Senior Micah Dalton performs in the Spring musical “Once Upon a Mattress”
BLOOMINGTON — Moments after Micah Dalton dove into character as a minstrel, hundreds of Oakland Elementary School students were hooked.
Dalton and dozens of other Bloomington High School Drama Group performers and costume designers dazzled their junior peers on Wednesday with a preview of their spring musical, “Once Upon a Mattress.”
The BHS troupe gave a sneak peek to four District 87 elementary schools, beginning at Oakland. The mini-tour that morning also made it to Bent Elementary, Stevenson Elementary and Washington Elementary, displaying highlights of the musical’s two acts. The show’s three-day run starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 9.
Miranda Guevara, BHS theater and English teacher, said the pre-show rounds work as both promotion and recruitment for the drama group. She described the musical as a fun, lighthearted story, also a campy spin on the original “Princess and the Pea” tale.
Tracy Koch, artistic director with miOpera and musical director for the show, added: “It’s like the Monty Python of musical theater.”
The minstrel was joined by an ensemble of other high school actors who sang out a call for a princess as “delicate and dainty as a dragonfly’s wing.” The sample of musical numbers exhibited an array of moods, from bouncing and energetic to wistful and cunning.
Oakland Principal David LaFrance noted to the audience before the show that several performers are former Oakland grade school students. He suggested they could do drama too when they’re older.
Oakland Elementary School Principal David LaFrance watches Bloomington High School drama students perform a preview of “Once Upon a Mattress” on Wednesday in Oakland’s gymnasium in Bloomington.
Among the cast was Blake Heinonen as King Sextimus; Heinonen is also son to Oakland first grade teacher Elana Heinonen. There was no doubt that the mother and teacher was proud of her son.
“He’s a king … he’s every parent’s dream,” said Heinonen. She observed one student in her class, Harry Andres, clapping along to the music.
Andres agreed the cast has a powerful voice and said he would probably pursue theater, too. He said the dancing and twirling were the best parts.
Another student of Heinonen’s is Leah Alden. She said she liked the cast’s dresses and shoes.
Senior Lareina Green performs in the Spring musical “Once Upon a Mattress”
Hyping up
Leading in the role of Princess Winnifred is Lareina Green. A Friday’s rehearsal, the BHS senior said it takes a lot of hype to portray the princess.
“This character has so much energy that I need to have it almost in every song and every scene,” Green said, adding that it takes a little help from her friends, too.
Matteo Moudy portrays a knight as Bloomington High School drama students perform a preview of “Once Upon a Mattress” on Wednesday at Oakland Elementary School in Bloomington.
Green transferred to BHS in her freshman year after being enrolled previously at McLean County Unit 5 Schools. Green said she was initially nervous, but eventually made at least three best friends in the drama group. Those friends have graduated already, but she said they continue to do theater together.
Green doesn’t plan on a career in drama, but said she’ll stay involved in community theater as a hobby. She’s set on courses at Heartland Community College with intentions to transfer.
Green said her final spring musical at BHS leaves her feeling bittersweet. She said she’ll no longer be working with the same musical director, but her graduation offers underclassmen their chance to shine.
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Bloomington High School drama students, including senior Lareina Green, who plays Winnifred, perform a preview of “Once Upon a Mattress” on Wednesday at Oakland Elementary School in Bloomington.
Building back
Guevara said the drama group puts on a high-quality production that’s also family-friendly. She noted they brought in a professional lighting contractor and will have BHS’ orchestra as accompaniment.
It takes almost 100 students to put the whole production together. She counted 45 on stage, around 20 in the pit and another 20 building stages and costumes.
From left, Bloomington High School theater and English teacher Miranda Guevara directs Friday drama group rehearsal with musical director Tracy Koch in advance of their upcoming musical “Once Upon a Mattress,” opening up for a three-day run on Thursday, March 9.
Koch said they believe in incorporating an entire vocal technique into a performance. That means more than just learning notes.
She said they learn to use breath support and develop techniques to improve their sound.
“It’s almost like music education within the show,” Koch said.
To tell a story through music, she said they use music as a motivator, by emulating what’s happening via the emotions in their voices. Between those numbers, Koch said acting scenes will carry the plot forward with action.
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Guevara said the theater program is a good foundation for students who may wish to pursue an on-stage career. She said they all can gain life skills like problem solving, working with a group and being creative.
“Here, you are building a world with other people from different backgrounds and coming together to create one artistic vision,” she said, “which I think we use in all of our careers.”
Guevara said alumni often come back to help with or donate to school productions. However, she said they’re still building back their community from when pandemic restrictions were put in place.
Guevara recalled their 800-seat theater at BHS being filled in her early years with the district. This musical, she said, will be their first in three years without mask mandates or audience limits.
She encouraged the public to attend, and said: “Everyone is always left impressed with our products.”
Senior Micah Dalton plays the part of a minstrel during Bloomington High School’s preview of “Once Upon a Mattress” on Wednesday at Oakland Elementary School in Bloomington.
