Springfield_Municipal_Opera Knowpia

Springfield Municipal Opera
The Muni
Location	815 East Lake Drive; Springfield, illinois; United States
Coordinates	39°44′30″N 89°34′47″W / 39.74167°N 89.57972°W
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 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. 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, The 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.

The 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.

Springfield Municipal Opera Répertoire 1964-2024 edit

Here follows a list of the many shows that The Springfield Municipal Opera has presented in its summer seasons.

Chronological Listing edit

1964 edit

Bye Bye, Birdie ⁰

^0 Test production staged at Douglas Park to see if enough community interest could be generated to rebuild the old lake site after 2 fires wiped out the facilities

1960s edit

1965 (Season 1) edit

1966 (Season 2) edit

1967 (Season 3) edit

1968 (Season 4) edit

1969 (Season 5) edit

1970s edit

1970 (Season 6) edit

1971 (Season 7) edit

1972 (Season 8) edit

1973 (Season 9) edit

1974 (Season 10) edit

1975 (Season 11) edit

1976 (Season 12) edit

^1 Bicentennial production featuring Robert Alda as Benjamin Franklin and underwritten by Franklin Life Insurance Company. Many cast members of the 1972 production reprised their roles in this show.

1977 (Season 13) edit

1978 (Season 14) edit

1979 (Season 15) edit

^2 The Muni's 50th production

1980s edit

1980 (Season 16) edit

1981 (Season 17) edit

1982 (Season 18) edit

1983 (Season 19) edit

1984 (Season 20) edit

1985 (Season 21) edit

1986 (Season 22) edit

1987 (Season 23) edit

1988 (Season 24) edit

1989 (Season 25) edit

1990s edit

1990 (Season 26) edit

1991 (Season 27) edit

^3 The Muni's 100th production

1992 (Season 28) edit

1993 (Season 29) edit

^4 The 1981 Joseph Papp revival version

1994 (Season 30) edit

1995 (Season 31) edit

1996 (Season 32) edit

1997 (Season 33) edit

1998 (Season 34) edit

1999 (Season 35) edit

2000s edit

2000 (Season 36) edit

2001 (Season 37)⁵ edit

^5 First season without a Muni premiere production

2002 (Season 38) edit

2003 (Season 39) edit

2004 (Season 40) edit

^6 The Muni's 150th production

2005 (Season 41) edit

2006 (Season 42) edit

^7 The Muni welcomed its one millionth patron with a special celebration on July 29, 2006.

2007 (Season 43) edit

2008 (Season 44) edit

2009 (Season 45) edit

2010s edit

2010 (Season 46) edit

2011 (Season 47) edit

2012 (Season 48) edit

2013 (Season 49) edit

2014 (Season 50) edit

2015 (Season 51) edit

2016 (Season 52) edit

2017 (Season 53) edit

^8 The Muni's 200th production at the lake site amphitheater

2018 (Season 54) edit

2019 (Season 55) edit

2020s edit

2020 (Season 56) edit

All Productions Postponed Until Summer of 2021 Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic edit

2021 (Season 57) edit

All 4 shows cancelled for summer 2021 due to ongoing coronavirus pandemic edit

2022 (Season 58) edit

2023 (Season 59) edit

2024 (Season 60) edit

Jersey Boys -- May 31-June 2, 5-8
Music Man, The -- June 21-23, 26-29
Cinderella -- July 12-14, 17-20
Little Mermaid, The -- August 2-4, 7-10

