THE GREATEST SHOW UNEARTHED: Halloween-Inspired Show to Premiere at Masonic Temple
enjoy some themed music and learn about the history of Halloween on Oct. 21
You’ve likely heard harrowing tales of creatures like werewolves, vampires, and mummies, but a brand new Halloween-themed show in Eau Claire will be exploring lesser-known mythical beings at the Masonic Temple (616 Graham Ave., Eau Claire) on Oct. 21. The show will explore the legends and histories of banshees, goblins, gnomes, a haunted circus, and more!
Aptly named, The Greatest Show Unearthed is being produced by Ed Willett and Cheryl Leah, bringing a new kind of spooky event to E.C. The idea sparked last year when the duo invited about 50 friends to a Halloween party, where they performed original Halloween-centered music and found it to be a major success.
“The whole point of what we’re trying to do is to rekindle people’s excitement for Halloween,” Willett said. “It just worked like crazy.”
Willett, professional cello player and founder of The Chance Ensemble and WillettHouse Music, will be performing with vocalist Cheryl Leah, Randy Sabien (violinist and guitarist), Yazmin Bowers (vocalist), and Stevie Matier, an Irish drum player from Belfast who will also tell original ghost stories and legends. Matier will describe Halloween’s connections with Celtic Isle roots, like the origins of “Trick or Treating,” for example, and a few of the songs played during the evening will be 300-year-old Celtic songs.
The rest of the musical pieces played are originals, ranging from dark rock to sweet songs about gnomes in love, all performed by the quintet and each song supporting a story being told by Matier.
Willett and Leah decided to bring this event to Eau Claire because they had often performed in the area over the years, and decided that the Masonic Temple's atmosphere was perfect for their vision of this event. The hope is that this show will return to the area annually, to continue to foster a love of Halloween amongst adults who may want to channel their inner Halloween-enthusiast again.
“I think people need things that reconnect them to their youthful energy and I think Halloween does that better than anything,” Willett said. “I mean, just talking to people about it I get this vibe that they're just really excited about the idea and I've been pitching shows forever and I didn't I don't get that. When I bring up a Halloween show with original music, I really get a spark from people and I think it's because of this excitement that's kind of deep in the collective.”
Tickets for The Greatest Show Unearthed are $25 and can be purchased at the door on the night of, or at brownpapertickets.com.