Feeling warm
It takes a complete cast to perform numbers that can be brimming with stomping and clapping. Doing her part to build the show’s ensemble is BHS junior Janna Alshabah.
While her role doesn’t have a name, she said she loves the opportunity to create her own character. Alshabah plotted her character’s title and backstory, and said: “This is what brings a character to life, even if you don’t have lines.”
That’s also taught her how she can contribute to a production without a named role.
Students have learned a lot more in Guevara’s theater class, Alshabah said, like dissecting different playwrights and doing character work. She noted the Theatre 101 course at BHS is dual-credited with Heartland.
Alshabah
Drama offers more than a creative out for Alshabah. With her passion for performing, she said she forgets what makes her anxious or overwhelmed, and she can extend a helping hand to underclassmen.
Alshabah said there’s a diverse group of kids involved in the arts at BHS, and as an Arab-Latino herself, she’s doing something her culture isn’t necessarily accustomed to.
For every musical she’s been in, Alshabah can testify they share a “sense of warmth” within their community.
“If one of our people is down, the whole cast is down,” Alshabah said.
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A major part
Behind the curtain are many hands working sets swift and silently. BHS sophomore Katie Beitzel is one of those hands, heading the run crew for this production.
The crew is tasked with moving pieces of the set on and off stage. Between scenes, Beitzel said she may have to run underneath the stage to get to the other end, because “you can’t run across the stage in the middle of the scene.”
Beitzel
Gazing upon the sight of stony castle walls and railings constructed in time for Friday rehearsal, Beitzel said it looked amazing. She proclaimed that it took blood, sweat and tears to build over about six weeks. They also had to expand the stage outward.
Pointing to the railing spindles, Beitzel said she cut out each one of them. She estimated over 60 hours of labor she personally put into the production. That’s on top of schoolwork and learning how to drive.
Beitzel noted all cast have to spend at least five hours doing stage tech work for each show. Beitzel said that teaches them the parts of production they wouldn’t see if they were just acting.
Taking on a leadership role has also taught Beitzel how to work with others, build a team and develop a management system. She said she’s learned who can stay quiet on set when working together.
That’s necessary, she said, because if they’re not dead silent, the microphones may pick up the noise and distract the audience.
It’s her fifth production with BHS drama. Beitzel said she got started in theater in sixth grade.
“It’s a major part of my life,” she said.
Who owns some of the most valuable art collections in the world?
Who owns some of the most valuable art collections in the world?
There is no feeling quite like wandering the echoing halls of an art museum.
Traipsing across polished floors, the high vaulted ceilings towering overhead, beholding displays of monumental historic and modern successes adorning the walls and pedestals—it’s a spectacular experience. Works featured in galleries are commonly donated or loaned by art collectors from their private collections, which are often priced at billions of dollars.
With this in mind, Masterworks compiled a list of some of the most valuable privately owned art collections in the world, using information from websites like Forbes and the New York Times. Supplemental data was pulled from Forbes’ billionaire list. Because these collections are private, any associated values are estimates, and this list is not necessarily exhaustive due to the general secrecy surrounding private art collections.
In 2021, the global art market reached a revenue of $65.1 billion dollars in sales, an increase of 30% since the prior year when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In 2001, billionaire Daniel Wildenstein’s death shocked the art world when the art dealer’s collection was liquidated in the wake of an inheritance battle. The collection’s price exceeded everyone’s expectations with a valuation in the ballpark of $10 billion, a sum far greater than anyone listed below. Such famous names as Renoir, Cèzanne, and Van Gogh were included in the collection, which had been in the family for four generations. For many pieces made by the world’s most famous and renowned artists, their value and locations are shrouded in secrecy. As such, we can only speculate on the true values of private collections, and all values listed below are estimates.
Steve Cohen
– Age: 66
– Nationality: United States
– Net worth: $17.5 billion
– Estimated art collection value: $1 billion
Steve Cohen and his wife, Alexandra Cohen, have been collecting art since 2000, amassing an impressive array of works. Fans and followers of the finance and baseball worlds will be familiar with the name Steve Cohen. He founded Point72 Asset Management, a hedge fund firm worth $26 billion and bought the New York Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020.
Having spent an estimated $1 billion on fine art, many famous names have appeared in the Cohens’ collection, including Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, and Jackson Pollock. Steve has stated that his acquisition of art comes from the gut. A notable piece in the collection is perhaps Damien Hirst’s most iconic work, “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living,” a terrifying piece that displays a 13-foot tiger shark suspended in formaldehyde, forcing the viewer to confront their fear of death with something dead, the shark’s mouth agape as if to swallow us whole.
Cohen has been known to part with some of his pieces, having notably sold a Warhol “Mao” painting in 2015. The Cohens have donated to museums, including the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art, El Museo del Barrio, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2017, they donated $50 million to expand the Museum of Modern Art.
