Datebook

"The show must go on" is one of the most repeated phrases in theatre, whether you're directing on Broadway or a children's production.

Any blues musician will tell you that everyone gets the blues. But for the past few months, that line has changed to “nearly everyone now has the blues.”

There’s an old tradition in the theater world that there must always be an electric light left burning on stage whenever a theater is left dark or unoccupied. It’s called a ghost light. 

It’s no mystery why Nancy Drew, that Titian-haired, flashlight-wielding teen detective, is still so popular after all these years. 

It was going to be amazing, colorful and fun. 

The coronavirus pandemic has millions sheltering indoors and bonding with their streaming services.  

As art galleries across the country have locked their doors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, one local gallery is trying to shed some light on the dark situation. 

On a day like today, Doug Johnson would normally be busy at his job as director of the McLean County Arts Center.

Pamela Cather was teaching psychology at Heartland Community College when she decided to take a free class in digital photography. That was all it took to set her on off on a new career behind the lens. 

As Americans self-isolate to help halt the spread of the coronavirus, an emeritus English professor from Illinois State University has a few book suggestions to accompany the quarantine. 

Editor's note: Due to the updated COVID-19 guidance issued by Gov. JB Pritzker and the State of Illinois, the Community Players Theater will be doing the following regarding "Big Fish" performances:

The theater will be holding the Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14, performances for those who have already purchased tickets. No additional sales or exchange for "Big Fish" tickets either online, call in, or walk in will be sold in order to help prevent community transmission of the disease.

For painter and sculptor Aaron Yount, answering the call of the wild in his artwork could well be down to his DNA. 

If you didn't get enough romance on Valnetine's Day, try the new production of "Guys and Dolls," opening this weekend at the Illinois State University Center for the Performing Arts Theater. 

"There’s a moment every day where we, as artists, have to stand up and do what we can, " said artist David Dow. "And encourage dialog and encourage thinking about everything that’s going on.”

The words “I was there” resound through Ike Holter’s play “Hit the Wall.”  

If music be the food of love, play on... 

For 67 years, Vladimir and Estragon have been waiting. And waiting. And waiting ... for Godot. 

Working one meticulous stitch at a time, artist Kathryn Leslie utilizes a time-honored tradition to create unexpected images. 

For hundreds of years, artists have made the sky their muse. 

Artist Melissa Oresky spent hours in her childhood shadowing her mother on wildflower walks. Her mother was studying to be a botanist, while Oresky was just plain curious. 

A classic of American theater opens next week at Community Players in Bloomington.

A bowl of persimmons and a long walk through Funks Grove cemented a friendship that has inspired a new book from a local author. 

In honor of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, an exhibition at the Peoria Riverfront Museum provides fresh insight into the mind of the unique genius, revealing the progressive artistic and scientific principals he established while giving visitors a chance to get hands-on with full size recreations of his inventions.

Ken Kashian’s new book is more than just a book. 

In his latest effort, “This Moment ... in Sarah’s Garden,” the photographer set out to highlight the ever-changing face of Sarah Davis’ garden at the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington. The result offers much more than photographs, though.

With a cardigan, a pair of tennis shoes and some hand puppets, Fred Rogers set out to make the kind of children’s programming he felt kids deserved. 

In Shakespeare’s day, the audience let their voices be heard, boisterously sharing their opinions and pelting villains with orange rinds. 

So, a theater company walks into a bar...

That's not an opening line to a joke. It's actually a new site-specific theater company that's presenting its inaugural production at Nightshop and Fat Jack’s this weekend. The company plans to carve its own niche in the Twin Cities by staging works where the plays are set.

A shifting economic landscape leads to layoffs and desperation in Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Sweat.” 

“This story resonates now more than ever. That’s why I wanted to direct it.” 

A strip of land and the love between misfit farmers are at the heart of the Tony award-winning play “Outside Mullingar,” opening Oct. 31 at Heartland Theatre in Normal.