Sangamon Auditorium expands its borders

An eclectic 2013-14 season is waiting in the wings

Sangamon Auditorium’s upcoming season, starting in September, is a heady mix of surefire crowd-pleasers and boundary pushing one-offs, finding Broadway touring companies rubbing shoulders with c

Gus’s new gig

Gus Gordon takes the helm of the Hoogland Center for the Arts

“At a certain point I realized I was a clone,” says Gus Gordon of his 22-year tenure as chief meteorologist at WICS-TV Channel 20. His tone is more amused than bemused, and entirely withou

Genders bent here

Hedwig is a “transformative” rock musical

“The word of the day is ‘immersion,’” says Legacy Theatre owner Scott Richardson, and truthfully there are few more appropriate terms to describe the Legacy’s production

The Civil War’s effects on ordinary folks

Civil War Journeys continues at New Salem’s Theatre in the Park July 19-22

The stories we tell and the songs we sing help us make sense of the past, understand the present and build the future. Civil War Journeys, which opened last weekend at New Salem’s Theatre in the

I bought a theater

Scott Richardson’s theatrical labor of love brings eclectic culture to Springfield

“I would say buying real estate is an emotional decision,” says Scott Richardson. “It’s probably not the wisest move, but sometimes you follow the heart. So we bought a theater

UIS stages a classic, True West

And don’t miss Den of Thieves by the Less is More Theatre Company

Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson, the head of the UIS theatre department these last 10 years, is taking a sabbatical this semester, but he is staying home in Springfield. As head of an academic program, he do

A winter full of fine Springfield theater

The new year begins with exciting theater in Springfield, with the now-playing Chess, a musical by Benny Anderssen and Bjorn Ulvaes (of ABBA fame) with lyrics by Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evit

The 25th annual First Night

On New Year’s Eve come downtown for a bargain celebration of the arts

On Dec. 31, 1987, Springfield became the first city in Illinois to host a First Night event celebrating the new year through the arts. Penny Wollan-Kriel, executive director of the Springfield Area Ar

A family’s clash of values in a time of war

Shenandoah at New Salem July 15-17 and 21-24

Don’t let the music fool you. The stage adaptation of Shenandoah is a drama. Set in the Commonwealth of Virginia during the Civil War, the play explores the impact of the war on a family whose p

Springfield playwright brings ice cream to comedy

What could possibly be more fun than a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake? How about two ice cream cakes and one wedding ring? Throw in a rich software developer named Alvin Chandler, a veterinarian named