Alphabetical Listing edit

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
Addams Family, The-- 2020 (Postponed), 2021 (Canceled)
Aida-- 2006
All Shook Up-- 2008, 2014
Annie-- 1985, 1998, 2010, 2018
Annie Get Your Gun-- 1969, 1987, 2005
Annie Warbucks-- 2006
Anything Goes-- 1990, 2002
Applause-- 1974
Beauty and the Beast-- 2005, 2012, 2023
Bells Are Ringing-- 1969
Big-- 2003
Big River-- 1994, 2004, 2011
Brigadoon-- 1967, 1978, 1993
Bye Bye, Birdie-- 1964, 1976, 1998
Cabaret-- 1986, 2015
Calamity Jane-- 1976
Camelot-- 1967, 1981, 1990
Carnival!-- 1973
Carousel-- 1979, 1994
Chicago-- 2006
Children of Eden-- 2000
Cinderella-- 1977, 2000, 2024
City of Angels-- 1995
Crazy for You-- 1997, 2012
Damn Yankees-- 1985
Desert Song, The-- 1977
Dreamgirls-- 1992, 2013
Evita-- 1985, 2019
Fiddler on the Roof-- 1971, 1975, 1989, 1998, 2009, 2023
Follies-- 1982
Funny Girl-- 1971, 1984
George M!-- 1982
Gigi-- 1987
Godspell-- 1998
Good News-- 1980
Goodbye Girl, The-- 1999
Grease-- 1981, 2000, 2007, 2017
Guys & Dolls-- 1967, 1975, 1997, 2011
Gypsy-- 1969, 1980, 1995
Hairspray-- 2011
Hans Christian Andersen-- 1993
Hello, Dolly!-- 1974, 1983, 1994, 2008
High School Musical-- 2009
Honk!-- 2004
How To Succeed In Business (Without Really Trying)-- 1975, 2001
I Do! I Do!-- 1978
Into the Woods-- 1991, 2010
Irene--1976
Jekyll & Hyde--2014
Jersey Boys--2024
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
Legally Blonde-- 2018
Les Misérables-- 2013
Li'l Abner-- 1970
Little Me-- 1996
Little Mermaid, The-- 2016, 2024
Little Shop of Horrors-- 2018
Mamma Mia!-- 2020 (Postponed), 2021 (Canceled)
Mame-- 1975, 1988, 2002
Man of La Mancha-- 1970, 1992
Mary Poppins-- 2017
Matilda-- 2020 (Postponed), 2021 (Postponed), 2022
Me and My Girl-- 1992
Meet Me in St. Louis-- 1995
Miss Saigon-- 2007
Most Happy Fella, The-- 1972
Music Man, The-- 1965, 1974, 1984, 2000, 2008, 2024
My Fair Lady-- 1966, 1977, 1989, 2003
My One and Only-- 1991
Newsies-- 2022
Nice Work If You Can Get It-- 2016
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, The-- 1966, 1979
Peter Pan-- 1984, 1988, 1994, 2001, 2007, 2013, 2019
Phantom-- 1996
Pirates of Penzance, The-- 1993
Producers, The-- 2009
Promises, Promises-- 1973, 1987
Ragtime-- 2005, 2020 (Postponed), 2021 (Postponed), 2022
Rent-- 2013
Rock of Ages,-- 2023
School of Rock,-- 2023
Secret Garden, The-- 1997, 2008
Seussical-- 2010, 2015
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers-- 1986, 2004
Shenandoah-- 1979
Show Boat-- 1980, 1991
Shrek-- 2014
Singin' in the Rain-- 1989
Sister Act-- 2018
Sound of Music, The-- 1972, 1986, 1999, 2005, 2014
South Pacific-- 1965, 1980, 1988, 2002, 2016
Spamalot-- 2015
SpongeBob Musical, The-- 2022
State Fair-- 1999
Student Prince, The-- 1983
Sugar-- 1993
Sweeney Todd--The Demon Barber of Fleet Street-- 2016
Sweet Charity-- 1978
Teddy & Alice-- 1990
Thoroughly Modern Millie-- 2019
Titanic-- 2003
Two Gentlemen of Verona-- 1984
Unsinkable Molly Brown, The-- 1968, 1992
West Side Story-- 1977, 2001, 2015
White Christmas-- 2017
Will Rogers Follies, The-- 1996
Willy Wonka-- 2017
Wiz, The-- 1987
Wizard of Oz, The-- 1996, 2003, 2011, 2019
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown-- 1972, 1985

Sources edit

Programs from recent Muni Opera productions

External links edit

Springfield Municipal Opera

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Website
The Muni


Location	815 East Lake Drive Springfield, illinois United States
Coordinates	39°44′30″N 89°34′47″W / 39.74167°N 89.57972°W / 39.74167; -89.57972
Type	Community Theater
Genre(s)	Musical
Seating type	Reserved/Lawn
Capacity	800+
Opened	1964
http://www.themuni.org/

Summary