Springfield Municipal Opera
The Muni | |
Location |
815 East Lake Drive Springfield, illinois United States |
---|---|
Type | Community Theater |
Genre(s) | Musical |
Seating type | Reserved/Lawn |
Capacity | 800+ |
Opened | 1964 |
Website | |
http://www.themuni.org/ |
Originally conceived on April 21, 1950 as a not-for-profit theatrical organization, the Springfield Municipal Opera Association transformed a 55-acre (220,000 m2) wheat field into an outdoor amphitheater. On June 17, 1950, nearly 3,000 people viewed the opening night performance of its first production, "The Merry Widow".
The Muni flourished until a series of setbacks in the mid-1950s and a major fire in 1963 destroyed part of the facilities. A second fire the following year destroyed what was left.
With hopes for a rebirth, a test production of "Bye Bye Birdie" was staged in Douglas Park in 1964.[1] The Springfield community responded with such enthusiasm that the Muni was able to rebuild its facility and return to the lake site theater in 1965. That year, over 6,000 patrons saw "The Music Man" and "South Pacific".
In 1967, the Muni produced three shows; "Brigadoon", "Guys and Dolls" and "Camelot" and attendance grew to 14,375. Muni bravely staged its first four-production season in 1972; "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown", "1776", "Most Happy Fella", "The Sound of Music" and attendance jumped to over 17,000.
In 2006, the Muni welcomed its one millionth patron during the run of "Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida" with a special celebration on July 29.
Muni continues to produce four shows a season and has become one of the largest community theaters in the Midwest. It is believed to be the largest organization of this type in the country that is completely self-supporting, dependent neither on grants nor tax dollars.
Musical productions 1964-2015
- 1776-- 1972, 1976
- 42nd Street-- 1988, 1999
- A Chorus Line-- 2004
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum-- 1970
- A Little Night Music-- 1981, 2001
- Aida-- 2006
- All Shook Up-- 2008, 2014
- Annie-- 1985, 1998, 2010
- Annie Get Your Gun-- 1969, 1987, 2005
- Annie Warbucks-- 2006
- Anything Goes-- 1990, 2002
- Applause-- 1974
- Beauty and the Beast-- 2005, 2012
- Bells Are Ringing-- 1969
- Big-- 2003
- Big River-- 1994, 2004, 2011
- Bye, Bye Birdie-- 1964, 1976, 1998
- Brigadoon-- 1967, 1978, 1993
- Cabaret-- 1986, 2015
- Calamity Jane-- 1976
- Camelot-- 1967, 1981, 1990
- Carnival-- 1973
- Carousel-- 1979, 1994
- Chicago-- 2006
- Children of Eden-- 2000
- Cinderella-- 1977, 2000
- City of Angels-- 1995
- Crazy for You-- 1997, 2012
- Damn Yankees-- 1985
- Desert Song, The-- 1977
- Dreamgirls-- 1992, 2013
- Evita-- 1985
- Fiddler on the Roof-- 1971, 1975, 1989, 1998, 2009
- Follies-- 1982
- Funny Girl-- 1971, 1984
- George M!-- 1982
- Gigi-- 1987
- Good News-- 1980
- Grease-- 1981, 2000, 2007
- Godspell-- 1998
- Goodbye Girl, The-- 1999
- Guys & Dolls-- 1967, 1975, 1997, 2011
- Gypsy-- 1969, 1980, 1995
- Hairspray-- 2011
- Hans Christian Andersen-- 1993
- How to Succeed In Business (Without Really Trying)-- 1975, 2001
- Hello, Dolly!-- 1974, 1983, 1994, 2008
- High School Musical-- 2009
- Honk!-- 2004
- I Do! I Do!-- 1978
- Into the Woods-- 1991, 2010
- Irene--1976
- Jekyll & Hyde--2014
- Jesus Christ Superstar-- 1986, 2010
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat-- 1983, 1989, 2002, 2012
- King and I, The-- 1971, 1983, 1995, 2006
- Kismet-- 1982
- Kiss Me, Kate-- 1968, 1997
- Les Misérables-- 2013
- Li’l Abner-- 1970
- Little Me-- 1996
- Mame-- 1975, 1988, 2002
- Man of LaMancha-- 1970, 1992
- Me and My Girl-- 1992
- Meet Me in St. Louis-- 1995
- Miss Saigon-- 2007
- Most Happy Fella-- 1972
- Music Man, The-- 1965, 1974, 1984, 2000, 2008
- My Fair Lady-- 1966, 1977, 1989, 2003
- My One and Only-- 1991
- No, No, Nanette-- 1979
- Oklahoma!-- 1973, 1981, 1990, 2007
- Oliver!-- 1968, 1982, 1991, 2009
- On a Clear Day You Can See Forever-- 1974
- Once On This Island-- 2012
- Once Upon a Mattress-- 1973
- Paint Your Wagon-- 1978
- Pajama Game-- 1966, 1979
- Peter Pan-- 1984, 1988, 1994, 2001, 2007, 2013
- Phantom-- 1996
- Pirates of Penzance-- 1993
- Producers, The-- 2009
- Promises, Promises-- 1973, 1987
- Ragtime-- 2005
- Rent-- 2013
- Secret Garden, The-- 1997, 2008
- Seussical-- 2010, 2015
- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers-- 1986, 2004
- Shenandoah-- 1979
- Show Boat-- 1980, 1991
- Shrek-- 2014
- Singing in the Rain-- 1989
- Sound of Music, The-- 1972, 1986, 1999, 2005, 2014
- South Pacific-- 1965, 1980, 1988, 2002
- Spamalot-- 2015
- State Fair-- 1999
- Student Prince, The-- 1983
- Sugar-- 1993
- Sweet Charity-- 1978
- Teddy & Alice-- 1990
- Titanic-- 2003
- Two Gentlemen of Verona-- 1984
- Unsinkable Molly Brown, The-- 1968, 1992
- West Side Story-- 1977, 2001, 2015
- Will Rogers Follies, The-- 1996
- Wiz, The-- 1987
- Wizard of Oz, The-- 1996, 2003, 2011
- You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown-- 1972, 1985
References
- ↑ "The Muni History". Retrieved 19 June 2013.