Augustana College Cultural Events

A variety of arts events going on at Augustana College.

CITY: Rock Island

Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse & The Speakeasy

Enjoy Broadway musicals, comedies, concerts, children's productions, and dinner in this historic, beautifully restored Vaudeville-era theatre. For a schedule of upcoming and current productions please visit the Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse website. Next door to Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse you will find the Speakeasy. This smaller theatre features comedy and concerts throughout the year. To see who is performing at The Speakeasy, go to the Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse website.

CITY: Rock Island

The Speakeasy

Enjoy this intimate theatre featuring live music, comedy and more. Located right next door to the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, the Speakeasy is the newest edition to the Downtown Rock Island Arts & Entertainment District. Open Thursday through Saturday, check the website for upcoming event schedule.

CITY: Rock Island

Riverfront Museum Park

Arts and humanities complex housing Discovery Center Museum, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford Dance Company office and studies, Northern Illinois Public Radio offices and Rockford Symphony Orchestra offices.

CITY: Rockford

Bengt Sjostrom Theatre & Studio Theatre

Newly renovated, stunning open-air theater with retractable roof, home to Starlight Theatre, the area's oldest summer theatre, and to RVC's annual Shakespeare Festival. The Studio Theatre provides a venue for amateur and student productions.

CITY: Rockford

Summer Wood Amphitheatre

Outdoor performances by nationally known, Christian-oriented artists at the largest outdoor Christian amphitheater in the Midwest. Family-oriented environment with children's programs, free admission to most events, and sign language interpretation.

CITY: Rockford

Coronado Performing Arts Center

See a play or musical performance at the wonderfully ornate Coronado Performing Arts Center, which was once a 1920s movie palace and vaudeville hall. The Coronado still features its original whimsical details, such as gilded Spanish castles, Chinese dragons in relief on the walls and a faux starry sky. Coronado Performing Arts Center is the venue for many performing arts groups and traveling shows.

CITY: Rockford

Rockford Dance Company

Established in 1972, Rockford Dance Company pursues excellence in the art of dance through performance, education and outreach. A full season of dance is performed by company members, guest artist from around the world, and students from RDC’s school of dance. This ballet school also offers classes in modern, jazz, and tap and a recreational division full of many other unique dance genres.

CITY: Rockford

Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center

Since 1884, the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center (MPAC) has been offering exciting, personal, interactive music experiences to the northern Illinois area. MPAC presents several exciting concert series with local, national and internationally-renowned performers, from genres including classical, jazz, folk and Broadway.

CITY: Rockford

Studio Theatre at Rock Valley College

During the fall and spring semesters, Rock Valley College sponsors a Studio Theatre program, giving students and amateur actors in the area a chance to perform with guest professionals in plays such as Wings, Black Coffee, and 1940's Radio Hour. Each year the Studio Theatre presents a William Shakespeare classic. The Studio Theatre also has a new play development program with productions that have included American Rock!, Kite's Book, and Christmas With the Conroys.

CITY: Rockford

Starlight Theatre at Rock Valley College

The area's oldest outdoor summer theatre with four musical productions in June and July. Starlight's home, the Bengt Sjostrom Theatre, features more than a thousand seats, a stunningly artistic and creative retractable roof, new seating and an improved stage. Starlight Theatre has been named one of Illinois' 150 Great Places by the American Institute of Architects, Illinois Council. This prestigious award is given to places that have been identified by leading architects as contributing to their communities' quality of life.

CITY: Rockford

Artists' Ensemble Theatre

Artists's Ensemble is a thriving theater group that offers five professional productions a year in the Clark Arts Center at Rockford College. Tickets are available by phone or online.

CITY: Rockford

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

Rosemont Theatre

The plush Rosemont Theatre is your ticket to lavish Broadway musicals, full-scale productions and world-class entertainers. We also get raves for our extra-wide aisles, on-site parking, and our superior sound system. The Theatre presents unforgettable show-going experiences.

