Okay, so for those of you who are looking for a night of fun and games, big acting and an American theater classic at the same time, get your tickets to spend an evening with George and Martha. This weekend is the first production of Edward Albee’sWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to be seen in […]
Arts Features
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A new musical spotlights those who knew Lincoln
In the second act of Ken Bradbury’s The Spirit of Lincoln, musician Barry Cloyd, who serves as the show’s narrator, says that over 16,000 books have been written about our nation’s 16th president. When the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission asked Ken Bradbury to write a Lincoln play, Bradbury, who had already produced five Lincoln shows, wanted […]
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‘Power and Glory’ from China
Beginning Feb. 22, people from across the nation will head to St. Louis for a chance to see a backgammon board. The gilded board, from Beijing’s Palace Museum, dates back to 1426 and will be displayed at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Power and Glory: Court Arts from China’s Ming Dynasty is the first exhibition […]
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Dinner with the Mafia
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, Feb. 14. Actor, producer and comedian Steven Snyder, who lives in Chatham, describes the play as a “whodunit murder mystery comedy.” The plot, he […]
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Springfield’s Music Man meets Our American Cousin
Mark E. Gifford is known throughout the Midwest as a keyboard virtuoso whose concerts at Springfield High School’s restored Orpheum Theater pipe organ are always well attended. But through Feb. 15, at Hoogland Center for the Arts, he plays a piano role as composer and musician in the Springfield Theatre Centre production of Our American […]
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Look for the Lincolns at the theater
Here are some of the many Lincoln-related theater offerings coming up in the next few weeks: It’s always nice to drive over to Rushville, especially to see what’s playing at the historic Phoenix Opera House on the town square. On Saturday, Jan. 24, they are offering Lincoln Tales Tall and True at 7 p.m., performed […]
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Tuna Christmas is a holiday hoot
Among the many holiday entertainment offerings in the area — including a beautiful Springfield Ballet Company Nutcracker, LLCC Madrigals, Springfield Choral Society’s A Quiet Christmas, etc. — the new production of the comedy Tuna Christmas that opened last weekend ranks high on the list of pure hilarity. The performance is also a benefit to raise […]
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Springfield is stepping up
In Detroit, it’s called the social. In Dallas, it’s called the swing. But in the Land of Lincoln, it’s called stepping. From 9 p.m.-3 a.m. on Nov. 22 at the American Legion #809, 1800 E. Capitol Ave., couples will compete for a $200 prize and bragging rights. Stepping is a dance that builds off of […]
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Local theater has plenty for ‘mature audiences’
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 well as Pump Boys & Dinettes, Thoroughly Modern Millie and War of the Worlds) comes the premiere of the locally-produced play Paint it Red, […]
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Paint it Red: History made real, brutally honest
David Logan recalls the words of E.L. Rogers, the editor of Springfield’s black newspaper, The Forum, in 1908: “He said, ‘You can either make history, or you can paint it red.’ Make it or make it glaring.” That’s what Logan, an assistant professor at Benedictine University-Springfield College, intends to do with Paint it Red, an […]
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Fall theatre preview
[image-2} There is so much theatre happening in the area these days, there doesn’t seem to be a spring/summer/fall/winter season anymore — it’s just ongoing all year long, which is good. Springfield Ballet Company always jump-starts the fall with its annual audience favorite, Rockballet, performing Sept. 6-7 at Sangamon Auditorium. For information, call 544-1967 or […]
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The laughs are guaranteed
Untitled Document If you’ve never seen Larry Shue’s play The Nerd, try making a point of catching one of the performances being presented by the Springfield Theatre Centre at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Steve Williams directs the comedy, which is continuing into its second weekend, Feb. 15-17 with performances at 8 p.m. Friday […]
