Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum News


	For Immediate Release: July 8, 2009	Contact: David Blanchette (217) 558-8970
	The Civil War and country music Tickets available for two musical events in July at Presidential Museum SPRINGFIELD IL — Tickets are available for two musical events at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield – a live indoor acoustic concert by country music recording artist Craig Morgan on July 14, and outdoor performances of the musical "The Civil War" on July 24, 25, 26, 30 and 31 and August 1. Tickets may be purchased by calling (217) 558-8934 Top 40 country music recording artist Craig Morgan will present an acoustic concert at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 14 in the central plaza area of the Presidential Museum. Morgan is currently on his Craig Morgan International Harvester Tour Powered by Case IH Agriculture. The July 14 Presidential Museum performance is sponsored by Brandt Consolidated, the Illinois Farm Bureau, and 104.5 WFMB/Sports Radio 1450 WFMB-AM. Museum admission of $10 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and military personnel, and $4 for children ages 5 – 15 is required to attend the July 14 performance. A limited number of tickets will be available for the event. Morgan's performance will promote the Presidential Museum's latest exhibit, Illinois Stories: "How Vast and How Varied a Field..." The Agricultural Vision of Abraham Lincoln, which opens June 15. The exhibit follows the history of American agriculture from the late 1700s to the present with emphasis on Lincoln's contributions – as president, he appointed the first U.S. Agriculture Secretary and supported federal programs to modernize farming. Original Lincoln documents and artifacts are displayed alongside antique farm implements in the exhibit. "The Civil War" is a powerful, two act show that will be performed July 24, 25, 26, 30 and 31 and August 1. Show times are 8 p.m. each evening, and the production is performed on an outdoor stage in Union Square Park at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The powerful and emotional series of 26 songs performed by an ensemble of 20 singer-actors will draw on letters, firsthand accounts, diaries, newspapers, and the words of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman and others. The show tells the awe-inspiring personal stories of those who lived, fought and died during this chapter of our history, answering the question, "what does freedom mean?" Songs will include: "Brother, My Brother," "A House Divided," "River Jordan," "Freedom's Child," "The Day the Sun Stood Still," "I Never Knew His Name," "Candle in the Window," "Old Gray Coat," "Someday," and many more. The production is staged by Phil Funkenbusch and Ed MacMurdo and features a local cast. Pre-show entertainment begins at 7:15 p.m. with "The Civil War" at 8 p.m. each night. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children, general admission; lawn chair seating, sold the night of the show, $8 for adults with children eight and under free; and blanket seating, also sold the night of the show, $5 for adults with children eight and under free. Call (217) 558-8934 to purchase tickets for these concert events at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. For more information, visit www.presidentlincoln.org. ###