Theater Reviews

By Bill Beard  Contributor  Once again, there is a splendid new show at Aurora’s impressive Paramount Theatre. Let me sincerely urge you Stateline Theatre Goers to take the easy drive down I-39 and East on I-88 to enjoy some of the best…

By Bill Beard Contributor This little gal has been swimming/walking around screens and stages for years! Since 1989 in fact, when the original Disney animated film first appeared. Based on a Hans Christian Anderson tale first…

By Bill Beard Contributor Goodman has done it again! It has delivered another “oldie but goodie”! Two years ago I raved about their revival of Brigadoon, rarely produced, but a brilliant restoration and revitalization of a beautiful…

By Bill Beard Contributor There is indeed much to be said about the new production of Mamma Mia, the musical, in Aurora’s current “Broadway at the Paramount” series! ABBAsolutely! Opening night was a celebration, with an audience…

By Bill Beard Contributor Singin' in the Rain, the movie, came out in 1952, starring the fabulous Gene Kelly, a young Debbie Reynolds, and the wonderful Donald O’Conner. It has been rereleased a dozen times over the years and is…

By Bill Beard Contributor When the lights came up on The Goodman Theatre’s premiere of the new musical, War Paint, it became immediately obvious that we were in the presence of royalty! Not just because the show revolves around the two…

By Richard S. Gubbe Contributor Starlight Theatre Director Mike Webb combines some of his favorite shows along with the theater’s best box office draw in 50 years when the season opens with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang today at Rock Valley…

By Bill Beard Contributor Don’t hesitate! The moment you read this, get on the phone or online and get your reservations for Fireside’s current hit musical, Sister Act, the Musical. Based on the hilarious 1992 Whoopie Goldberg hit,…

By Bill Beard Contributor A few weeks ago, we alerted you Stateline theatre-lovers about a new (to me) professional theatre venue in the area, Aurora's beautifully restored Paramount. Their Broadway at the Paramount series is…

By Bill Beard Contributor A few months ago, I wrote about The Rocky Horror Show, as produced by a relatively new group in town, the (usual) Suspects. I complimented the group on their courage to do this cult classical musical, well…

By Bill Beard Contributor Stagecoach Players has long been considered one of the better community theatres in the Illinois-Wisconsin stateline area. From a typical “little theatre” beginning in 1947 by a group of friends (in a…

By Bill Beard Contributor "Have you ever wondered what your life might have been like If you had just made that other choice back Then." If/Then, as a title for a Broadway musical, offers very little information about plot, or setting,…

By Bill Beard Contributor Don’t miss this one, Rockford! It’s right down the road in Aurora! The Paramount Theatre’s Broadway Musical Series has a new production of Hairspray the Musical, starring one of Rockford’s own favorite divas,…

By Bill Beard Contributor New things have been happening in the theatre world of Rockford. We have recently seen the advent of several exciting new performance groups offering some challenging productions. This is very encouraging in…

By Bill Beard Contributor It’s been some time since I last saw a show at Fort Atkinson's The Fireside Dinner Theatre, and I was thrilled to find that they are still superb. I reviewed their last production of "West Side Story" several…