CITY: Rosemont

Round Lake Area Park District

Round Lake Area Park District offers visitors a wide range of activities and facilities to enjoy. They include the Renwood Golf Course, the new sports center, the Prairie Grass Nature Museum, community theatre, outdoor pool/aquatic center, fitness center, child development center, teen center, senior center and acres of picturesque parklands. Private parties/outings at any of the facilities can be accommodated.

CITY: Round Lake

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

Sandwich City Hall and Opera House

On August 20, 1878, 25 years after Sandwich first became a town, a contract was signed for construction of the Sandwich City Hall and Opera House. An allotment of $10,000 was given for the project, with the stipulation that it must be completed by the end of the year. The building was finished on time, but there was a cost overrun of $2,000 After much time, money and energy by volunteers to restore and renovate the City Hall and Opera House, a grand re-opening was held on April 12, 1986. Once again the building functions as a community oriented facility, bringing community theatre, lectures, recitals, style shows, weddings and a wide variety of outstanding performers, ranging from country to classical, to its stage.

CITY: Sandwich

Prairie Center for the Arts

Featuring concerts, plays, art exhibits and dance. Wireless headsets for hearing impaired and wheelchair seating available.

CITY: Schaumburg

Laugh Out Loud Improv Theater

Hilarious improvised comedy that combines live action, video, and the audience! Family-friendly and grown up shows every weekend starring Chicago's top improv comedians.

CITY: Schaumburg

Skokie Theater

This state-of-the-art, 150-seat auditorium presents musical and theatrical programs.

CITY: Skokie

Centre East

Centre East presents a variety of comedy, dance, music and family-oriented performances.

CITY: Skokie

Sangamon Auditorium - University of Illinois Springfield

The auditorium presents a broad range of music, theater and dance performances.

CITY: Springfield

Hoogland Center for the Arts

Home to many of Springfield's local arts orgnizations, Hoogland Center for the Arts has numerous local theatrical productions and gallery exhibits throughout the year. The venue also draws touring musical acts from all over the country.

CITY: Springfield

Steel Beam Theatre

Live theatre in an intimate, historic setting.

CITY: St. Charles

Norris Cultural Arts Center, Theatre & Art Gallery

A 1,000 seat live theatre providing family entertainment for more than 20 years. Season tickets are available. Call for gallery hours and reservations.

CITY: St. Charles

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

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

Engle Lane Theatre

An astonishingly well-equipped theater in its 42nd season. Plays and musicals running May-August.

CITY: Streator

The Little Theatre On The Square

A Professional Actor Equity Association-affiliated theatre performing Broadway musicals and comedy. Produces five mainstage shows from mid-June to mid-August. Three theatres for young audiences, shows, in addition to a fall, Christmas, & spring show.

CITY: Sullivan

First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

Beautiful outdoor music theatre open May through September with a capacity of just under 30,000 people. Concessions and private catering available; tour buses welcome.

CITY: Tinley Park

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

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

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

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

Capitol Theater

The Monroe Actors Stage Company (MASC) offers plays from September through June.

CITY: Waterloo

Genesee Theatre

Experience the grandeur of world-class artists and Broadway theatricals in the beautifully restored Genesee Theatre. After undergoing a $23 million renovation, The Genesee Theatre is now home to world-class performances including Broadway shows, musical acts, comedians and more. In addition to the shows this venue is a historic hot-spot for weddings, corporate functions, holiday parties, and a variety of special events. There are also a number of completely renovated auxiliary rooms connected to the main auditorium that are perfect for receptions, birthdays, high school reunions, corporate dinners, cocktail parties, or any other festive gathering, meeting, or presentation. Visit the website for a list of upcoming shows.

CITY: Waukegan

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

Clockwise Theatre

Clockwise Theatre's goal is to offer alternative entertainment choices, including world premiers of plays with an emphasis on Midwestern playwrights, new or unusual small-scale musicals, and programming for the teenage-young adult audience. Clockwise hopes to offer a welcoming canvas on which to work, mobilizing the energy of the young, wisdom of the old, vision of the artist, and the rich cultures woven throughout Waukegan and the Midwest.

CITY: Waukegan

Opera House of Woodstock

Built in the 1800s in Steamboat Gothic style, the opera house hosts musicals, dramas, dance and touring groups.

CITY: Woodstock

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