The theater department at Parkland College in Champaign invites community members to participate in campus productions. By combining the talents of student and community actors, Parkland has be]]> 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, th]]> 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]]> “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]]> 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 th]]> What do an Olympic figure skater, your favorite musicals and the greatest family entertainment in the area have in common? If you’re thinking of the Ice Capades then you’re in for a season]]> Only through the lens of the late Theodor Seuss Geisle, better known as Dr. Seuss, can a chaotic menagerie of made-up creatures bring order and wisdom from whimsy and fun. Filled with comedies such as]]> Opening this weekend at Theatre in the Park, New Salem's outdoor amphitheater, is the drama Your Obedient Servant, A. Lincoln. The return of the John Ahart play, which ran for many summers at N]]> The new year has begun with some new titles on area stages and several more are coming up in the coming weeks.Seeing the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee recently (a Springfield Thea]]> Many of this weekend’s theatrical offerings are focused on the celebration of the official opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. A big downtown block ]]> Every morning for nearly two years now, I’ve passed a lifelike figure of John Wilkes Booth on my way to work at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. This week, Booth comes to life onstage in]]> Five thousand years of Chinese performing arts and culture will take the stage Feb. 9 at Sangamon Auditorium in a multimillion-dollar touring production called Shen Yun (“divine character”]]> Great things are happening on summer stages. I just saw 42nd Street in Sullivan at the Little Theatre on the Square. Having seen back in 1980 the original Broadway production, which began with]]> Local youths may be familiar with the confrontation and spectacle of mainstream hip hop, where the words flow effortlessly with messages of violence, money and sex. Less familiar is a close cousin, slam poetry, which also has smooth lyrical moves, but uses them to deliver appeals to social justice, racial understanding and cultural identity.]]> [image-2} There is so much theatre happening in the area these days, there doesn't seem to be a spring/summer/fall/winter season anymore — it's just ongoing all year long, which is g]]> In a city largely absent of activities and events related to African American culture, Springfield’s black residents have long suffered from the “there’s-nothing-to-do syndrome.&rdqu]]> It shouldn’t come as a surprise that members of The Mature Mob – Springfield’s over 50 singing and dancing troupe – are a little more “hip” than average senior citi]]> When Horton Foote died last year at the age of 92, America lost one of its most prolific and endearing dramatists. Foote, who was still writing until his last days, completed more than 60 plays and sc]]>