On a Wednesday afternoon in early July, five teachers huddle in a cluttered second-floor office in the Hoogland Center for the Arts to plan the third and final session of summer theater camp]]> Springfield has a much healthier theater scene than many small cities this size. Hot on the heels of the recent electrifying production of the David Mamet play Glengarry Glenn Ross (as ]]> What could possibly be more fun than a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake? How about two ice cream cakes and one wedding ring? Throw in a rich software developer named Alvin Chandler, a veterinarian named ]]> The Cubs-White Sox rivalry runs deep in Illinois, and plays a significant part in Bob Bartel’s Dinner with the Mafia, an interactive and locally produced show with two performances on Saturday,]]> The stories we tell and the songs we sing help us make sense of the past, understand the present and build the future. Civil War Journeys, which opened last weekend at New Salem’s Theatre in the]]> Don’t let the music fool you. The stage adaptation of Shenandoah is a drama. Set in the Commonwealth of Virginia during the Civil War, the play explores the impact of the war on a family whose p]]> Untitled Document I have a hunch that one of the highlights of the area’s summer theater will be the rarely seen musical Once on This Island, which opens Friday, July 20, at New]]> Cast members from the organization’s three upcoming shows cheered wildly as Muni President Flynn Hanners mentioned them in his opening night remarks last Friday. As Hanners spoke, th]]> Nestled in the basement between thick square support pillars, the young musicians eagerly consume sheet after sheet of music, building a crescendo with violins, timpani and horns. Three floors up, a g]]> Forever Plaid, the tuneful show that was an off-Broadway hit in 1990 and has played here several times, is back for two weeks at the Springfield Center for the Arts. The Gordon Productions show, which]]> When Roxy Group's Swingtime Canteen opens this weekend at the Center for the Arts, many will remember the weekend after 9/11 when this valentine to the World War II-era USO shows first played a]]> Five thousand years of Chinese performing arts and culture will take the stage Feb. 9 at Sangamon Auditorium in a multimillion-dollar touring production called Shen Yun (“divine character”]]> Springfield Theatre Centre opens its production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman this week on the main stage of the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Don Russell, Loretta Hess, Mac Warren, an]]> Springfield stages are busy these days, with more new and experimental works being staged here than in most communities of comparable size. Here are just a few of the new shows being hatched loc]]> Summer theater is upon us and there’s quite an exciting list of possibilities for area theater-goers over the next three months.Theatre in the Park at New Salem outside Petersburg opens its seas]]> For fans of live theater in Springfield, attending The Muni’s new production of Fiddler on the Roof is a bit like seeing the James Bond movie Casino Royale — we’ve heard t]]> Summer theater has experienced a bit of a boom in central Illinois over the past few years, with more eclectic choices offering something for everyone. Springfield's Muni Opera breaks new ground wit]]> Summer has started on a high note, with some memorable performances so far: Cynda Wrightsman's "Lizzie Curry" in New Salem's 110 in the Shade was heartbreaking and moving; and Titanic at the Mu]]> “The word of the day is ‘immersion,’” says Legacy Theatre owner Scott Richardson, and truthfully there are few more appropriate terms to describe the Legacy’s production ]]>