2013 Travel Guide
Enjoy Illinois App
Showing 1-96 of 233 items found in Arts & Culture
3 - 23
Southern Illinois Music Festival
The 9th annual Southern Illinois Music Festival features over three-dozen performances in venues all over the Southern Illinois region. In addition to the New Chicago Chamber Orchestra, musicians from throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia perform orchestral music, chamber music, opera, ballet, and jazz in an informal and inviting atmosphere. This year’s Festival, titled “Swarm of B's,” runs June 3-23 and features some of our favorite composers that start with the letter "B"—Bach, Brahms, Barber, Bartok and Beethoven to name a few.
CITY: Carbondale
29
B.B. King Blues Festival
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer B.B. King with opening act, The Stone Electric, will be performing live at the Effingham Performance Center! The event starts at 7:30 p.m. Get your tickets today and take a trip down memory lane with the legendary blues man himself!
CITY: Effingham
The Varsity Center for the Arts
What started as a single-screen movie house in 1940 has become a power house for live music and community theater. This gorgeous theater is one of the greatest components to Carbondale's thriving art & culture scene, as it serves as home to the Jackson County Stage Company, which presents several plays during the year, and hosts the weekly Friday Night Film series. The Varsity serves as a venue for live entertainment during the Carbondale Rocks Revival, an annual city-wide music festival in addition to accommodating local and regional musicians during the year to bring the city exceptional entertainment.
CITY: Carbondale
Center on Halsted
Center on Halsted is the Midwest's most comprehensive community center dedicated to building and strengthening the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community. Center on Halsted's Community and Cultural team creates and hosts a wide array of fun, interactive and engaging programs enjoyed by members of the entire community. Events range from volleyball games in our gymnasium to dance recitals in our theatre. We host regular receptions showcasing local LGBTQ artists and special events for LGBTQ families and friends.
CITY: Chicago
Feb 2
Alton Little Theater: Moonlight and Magnolias
Legendry Hollywood producer David O. Selznick has a problem. He has just fired the director of Gone With the Wind and the script is on its umpteenth version. He desperately needs a new director and writer -- immediately! However, the writer he wants, Ben Hecht, has never read the novel and his director of choice, Victor Fleming, is not sold on the success of the storyline; but Selznick believes in this movie so much that he locks the three of them in his office for five days, with bananas and peanuts as their only food, to pull together a new script. As work begins, Selznick and Fleming attempt to act out all the characters in the novel while Hecht types. Take a fun, farcical look at the behind-the-scene birth of one of the most beloved films of all time. This production is scheduled for Jan. 23 - 26 and Jan. 30 - Feb. 2, 2014.
CITY: Alton
Stage Coach Theatre
Stage Coach Theatre is one of the oldest, continuously operating community theatres in Northern Illinois. They have produced over 250 dramas, comedies, and "whodunit" productions, and produce six new shows every year.
CITY: DeKalb
Porchlight Music Theatre
By uniting the arts of music, drama, dance, and design we transform stories into thrilling, passionate and relevant events, which affect the lives of artists and audiences alike.
CITY: Chicago
The Music Theatre Company
The Music Theatre Company explores the musical in the interest of expanding the canon of musical theatre through fully-staged productions, commissions of new works and musical experiments.
CITY: Highland
Collaboraction
Collaboraction creates original works of theatre that emphasize high production values, push boundaries, and highlight issues that are socially relevant to a diverse community of Chicagoans.
CITY: Chicago
Lewis University Phillip Lynch Theatre
Watch an array of plays in this intimate theater on the campus of Lewis University. The Phillip Lynch Theatre presents a diverse selection of productions from comedy, to tragedy, and everything in between.
CITY: Romeoville
Vittum Theater
The 299 seat theater is named after Harriet Elizabeth Vittum, head resident of the Northwestern University Settlement House from 1907 to 1947. Miss Vittum was a friend, counselor, and good neighbor to thousands of new Chicagoans in her community. She advocated dramatic and musical arts because she believed that they empower self-expression and self-worth.
