“That’s What She Said” is an empowering and entertaining night of storytelling where local, notable women share personal stories of strength, courage and inspiration. It is a one-night-only affair celebrating the resilience and triumphs of women in our own community. The proceeds will be used to directly support the Children’s Advocacy Center of Illinois. CACI […]
Courtney Wick
Courtney Wick is active in the area theater scene. Most recently, she wrote and directed the murder-mystery comedy “Nightmare at the Hot Mess Hair Salon,” a follow-up to her previous production, “Nightmare at the Sweet Dreams Inn.”
Posted inArts & Culture
Spring into suspense
If you aren’t ready for the sunshine of spring just yet, there are plenty of local thrills and chills to keep you immersed in winter’s shadow. From interactive murder mysteries to classic psychological dramas, Springfield has something to pique the interest of every suspense enthusiast. The Dinner Detective Murder-mystery dinner series March 29, April 5, […]
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No day but today: RENT returns to Springfield
The Springfield Theatre Centre closes out 2024 with the Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical RENT, directed by LaDonna Wilson. This joyfully rebellious, 1990s riff on the Italian opera, La Boheme, is set in New York City’s East Village during the height of the AIDS/HIV epidemic. The story follows a group of young artists grappling with homelessness, […]
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Pie, hope and the pursuit of happiness
“Sugar, butter, flour” is the sweet lyrical start to Waitress; a soulful, folksy musical written by pop icon Sara Bareilles. With its roots in nostalgic Americana, Waitress transports the audience to a small-town pie shop and into the hard-working hands of protagonist Jenna, played flawlessly by Elizabeth Eckert. Jenna is a gifted baker who uses […]
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Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery
“Something to help one forget the everyday, humdrum routine of our mortal existence,” muses Sherlock Holmes in Spencer Theatre Company’s newest production, Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. The show is loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. No need to brush up on your early 1900s literature, though, […]
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Breaking boundaries through laughter
I showed up to a recent Capital City Improv workshop at the Hoogland Center for the Arts without realizing I would be a participant. I’ve never done improv before and hadn’t planned on it. As a writer, I like to meticulously edit my work, then edit again, then stare at it with existential dread and […]
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Teen queens reign supreme in all-city musical, SIX
Most of us know the rhyme about the unfortunate fates of Henry VIII’s six wives: “Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.” After seeing the all-city teen production of the musical SIX, codirected by Morgan Kaplan and Andrew Maynerich, you can add “revived” to the end of that poem. SIX reimagines Henry’s wives as a glam-pop, […]
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Three Springfield artists win 2024 City Arts Grants
The Springfield Area Arts Council has announced its three recipients of the 2024 City Arts Grants: Reggie Guyton for performing arts, Devin Larson for visual arts and Jaliyah Ross for literary arts. Each of these artists will receive $3,000 to develop their craft and enhance the vibrancy of Springfield’s art community and culture. The selection […]
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World champions from Springfield
The Sharp Shooters, a six-man Springfield team, took home the coveted first place Charlie the Cougar trophy and $11,000 prize money at the 44th annual VNEA World Pool Championships in Las Vegas earlier this month. The 2024 VNEA open division is a tournament for non-professional players, and it hosted 383 teams from 20 different countries. […]
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Real-life chemistry of leads brightens Muni’s The Music Man
Meredith Willson’s well-known 1957 musical, The Music Man, follows the story of Harold Hill, a con man who poses as a band director, promising to teach the children of River City, Iowa, to play musical instruments. He charms the unsuspecting townsfolk with chicanery and musical nonsense. The town librarian, Marion, is the only one who […]
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AI’s impact on art
An upheaval is emerging in the art world. Artificial intelligence, once confined to the pages of a sci-fi paperback, is now part of our daily lives and challenging our view of creativity. As AI-generated art begins to grace galleries, newspapers and music studios, both artists and techies find themselves at a crossroads. AI confronts our […]
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Oh, what a night!
The Muni’s Jersey Boys is an impressive, energy-packed romp documenting the many decades of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. It is brilliantly structured, with each of the original Four Seasons narrating a different “season” of their lives. The story begins on the seedy streets of their youth and transitions to their 1960s Top-40 glory […]
