Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top packed the Show Me Center, Liesl Schoenberger played Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, and the acclaimed David Parsons Dance Company hardly drew a quorum to Academic Auditorium during the year 2000.
Aside from a John Anderson concert sponsored by the Missouri State Troopers Association, country music was missing from the Show Me Center in 2000. Instead, the venue presented a variety of rock ranging from the '80s metal sounds of Def Leppard in January to the classic Southern boogie of Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top in March to the alternative rock of Bush on the same bill with the techno-dance tunes of Moby in April.
Country star Kenny Rogers did come around in November, but his well-attended concert was a Christmas show with lots of carols, a one-act musical about a magical toy shop, and featured a performance by a choir from Jackson High School.
Pop star and Kennett, Mo., native Sheryl Crow came in right behind Rogers in a benefit concert for Southeast's School for the Visual and Performing Arts and the Kennett Higher Learning Center. Ticket sales were disappointing but the music was well-received.
In March, fewer than 175 people attended an Academic Auditorium performance by the David Parsons Dance Company, one of the country's best modern dance ensembles. The Parsons dancers still gave a stellar demonstration of their athleticism and creativity.
Schoenberger, a student at Notre Dame Regional High School, was invited to appear at the Grand Ole Opry in April. She also was featured on a segment of "Backroads," a program broadcast by WSIU/WUSI in Carbondale, Ill.
Elsewhere, 1985 Notre Dame graduate Roger Seyer joined the cast of "Les Miserables" on Broadway.
Southeast Missouri State University presented Bach Festival 2000 during the fall to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the composer's death. The string of concerts culminated with the performance of Bach's "Magnificat" by the Choral Union and Southeast Symphony Orchestra.
Personnel changes once again affected the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. In July, Daniel North resigned as executive director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri after 2 1/2 years to take a teaching job in St. Louis. Leslie Stucker, his assistant, also resigned to take up studies in England. Thomas Howard, a school principal in Kelso, Mo., was hired to replace North in September, and Laura Brothers returned to the Arts Council in her former capacity as assistant director.
During his tenure, North dramatically increased the number of programs the Arts Council offers and helped curate an innovative online exhibit sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute.
In the fall, "Nobody's Juliet," an original experimental work written and directed by student Megwyn Sanders, provided one of the highlights of the University Theatre season.
The River City Players pulled out a plum in November with their production of "Having Our Say," in which newcomers Toni Pearson and Camisha Ester portrayed the centenarian Delaney sisters.
The City of Roses Music Festival eschewed a name act in favor of having more diversity of music at more venues. For a change, the October weather was good. The festival this year established scholarships at Southeast in the names of Cape Girardeau musicians Eddie Keys Sr., Homer Gilbert and William Shivelbine Sr.
Also in October, former "Laverne & Shirley" star Cindy Williams popped up in a production of the musical "Grease" at the Show Me Center.
Storyteller David Alexander was in residence in the community of East Prairie, Mo., during the fall. Alexander used stories to teach students in the schools and to entertain townspeople at events.
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