screen, I’d recommend it. If you want an enjoyable movie, I’d stream “Rush Hour”.

I hope someone sends you some love this Valentine’s weekend and we’ll see you at The Dixon!

Darren Mangler is the executive director of The Dixon: Historic Theatre.