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Springfield area theater patrons have plenty of reasons to celebrate, thanks to a strong schedule of shows in the next few weeks. On the heels of Springfield Theatre Centre's successful run of Annie,

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The new year has begun, the Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield had a spectacular opening, rehearsals began this week for Springfield Theatre Centre's winter production of Edward Albee's power

Break a leg or two

Next year offers a full playbill of exciting theater, but before we leave 2003, a few exceptional performances bear another mention. A Springfield high school, Sacred-Heart Griffin, raised the

Angels in America lands on the small screen

Something pretty rare takes place on television this weekend when a landmark American play makes it to the small screen, thanks to HBO's adaptation of Tony Kushner's Angels in America. This two-part

Here’s Proof why this play is so popular

Springfield gets one last chance to see the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play Proof before it hits the big screen in a version starring Gwyneth Paltrow. The local production, directed by Eri

A community comes to terms with itself

Randi Collins-Hard is directing The Laramie Project at Parkland College in Champaign, currently running through Oct. 12. The Laramie Project has been the most-produced play in the United States the pa

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A fall feast: Jack Benny, dueling Shakespeare, prestigious workshops, and the National Theatre of the Deaf

Springfield Theatre Centre's 56th season began last week with Neil Simon's latest Broadway comedy, The Dinner Party. The production winds up this weekend, with performances October 3 through 5. Set in

Albee and me

Edward Albee is once again in fashion, with his plays being performed this season in Chicago, St. Louis, and Springfield.

Illinois Times theater critic Phil Funkenbusch recalls his own days working as the playwright's assistant, back when his boss couldn't get a good review. In January of 1980 I was living in New

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“Oliver!” at New Salem, the 1800s in Lincoln, and plays for the short attention span. Plus, a confession . . .

OK, I admit it: I saw Muni Opera's The Wizard of Oz three times. It was just one of those special productions in which the audience and the actors each contribute to making an uncommon theatrical even

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Another “Oz” opens at the Muni, “Distant Thunder” closes at New Salem, and poets return to the parlor of the Vachel Lindsay Home

Some shows keep coming back every few summers--Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, Peter Pan. This summer it's The Wizard of Oz at the Springfield Muni, opening this weekend and running through August 17.