Performing Art

Nestled in the basement between thick square support pillars, the young musicians eagerly consume sheet after sheet of music, building a crescendo with violins, timpani and horns. Three floors up, a group of usually-playful thespians reenact a somber scene of social injustice that weighs heavily on the hearts of both performer and observer. Just down […]

For fans of live theater in Springfield, attending The Muni’s new production of Fiddler on the Roof is a bit like seeing the James Bond movie Casino Royale — we’ve heard there’s a new guy in the lead role and we’ve seen him in other productions… but we’re not sure how he’ll do as our […]

Cast members from the organization’s three upcoming shows cheered wildly as Muni President Flynn Hanners mentioned them in his opening night remarks last Friday. As Hanners spoke, the audience sat before him with balloons and flowers tucked away in preparation for a post-show reception. It was a big crowd full of family and friends — […]

Two actors. No set. Multiple characters, none of whom can be the killer or victim. Wrap it up in no more than 45 minutes. Audience? Everybody age 7 to 70 and beyond. Those were a few of the constraints placed on California playwright and theater educator Richard Hellesen when Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., commissioned […]

Okay, so for those of you who are looking for a night of fun and games, big acting and an American theater classic at the same time, get your tickets to spend an evening with George and Martha. This weekend is the first production of Edward Albee’sWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to be seen in […]

In the second act of Ken Bradbury’s The Spirit of Lincoln, musician Barry Cloyd, who serves as the show’s narrator, says that over 16,000 books have been written about our nation’s 16th president. When the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission asked Ken Bradbury to write a Lincoln play, Bradbury, who had already produced five Lincoln shows, wanted […]

The Cubs-White Sox rivalry runs deep in Illinois, and plays a significant part in Bob Bartel’s Dinner with the Mafia, an interactive and locally produced show with two performances on Saturday, Feb. 14. Actor, producer and comedian Steven Snyder, who lives in Chatham, describes the play as a “whodunit murder mystery comedy.” The plot, he […]

Mark E. Gifford is known throughout the Midwest as a keyboard virtuoso whose concerts at Springfield High School’s restored Orpheum Theater pipe organ are always well attended. But through Feb. 15, at Hoogland Center for the Arts, he plays a piano role as composer and musician in the Springfield Theatre Centre production of Our American […]

Here are some of the many Lincoln-related theater offerings coming up in the next few weeks: It’s always nice to drive over to Rushville, especially to see what’s playing at the historic Phoenix Opera House on the town square. On Saturday, Jan. 24, they are offering Lincoln Tales Tall and True at 7 p.m., performed […]

Among the many holiday entertainment offerings in the area — including a beautiful Springfield Ballet Company Nutcracker, LLCC Madrigals, Springfield Choral Society’s A Quiet Christmas, etc. — the new production of the comedy Tuna Christmas that opened last weekend ranks high on the list of pure hilarity. The performance is also a benefit to raise […]