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Theater, dance center stage at area venues

By Dan Craft
dcraft@pantagraph.com

It's not only the fall concert season that's heating up-- the curtains are parting on the autumn theater and dance front, too.

Following is a look at what's being staged between now and year's end at area theater and performing arts venues.

National tours

• Sept. 19: Continuous City, 7:30 p.m.; progressive theater troupe The Builders Association returns with its latest fusion of theater and technology; U of I Krannert Center.

• Sept. 26: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, 7:30 p.m.; 30th anniversary performance by the legendary Chicago modern dance troupe; U of I Krannert Center.

• Oct. 3-4: Playboy of the Western World and The Shadow of Glen, 7:30 p.m.; acclaimed Irish troupe Druid storms across the Atlantic with two signature works by John Millington Synge; U of I Krannert Center.

• Oct. 3: Neil Berg's 100 Years of Broadway, 7:30 p.m.; touring revue of the biggest moments from Broadway's greatest hits featuring original cast members; Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

• Oct. 4: Neil Berg's 100 Years of Broadway, 8 p.m.; see above; Sangamon Auditorium.

• Oct. 10: Compania Flamenco Jose Porcel, 7:30 p.m.; the Spanish flamenco master and his sinuous ensemble; U of I Krannert Center.

• Oct. 11: Chicago, 8 p.m.; the Roaring '20s musical about adultery, murder and other fun stuff; U of I Assembly Hall.

• Oct. 11: It's Only Make Believe, 7 p.m.; new musical celebration of the life and times of rock and country legend Conway Twitty; Peoria Civic Center.

• Oct. 14-19: Mamma Mia!, eight performances at various times; you've seen the movie, now see the stage version that made it all possible; Peoria Civic Center.

• Oct. 10: Compania Flamenco Jose Porcel, 7:30 p.m.; see Oct. 10 listing; Sangamon Auditorium.

• Oct. 10: James and the Giant Peach, 3 p.m.: Two Bean Productions rendition of the Roald Dahl fantasy favorite; Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

• Oct. 26: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 3 p.m.: Theatreworks (the folks behind "Seussical") return with an adaptation of the C.S. Lewis classic at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

• Nov. 7: Nunsense, 7:30 p.m.; touring revival of the habit-forming comedy, starring "All in the Family" alumna Sally Struthers; Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

• Nov. 10: The Pajama Game, 7:30 p.m.; the first and probably last musical about factory unionizing; Sangamon Auditorium.

• Nov. 11: The Pajama Game, 7:30 p.m.; see above; U of I Assembly Hall.

• Nov. 19-20: Bebe Miller: Necessary Beauty, 7:30 p.m.; the famed choreographer's latest work, incorporating multimedia elements and more; U of I Krannert Center.

• Dec. 6: Movin' Out, 7:30 p.m.; the Vietnam-era musical built around 26 of Billy Joel's songs; Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

• Dec. 7: Ain't Misbehavin', 7:30 p.m.; 30th anniversary tour of the 1978 Eubie Blake musical starring "American Idol" alumni Ruben Studdard and Frenchie Davis; U of I Assembly Hall.

• Dec. 12: Franklin Family's Christmas, 7 p.m.: touring holiday vehicle for the storybook turtle & Co.; Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

Community Players

• Sept. 4-20: Steel Magnolias, comedy-drama about the lives and loves of a group of Southern beauty parlor regulars.

• Oct. 24-Nov. 9: Guys and Dolls, Frank Loesser's musical about what happens when a floating craps game intersects with the Salvation Army.

Conklin's Barn II Dinner Theatre

• Sept. 11-Nov. 2: The Odd Couple, revival of the Neil Simon comedy classic, with Barn regulars Bob Lane Jr. and Pat Gaik in the title roles.

• Nov. 6-Dec. 31: Perfect Wedding, latest in a long line of Robin Hawdon marital farces, with Barn favorites Mary Simon and Bob Lane Jr.

Eureka College

• Sept. 12-14: Winnie the Pooh, children's production with added activities and treats, Cerf Center.

• Oct. 31-Nov. 8: Frankenstein, Tim Kelly's adaptation of the Mary Shelley horror classic, Pritchard Theatre.

• Nov. 20-22: How I Learned to Drive, Paula Vogel's story of the relationship between a young woman and her uncle; Pritchard Theatre.

Heartland Theatre Company

• Sept 4-21: Bill W. and Dr. Bob, Stephen Bergman and Janet Surrey's up-close-and-personal drama about the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.

• Nov. 6-23: The Clean House, Sarah Ruhl's award-winning romantic comedy centered on the character of a Brazilian cleaning woman who'd rather be a comedian.

ISU Theatre

• Sept. 25-28: The Philadelphia Story, Philip Barry's classic comedy of high society manners, ISU Center for the Performing Arts.

• Oct. 10-18: 4:48 Psychosis, Sarah Kane's harrowing drama about an artist's struggles with self-destruction; Allen Theatre.

• Oct. 24-Nov. 1: Dracula, Stephen Dietz's close adaptation of Bram Stoker's blood-sucking classic, ISU Center for the Performing Arts.

• Nov. 19-21: ISU Dance Theatre Fall Concert, featuring works by faculty and guest artists, ISU Center for the Performing Arts.

• Dec. 3-6: Yerma, Federico Garcia Lorca's story of the scandal and ridicule besieging a woman unable to conceive a child; Westhoff Theatre.

• Dec. 3-6: A Winter's Tale, a post-Shakespeare Festival rendering of Will's chilly drama, Allen Theatre.

IWU Theatre

• Sept. 30-Oct. 5: In the Heart of America, Naomi Wallace's drama set between two different wartime eras -- the Vietnam of 1969 and the Gulf War of 1990; McPherson Theatre.

• Oct. 23-26: The Women of Lockerbie, Deborah Brevoort's drama about the impact on a small Scots village of the nearby 1988 terrorist bombing of a Pan Am plane; E. Melba Kirkpatrick Johnson Lab Theatre.

• Nov. 18-23: Of Thee I Sing, the Gershwin musical with a White House setting and a book by comedy maestros George S. Kauman and Morrie Ryskind; McPherson Theatre.

Prairie Fire Theatre

• Oct. 10-19: Forever Plaid, the musical homage to '50s close-harmony guy groups via the life-and-death saga of the fictional Plaids, IWU Westbrook Auditorium and First Presbyterian Church in Normal.

Box offices

Following are box office numbers for the venues mentioned in the accompanying fall theater preview:

• Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington: (866) 686-9541

• Community Players, Bloomington: (309) 663-2121

• Conklin's Barn II Dinner Theatre, Goodfield: (309) 965-2545

• Eureka College Pritchard Theatre, Eureka: (309) 467-6363

• Heartland Theatre Company, Normal: (309) 452-8709

• ISU Theatre: (309) 438-2535

• IWU Theatre: (309) 556-3232

• Millikin University Kirkland Fine Arts Center, Decatur: (217) 424-6318

• Peoria Civic Center, Peoria: (309) 673-3200

• Prairie Fire Theatre, Bloomington: (309) 454-5500

• Sangamon Auditorium, Springfield: (800) 207-6960

• U of I Assembly Hall, Champaign: (217) 333-5000

• U of I Krannert Center, Urbana: (217) 333-6280

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Veteran comedy actress Sally Struthers stars in the touring version of "Nunsense" coming Nov. 7 to the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

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