Summer Theatre
The Source
Two particular species love summertime…bugs and theatre goers, since both are naturally attracted to the hypnotic glare of the spotlight. Any actor who’s been around the summer stage will regale you with his particular story of swallowing a bug in the middle of “Oh What a Beautiful Morning!” or “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame.” In fact, there’s some evidence that June bugs prefer the mouths of tenors and sopranos. ..perhaps because they’re larger. So whether you’re attracted to summer theatre because of the venue’s idyllic charm or you’re an HYPERLINK "http://www.thefreedictionary.com/otolaryngologist" otolaryngologist doing field work on the flight patterns of Mayflies, the thrill of taking off on a summer’s evening to enjoy a play is still an affordable way to treat a loved one or a family member (not always one and the same) to special night of entertainment. Central Illinois, for reasons not totally understood by anyone, is a hot bed of community theatre. I would dare anyone to find another chunk of U.S. territory as thick with footlights and greasepaint as the Decatur to Champaign to Springfield to Quincy to Jacksonville swath of Mr. Lincoln’s lower section. A friend once told me this was because of the lack of anything else to do. Whatever the reason, we are blessed with a gold mine (and sometimes mine field) of local theatre, and summer is indeed the hot season for theatrical productions. This summer is no exception with no less than fifteen theatrical productions being presented less than an hour’s drive from Jacksonville. The Springfield Muni is the area’s largest venue with the seating area just somewhat smaller than the state of New Jersey. In fact, that’s the whole idea behind the Muni…making big bucks. The good news: their production values are always high, the sets gargantuan and the costumes well done. Also, the competition to direct for the Muni is fierce and you can always be assured that the production is helmed by a professional. The downside: since the Muni is all about the largest possible crowds to fill their inclined pasture located on Lake Springfield, you’ll seldom see many chances taken in the selection of plays. I’ve heard that daughters of the original Annie are now auditioning for the role and there’s a special section of a Springfield cemetery designated entirely for departed Harold Hill’s of The Music Man and Peter Pan’s. Still, the Muni is a good bet for quality theatre. KB’s tips: avoid week nights when the senior citizens busses take up all the good parking, take your lawn chair and sit in the cheap section (much improved from the recent season when the seepage from the restrooms caused by lawn chair to keep tipping toward Bali Hai), and be prepared for a late night. Curtain’s not until 8:30 and the traffic getting out is a bit dodgy. This summer’s lineup features Oliver!, The Producers, Fiddler on the Roof, and High School God-help-us Musical. New Salem’s Theatre in Park, restored to life several year’s ago by Jacksonville’s Bob Crowe, will be offering 10 shows this summer. Crowe has since sold the enterprise to local producers and the mainly-weekend productions have been remarkably well-attended over the years considering the theatre’s remote location. Downside: Sometimes the productions are stretched a bit thin on personnel and it’s often tough to find ten good directors for a summer’s season, but the simple charm of the New Salem setting always makes for a sweet evening under the stars. Upside: Theatre in the Park has become increasingly daring in recent years and in terms of sheer interest, they out-do the Muni. For example, last year’s The Elephant Man was a huge hit, both commercially and artistically. KB’s tips: Buy your tickets in advance. To my knowledge it’s the only outdoor theatre in downstate Illinois that has an alternative indoor venue in case of rain, but you must be among the first 250 ticket buyers. Go early enough to take a stroll through the restored village, and take advantage of Petersburg’s Stonebake Pizza restaurant before the show. One more thing: bugs are attracted to light. Ask for seats toward the top row. This season’s shows include Little Women, Songwriter’s Circle, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, They Knew Mr. Lincoln, Forever This Land, Heritage, Mother Hicks, Camp Sunshine, Abe, and Shakespeare Shorts (in case you hadn’t heard, Lincoln had a birthday this year.) And of course Jacksonville always presents a summer musical. This year’s offering is Into the Woods featuring what is surely among the strongest groups of vocal cords assembled on the Jacksonville scene, including a return to the stage of local boy Greg Floyd. Get ready for a treat as he and Kristin VanAken Jamison take the roles of the Baker and his wife. The upside of the Jacksonville Theatre Guild…hey, it’s close! And you won’t have to worry about a rainout. Dr. Leschin’s seats are comfy and on most nights the air conditioning cooperates. Downside to the JTG: as they’ve increased the number of shows over the years and the Guild has been increasingly desperate to obtain enough directors and performers. Sometimes a good thing can be stretched very, very thinly. But no worries about this summer’s cast. It’s full of star power. Other area venues will also be offering up their platters of summer fare…Decatur, Sullivan, Quincy, Champaign, but it’ll cost you less than an hour of your life to drive to any of the above theatres and your time will nearly always be well spent. To finish my earlier thought…actually, a bug down the throat is preferable to one inside your costume. I mean after all, you can swallow. A young man who portrayed Abraham Lincoln in a New Salem production of Distant Thunder once told me that while he was onstage soliloquizing about the joys of the Illinois prairie, a June bug made a bee-line for his pant leg. He said, “I could feel him heading up the Mississippi, past Memphis, then on to Cairo. I grabbed him right before he reached St. Louis.”