Krannert Center For The Performing Arts

I’ve been in champaign a looooong time and this by far my favorite venue for live music. For community members, krannert offers a diverse line up of music, dance, plays, and art ranging from world renowned artists to current students. I personally enjoy the summer stock playhouse (last summer was comprised of several recent MFA students of color from Chicago) and the plethora of free events. Recently I attended two nights of the Ellnora Guitar Fest. The first night I paid $ 5 to see four different stages. For a few additional bucks, krannert offered food and drinks from local food trucks and vendors. The setup was easy to navigate and there was just enough of a crowd to dance like no one was watching. Tickets for paid events vary with most below $ 25, even less for UofI students. And we are talking Yo Yo Ma caliber performances for $ 20! In Chicago these shows would cost half a paycheck. Anyway, the venue is always neat, easily accessible, and the sound is amazing from every seat. The only reason I did not give this venue 5 stars is due to the clarity of concert details. I’ve gone to a few shows and could not find the right room. There usually is someone at the information kiosk but these particular nights had no staff there. Basically the support provided for the event depends on who is performing and what sort of guests they expect. I personally think every show should have at least a little support in case patrons have last minute questions, even if it is just a dinner theatre act by some students. I still suggest becoming a member and exploring their catalog asap!

Krannert is an awesome place! They always host great events on Thursdays, and have performances from all over come and perform at the Krannert. Nice, hospitable staff and great student pricing for symphonies and other performances. The Foellinger auditorium is very nice and so is Studio Theater (for more intimate performances). Glad this is on campus!

Love the Krannert Center shows and performances! They bring in great talent and allow the townies to experience big city shows in a local setting.

Krannert really is superb. I went there last year for several plays, and also to watch the Haifa Ensemble. Performances are excellent and the facility itself is breathtaking.

At par with the best Chicago has to offer in terms of venue and programs. Have enjoyed memorable performance here over the years.

As a student an a teacher at UIUC, Krannert is one of the resources upon which I depend and value as part of my tuition. It meets the needs of the ideological investments of students here with its mission as a professionalized training ground. While I would prefer more of the classics, there studio productions and opera offerings are really fantastic. Plus, the student rates ($ 5-​$ 10) and flex membership make this an affordable way to see theatre and get exposed to new material outside my interests in an affordable way.

Go here for Uncorked. They are free wine tastings at Thursday at 5pm. There are usually shows you can sit and enjoy some of the wine and even some complementary cheese and crackers.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this show space. Theatres are designed well and seating is comfortable. I’ve been to orchestral concerts, new music events, operas, Jazz nights, dance performances, musicals, everything. Highly recommend this venue.
Staff are friendly and helpful too, which is a big plus!

Beautiful building. Got to do a behind the scene tour, so amazing.

Always something fun going on here and make sure to watch out for the FREE events happening during the week. My wife and I loved the free Jazz nights and complimentary wine and cheese!

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is a great haven for lovers of dance and music. There are several different series that you can purchase. Ticket prices are good and many famously talented people come to perform at Krannert. My favorite venue is the Sunday Salon series. I sit on the stage with the perfomer and am treated to finger foods and champagne before the show and chocolates after. The wine tasting event Krannert Uncorked is free and often has excellent music to listen to while tasting some nice wines. I spend a good deal of time at Krannert and just love it.

This center is beyond awesomeness

For my 500^th review I’m giving two virtual thumbs up to the building at 500 S Goodwin where I spent most of my college career. In addition to being the building where I earned my BFA in theatre, it was also the space where I saw world class music, theatre and dance performances on the venue’s multiple stages.

I love KCPA. The venue is awesome for just about everything. I attend the symphony series, the chamber music series, and the ballet. I’ve enjoyed some of the greats in music and dance there. The staff and volunteers are cordial and efficient. I also attend the Salon series that showcases rising young talent who have earned prestigious awards. This is a fun series. The seating is limited and on the stage, up close and personal with the artist. Prior to the performance, champagne and finger foods are served. The food is exquisite. After the performance, coffee and truffles or petit fours are served. It’s a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The Promenade shop offers an array of esoteric items ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime. Intermezzo offers some tasty sweets and savories and a yummy Jamaican coffee blend. Only complaint here is that they only have one cashier which slows things down, especially during intermissions. I do remember fondly the old Intermezzo that had an even wider array of decadent sweets to delight the palate and destroy the waistline. And then there is the Stage 5 Bar. I have sampled several of their wine offerings and can only say that I have never been able to go beyond one sip. I have abandoned further attempts with the wine and moved on to my old standby cocktail, the Black Russian. There is a young lady who frequently tends bar there who makes the best Black Russian. I’ve yet to try the food platters at Stage 5, although I have seen them. Meager portions. It seems, however, that they are always out of the one (s) I want. I am a contributor to KCPA and urge others to do likewise. This great venue brings in a wealth of fine entertainment one would only expect to find in big cities. For a fancy night out, a romantic evening, a family outing, or whatever, KCPA is a good place to be. The Godfather highly recommends it.

Absolutely unbelievable venues! The shear number of theaters is astounding! At my home performing arts center we only have 2 main performance spaces and a third in another building. The size and volume of venues just astounds myself! I was thoroughly impressed! I did not attend an actual performance by U of Illini Urbana Champaign but saw shows at ACTF in the theaters! It was unbelievable!

Krannert is awesome! Its affordable for students like me, and the Baroques, C-​U symphony orchestras, and the Chicago Symphony orchestras are the ones I go to most. Foellinger Great Hall is amazing to sit in, and since I live like 2 blocks away, getting there is never a problem. Occasionally big names (Zakir Hussain, Lang Lang) come to perform, and the Ellnora guitar festival is pretty well known all around.

It’s nice to have a big spacious facility full of reasonably priced fine arts performances. If you don’t live in the city normally, you really need to visit this place because you’re not likely to find anywhere where you can find great performances at these prices in your hometown.

I LOVE KCPA!
I’m a dancer major at U of I so I practically live here. but besides that there are 3 main things I love about Krannert.
1. They offer EVERYTHING here. Music, Dance, and theatre from all over the world plus works performed by students.
2. There is literally something to watch every single weekend. You can never get bored!
3. Tickets are INCREDIBLY cheap. 10 dollars to see mark morris dance group. 10 dollars to see Merce Cunningham Dance Company. WOW.
It really doesn’t get any better then this. I highly recommend just taking a copy of their events calendar and just flipping through it and mark what you’d like to see. Take advantage of KCPA while you can!

My favorite building/​complex in all of U of I. It was here a very shy psychology student accidently enrolled in an acting class for acting performance majors only, and was forced to play multiple parts in a play with MFA students in the audience. I have never been scared of groups since. I also caught Leslie Nielsen here doing a one man play of Clarence Darrow, multiple operas and symphonies, plays plays plays, and accidently stumbled upon the dressing/​rehearsal area of a Parisian ballet troup. Ah the memories. Krannerts main hall has some of the best acoustics for music that have ever heard. The smaller theatres are great for plays and small performances.
Go to events here! you won’t regret it. Take a class here an you won’t forget it.
(yeah rhyming, lame, I know)

I didn’t find out about this place until a few years ago. This place has all the cool music performances, ballets, operas, plays, etc. There have been really bad things. and really good things I have seen here. The best part is that most things are really discounted for students. So it’s so worth it when you can sit in the front of an opera for $ 9. If you go to a big city, you have to pay $ 100+ for those type of seats.
They have wine nights once a week here. Terrific!
They also have a bar/​café here for intermission. Well priced drinks. the food is not so terrific.
A great place to go if you’re stuck in central IL looking for something to do.