Theater companies in Springfield and the
region are scheduling some big shows this summer, as well as some
intimate dramas. This year, there’s truly something for
everyone.
The Muni The
season starts with another visit to The
Sound of Music (June 3-5 and 8-12),
always an audience favorite and a big ticket-seller. Next come Ragtime (June 24-26
and June 29-July 3), Annie Get Your
Gun (July 15-17 and July 20-24), and a
three-week run of Beauty and the Beast (Aug. 5-7, 10-14, and 18-20). For tickets,
call 217-793-MUNI, go to www.themuni.org, or visit the Sangamon
Auditorium box office.
The Muni has been taking more risks the past
few years by adding new shows to the lineup, and Ragtime (based on the
E.L. Doctorow novel set in turn-of-the-century New York) is a big
show with a wonderful score.
New Salem Theatre in the Park at New Salem (in the outdoor amphitheater)
begins its season with Paint Your
Wagon (June 10-12 and 16-19). This
1950s musical has not been produced in the area in many years, and
the Old West theme will work well in the New Salem setting. Wagon is followed by Guys &
Dolls Jr., a scaled-down production of the
classic musical to be performed by area youth (July 1-3 and 7-10), Little Shop of Horrors
(July 22-24 and July 28-31), and Pippin
— a 1970s musical by Stephen Schwartz, composer
of Godspell
and Wicked (Aug.
12-14 and 18-21).
The outdoor stage will also host some musical
nights, beginning with a musical revue (June 3 and 4) in which
performances of songs from the summer lineup will be presented. A
choral show, presented June 24 and 25, will feature such local
choral groups as the Sound Celebration Chorus, the Menard County
Singers, Old Capitol Chorale, and the Lincoln Land Barber Shop
Chorus. Branson performer Denny Yeary will play there July 15 and
16, and a big-band revue, Fanfare, featuring Kittie Moller, plays Aug. 5 and 6. The
New Salem season ends with the Dean
Church Variety Music Show (Aug.
26 and 27). Call the New Salem box office (217-632-5440) or visit
www.theatreinthepark.net for ticket information.
Sullivan Central
Illinois’ only professional Equity summer theater is in
Sullivan, where the Little Theatre on the Square continues to stage popular shows. This year the company offers 42nd Street (June 8-19), Swing! (June 22-July 3), Beauty and the Beast (July
6-17), Fiddler on the Roof (July 20-31), and Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
(Aug. 3-14). The new show on the schedule is Swing!, a dance show
spotlighting the music of the 1930s and ’40s.
The Little Theatre also stages
children’s-theater productions each summer. The first show
for the kids is Sleeping Beauty (June 10, 11, 14, and 16-18); it’s followed
by Jack and the Beanstalk (June 8, 9, 12, and 14-16) and The Jungle Book (Aug.
5, 6, 9, and 11-13). Call 217-728-7375 or visit
www.thelittletheatre.org for tickets and information.
Jacksonville For
theatergoers seeking something a little different, Mike Savage is
directing Lanford Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize comedy/drama, Talley’s Folly,
in the studio space at the Jacksonville Theatre Guild office on
College Avenue in downtown Jacksonville. The production, which
features Felicia Coulter and Darin Harms, plays at 7:30 p.m. June
9-11 and 2 p.m. June 12. For information, call 217-245-1402 or
visit www.jacksonvilletg.org. JTG’s summer musical is Oliver!, presented in
the Sophie Leschin Theatre at Jacksonville Community
Park July 28-31 and Aug. 4-7.
Normal We are
lucky to have the Illinois Shakespeare Festival nearby, performing
at Ewing Manor in a beautiful new outdoor theater. The plays are
presented in repertory throughout the summer, June 29-Aug. 13. This
summer’s productions are Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and Henry VIII. For information, call 309-438-8110 or visit
www.thefestival.org.
Urbana-Champaign Another repertory company well worth visiting is the Summer Studio
Theatre Company at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
The company specializes in American comedy during the summer and
this year offers three shows running in rep June 17-July 31: My Three Angels (the
basis of the Humphrey Bogart movie We’re
No Angels), Neil Simon’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Broadway, a rarely revived comedy gem from 1926. For ticket
information, call 217-333-6280.
Lincoln Lincoln
Community Theatre has been producing summer shows for many years in
the Johnston Center for the Performing Arts, on the campus of
Lincoln College. This summer’s shows include South Pacific (June
17-19 and 21-25), I Hate
Hamlet (July 8-10 and 12-16), and Children of Eden (July
29-31 and Aug. 2-6). Visit www.lincolncommunitytheatre.com for
information.
Peoria The Corn
Stock Theatre in Peoria has a brand-new tent this year for its
season of shows. Corn Stock is another long-running company that
tries to bring new works to its audiences along with the
tried-and-true. The lineup includes The
Will Rogers Follies (June 3-11); the
comedy Over the Tavern (June 24-July 2); The
Who’s Tommy (July 15-23); a
comedy/drama by A.R. Gurney titled Later
Life (Aug. 5-13), and the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Aug. 26-Sept. 3). Call 309-676-2196 or visit
www.cornstocktheatre.com.
East Peoria East
Peoria’s semiprofessional Eastlight Theatre has two big shows
this summer: Cats plays June 17-19 and 22-25, and Beauty and the Beast runs
Aug. 5-7 and 10-13. Call 309-699-7469 or visit
www.eastlighttheatre.com.
Goodfield The
Barn II Dinner Theatre at Goodfield continues its hit show Squabbles through June
12; it’s followed by The
Taffetas, about a female singing
quartet from the 1950s and ’60s, June 16 and 17. The Barn
brings back the popular comedy Love,
Sex and the IRSÂ July 21-Sept. 11.
For show information, call 309-965-2545 or visit www.barn2.com.
Decatur This
summer, two dinner-theater shows are being staged at Marcia’s
Waterfront Restaurant at Nelson Park in Decatur: an old comedy
chestnut from the 1960s, Mary, Mary (July 5-9); and a more recent musical-comedy revue,
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now
Change! (Aug. 23-27). Call
217-422-7202 for information on dinner-theater packages.
St. Louis The
Muny Opera in St. Louis is the country’s oldest (and largest)
outdoor theater. This summer, the 12,000-seat theater in Forest
Park hosts Beauty and the Beast (June 20-29), Annie
Get Your Gun (July 4-10), Jesus Christ Superstar
(July 11-17), Singin’ in the
Rain (July 18-24), Mame (July 25-31), West Side Story (Aug.
1-7), and The Sound of Music (Aug. 8-14). Call 314-361-1900 or visit
www.muny.com for tickets.
Chicago Two big
musical hits are playing in Chicago this summer: The Stephen
Schwartz musical hit Wicked is running at the Ford Center for the Performing
Arts through Sept. 25, and The Lion
King plays the Cadillac Palace June
10-Sept. 4. Call 312-902-1400 for ticket information for both
shows.
This article appears in Jun 2-8, 2005.
