Mount Vernon – Thursday, April 27, Susan Kahrl will portray Ethel Merman as part of the only monthly Chautauqua Series in the United States. What is a Chautauqua? First person living history! The audience is invited to spend an evening getting to know the real person behind the historical one. The programs are brought to you on a donation basis by Elixir Presents and support from the Ariel Foundation and Knox County CVB.
Ethel Merman burst onto the Broadway stage and never looked back. Though untrained in singing, she could belt out a song like no one else and was sought after by major songwriters such as Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Besides an amazing number of roles and performances on Broadway, she also starred over 40 film and television appearances and no one has ever topped her sizzling rendition of Stephen Sondheim and Jule Styne’s “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.”
The event will be held at ThePlace@TheWoodward (101. S. Main Street, Mount Vernon, Ohio). Doors open at 6 PM and the program will begin at 7 PM with a musical salute presented by Lynn Jurkowitz followed by Ethel Merman and then a question and answer period.
For more information on this and other upcoming programs, visit www.elixirpresents.com, www.VisitKnoxOhio.org or call 740-392-6102. To be included in a friendly reminder email on the Sunday before each program, contact Mike Petee at elixir_petee@hotmail.com to be included.

Chautauqua Welcomes Cleveland Actor Burgess Meredith
Mount Vernon - Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1907, Burgess Meredith is one of those actors you remember his roles but can't quite remember his name. He played Mickey Goldmill in "Rocky", Henry Bemis in the Twilight Zone episode where the book lover is the only survivor of a nuclear war and with all the time in the world to read, breaks his coke bottle thick glasses. And who can forget his movie stealing role as Grandpa Gustafson in the Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau movie "Grumpy Old Men." And of course there was the Penguin.
This coming Thursday, April 13, Elixir Presents and Ariel Foundation welcome Greg Patterson portraying Burgess Meredith portraying the Penguin. The Chautauqua Series present first person living history and this program is kind of special in that it's a living history portrayal of a living history person.  Mr. Patterson, an Entertainment Lawyer and former impressionist who opened for Bob Hope, is a veteran of the Chautauqua stage and always aims to inform, entertain and leave his audiences laughing.
The event is held at ThePlace@TheWoodward (101 S. Main Street in downtown Mount Vernon), a first floor facility that is special needs equipped. Doors open at 6 PM, the program starts at 7 PM with a visit from the musical group Owl Creek with Burgess Meredith as the Penguin appearing on stage at 7:45 PM. Are the portrayal Burgess will take questions from the audience. The event is donation based and all money goes to the artist on stage.
Did you know Burgess Meredith was also known for his voiceover work, serving as the voice for Skippy Peanut Butter and United Airlines, among others? He also served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II, was an ardent environmentalist and opponent of the Vietnam War.
For information about this and other upcoming Chautauqua programs, please visit www.elixirpresents.com, www.VisitKnoxCounty.org and call 740-392-6102. To receive a gentle reminder email on the Sunday before each program contact Mike Petee at elixir_petee@hotmail.com.
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