Thursday, December 29, 2016

The Congo Cabaret: That's Entertainment, Hosted by Muley the Mule

January 22, 2017, is fast approaching and with it comes the Congo Cabaret: That's Entertainment.  This variety show hearkens back to the days of vaudeville.  The twist?  This show is hosted by none other than Muley the Mule and Friends!

The event is created/produced/directed by Joel Chapman, one of the counselors of church's mental health center, and is meant to help raise funds for the food program at First Congo.

You can buy your tickets in person after services on Sundays with a check or cash, in the Global Goods Store with credit, or log into www.firstcongo.com, click on DONATE, and when buying your ticket list how many seats you need when buying the $40 family package (up to 4 seats) or the $25 single seat ticket.  You can also buy single seat tickets for others who might not be able to afford it otherwise.

Seating is limited to only 100 people, and as of this writing over 1/3 of those seats have been sold!  Don't wait, buy your ticket now!

We will have performances by Brennan Villines, Pastor Cheryl Cornish and Mark Allen, Sibella, Prof. Randy Rushing, and a bunch more surprises.  Also, you know our history: Being hosted by Muley the Mule and Friends ANYTHING could happen!!

The press release is below the video (which works on some browsers, or CLICK HERE.)



(Poster by Joel Chapman)
First Congregational Church, fondly known as “First Congo”, in the Cooper-Young
Neighborhood, is presenting “That’s Entertainment”—a big evening of dinner cabaret to benefit the social justice ministries of the church. On Sunday, January 22nd, with supper beginning at 5:30 and the show starting at 6:00, there will be a wide array of semi-professional and professional performers to brighten a winter’s evening, raise funds, and gladden the hearts of children and adults.


Hosting the cabaret is Muley the Mule and Friends—a fabulous troupe of puppeteers who not only will introduce the acts, but will perform and bring some surprises as well. Check them out at muleythemule.com. Some of the artists scheduled to appear are Dr. Randal Rushing, Professor of Voice at the University of Memphis’ Scheidt School of Music who will “channel” the likes of Hank Snow and Merle Haggard. Pastor Cheryl Cornish and her guitarist husband, Mark Allen, will play the music of PDQ Bach. You don’t want to miss that.


Director of the show and tenor, Joel Chapman, and baritone, Jonathan Devin, will join to sing the haunting “Lily’s eyes” from “The Secret Garden.” Duo Sibella will perform some of their original songs, and song stylists such as David Winter and ZB Davis will
represent the blues and musical theatre genres. The music director for “That’s Entertainment” is rising pop singer and composer, Brennan Villines, who recently gave a wow big band performance at Playhouse on the Square and who will sing a selection from his 2015 album, “Free.” Check him out at brennanvillines.com.


Tickets are $25 for singles, $40 for a family up to four, and include a delicious spaghetti supper. There will be a cash bar for beer and wine. The cabaret takes place in First Congo’s new Hub where approximately 400 people per week are fed a hot lunch and where clothing and toiletries are available in the clothes closet and pantry.

The Hub includes a stage where it is hoped coffee house and cabaret productions will become a regular part of the First Congo community outreach.


Tickets must be pre-paid and can be claimed at “will call” the evening of the show. Tickets can be purchased at the church, 1000 S. Cooper St., by check, cash or credit card. Or, go to firstcongo.com and click on the “Donate” button. Be sure to indicate your payment is for “cabaret” and clearly indicate the type of tickets you are purchasing: singles, family plan, or a combination. We have to know the total number of seats you are purchasing. Please leave a phone number in case we have questions.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

2016 Kids' Messages Schedule Pt. 2

Well, folks, the second half of the year is upon us and here is your schedule for when you can hear Muley speak to the kids and the whole congregation of First Congo!!

2016
August 14
September 11
October 2
November 6
December 11

And January 29, 2017!

Meet-n-greets start at 10am, services begin at 10:30am.
Hope to see you there!

Photo Credit by Roger Courts

Monday, July 4, 2016

Farewell to a Super Woman! Noel Neill 1920 - 2016


Oh, so sad today.

One of the things that's great about Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL, is that you make so many wonderful friends that it feels like a home-coming celebration instead.  And as a part of that family I had a great chance to meet such a sweetheart, graceful lady. For the many years that we went to Metropolis for Superman Celebration, Noel Neill (the original Lois Lane) was there and generously gave her time to visit and share her love. 

Many conversations were had between her and Muley, and it seemed as delightful for her as it was for us! Her bright eyes and big smile was always a happy moment for us and I hope we brought her that same joy. I think we did!


After a fall some years back, I sent her a care package including a signed, framed photo of her and Muley. While talking to her close friend, biographer Larry Ward, I asked if she got it and he said, "Yes, and I'm a little jealous. I went to visit and it was there on the nightstand where my picture used to be."  Today, Larry replied that we brought her joy and thanked me for loving her in that way--and, you know, it was my greatest honor to have been there wiggling that mule for her enjoyment.


Knowing Muley was the first thing she saw in the morning, and the last thing at night, brought me joy! And I hope brought her even more joy.


I'm thankful for the opportunity and blessing to have become acquainted with this beautiful, super woman.  My heart aches; but, is also filled with joy for having been able to claim one part of my life touched by such a great woman.


My advice to Larry stands true to all our Metropolis Family:  Having lost friends I know that time does NOT heal all wounds; but, time allows us the opportunity to find new ways to share our love, celebrate and continue to show our appreciation for them.  That will bring us all comfort.  Keep in mind, also, that our lost loved ones are only a spoken word away, and they're always with us.

Fly high, super woman, and thank you for such wonderful, beautiful memories.








