John Mueller’s Winter Dance Party is a tribute concert from the Winter Dance Party Tour that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper were performing in before their fateful airplane crash. Endorsed by all three estates, the show includes: John Mueller as Buddy Holly, Ray Anthony as Ritchie Valens, Jay P. Richardson, Jr. as […]
hoogland center for the arts
Posted inArts & Culture
Dark farce
This dark and humorous play is about a lunch date that goes all wrong between an elderly mother and her two children as a secret is exposed. Springfield Theatre Centre boasts being the first amateur production of this play, written by award-winning Chicago playwright Joel Drake Johnson and directed by Pat Pennington. Cast members include […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Jazz divas salute Ella
Chicago jazz divas Frieda Lee, Spider Saloff, pictured, and Dee Alexander play tribute to the late-great first lady of song, Ella Fitzgerald. The Windy City trio love Ella so much, and fell in love working together, that they took their tribute on the road. For tickets visit www.hcfta.org or phone 523-2787. For more info on […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Springfield Picassos
What makes this month-long installment of three artists impressive is the individual power of each artist’s work and the combination of their unique presentations — each, to use a musical metaphor, sung in a different key. Springfield’s illustrious canvas-sage, Felicia Olin’s pieces are stunning as always, situated on the beautiful sides between haunting and whimsical. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Moving drama
Matthew T. Dearing (Mitch Albom) and Barry Weiss (Morrie Schwartz) play the leads in the moving drama Tuesdays with Morrie. Tuesdays with Morrie centers on Mitch, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch catches Morrie’s appearance on a television news program and learns […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Rock out for a cause
The Second Annual Central Illinois Foodbank Benefit Concert with The Station AXA Advisors and Planet Playground Records are proud to present the Second Annual Central Illinois Food Bank Benefit Concert Friday November 27th at the Hoogland Center for the Arts at 420 S. 6th St. in Springfield. This year’s musical lineup includes The Station – […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Everybody’s weird at The Rocky Horror Show
I admit that I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show a few times growing up, mostly to learn the dance steps to the Time Warp to fit in at the high school Halloween Dance… so I turned the movie off after that song. Had I kept watching, I would have learned the rest of the […]
Posted inNews
Independent watchdog warns: Illinois needs better accountability
You could call him an immovable object. He has outlasted three governors, called countless state agencies to task, and even survived an attempted hostile takeover of his constitutional office. Illinois Auditor General William “Bill” Holland spoke Oct. 23 to the Citizens Club of Springfield at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, addressing questions about his […]
Posted inMusic
Bedrock 66 and a political statement
October starts on a high note and crescendos over the next few weeks with some righteously happening entertainment. Not that September was off key, but things are sounding sweet for good music in October. Kicking off the month on Friday, Oct. 2 is a stellar Bedrock 66 concert series show at the Hoogland Center for […]
