Day 1 – Home to Delavan, WI
Our springtime journey starts out as we travel through the Wisconsin countryside. Tonight, we’ll head to the Rosewood for a farm to table dinner experience and “America’s Bandstand” show. This show takes us back to the sock hops, spotlighting Rockabilly, Doo- Wop and Motown artists, songs and the history of early Rock and Roll. Enjoy songs by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Diana Ross, Neil Sedaka, The Everly Brothers and many, many more!
Included Meals: Dinner
Hotel: Comfort Suites
Day 2 – Delavan to Aurora, IL
After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll travel to nearby Geneva, IL where we’ll learn about this town’s rich history at the Geneva History Museum. Their program will also introduce us to Kate Raftery, daughter of a Mississippi riverboat captain, who founded The Little Traveler in 1922. This iconic shop, located in a 1867 Italianate Victorian residence, has seen many additions throughout the years as well as treasures from around the world. After learning about The Little Traveler, it’s time to visit! In the early days, Kate invited her “Carriage Trade” friends from the North Shore to come to Geneva for the day. Most of them were driven by their chauffeurs. While the ladies dined amidst the splendor of Kate’s latest acquisitions from Europe and the Orient, their drivers were served simple fare made by Swedish cooks in The Atrium Café. We will experience a special luncheon in the Café! Following lunch, there will be time to shop at The Little Traveler, going around the world in the shop’s 36 rooms. As we browse, we’ll notice nods of Kate’s nautical history around us. Next we’ll visit The Viking, a ship built at Christen Christensen’s Framnes Shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway in 1892-93. It was copied after the ancient Viking ship Gokstad. Excavated in 1880, the Gokstad had been called the most beautiful ship ever built. Our tour takes us up close and personal to what is believed to be the largest remaining artifact of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Illinois. Then we’ll continue to the heart of downtown Aurora and check into our hotel located across the street from the Fox River and the Fox River Trail. Tonight a delightful dinner is served at the historic Two Brothers Roadhouse before we’re guests at the Paramount Theatre nestled on Stolp Island on the Fox River. Get ready for “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” nominated for 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score! Bursting with color, energy, and some of Broadway’s most memorable songs, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” is a joyful celebration of hope and perseverance. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s beloved musical reimagines the story of Joseph, a dreamer whose gift of prophecy and bright optimism set him apart from his eleven brothers. When jealousy lands him in trouble, Joseph’s journey takes him from the depths of despair to the heights of success. Told through dazzling songs like “Any Dream Will Do,” “Jacob and Sons” and “Go, Go, Go Joseph,” this timeless favorite reminds us that dreams can carry us through, even in the toughest of times.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hotel: Holiday Inn Express & Suites (2 Nights)
Day 3 – Aurora
Breakfast is served at the hotel before we head down the street for a guided tour of the Aurora Regional Fire Museum. After 110 years of use, 7 years of neglect, and then 15 years of restoration, the restored old Central Fire Station serves as a unique historical landmark preserving Aurora’s firefighting history. Next we head to the Drury Lane Theatre for a delicious lunch and the production of “Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations.” A jukebox musical that follows the rise, fall, and legacy of the legendary Motown vocal group The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and silky-smooth harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts! Afterwards, a four-course plated dinner awaits at Coopers Hawk Winery. Our day concludes at Metropolis Performing Arts with “Oklahoma!” a classic by Rodgers and Hammerstein! It’s the turn of the century in the USA – the territory of Oklahoma is about to become a state, and the union is about to experience a massive wave of industrial expansion, urbanization, and immigration. But all of that is still on the horizon, while farm girl Laurie and cowboy Curly engage in a will-they-won’t-they romance, shadowed by existing tensions between farmers and ranchers in the region. Not to mention the looming presence of Judd Fry, the farm hand and outcast, attempting to woo Laurie. “Oklahoma!” encapsulates the wild, unknown energy of the era, and a people’s desire to expand, to live on one’s own land, and belong to it, too.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 – Aurora to Fort Atkinson, WI
After breakfast we depart Aurora for the unique Fireside Dinner Theatre in Fort Atkinson. Caution – laughter ahead as we’re seeing “The Church Basement Ladies in Rise Up, O Men!” In this installment of The Church Basement Ladies series, the year is 1964. The township is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee and the men are making some repairs in the church kitchen. We meet Roger the furnace salesman; Arlo, an old war vet; and Elroy, the local John Deere dealer. Beverly has graduated from High School and is off at camp. Karin suffers from empty nest syndrome and loses her mother’s ring. Mavis is in menopause, and Pastor questions his purpose. Join us for more hilarious antics from the series and characters you’ve come to know and love! We will then check into our hotel. Dinner is on your own tonight to choose from several options near our hotel.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 5 – Fort Atkinson to Home
We’ll enjoy one last breakfast and then turn our coach towards home. Along the way, we have one more experience in store for this morning. A tour and train ride at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum! This outdoor, living museum and operating railroad celebrates the way of life during the “Golden Age of Railroading.” We’ll take a memorable, seven-mile round-trip train ride on a former branch line of the Chicago & North Western Railway nestled in a valley between the Baraboo Hills in rural Sauk County. Riding in restored steel coaches built a century ago, enjoy an authentically attired conductor calling “all aboard!” before the train leaves from a historic wooden depot, built in 1894. Back on our coach, we’ll travel home, with an included lunch along the way. What special springtime memories we share of our Stage & Story journey!
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Motorcoach Per Person Pricing Information
Motorcoach Travel Protection Per Person
Travel Bucks
Deposit Due
Passport Needed
Tour Pace
Price Includes
11 Meals, Hotels & Activities as stated in brochure, Luxury Motorcoach
04/27/2027 05/01/2027
Tour Map
Tour Highlights
* Rosewood’s “America’s Bandstand” Dinner Show
* Geneva History Museum
* The Little Traveler Lunch & Shopping
* The Viking Ship Tour
* “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at Paramount Theatre
* Aurora Regional Fire Museum
* “Ain’t Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations” at Drury Lane Theatre with Lunch
* “Oklahoma!” at Metropolis Performing Arts
* “The Church Basement Ladies in Rise Up, O Men” at Fireside Theatre with Lunch
* Mid-Continent Railway Museum Tour & Train Ride
