HUNTLEY – What would you get if you rolled the musical styling and stage presence of Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and, of course, Frank Sinatra into one? You’d get Chicago’s Entertainer Ron Hawking.
Who: Chicago’s Entertainer Ron Hawking
When: 8 p.m. Friday, June 11 (doors open 7:30 p.m.)
Where: Cosman Cultural Arts Center, 12015 Mill St., Huntley (at Huntley Park District)
Tickets: $37.50 online $42.50 at door. Available at www.ronhawking.com (follow link to Ticket Scene).
Special offer: Bring your Ticket Scene confirmation to The Walleye Grill and receive a 15% discount on your dinner.
From his music to his impressions, there’s almost no end to Hawking’s versatility as a performer and big band connoisseur, which makes him the leading entertainer in the field of reprising these legendary personas. At 8 p.m. Friday, June 11, Hawking is taking the stage at the Cosman Cultural Arts Center in Huntley to celebrate his widely successful and popular show, “The Men and Their Music.”
“I decided to put together a show that kind of highlighted all of my musical mentors,” Hawking said. “When I celebrate ‘The Men and Their Music,’ I celebrate the legendary singers, songwriters, and performers that inspired me to do what I do.”
In “The Men and Their Music,” Hawking features a diverse array of popular songs and performances by legends such as Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, and Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons, among others.
Hawking also delves into reprising other greats like Dick Clark and Johnny Carson.
“The show has a lot of variety and has comedy,” said Hawking. “The show covers a lot of great music, and it’s very entertaining.
Joining Hawking on stage are his backup singers and band, all working together to bring the audience a masterpiece of musical memories.
“I will on occasion bring out Sammy, Dean, and Frank,” Hawking said. “They’re not always a part of the show, but I’ve worked them in. You can’t fire them.”
Hawking has been performing since he was a child and says music from the big band and jazz era “artistically moves me with the arrangements. It can move me with a lyric. It can move me with a recollection of seeing an old movie with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing.”
Hawking’s career as Chicago’s Entertainer has taken him from playing popular venues all over Chicago to honoring Shirley McClaine at Chicago’s International Film Festival, to having his own studio and show in NBC Tower, and to performing at the granddaddy of all venues, Carnegie Hall, for a tribute to Miss Patti Page one year after he survived Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
A percentage of Hawking’s performance at Cosman Cultural Arts Center will benefit A Silver Lining Foundation Free Mammography Program.
Hawking says that if “The Men and Their Music” is a success at Cosman he would like to continue a run there and feature more of his other popular shows.
“I feel so blessed to be able to go out and do what I do,” said Hawking. “To be able to not only recreate a character or sing a song, but, for that time period, I’m taking that audience away from all their troubles …. We’re all coming together on stage to take that audience on a little bit of a trip. To have a good time. It’s a magical kind of experience, and I feel privileged to be able to bring to the stage at the Cosman Cultural Arts Center.”