CITY: Chicago
Park West
One of Chicago's best equipped multimedia facilities, this historic theatre has been an integral part of the entertainment scene since it opened in the 1920's. Capacity 100-1000.
CITY: Chicago
Open Door Repertory Company
Open Door Repertory Company is a professional non-equity theater organization that produces plays and provides theater education to serve audiences and theater artists of all ages and backgrounds throughout the Chicagoland area. Their purpose is to inspire, entertain, and provoke emotional and intellectual responses.
CITY: Oak Park
Sophie Leschin Theater
Home to Jacksonville Theatre Guild Productions, large auditorium theatre
CITY: Jacksonville
Globe Theater
The marquee dates back to the 1920s, but the audio-visual equipment is state-of-the-art. Three screens show first run movies on the ground floor, with a coffee shop and bistro upstairs.
CITY: Greenville
Lincoln Theatre
The historic theatre features first-run movies, organ concerts, puppet shows, and other special events. Tours are available by appointment.
CITY: Belleville
Drama Group Studio
All ages will enjoy this celebration of dr. Seuss stories with terrific music and a fine message: be loyal to your friends, don't give up, keep your promises, and let your imagination soar.
CITY: Chicago Heights
Chicago Dramatists
Since 1979, the playwright's theatre has devoted all of its resources and programming to developing new plays and nurturing playwrights. Celebrating our 30th year, please join us in creating the theatre of the future.
CITY: Chicago
Quincy Community Theatre
This state-of-the-art community theatre far outshines and outperforms many professional theatres. The Quincy Community Theatre's first production was in 1929. The theatre seats 498 people and is complete with a thrust stage and full orchestra pit. Six different performances a year attract sell-out crowds.
CITY: Quincy
Drury Lane Children's Theatre
DuPage County, Chicago’s Western Suburbs - Be a part of the sparkling lights and glamour of Broadway at the award winning Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. The Children's Theatre features stellar performances made just for kids that will entertain and inspire.
CITY: Oakbrook Terrace
Greenhouse Theatre Center
It is our mission to nurture small to mid-size theater companies toward continued growth and expression in an artists’ space at the heart of the Chicago theater community. We strive to provide an epicenter for diverse artistic points of view and excellent entertainment through area partnerships, annual programming, educational events, careful selection of resident theater companies, affiliations with the League of Chicago Theaters, and local Chambers of Commerce.
CITY: Chicago
Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall offers a diverse series accenting dance, music, theatre, popular attractions, children's theatre and outreach activities. Join us in the intimate 280-seat Nathan Manilow Theatre.
CITY: Park Forest
John Stull Performing Arts Center at Olney Central College
The center at Olney Central College hosts many local and national performances throughout the year.
CITY: Olney
Chopin Theatre
The Chopin Theatre is a two-stage complex in the heart of Wicker Park that plays host to various theatrical and literary events. Roadworks Productions has been the resident theatre company, producing at least three main stage shows each season.
CITY: Chicago
Illinois Theatre Center
This professional equity theater and drama school operates year round.
CITY: Park Forest
Chicago Center For The Performing Arts
This theater venue includes three performing arts schools, a casting center, a 350-seat theater, a lobby bar and banquet space. Plays, musicals and original productions are performed here.
CITY: Chicago
Elgin Community College Visual and Performing Arts Center
World class music, dance and theatre. Enjoy an evening out, entertainment for the family, or a chance to satisfy your cravings for culture.
CITY: Elgin
Ferguson Fine Arts Theatre
Located on the campus of Highland Community College - features a variety of fine arts programming including vocal and music concerts, live theater, special performances, and the popular Summerset Theater Program, a community performing arts theater.
CITY: Freeport
Lincoln Christian University Theatre
Come and enjoy the sights and sounds of stage productions at the Lincoln Christian University & Seminary Theater. The productions vary depending on the year and the season. Offers a fall play, Christmas Production, and a spring musical.
