We’ve got Trouble, with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “V” and that stands for Virus!

Every year we post our New Year’s Day message, a fun way to look both forward and back on all the fun happenings at The Legacy Theatre. Oh, January 2020, had we only known!

We started the year with the return of our popular “Mystery Movie Monday” film series, in which the mystery is the movie! From its beginning in 2018, what began as a silly idea has grown into one of our most popular offerings! With nearly a full house on the first Monday of every month (January – May), holders of our MMM pass don’t learn the title of the film they’re about to see until the red curtain parts and the projector flickers to life. It’s always fun to hear the reaction of the crowd as the wave of knowing spreads through the theatre! Each film is followed by a discussion with Andy Egizi, who teaches the course “Hollywood heritage: The Studio Age” at the University of Illinois – Springfield.

Right after the premiere of our first film, Elvis was in the building – again – with the return of Joseph Hall’s “Rock and Remember” show. Joseph came to national attention as a Top-10 finalist on the hit tv show, “America’s Got Talent,” and following a successful residency in Branson, MO that ran several years, he’s hit the road to bring his Elvis tribute show to audiences across the country.  Our sold-out crowd had a blast, and several left with a trademark silk scarf wrapped around their neck!

In February, the Hundred Acre Wood blossomed on our stage, as the Springfield Dance Theatre returned with their delightful production of “Winnie the Pooh.” This children’s dance performance featured nearly 100 kids in three sold-out shows! This was a wonderful exposure to the magic of theatre and dance, for both the young performers and the young audience members. We love having the kids and their families in the building for a week; you can feel the excitement building each day, as rehearsals give way to showtime! We’re looking forward to their next magical production.

The first weekend in March brought the return of the Lanphier High School Drama Club, with their wonderful production of “Clue.” Led by instructor Loren Wilson, the show is based on the popular board game and the cult-classic film. Mr. Green, Col. Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet and Mrs. White all stepped onstage, and as they say, “hilarity ensued.” The only local high school without an auditorium, the Lanphier kids have made The Legacy their home away from home these past few years, and we look forward to welcoming them back…soon.

The week after the final performance of “Clue,” we hosted the March “Mystery Movie Monday” screening…and then the red velvet curtain closed, for what would be much longer than we ever imagined.  

How can we help?

As the pandemic began to upend lives in our community, we learned that food insecurity was becoming more and more of a problem. Taking the cue from the good folks at the Facebook Group, “Springfield Families Helping Families,” we established a micro-pantry at the theatre. With the philosophy of “take what you need, leave what you can” our pantry has been present at our courtyard entrance door since early April. Accessible 24/7, the pantry continues to provide much-needed supplemental food for those in need. 

The pantry is stocked by members of the community who visit the theatre and place items in the cabinet, and also by our wonderful Legacy family of volunteers who have brought hundreds of pounds of non-perishable food items to the theatre over the past 10 months to replenish the pantry as needed. If you would like to help, feel free to place food items in the pantry cabinet at your convenience, or for larger donations, please contact us (a FB message is fine) and we can meet you at the theatre to receive your donation. You can also contribute financially, just comment “food pantry” on your donation form at http://www.atthelegacy.com/donate.html, and we will purchase food items for you.

As quarantine entered the second month, the blues started to settle on all of us. Being in the darkened theatre, illuminated only by the “ghost light,” we got the idea for something that might help spread a little cheer: “Ghostlight Songs.” The premise was simple: we asked some of the performers that have graced our stage these past few years to select songs that were meaningful or thought-provoking; songs that could help lift spirits or provide a giggle. With masks on, they arrived at the theatre, where we came together but stayed apart to film our “Ghostlight Songs.”

 

It was heartwarming to learn how the “Ghostlight Songs” lifted the spirits of those who viewed the postings, as well as the spirits of all who participated in creating the series. It gave our artists songs to rehearse, and something to look forward to – visiting the familiar, cozy space of our theatre and communicating through song. It proved to us what we’d said all along: science will find the cure; the arts will heal.

