Arts Features

Adding to the list of edgy modern musicals hitting local theater stages in recent seasons comes a show about the challenges – as well as horrors and pleasant surprises – of the contemporary dating scene. The setting is New York City, though this story could play out anywhere. Nice guy Aaron has been set up on a blind date. He’s an […]

The UIS Performing Arts Center invites you on a collaborative journey into history with Outraged: Terror in Springfield 1908 by local playwright and 2023 UIS artist-in-residence, Tim Crawford. This play-in-progress, part of the Our Stage / Our Voices initiative, promises an evening of thought-provoking theater, audience engagement and a chance to contribute your voice to […]

In an ambitious move to illuminate the pages of history, the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum is not merely a passive observer but a proactive catalyst for change. By bringing the play 1619: The Journey of a People to Springfield, the museum is forging a cultural bridge that spans centuries, connecting the […]

Originally produced on Broadway in 1981 – flopping spectacularly and experiencing many rewrites and revisions since – Merrily We Roll Along, with music and lyrics by the late-great Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, is based on the 1934 play by the same name by the brilliant writing team of George S. Kaufman and […]

If you’ve been looking forward to the holiday season and playing Christmas tunes since Halloween, you might want to set your sights on the next production in the STC lineup. Based on the 1942 classic film, Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale, this joyous musical features thrilling dance numbers, […]

Here’s a quick shout out about the upcoming production for Springfield Theatre Centre. Don’t be fooled by the “JR.” in the title. This show, featuring original music by Alan Menken and a talented young cast directed by some of Springfield’s best, promises to get audiences on their feet. Based on the hit 1992 film and […]

The old maxim, “There are no small parts, only small actors,” is not only a familiar line in the world of theater (which you will hear in this currently running production), but it also speaks favorably of the ensemble in A Man of No Importance itself. Each performer shines in their individual moments while serving […]

The shiny silver buffalo on the grounds of the Springfield Art Association (SAA), 700 North Fourth Street, is a beloved community icon that is now in need of restoration. John Kearney, a Chicago-based artist, created the 800-pound sculpture out of chrome car bumpers. The “Bicentennial Bison” was installed Oct. 18, 1975, in the SAA courtyard. […]

Walking into the Legacy Theatre to take my seat for the regional premier of Ride the Cyclone was a little like stepping into a carnival sideshow. Tinkly background music, a fortuneteller’s booth and a slightly askew CYCLONE marquee greeted the audience and set us up for the wild ride we were about to take. Billed […]

“Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence – whether much that is glorious – whether all that is profound – does not spring from disease of thought – from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect.” Poet Edgar […]

“It takes work to not be a bad person…you can’t just be the least bad person in a lineup and call yourself good.” That line, according to one of the actors, stands as a powerful summation of the struggle faced in a provocative new play currently running at the UIS Studio Theatre. The two-act, two-character […]