CITY: Lincoln
Festival 56
Festival 56 is now a year-round professional theater festival, with 10 productions each year. Each season, Festival 56 assembles from across the country a team of the most creative and talented artists living and working in professional theater today. The festival presents a wide spectrum of programming, from free productions of Shakespeare to classic and world premier musicals and the masterworks of playwrights such a Steinbeck, Ibsen and Tennessee Williams. Festival 56 is committed to championing the American theater as an art form by creating a home for the artists who are its heart and soul.
CITY: Princeton
The Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University
Chicago Southland's grandest performing arts center at Governors State University, in University Park, features a wide array of world class attractions, children and family programming
CITY: University Park
Noble Fool Theatricals at Pheasant Run Resort
Brand new theater includes stadium seating for 320 people with state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems.
CITY: St. Charles
Madison Street Theatre
The Madison Street Theatre, founded in 1959 as the Village Players Performing Arts Center, a non-profit organization, promotes the arts through theatrical productions and educational programs that encourage cultural understanding and embrace diversity.
CITY: Oak Park
Station Theater/The Celebration Company
The Station Theater, located in the historic 1899 Penn Central Train Station, is home to the Celebration Company. The theater provides live productions all year round meant to inspire, educate, and challenge. Performances range from musicals to classical experimental.
CITY: Urbana
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center fosters the creation and distribution of media, art, and narratives emphasizing underrepresented voices and perspectives and promotes empowerment and expression through media and arts education.
CITY: Urbana
American Dance Center Company
This nationally recognized dance company performs all styles of dance. The troupe's annual spectacular, Holiday Fantasy, was selected as the Best Live Show in Chicago Southland.
CITY: Homewood
Overshadowed Theatrical Productions
DuPage County, Chicago's Western Suburbs - Overshadowed Productions delivers quality, family-friendly drama that entertains, inspires, and promotes a Biblical message.
CITY: Itasca
Red Mask Players
This 75 year-old community theater group stages three productions each season at the comfortable and cozy historic Kathryn Randolph Theater.
CITY: Danville
American Blues Theater
Committed to its Ensemble since 1985, American Blues Theater produces stories about working people and partners each production with social and service organizations. As of 2013, ABT Ensemble & Artistic Affiliates have individually received over 120 Joseph Jefferson Awards, Citations, or nominations, 21 After Dark Awards, 2 Pulitzer Prize nominations, an Academy Award nomination, Golden Globe Award, 6 Writers’ Guild Award, 10 Emmy Awards or nominations, 19 Black Theatre Alliance Awards or nominations, and multiple Regional theater awards from NY, Los Angeles, DC, and Florida.
CITY: Chicago
Stage 773
Stage 773 acts to embody the vibrant spirit of Chicago off-loop theater: We celebrate the creative process, supporting the work of actors, directors, writers, composers, and designers. We nurture the artist, offering material, technical, organizational and emotional support. We honor our audience, presenting accessible, affordable and exceptional entertainment.
CITY: Chicago
The Artistic Home Theatre
The Artistic Home creates theatre and film that explores and celebrates the truth within us. Through extraordinary acting, we seek to ignite an audience’s imagination, to reach deep into the primal to send tremors through the intellect, to give birth to unforgettable moments by working in an intimate space, to touch audiences who are increasingly distanced from human contact. We readdress the classics and explore new works with passion. We give artists a home where they can shape, develop and strengthen their artistic voice.
CITY: Chicago
InFusion Theatre Company
InFusion Theatre Company’s mission is to seek out new plays and organically “infuse” them with other elements of entertainment such as music, dance, and film. We strive to create dynamic performances by combining different forms of entertainment that will result in both exciting and thought-provoking work.
CITY: Chicago
Writers' Theatre
Over the past twenty seasons, Writers' Theatre has become a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence. The company – known for the finest interpretations of classic and contemporary theatre – has garnered critical praise for the consistent high quality and intimacy of its artistry. Throughout the season Writers’ will be offering post-show discussions on select Wednesday evenings following the performance in our Tudor Court space. In the Books on Vernon space they will be offering post-show discussions every other Wednesday evening.