From her friend and biographer, Larry Ward:


It is with great sadness that I report the passing of my very close friend, actress Noel Neill, the original "live action" Lois Lane from Superman.   Noel passed away yesterday at her home in Tucson, Arizona after a long illness.  She was 95.

Noel Darleen Neill was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1920, the daughter of Minneapolis Star Tribune news editor David Neill and New York vaudeville performer LaVere Neill.  She hit the stage early in life in local productions at the age of five, and also offered dramatic radio performances on local Minneapolis stations as early as 1929.   She was childhood friends with the Andrews Sisters as they attended dance school together, with Noel eventually branching out as a solo singer and dancer.   Noel and the Andrews Sisters barnstormed middle America together playing many of the RKO Orpheum Theatres throughout the region, as well as performing at countless county and state fairs throughout the midwest in the 1930s.       

After graduating from Central High in Minneapolis in 1938, Noel and her mother headed west by automobile, reaching Los Angeles a week later where she would eventually make her permanent home.   Soon after her arrival, at almost 18 years of age, she was hired to sing with Bing Crosby's band at the Del Mar Racetrack.  Other singing jobs followed in San Francisco, Tucson, and in Los Angeles.

And then Hollywood came calling.  With the help of Crosby, Noel signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures in 1941.  She initially made several short films, then appeared in mostly non-speaking roles, gradually gaining leading lady status beginning with 1944's Are These Our Parents?    

In total, Noel made close to 100 films in her long and incredible career, and surprisingly, most were Western films made in the 1940s and 1950s.  She worked with many noted directors such Cecil B. DeMille, Vincent Minnelli, and Hal Roach, and starred with actors Bob Hope, Crosby, Gene Kelley, Clayton Moore, Johnny Mack Brown and William Holden.  

But it was her role as Lois Lane in the 1948 Columbia movie serial Superman that caught the interest of fans everywhere.  She was bright, funny, assertive but with a quick sense of humor; and opposite film's first Superman, Kirk Alyn, the serial was a hit which necessitated a sequel, 1950's Atom Man Vs Superman, again starring Alyn with Tommy Bond as Jimmy Olsen.

Her work in the iconic 1950s television series, The Adventures of Superman with the late George Reeves, however, best defined and cemented her legacy as "the intrepid reporter."  After years of playing bit parts in bad films and great roles in forgotten films, she finally found her niche.  As a teenager she knew all about the newspaper business from her father and she had also actually written for Women's Wear Daily in the late 1930s, so it was a role she believed she was born to play.  And as she would admit in interviews later in life, she simply played herself.   

Arguably the most prolific actor in the Superman science fiction genre, Noel would also go on to work with Christopher Reeve in the 1978 film Superman, in the 1980s in the Superboy series with Gerard Christopher, the 2004 Jerry Seinfeld webisode Hindsight is 20/20; and finally, in Brandon Routh's 2006  feature film Superman Returns

The recipient of many awards over the years, she had long professed that her 2004 Golden Boot Award - for her many Western films - as presented to her by her friend and fellow actor Tom Selleck - was likely her favorite.   

The town of Metropolis, Illinois, which had proclaimed Noel Neill  First Lady of Metropolis some years ago, also dedicated a Lois Lane statue in her likeness in 2011 for her love of the role and her many visits to Metropolis over the years.  The statue is a popular attraction and has been visited by thousands of her admirers since its dedication.           

As Noel's close friend, companion and biographer, I found Noel to be generous with her time and the same person off the screen as she appeared to be on the screen.  Her stamina was legendary as she happily made personal appearances and attended book signings well into her 90th year.  She was kind, selfless, hardworking, funny with a quick wit, and assertive - all the same qualities that embodied the character of Lois Lane.   Noel truly was Lois Lane, and for many of us, she was the first working woman seen on television.  Few of her fans actually knew her real name, almost always simply calling her "Lois" to which she would unfailing answer with a bright smile and a kind word.  It was more than a role to her.  "Lois" was someone she believed in and a character she happily and warmly embraced.  
   
Noel Neill maintained that bright, perky and engaging personality up until her death.  

Funeral services will be private with a public memorial held later this year.  

Larry Thomas Ward, July 4, 2016  


Photo credits:  Both photos of Noel Neill with actor George Reeves in 1957.    


Click the banner above to read the Metropolis Planet Article.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

2016 Superman Celebration Schedule!

Hear ye, hear ye!  We're excited to be heading to one of our homes to be with some of our families and bring a rip-roaring good time to the already fantastic and joyful Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL!

Held the second weekend each June, this four day festival has all kinds of great fun, from music to food to costumes to...EVERYTHING you can think of.

CORRECTION:  Saturday June 11 schedule:
10 AM - Puppet-making Workshop with Kevin L. Williams
1:00 PM - Muley and Friends Show LIVE (NOT at 3:30pm) Sorry about that.

The full schedule can be found online if you CLICK HERE; but, our personal schedule can be found below.




We also hope to do some Facebook Live chats while there, so be on the look out for that on Muley's Facebook page.  Click the logo below to go there!


Monday, March 7, 2016

Easter Eggheads returns to ACME Classics 3/27/2016!

Be sure to join the fun Easter Sunday at 7:45 AM and 2:30 PM only on ACME Classics!

Over the air on channel 23.2 and 34.1, or Comcast 15 or U-Verse 34!!

CLICK HERE!

Plenty of images here to download and share on your favorite social media website!  (please.)







Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Muley's 2016 Kids Message Schedule (Feb-July)

If you want to see what the Mule is thinking on Sunday mornings, these are the best dates to come out to First Congregational Church to learn more.  Services begin at 10:30 am, with meet and greets happening with members in the Cafe Congo starting at 10am.  We hope to see you there!

February 14
March 6
April 17
May 8
June 5
June 26
July 17

Photo by Roger Courts, member First Congo.