IT Picks

THEATER | Bard comedy Set in France, girl (Rosalind) falls instantly in love with boy (Orlando). The royal family quarrels amongst themselves. Men are exiled. Lovers pine. Girl disguises herself as a man (Ganymede). Confusion and mistaken identity ensues. Lovers are united with their proper mates. Everything works out in the end. You don’t have […]

MUSIC | DiNizio unplugged Pat DiNizio, lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the Smithereens, rolls into Springfield Thursday night as one stop in his second countrywide living room concert tour. Taking to the road years ago in a never-done-before manner for someone with a certain level of national recognition, he performed in people’s homes and […]

THEATER | Poetic performance World renowned St. Louis Black Repertory Company, known as The Black Rep, performs The Strong Men at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum Friday night. The show, also tagged as a choreo-poem, displays powerful voices and delicate humor of African-Americans who have made major contributions to American history. It features selected poems […]

DANCE | Ice skating United States national pewter medalist, Ryan Bradley, performs as guest skater in the Springfield Figure Skating Club’s annual Spotlight on Ice this weekend at the Nelson Center in Lincoln Park. Springfield’s ice show features more than 100 club members performing solo and group skating numbers to musical ice versions of Beauty […]

MUSIC |Local legends Two of Springfield’s finest folk musicians, Tom Irwin and Ben Bedford, strum, pick and sing Saturday night at 7:30 for a Prairie Grapevine Folklore Society concert at the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation. These two beloved singer/songwriters are the acoustic kings of the capital city. Tom has opened for well-known crooners Willie […]

MUSIC |Irish party Before and after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade snakes and jams through the streets of downtown Springfield starting at noon, two of downtown’s Irish food and beverage establishments, Bennigan’s Grill and Tavern and Celtic Mist, team up for their first annual Blarney Blast situated in a heated tent on Adams Street from […]

MUSIC | Lincoln trio Desirée Ruhstrat, violin, David Cunliffe, cello, and Marta Aznavoorian, piano, comprise the Lincoln Trio. Formed in 2003, the Chicago-based ensemble takes its name from their home state of Illinois, the land of Lincoln. But this trio’s accomplishments range throughout the United States and Europe, with members performing at the White House […]

THEATER | Overnight millionaire Most of us dream of winning the lottery without thought to what challenges might come with big money. Kismet means fate or destiny. In this musical based on the Arabian Nights, Hadji, an old Baghdad poet, faces his destiny when he transforms from beggar to millionaire overnight. This windfall sparks his […]

DANCE | Salsa dancers The salsa is rooted in Africa. Its home is in Puerto Rico, but it rose to popularity in New York City. This evening, three-time ESPN Salsa Champions Abel Pena and Zulmara Torres are bringing the passion and moves of the salsa to Springfield. Performing the routine that won them the 2005 […]

EMPLOYMENT | Career Fair In today’s job market, a room filled with multiple employers interested in your talents and skills seems like a fantasy, but UIS is making the dream come true at the 11th annual Springfield Collegiate Career Fair. The fair is the most high-profile event to be held at UIS for students seeking […]

BAND SPOTLIGHT | The Henhouse Prowlers Maybe you don’t think of Chicago when you think of bluegrass music, but you just might after experiencing the Henhouse Prowlers. The five-piece, traditional bluegrass outfit hailing from the Windy City, features Ben Benedict (guitar), Jon Goldfine (doghouse bass), Ryan Hinshaw (fiddle), Nathan Sitzman (mandolin), and Ben Wright (banjo), […]

LECTURE | HistoryMakers Celebrate Black History Month with the University of Illinois at Springfield at the HistoryMakers’ Agents of Change Lecture. The speaker series includes a talk by Carol Moseley Braun, the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate, and the first to serve as assistant majority leader. After her term in the U.S. […]