Arts Features

Summer means baseball. Whether you are a baseball fan or prefer art over baseball, there is a not-to-be-missed opportunity this summer to experience baseball at the Springfield Art Association (SAA). Springfield artist Rod Buffington has teamed up with nationally renowned sports illustrator James Fiorentino to take you out to the ballpark while also seeing some […]

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 […]

When it debuted in 1964, Hello, Dolly! set a record for the most Tony Awards, which it held for the next 37 years. (The Producers moved into the top spot when it won 12 awards in 2001). The cast recording of the original Broadway production reached No. 1 on the Billboard album chart in 1964 […]

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 […]

I didn’t know what to expect when I attended a tech rehearsal of Springfield Theatre Centre’s The Bridges of Madison County last week. I had seen the movie and remember finding it heartbreaking while loving the direction and the acting (it’s Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, so…). And knowing how the first night of tech […]

Expressions in the Dark is returning to Springfield in its original monthly format this April, coinciding perfectly with National Poetry Month. For two decades, Kimberly Moore and her team have worked to cultivate a platform for the art of spoken word poetry. They are bringing back the popular monthly open mic night, Expressions in the […]

John Mellencamp brought his Live and in Person 2024 tour to the Sangamon Auditorium at the UIS Performing Arts Center on March 23. Most in attendance were likely longtime fans, since the majority seemed closer to his age of 71 than not, with a smattering of younger folks here and there joining in with the […]

Music brings people together. I was in high school when Carole King’s Tapestry was released in 1971, and my chorus teacher, Pam Perry, took a group of us to see King in concert at the Arie Crowne Theater in Chicago. Almost 50 years later, Patricia Freeman and I saw King and James Taylor in concert […]

In partnership with the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum, Westminster Presbyterian Church presents “Portraits of Peace,” a program featuring both music and drama celebrating the lives of civil rights leaders Rosa Parks and the Rev. Dr. C. T. Vivian. Dr. Sharon J. Willis of Atlanta, Georgia, a composer, playwright and actress, will […]