Mount Vernon – Greetings my little Chickadees! Elixir is happy to bring you one of only 6 genuine comedic geniuses according to Woody Allan. William Claude Dukenfield, known to the world as W.C. Fields, brings his comedic genius to ThePlace@TheWoodward (111 S. Main Street in downtown Mount Vernon, Ohio) on Thursday May 30th at 7 PM. Supported in part by grants from the Ohio Arts Council, Ariel Foundation and Rolls-Royce Charities/Civic Fund, this donation based series, brings a wide range of first person historical portrayals from Founding Fathers and Mothers to Civil War personalities, Western era to WWII characters to entertainers and musicians and people who made Ohio and Knox County history, both well-known and lesser known but just as important people, who have graced our county, state, country and beyond.
Portraying W.C. Fields and making his Mount Vernon Chautauqua debut is Greg Patterson, an entertainment attorney from Delaware, Ohio. Greg has been portraying Fields for many fields as well as several other characters including John Adams and George burns.
Open for W.C. Fields will be the presenters of these programs, the musical trio who re-invent American music in fun and entertaining new ways. Elixir, made up of Chris Petee, Gerry Rensel and Mike Petee will perform a half hour set of songs to set the mood for the main speaker, W. C. Fields, followed by a question and answer period, where you the audience can ask W. C. Fields any question you might have ever wondered about.
Did you know W. C. Fields was the original choice for the title role in the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz? Fields also figured in an Orson Welles project, after losing money on Citizen Kane, Welles was urged by RKO to choose as his next film a subject with more commercial appeal and Welles considered an adaptation of Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers which would have starred Fields and John Barrymore. And during the early planning for his film, It's a Wonderful Life, director Frank Capra considered Fields for the role of Uncle Billy.
Doors open at ThePlace@TheWoodward at 6 PM, the program starts at 7 PM and finishes around 9 PM. For more information about this program or other upcoming programs in this year round Chautauqua [only one of its kind in the United States], visit www.elixirpresents.com or www.VisitKnoxOhio.org or call 740-392-6102 or 740-392-3018. You already have your ticket!