CITY: Glencoe
Saint Sebastian Players
The Saint Sebastian Players is a membership-based theatre company producing dramas, comedies and musicals. We emphasize collaborative theatre development in a supportive environment that fosters learning and growth. We believe theatre helps people more fully understand themselves and each other. Photo credit: (L–R) Daniel Pass as young Alexi, Megan Faye Izzo as Ivana and Evan Voboril as Vladimir in the Saint Sebastian Players' world premiere of Leigh Johnson's Lefties. Photo by John Oster.
CITY: Chicago
Hemmens Cultural Center
Home of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, this facility contains a 1200-seat theatre and an 11,340 square foot exhibition hall with fully equipped banquet kitchen. Host to many well-known artists.
CITY: Elgin
Court Theatre
For more than 50 years the University of Chicago's Court Theatre has celebrated the power and relevance of classic theater. Call for shows and tickets.
CITY: Chicago
Rammelkamp Chapel - Illinois College
Rammelkamp Chapel is the home of religious life on campus as well as the site for various events ranging from weekly chapel services, mass, convocations, concerts and ceremonies.
CITY: Jacksonville
Wonder Works
Wonder Works is 6,400 square feet of fun, a place of creative play for kids birth to age eight. Located in Oak Park, Illinois at 6445 West North Avenue, the children's museum helps kids, their parents and caregivers unleash their imaginations through art, performance, design, building and more.
CITY: Oak Park
Irene’s Cabaret
Open since 1976, Irene’s features dancing to live DJs, drag shows and live entertainment.
CITY: Quincy
Porchlight Music Theatre
By uniting the arts of music, drama, dance, and design we transform stories into thrilling, passionate and relevant events, which affect the lives of artists and audiences alike.
CITY: Chicago
Signal Ensemble Theatre
Signal Ensemble Theatre uses a deeply collaborative method to produce work never-before-seen in Chicago.
CITY: Chicago
Theatre Wit
As a production company, Theater Wit’s is the premier smart art theater in Chicago, producing humorous, challenging, and intelligent plays that speak with a vibrant and contemporary theatrical voice. As an institution, Theater Wit seeks to be the hub of the Chicago neighborhood theater scene. In our three spaces, we bring together Chicago’s best storefront theater companies. Here you will find a smorgasbord of excellent productions, see the work of a parade of talented artists, and mingle with audiences from all over Chicago.
CITY: Chicago
Fermilab Ramsey Auditorium
The mission of the Fermilab Arts and Lecture Series is to celebrate the artistic and intellectual vision of Fermilab by actively fostering an appreciation of science and the performing arts in neighboring communities.
CITY: Batavia
Royal George Theatre
Located minutes N. of Chicago's Loop with four theaters in one complex, 450 main stage, this venue is one of the premeir mid-sized theaters in Chicago.
CITY: Chicago
Mesta's Musicals
Wholesome family entertainment with song, dance, and humor. Join us for lunch and dinner show packages.
CITY: New Lenox
Murder at the BC Mansion Dinner Theatre
The Bennett-Curtis House provides mystery/dinner shows throughout the season. These shows feature a five-course dinner and play all in one! Special show/dinner packages are available for groups or events. While enjoying the show, don't miss the spectacular gardens flanked by fountains, coach house, and grape arbor. Call for reservations or visit their website.
CITY: Grant Park
Woodstock Opera House
Built in 1889 as City Hall, the Woodstock Opera House has long been one of the top performing arts centers in the Midwest. Its illustrious history also includes a cameo in Groundhog Day.
CITY: Woodstock
About Face Theatre
For the past 15 years, this innovative theater has presented original plays that challenge audiences and seek to advance the national dialogue on gender and sexual identity.
CITY: Chicago
Kirkland Fine Arts Center
A full-scale, live performance theater, with art galleries, on the campus of Millikin University.
CITY: Decatur
Moraine Valley Fine & Performing Arts Center Dorothy Menker Theater
Founded in 1967, MVCC offers a variety of educational programs and services to residents of the southwest suburban area. This includes customized training solutions.
