“Ragdolls” a tribute to Aerosmith at Des Plaines Theatre

The city of Des Plaines has taken over the shuttered Des Plaines Moviehouse and with the aid of Onesti Entertainment, has rebuilt it into a total “night out to remember”. Onesti is recognized in the entertainment world for his doing it to perfection. His Arcada Theatre in St. Charles has attracted the best of the best, so when the city of Des Plaines opted to do something to spark the downtown, they called him in and with his knowledge and his able staff of players, he has created a masterpiece in the Northwest suburbs. One no longer has to fight the traffic heading into the city for a great night out. It is all right there in downtown Des Plaines.

Last Sunday, Mother’s Day, Frank and I spoke with Susie Major, the lead singer of an all-women tribute band that does so with the music of Aerosmith. They invited us to come to see the show tonight. We also had some listeners that were invited. Dan Merrigan was unable to attend and notified me by e-mail. I am not sure about Peggy Mohr. If you did make it, I hope you truly enjoyed the evening. I know that we did.

Jane, Frank and I arrived at the theater located at 1476 Miner Street around 6:15 . We were greeted by a member of the staff, Jackie, who made sure that our every need was taken care of. We had a table in their DesPizza, a rock ‘n roll pizza experience. We had a cheese, a sausage and a pepperoni pizza delivered to our table. They were thin and crispy and very tasty. Frank, is of course, our Italian and he gave it thumbs up instantly. Jane and I agreed, We skipped the hard drinks and settled for root beers and diet sodas. The food was delicious and I noticed they had some other dishes available as well.

While our pizzas were baking, we were brought to the backstage area for a meet and greet with the group of ladies known as  “Ragdolls” dedicated to recreating the sound, energy and style of Aerosmith. Susie Major is the lead singer ( and the young lady I interviewed on-air,Mothers Day). Ali Handal is the lead guitarist and also does vocals, Marsha McSorley does rhythm guitar, Terry Rae on the bass and Marisa Testa on the drums ( and some vocals along with McSorley). These five ladies are terrific and their energy, non-stop.

Before the Ragdolls took the stage, we watched the audience go crazy over another all female group called “Bad Reputation”. They also do tribute and got the audience wound up and ready to rock ‘n roll with the main event- “RagDolls”. If you see them appearing anywhere and are seeking a fun night out, trust me when I tell you you will see a show that will remain with you for some time- they are terrific!

Before leaving, we did a tour of the other parts of the restoration. On the main floor Big Al’s Tavern ( made me feel special) and then we took the elevator up to a very special place, the Bourbon ‘N Brass Speakeasy. Walls move to get you into a room that will take you back to the roaring twenties. Of course we are talking about what we heard were the roaring twenties and of course have read about and watched films depicting same. Great seating areas and they do have access to the theater’s balcony, s one can bring their drink out there and still enjoy the show from a different angle.

There are lots of amazing reasons to go to see this historic landmark and what it has been transformed to. To learn more visit www.desplainestheatre.com or call224-354-2333

to check out the Arcada as well, visit www.oshows.com