Performing Art

Forever Plaid, the tuneful show that was an off-Broadway hit in 1990 and has played here several times, is back for two weeks at the Springfield Center for the Arts. The Gordon Productions show, which runs April 16-18 and April 22-25, is the same production that was seen at New Salem and Springfield Theatre Centre. […]

Sacred Heart-Griffin High School this week reprises the musical Children of Eden, which was produced there a few years back and eventually was performed at Muni Opera. The show, which tells the Old Testament stories of Adam, Eve, Noah and the Flood, has a great score by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, and the current Wicked) […]

Shakespeare’s As You Like It, staged by Michael Savage at Springfield Theatre Centre, concludes its run this weekend, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 12-13, and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13. Utilizing a bare stage with only two benches, the small company of some of the area’s best actors (including Felicia Coulter, Jim Cox, […]

When Roxy Group’s Swingtime Canteen opens this weekend at the Center for the Arts, many will remember the weekend after 9/11 when this valentine to the World War II-era USO shows first played at New Salem. Hearing the cast sing “I’ll Be Seeing You” four days after the tragedy at the World Trade Center was […]

Auditions for Noel Coward’s classic 1925 comedy Hay Fevertake place on Sunday and Monday, Feb. 22-23, at the UIS Studio Theatre from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Callbacks are on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The show, about an eccentric family of British actors, will be directed by Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson, and is scheduled to run April 9-10 […]

Two productions of note take place this week and next on local stages. Edward Albee’s drama Three Tall Women opens Friday at Springfield Theatre Centre, playing Feb. 6-8 and Feb. 13-15. Ed Smith directs the 1994 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which features Marian Levin, Marla Johnson, and Shirene Thomas. Three Tall Women brought Albee back in […]

Springfield area theater patrons have plenty of reasons to celebrate, thanks to a strong schedule of shows in the next few weeks. On the heels of Springfield Theatre Centre’s successful run of Annie, which was held over for two additional performances last weekend, Sangamon Auditorium is bringing a touring company of the musical Jesus Christ […]

The new year has begun, the Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield had a spectacular opening, rehearsals began this week for Springfield Theatre Centre’s winter production of Edward Albee’s powerful drama Three Tall Women, and STC unveils its production of Annie Friday night, promising to start 2004 off on a very high note. But […]

Something pretty rare takes place on television this weekend when a landmark American play makes it to the small screen, thanks to HBO’s adaptation of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. This two-part ‘morality play’ about life, death, survival and faith, arrived on Broadway ten years ago (its premiere productions took place in Los Angeles and […]

Springfield gets one last chance to see the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play Proof before it hits the big screen in a version starring Gwyneth Paltrow. The local production, directed by Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson, not only demonstrates why the play’s won such widespread acclaim, but it also boasts a remarkable performance by Carly Shank. Anybody […]

Randi Collins-Hard is directing The Laramie Project at Parkland College in Champaign, currently running through Oct. 12. The Laramie Project has been the most-produced play in the United States the past couple of years. Springfield saw a production here in 2002. What makes the Parkland production unforgettable is the fact that Collins-Hard has cast 73 […]

Springfield Theatre Centre’s 56th season began last week with Neil Simon’s latest Broadway comedy, The Dinner Party. The production winds up this weekend, with performances October 3 through 5. Set in a Paris restaurant, the play brings together three divorced couples in a chance encounter. The show, directed by Darin Harms, features Linda Castor, Rob […]