We had purposely scheduled a lighter series of events this spring, to allow time for a bit of backstage renovation, so we only had to postpone one concert. We moved the last two screenings of “Mystery Movie Monday” to an online streaming experience, and opened viewing to anyone who cared to join the fun.

Would we be able to begin rehearsals for “The Music Man” in May? Would we be able to have the show as scheduled in the summer? As it turns out, the answer would be “no.”  We broke the news to our cast and creative team a couple weeks before rehearsals were scheduled to begin. We told the gang that we were just going to “push pause,” and pick up right where we left off… 365 days later. “The Music Man” would be scheduled for opening night on June 25, 2021.

Some of our costumes were going to be built in Texas, and others in Georgia. To help the small businesses working with us, we told them to just keep working on our costumes; we were not going to cancel our orders. So many other shows had been scrapped, they were seeing their business evaporate overnight. We were happy to help, even in a small way. 

And speaking of costumes, we received a call with the sad news that the century-old New England costume house that our creative team has worked with for 20 years would be ceasing operation this year. We were allowed “first pick” from their collection of more than 100,000 costumes, and several thousand of those pieces made their way to their new home at The Legacy.

 

 

As the summer waned into August, would the kids be going back to school? No matter the location, kids need school supplies, so we staged a School Supply Drive. With the scent of crayons and Pink Pearl erasers in the air, we sent a literal truckload of supplies to the District 186 Foundation for distribution to kids that need them.

 

In October, we concluded our series of “Ghostlight Songs.” Every weekday morning for seven months, 64 performers had shared 110 songs. We are grateful to these wonderful members of our Legacy family for sharing their time and talents with us. (The series is still posted on our FB page if you’d like to catch songs you missed.)

Beginning on lucky October 13, we launched a new series, “Ghost Stories,” featuring broadcasts from the golden age of radio. Our teasing intro filmed in the darkened theatre raised more than a few chills, and listeners each day were treated to spooky offerings featuring notable actors such as Agnes Moorehead, Ray Milland, Marian Seldes, Orson Welles, Eve Arden, and the Wicked Witch of the West herself, Margaret Hamilton. (This series is also still posted on our FB page.)

While the theatre has been dark, the dust has been flying, as we tackled a number of behind-the-scenes projects. While not visible to our audiences, these improvements will increase our production capabilities, and we are excitedly looking forward to their completion.

 

As the year came to a close, we found ourselves missing our annual traditions: The Polar Express Pajama Party and our classic Christmas films. We missed decorating the theatre, making all that hot cocoa, and welcoming all of you who have made us a part of your holiday traditions.

Many of our volunteers – performers, backstage artists and front-of-house teammates – have been impacted by Covid; facing the illness themselves, or with family members battling the virus. We hold them all in our thoughts for continued recovery. We are fortunate to have several medical professionals on our team, and we send them an extra dose of love and gratitude for their tireless efforts on the front lines every day.

So, welcome 2021…now what? 

Well, looking forward with optimism, our first event in the new year will be a streaming event, “Dixie’s Happy Hour,” featuring none other than our favorite queen of creative food storage, Dixie Longate. “Dixie’s Tupperware Party” has visited The Legacy to sell-out crowds three times, and we’re sure Dixie’s new show will start the new year off with hilarity, while keeping us all separately sealed for freshness.

 

It’s hard to believe that 2021 marks our tenth anniversary; we are looking forward to kicking off our “Tencennial Celebration” with the opening of “The Music Man” in June, and welcoming you all back to the theatre, ready to create more shared memories. We offer our very best wishes for a happy, healthy, optimistic new year.

 

 

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If you would like to join us as a volunteer or would like to make a financial gift to The Legacy Theatre, please visit our website at www.AtTheLegacy.com, or give us a ring at 217-528-9760.