A look back at the events that shaped arts and entertainment in 2005

As with every year, 2005 was full of transition and expansion, death and rebirth, adversity and triumph, controversy and consensus in the field of Cape Girardeau arts and entertainment.

The arts community continued its expansion, embracing a larger variety of artistic expression. Some people exited the scene, either through death or retirement, and members of a new generation took their place.

When national and world disasters like the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina visited destruction upon millions, the local arts community showed its giving spirit and generosity any way it could.

When tragedy struck locally, like the untimely death of The Melroys' frontman Randy Leiner, the community did the same, creating a scholarship to honor Leiner's legacy.

Cape Girardeau was tapped as a filming site for the major studio movie "Killshot," and the Southeast Missouri State University theater and dance department reached its own bit of stardom by wowing locals with the musical extravaganza "Guys and Dolls."

There was little out of the ordinary in local arts in 2005, but with the arts, normal and ordinary are relative terms in the extreme. Here are some of the events that helped shape the year in local arts and entertainment.

The year of the mural

"After six-and-a-half years of planning, by gosh, by golly, we did it."

In the utmost of country vernacular, River Heritage Mural Association President Tim Blattner expressed his excitement in July at the dedication of the "Mississippi River Tales" floodwall mural. For many in Cape Girardeau, Blattner most of all, the dedication was a long-awaited triumph, a crowning glory in a move to beautify the city's downtown.

Private donors and government entities teamed up for the effort, transforming downtown's Water Street with a history in art along a once drab wall. Chicago artist Tom Melvin led a team of painters, including locals like Craig Thomas, throughout 2004 in painting the murals.

At the same time, Chaffee artist Aaron Horrell was planning his own, much smaller homage to his town's history. Horrell painted a mural in downtown Chaffee in honor of that city's centennial, picturing the railroad that made the town possible.

Throughout the summer Horrell worked in the heat, readying his town's mural for its own dedication at the centennial celebration that ran through the summer.

Movie mania

When producers announced the major motion picture "Killshot" would likely film in Cape Girardeau, the shockwaves reverberated through the town.

The news opened a schism in the local Cape Filmmakers Cooperative, causing the resignation of one of the group's founders, and sent locals clamoring about how they could be extras.

Thanks to delays, production in Cape Girardeau's downtown was postponed until January. 2005 was the year of "Killshot," but the movie will define the infancy of the new year.

Tunes takes off

Likely no one in Cape Girardeau had a more successful year at promoting events than Larry Underberg and Old Town Cape with the Tunes at Twilight concert series.

This year the series' offerings of local and nationally touring independent musicians brought in about 2,500 spectators, said Tim Arbeiter with Old Town Cape. That figure is about double the number who attended in 2004.

The record-setting single show attendance was over 500 for Kimberley Dahme, Boston's bassist, in June. With the strong core of loyal fans that have gathered at the concert, 2006 will likely see even more success.

A Trans-Siberian Christmas ... again

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra returned to what the group calls its adopted hometown of Cape Girardeau in November, drawing the Show Me Center's biggest crowd of the year at more than 5,000.

Locals were once again dazzled by the visual and musical spectacle, impressed by the holiday metal masters' generosity (one local boy received an autographed guitar) and excited at the prospect of a return visit.

Other acts graced the Show Me Center stage this year. Bluegrass mainstreamers Allison Krauss and Union Station, the legendary Willie Nelson and Family, Larry the Cable Guy and contemporary Christian music's figurehead Michael W. Smith all drew in crowds, but none as big as TSO.

Impressive awards

The awards just kept coming in 2005 for titles published by the still-young Southeast Missouri State University Press. The year started out on the accomplishments of "Seven Laurels" by Linda Busby Parker, winning a James Jones First Novel Award and the Langum Prize in Historical Fiction.

The acclaim continued with a 2005 Governor's Humanities Award for Morley Swingle's "The Gold of Cape Girardeau" and a Pioneer America Society Fred Kniffen Award for "Matthews: The Historic Adventures of a Pioneer Family," by Southeast regent Edward "Ned" Matthews III.

The art of growth

The visual arts had another impressive year in Cape Girardeau, with new artist groups pushing the boundaries of contemporary styles, the founding of new galleries and the increasing expansion of arts events.

The contemporary side of visual arts were highlighted in 2005 with the opening of the Edward Bernard Gallery (a contemporary glass art showcase) and the Fountain Street Gallery (a venue showing contemporary art in a Victorian setting). A new artist group, the Modest Living Artists, also came on the scene to defy tradition with non-representational visuals.

Meanwhile the more entrenched art establishment also expanded, with the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri seeing big gains in attendance at ArtsCape and a flood of entries in its Girardot National Juried Exhibition.

Rolling on the River Campus

Southeast Missouri State University continued to look toward its artistic future with a focus on the River Campus.

In early 2005, the university's theater and dance department brought in Cape Girardeau native and opera singer Judith Farris to train for the musical spectacular "Guys and Dolls." Now Farris is a regular faculty member, and the university has expressed its commitment to drawing in the crowds at the River Campus through musicals, along with creating a degree for musical theater.

The university also commissioned the visual centerpiece of the new facility, hiring alumnus Gary Lucy to paint a giant mural for the River Campus welcome center. The commission caused some stir, with university art professor Ron Clayton saying the historical, representative work was not art, and many members of the community lashing out against the statement.

Year of transition

Nothing is ever certain but change, and 2005 had its fair share.

In February Southeast Missouri lost a great musician and native son, Randy Leiner, to an untimely death. Leiner fronted The Melroys with other local natives Mike Enderle and Gregg Hopkins and met his end at the height of his band's success.

Community theater lost one of its shaping forces when Chuck Ross retired from the River City Players after decades of passionate work. Ross will still stick around for consultation purposes, though.

And late in the year Bob Camp announced he would no longer run his venue, The Camp, a place that showcased new and alternative local bands for five years. Expect Camp to return, as his true love is music and promoting bands.

Popular local party band, Tone Def All-Stars, also ended a five-year run this year with a blowout bash at the band's home base -- Breakaways.

The show must go on

Despite some early troubles, including the resignation of a key organizer, the City of Roses Music Festival continued this year. The festival took on a new vision, trying to expand musical styles by incorporating hip hop, a burritto eating contest and acoustic music, attempting to make the festival a more family-friendly event.

Organizers say the festival will return in 2006, but who knows what shape it will take. Those same organizers are committed to continue the changes -- just another uncertainty in arts and entertainment as 2006 approaches.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182