The local fall theater season promises everything from
Greek drama to 1930s madcap comedy to recent Broadway musicals.
Cal Pritner, longtime faculty member of the Illinois
State University Department of Theatre and founder of the Illinois
Shakespeare Festival, performs two one-man plays this weekend: Mark Twain: Unlearning Racism
is presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, and Mark Twain: Traveling plays at 7:30
p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, in the Westhoff Theatre, on the ISU campus. The
two performances show different sides of the complex Twain. For tickets,
call 309-438-8783.
The Springfield Ballet Company’s annual
performance of Rockballetwill be unveiled at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, and 2 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 11, at Sangamon Auditorium. The show is a good way to
introduce kids to the world of ballet, and this year’s edition
spotlights the music of Queen. Call 217-206-6160 for tickets.
The return of Ken Bradbury’s play The Knollwood Talesis
good news. Taken from taped interview transcripts with residents of
Jacksonville’s Knollwood Retirement Village, the play, which
premiered this summer with a wonderful cast of area actors, was so funny
and so powerful that I knew it had to have a longer life. The play will be
performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16 and 17, at First
Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville; and at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, at
First Christian Church in Pittsfield. Call 217-243-6699 for more
information.
Auditions will be held next week for Springfield
Theatre Centre’s production of the play A
Few Good Men. Those familiar with the Tom
Cruise film about murder in the military may not realize that the film was
based on a hit Broadway play written by Aaron Sorkin (co-creator of
TV’s The West Wing). Mac Warren directs the production. Auditions will be held 10
a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Hoogland Center for the
Arts. The cast comprises 20 men and one woman. For audition information,
e-mail Warren at mac@adhdproductions.com. The play will be performed Nov.
11-13 and 18-20.
Auditions for the fall UIS Theatre Department’s
production of Sophocles’ Oedipus the
Kingare held 7-10 p.m. Sunday and Monday,
Sept. 18 and 19, in the Studio Theatre, located in the lower level of the
Public Affairs Building. Director Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson may be reached
at 217-206-6613. The production runs Nov. 4-6 and 11-13.
Heartland Theatre in Normal begins its new season this
week with Michael Hollinger’s comedy Tiny
Island, playing Sept. 8-10, 15-18, and 22-24.
The play is about two middle-aged sisters who meet at a dilapidated movie
theater once owned by their parents. Heartland’s season also includes
a new play, A History of Things That Never
Happened, by Bloomington native Sharmon J.
Hilfinger. The play, which premiered in San Francisco, runs Oct. 13-16 and
20-23. And in November, Heartland offers William Nicholson’s recent
drama about a crumbling marriage, The Retreat
from Moscow. Call 309-452-8709 for show
information.
The 2005-2006 season of the Springfield Theatre Centre
begins with a benefit production at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, the
1939 American comedy classic The Man Who Came
to Dinner,by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. The large-cast show
features Ron Seney in the title role, along with Cynda Wrightsman, Mary
Young, Gus Gordon, Rick Dunham, Tom Shrewsbury, and many more. The show
will have five performances, Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 22-25. For
tickets, call 217-523-2787.
The musical Chicago makes another stop in Springfield with a one-night
performance at Sangamon Auditorium on Tuesday, Sept. 27. This show, which
is still playing on Broadway, continues to tour the country. The auditorium
brings a touring company of Thoroughly Modern
Millieto town on Oct. 31. For tickets,
call 217-206-6160.
The musical Jekyll &
Hyde, featuring Joshua Ratz in the title role,
hits the stage of the Hoogland Center for the Arts Oct. 14-16 and 21-23.
For tickets, call 217-523-2787.
Taking a look back at American drama, ISU’s
theater department begins its season with a production of Arthur
Miller’s 1947 drama All My Sons. Written before his Death of a
Salesman, this play is another exploration of
the relationship between father and son. All
My Sonsruns Sept. 30-Oct. 8. For tickets,
call 309-438-2535.
This article appears in Sep 8-14, 2005.
