Gordon Productions was proud to present stage and screen actor Jack Milo as comedy legend Jack Benny in NOW CUT THAT OUT - IMAGES OF JACK BENNY.

Central Illinois audiences have enjoyed Jack Milo for over 20 years with his appearances at the Little Theatre on the Square in Sullivan, Illinois. Milo created this one-man show as a tribute to Benny. The show chronicles the late comedians life through childhood, vaudeville, film, radio, television and Vegas, but particularly his life in radio.

NOW CUT THAT OUT - IMAGES OF JACK BENNY was presented at the auditorium at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, located at 1200 W. Washington in Springfield. Performances took place on Friday, October 3 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, October 4 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m. The show was sponsored, in part, by the Route 66 Hotel & Conference Center.

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID : "Written by Milo, the show is equal parts stand-up routine and biography and almost certainly will be stronger for those with fond memories of Benny's era. But what should come through for everyone, regardless of familiarty with Benny's work, is his unassuming personality and how it made so many people laugh. Dressed in a plain suit with thick glasses and slicked back hair, Milo accomplished that with ease." - Nick Rogers, The State Journal-Register.

The musical revue again featured Mary Jo Curry, Gus Gordon, Steve Williams, Cynda Wrightsman and the Jane Hartman Trio (Jane Hartman, Gene Haas and Rich Olson). Gus directed, with choreography by Gary Shull and vocal direction by Bill Bauser, Jr.

MY WAY - A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA was presented at STC October 17-19 & 23-26. The Springfield Theatre Centre is located at 101 East Lawrence Avenue in Springfield, Illinois. The show was sponsored by Praire Heart Institute.

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID : "Gordon Productions' MY WAY boasted some unbelievable singing performances, and the Jane Hartman Trio made the show."- Phil Funkenbusch, Illinois Times.

Gordon Productions and WUIS/WIPA Radio presented a radio readers' theater version of Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Springfield Theatre Centre on December 19-21.

Taking a cue from the classic dramas of radio’s golden age, the show was presented live on stage, as if it were an actual 1940's radio show. The actors were dressed in 1940's era costumes, reading from scripts in front of period microphones, while sound men provided all of the appropriate sound effects. The show transported the audience back in time to an era when radio greats like Orson Welles and Lionel Barrymore would entertain studio audiences and home listeners alike with this classic tale of redemption.

The cast featured many popular Central Illinois performers including Don Schneider as Scrooge, Chris McDonald as the Narrator, Leigh Steiner as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Ken Bradbury as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Gus Gordon as Fred, Pat Foster as the Ghost of Jacob Marley, Claire Gordon as Belle, Eric and Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson as Mr. and Mrs. Bob Cratchit, and Brett Rutherford, Dennis Rendleman, Linda Schneider, Kelsi Frost, Anna Dowling, Geoffrey Leathers, Greg Floyd, Ann Collins, John Sivak, Mac Warren and Mary Young in supporting roles.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL -1940'S RADIO SHOW was presented at STC on December 19 and 20 at 8:00pm and on Sunday, December 21 at 2:00pm. Local NPR radio station, WUIS, was our "media sponsor" and recorded the show for broadcast over the holidays (6:30pm on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)! The Springfield Theatre Centre is located at 101 East Lawrence Avenue in Springfield, Illinois.

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID : "Throughout the years, this story has been presented a countless number of ways, but this production is quite different from the rest. Under the innovative direction of Gus Gordon, the classic holiday tale was presented as a 1940's radio broadcast. As soon as the curtains parted, I felt like I was transported back to the golden age of radio, witnessing a live broadcast." - Colleen Gillespy, The State Journal-Register.

"The year ended with A CHRISTMAS CAROL. As this tale, like NUTCRACKER, is so well-known and produced in theaters so often, Gordon Productions gave it a new look, producing it as a radio play in a 1940s-era studio onstage at Theatre Centre. The show was re-broadcast on WUIS (FM 91.9), which was the best by far of all the seasonal overkill heard on radio." - Phil Funkenbusch, Illinois Times.