Francois Pinault
– Age: 86
– Nationality: France
– Net worth: $36.7 billion
– Estimated art collection value: $1.2 billion
François Pinault has amassed over 10,000 works in the last 50 years. With a deep passion for sharing his love of art, Pinault is one of, if not the most, important collectors of contemporary art. Pinault’s efforts to connect with creatives and advance public knowledge of art history have made him one of the most influential names in the art world.
In addition to regularly loaning artworks to museums, Pinault has pioneered such artist programs as a residency in Lens and the Prix Pierre Daix, an annual prize in memory of Pierre Daix, an art historian and friend of Pinault.
Unlike many art collections or pieces that are kept in the dark, the Pinault collection can be enjoyed in its new and beautiful home at the Bourse de Commerce, a stunning relic of architecture that has gone through significant repairs and metamorphoses, thanks to visionary architect Tadao Ando’s work on the building from 2017 to its completion in 2020.
Philip Niarchos
– Age: 68
– Nationality: Greece
– Net worth: $2.8 billion
– Estimated art collection value: At least $2 billion
Philip Niarchos inherited his art collection and fortune from his father, Stavros Niarchos, a Greek magnate who made his fortune in oil shipments in the early 1950s. In 1957, the elder Stavros acquired actor Edward G. Robinson’s collection, valued at over $2.5 billion. As the eldest son, Philip Stavros inherited most of his father’s collection. His additions to the collection have only increased its value, making it one of the most coveted in the world.
Notable works include the unmistakable “Yo, Picasso” and Van Gogh’s earless self-portrait, as well as works by Maurizio Cattelan and Andy Warhol. In 1985, Warhol exhibited a commission by his friend Philip entitled “Philip’s Skull,” which utilized CAT scans of Niarcho’s skull on silk screens, challenging the idea of self-portraiture. Equally as impressive is Niarchos’ purchase of Jean Michael Basquiat’s self-portrait for $3.3 million, a record-breaking sale for a Basquiat piece at the time. Niarchos’ collection is also said to have the most expansive private collection of Van Gogh paintings.
Edythe Broad
– Age: 86
– Nationality: United States
– Net worth: $6.9 billion
– Estimated art collection value: More than $2 billion
A philanthropist and esteemed art collector, Edythe Broad has committed her life to climate change efforts and has donated billions of dollars to science, education, and the arts. She and her husband, the late billionaire Eli Broad, were some of the first to sign the Giving Pledge, dedicating 75% of their accumulated wealth during their lifetimes.
The Broads’ collection is a commitment to art produced during their lifetime and has accumulated an estimated 2,000 works by 200 artists over the last 50 years. Along with efforts to highlight new and emerging artists, pieces by familiar names such as Takashi Murakami, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, and Yayoi Kusama have made their way into the collection.
In 2015, the couple opened The Broad, a contemporary art museum in downtown Los Angeles, to publicly showcase the fantastic array of work they collected over the years.
David Geffen
– Age: 79
– Nationality: United States
– Net worth: $7.7 billion
– Estimated art collection value: More than $2 billion
After his early days in the mailroom of the talent agency William Morris, David Geffen became an agent, eventually founding Geffen Records, Asylum Records, DGC Records, and DreamWorks Studios. Interestingly enough, some trickery was afoot when he secured the agent position. When Geffen worked in the mail room, he was able to intercept a letter from UCLA stating he had not completed his required schooling and fudged the letter to make it appear that he had graduated.
Geffen is particular about which works make it into his impressive art collection—and he certainly prioritizes quality over quantity, as his collection is much smaller in scale than others investing in the same space. He has been praised by art dealers and curators alike for his exemplary taste and timing in buying and selling coveted pieces. Much of his collection is shrouded in secrecy, with rare details released to the public.
The self-made billionaire is the most successful single owner of an art collection, making it invaluable despite the collection supposedly containing less than 50 items.
Ezra and David Nahmad
– Age: 77 (Ezra) and 75 (David)
– Nationality: Monaco
– Net worth:$1.5 billion (Ezra) and $2 billion (David)
– Estimated art collection value: Between $3 billion and $4 billion
Brothers Ezra and David Nahmad are considered megadealers in the art world and have spent nearly a lifetime collecting historically significant pieces. Not strangers to controversy, the Nahmads have built their fortune with experience garnered in their teenage years, learning to deal in the art trade while growing up in Italy.
Their buy-and-hold strategy has helped them greatly increase profits, largely thanks to their expansive 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Geneva. It is estimated that the building contains somewhere between 4,500 to 5,000 pieces. Behind the Picasso family, the Nahmads are the owners of the second-largest Picasso collection, reportedly owning 300 original works valued at around $900 million. Other notable artists in their collection include Henri Matisse, Mark Rothko, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
This story originally appeared on Masterworks and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Contact Brendan Denison at (309) 820-3238. Follow Brendan Denison on Twitter: @BrendanDenison