CITY: Palos Hills
Moraine Valley Fine & Performing Arts Ctr John and Angeline Oremus
The FPAC presents quality cultural programs and popular entertainment in the 600-seat Dorothy Menker Theater, 150-seat Oremus Theater and the Robert F DeCaprio art gallery.
CITY: Palos Hills
Effingham Performance Center
Arts Connection of Central Illinois has been established for the citizens of Effingham County and beyond to showcase arts and entertainment, to encourage interaction with and appreciation of live performance, to endorse the educational process and to enhance the quality of life and cultural vitality of the region.
CITY: Effingham
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company – “think theatre”
Since 1996, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company's passion for the power of great theatrical language has enriched Chicago's world-class theatre scene. Masterful acting and directing by the company's ensemble of professional artists showcases the wit and wisdom of the world's great playwrights. Photo: cast of Remy Bumppo's production of George Bernard Shaw's You Never Can Tell.
CITY: Chicago
13 - 23
Alton Little Theater: Sex, Please, We're 60
Mrs. Stancliffe's Rose Cottage Bed & Breakfast has been successful for many years because her guests (nearly all women) return year after year. Her next door neighbor, the elderly, silver-tongued "Bud the Stud" Davis, believes they come to spend time with him in romantic liaisons. The prim and proper Mrs. Stancliffe steadfastly denies this, but reluctantly accepts the fact that "Bud the Stud" is good for business. Her other neighbor and would-be suitor, Henry Mitchell, is a retired chemist who has developed a blue pill called "Venusia" to increase the libido of menopausal women. The pill has not been tested until Bud gets his hands on some and the fun begins. The women mix up Bud's Viagra pills with the Venusia, and we soon discover that it has a strange effect on men: it gives them all the symptoms of menopause, complete with hot flashes, mood swings, weeping and irritability! When the mayhem settles down, all the women find their lives moving in new and surprising directions. This production is scheduled for March 13 - 16 and March 20 - 23, 2014.
CITY: Alton
Opera House of Sandwich
The Opera House functions as a community oriented facility. It brings to its stage: theatre, lectures, recitals, weddings and a wide variety of outstanding performers, ranging from country to classical.
CITY: Sandwich
Circle Theatre of Oak Park
Circle Theatre is an artist-based company whose mission is to produce exciting and innovative theatre accessible to our widely diversified suburban and city audience. Through variety-filled seasons including drama, comedy, musicals, and new works, Circle Theatre challenges, entertains, and educates audiences and artists of all ages.
CITY: Oak Park
Centre East
Centre East presents a variety of comedy, dance, music and family-oriented performances.
CITY: Skokie
Belleville Philharmonic Society
The nation's second oldest continuously performing symphony orchestra (1867-2005) gives concerts throughout the year.
CITY: Belleville
Geneva Underground Playhouse
Producing mainstage productions throughout the year, and also hosting performances by comedy groups, musicians, playwrights and any number of other entertainers.
CITY: Geneva
Adventure Stage Chicago
Adventure Stage Chicago creates dynamic and transformative theatre for young audiences that activates the imagination, inspires dialogue and strengthens community among families, educators and artists.
CITY: Chicago
Clearwater Theater
This theater venue hosts top-notch entertainment, local and national bands, karaoke and comedy shows.
CITY: Dundee
Open House Theater
Shows are performed at the Turkey Hill Grange, Progressive Grange, and The New Athens Senior Center.
CITY: New Athens
McHenry Drive-In Outdoor Theatre
One of the few remaining authentic drive-in movie theatres remaining in Illinois. Enjoy the nostalgia of double-feature movies in the comfort of your car. Unique family experience.
CITY: McHenry
Smith Memorial Hall
Live Perforamance Musical Theater located on the University of Illinois campus in one of the many historical buildings on the Quad. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Smith Memorial Hall features a 900-seat recital hall, a popular venue for student and faculty solo and ensemble performances. Chamber Music and Harpsichord recitals are held in the Smith Memorial room.
