Theatres and Performing Arts

The Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield's premier arts venue, opened in 2003 in a former Masonic Temple downtown. The Springfield Theatre Centre is based here, as it the Prairie Art Alliance Gallery, the Springfield Area Arts Council and other production companies. Several plays and performances can be staged simultaneously in the Center's various theatres. The Sangamon Auditorium at the University of Illinois at Springfield, which holds more than 2000 spectators, hosts major concerts, Broadway shows and musicals. It is also home to the Springfield Ballet Company and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. In addition there are two accessible outdoor theatres: the Springfield Municipal Opera, also known as the Muni, which stages musicals near Lake Springfield and the Theatre in the Park at New Salem. Concerts and shows of all types are also staged in the Prairie Capital Convention Center.