Just Announced - Taylor Hicks coming to Sangamon Auditorium

The University of Illinois Springfield – Sangamon Auditorium has announced that Taylor Hicks, fifth-season winner of American Idol will perform in concert on Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for Friends of Sangamon Auditorium and will go on sale to the general public, Monday, July 12, 2010 at 10 a.m.

Alabama’s favorite son continues to be in “The Right Place” since becoming the fifth-season winner of American Idol. During the last two years, Taylor Hicks has seen his Arista debut album certified platinum, performed with the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire, The Allman Brothers and Willie Nelson, toured through Asia, penned a brisk-selling Random House memoir, and made his Broadway debut in Grease.

Taylor released his latest album titled "The Distance" in March of 2009, and is supported by the single, "Seven Mile Breakdown." Along with the album, his own DVD was just released. Whomp at the Warfield, offers fans exhilarating live performances by Taylor and his band at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco.

Tickets for this event are $32, 27, 22 and go on sale to the general public, Monday, July 12, 2010 at 10 a.m. To order tickets visit www.SangamonAuditorium.org or call the Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office at (217) 206-6160 or toll free at 800-207-6960. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the Ticket Office, which is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

2010-2011 Season Announcement!

Sangamon Auditorium is pleased to announce the 2010-2011 Performing Arts season - featuring a mix of folk & blues music, family friendly shows, world dance, the best of Broadway, and more.

Read the article from the State Journal-Register.

Visit the SJ-R Off the Clock blog for more information about the season, including video clips and ticket prices.

Lily Tomlin at UIS: Sweet, affable and wearing the wrong pants

Perhaps the biggest laughs at Lily Tomlin’s performance Sunday (June 13) at Sangamon Auditorium came toward the end of the show when she portrayed the astringent, snorting Ernestine character (right).

Ernestine, a favorite on the old TV show “Laugh-In,” is no longer bullying customers at the telephone company.

“I gave the best years of my life to AT&T,” she said. “When it broke up, so did I.”

Now Ernestine is bullying customers as an employee of a health insurance company, taking delight in denying claims. “Your health is our business, not our concern,” she said.

. . .

article by Kathryn Rem
sj-r.com, Off the Clock blog
Read the article

UIS Broadway Series

Sangamon Auditorium, UIS is excited and proud to announce the 2010 - 2011 UIS Broadway Series:

UIS Broadway Series subscription information will be made available shortly. For series subscription or UIS Broadway Series questions call the Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office at

217.206.6160 or 800. 207.6960

Click for more information.

That ’70s Show: Doobie Brothers to play Sangamon Auditorium tonight

The Doobie Brothers’ total worth is greater than the sum of the band’s parts.

The group, which performs tonight at Sangamon Auditorium, has had sounds ranging from laid-back country-rock to funky-electric R&B.

That owes primarily to three distinct leaders during the band’s 1970s heyday.

Formed as a Northern California bar band, the Doobie Brothers first found wide success with its second album, “Toulouse Street” (1972).

At the time, the group was under the leadership of founding member Tom Johnston.

In the early years, it scored hits with “Listen to the Music,” “Jesus Is Just Alright,” “Long Train Runnin’” and “China Grove.”

The laid-back vibe and catchy hooks of these songs are backed by acoustic guitars and — in the case of “Listen to the Music” — a banjo.

It’s all right there in the group’s name, which its website defines as “a kind of pasture grass.” The “Rolling Stone Album Guide” has another toke — oops, that was supposed to be “take” — saying the group was “named after the ... end of a joint.”

. . .

Article by Brian Mackey
The State Journal-Register
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An Evening With Lily Tomlin

Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 7:00 pm.
Ticket Prices: $85 (Gold Circle), $65, $55, $40

Lily Tomlin Brings Her Classic Characters to Springfield!

The incomparable Lily Tomlin brings her one-woman show to Sangamon Auditorium in Springfield on Sunday, June 13. One of America's foremost comediennes, Tomlin brings more than a dozen of her famous characters to life onstage, from the precocious six-year-old Edith Ann to the irascible telephone operator Ernestine.

Known for her unique comedic style, smart, relevant, and woven with love and concern for humanity, Tomlin says, "I've always tried to reflect what I thought was interesting, funny, and moving about the human experience."

While the characters may be classic, the observations are pointedly current. Letting the characters take a break, Tomlin will follow her performance with a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Tomlin continues to venture across an ever-widening range of media, starring in television, theater, film, animation, and video. Critics are currently raving over her riveting performance as the steely wife of a stock swindler in the legal drama Damages. Her recurring character from Desperate Housewives is currently being developed for her own spin-off series, and she recently completed a sold-out run headlining at the MGM-Grand in Las Vegas.

She earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in Robert Altman's film Nashville and followed that achievement with dozens of film characterizations, including her iconic role in 9 to 5, along with Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda; All of Me with Steve Martin, and Lake Wobegon Days alongside Meryl Streep. Appearances on Sesame Street and her role as Ms. Frizzle in the award-winning animated series The Magic School Bus cemented her popularity with the elementary school crowd.

Click here for tickets!

Sangamon Auditorium and Springfield Public Schools collaborate for Partners in Education Institute

The University of Illinois Springfield’s Sangamon Auditorium and Springfield Public Schools have joined together to form a team that was recently selected to participate in the national Partners in Education Institute, which will take place May 5 through May 8 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The institute provides training and information to design an effective arts and arts integration professional development program for teachers in their communities. Participants will have the opportunity to observe established professional development workshops in action at the Kennedy Center with teachers in attendance. They will also participate in content sessions that prepare them in how to plan, implement and evaluate professional development in the arts and arts integration for teachers.

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