CITY: Urbana
Civic Opera House
The world-renowned Lyric Opera of Chicago performs in one of North America's most beautiful opera houses, the Civic Opera House. The decorative character of the entire building is a hybrid of Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. Comedy-tragedy masks and cornucopia of instruments abound as playful ornaments around entrances, inspired by the Paris Opera House designed by Jean-Louis-Charles Garnier. The famous painted fire curtain (depicting the parade scene from Aida) and the interior decoration details of the Civic Opera House were created by American artist Jules Guerin in a palette of salmon pinks, roses, olives, golds and bronzes.
CITY: Chicago
Children's Theater of Elgin
Exceptional theater productions are performed by children for children.
CITY: Elgin
Elgin Community Theatre
Award-winning community theatre featuring classical and contemporary musicals and play selections.
CITY: Elgin
Riverfront Playhouse
This popular local theater group performs original plays, musicals, murder mysteries, comedies and children's theater.
CITY: Aurora
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
A professional laboratory for the University of Illinois dance, theater, opera, and music departments. The center also hosts nationally renowned artists and is home to the Champaign-Urbana Symphony.
CITY: Urbana
Timber Lake Playhouse
Illinois' oldest continuously-running professional summer stock theatre. Live performances June-August. Reservations required. Children's program July-August.
CITY: Mount Carroll
The Lemming Armada Theatre Co.
Performances throughout the year include music, drama, and comedy.
CITY: Belleville
The Riviera Theatre
One of Chicago's oldest concert venues still hosts national headliners, up-and-coming acts, and even the occasional movie, including The Break-Up.
CITY: Chicago
Harper College Performing Arts Center
Concerts, plays, musicals, and more. Free backstage tours for groups.
CITY: Palatine
Brubeck Theatre at Wabash Valley College
The Brubeck Theatre at Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel features many locally produced plays and musicals, as well as traveling professional performers.
CITY: Mount Carmel
Quad City Music Guild
Broadway musicals in this beautiful auditorium located in Prospect Park in Moline, Illinois. Visit the website for current and upcoming show schedule and ticket prices.
CITY: Moline
Pec Playhouse Theatre
Performances produced by people dedicated to proividing quality community theatre in an intimate, rustic venue.
CITY: Pecatonica
Capitol Theater
The Monroe Actors Stage Company (MASC) offers plays from September through June.
CITY: Waterloo
Hard Road Theatre Productions
Hard Road Theatre Productions is a non-profit community theater organization committed to providing the Highland area with high-quality, affordable, live theater productions.
CITY: Highland
Jack Benny Center for the Arts
Jack Benny Center for the Arts -- Waukegan Symphony Orchestra & Concert Chorus and Bowen Park Theatre & Opera Companies. Bowen Park Theatre provides professional theatre and opera as well as children's theatre in the summer months, spring, and in December. The Jack Benny Center is the home of "The Old Time Radio Show" that holds performances quarterly.
CITY: Waukegan
Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire
See the "The Best of Broadway" at the Marriott Theatre featuring 5 great musicals every year. The intimate arena theatre is designed so everyone has the best seat in the house. The theatre earns lavish praise from critics, receiving a record 370 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations - Chicago's highest theatrical honor for artistic achievement. Marriott's Theatre for Young Audiences presents numerous original works as well as classic fairy tales. Through these works, children experience the joy and magic that is "live" theatre.
CITY: Lincolnshire
Country Club Hills Amphitheater Theater
Our beautiful new Country Club Hills Amphitheater Theater is an intimate, 2000-seat venue that combines stylish, modern architecture and state-of-the-art audio and video technology with the same kind of rustic, community charm that our city is famous for.
CITY: Country Club Hills
The Arcada Theatre
The Arcada Theatre is dedicated to being a true showcase of the Arts. Our main goal is to provide St. Charles, the Fox Valley Area, and the Chicagoland Area a wide variety of arts and entertainment.
CITY: St. Charles
