Our first project of 2004 was another encore production of FOREVER PLAID featuring all of our original cast. The show was presented on April 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24 at 8pm and April 18 and 25 at 2pm at the brand new Hoogland Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield, Illinois.

This delightful musical comedy is a tribute to the popular "guy groups" of the 1950's and 1960's. Greg Floyd, Gus Gordon, Ed MacMurdo and Steve Williams starred in this sentimental favorite, along with musical accompaniment by Becky and Dick Garretson. The show was sponsored by Stahl's Furniture.

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID : "FOREVER PLAID was another new and enjoyable experience. Gus Gordon puts on an incredible show; I don't know how he has time to do it, plus his full-time weathermanning. When does he sleep? The other guys in the show are also great -- there's Steve Williams, hilarious; Ed MacMurdo, also hilarious; and Greg Floyd, really good as the shy one. The show is mostly music, with the thinnest veneer of a plot wrapped around it, and the music is outstanding. Each man is perfect at doing his own little business throughout. I want to see it again." - Grace Smith, Illinois Times.

"One of the best music/comedy-packed cabaret shows Springfield will ever get." - Toby McDaniel, The State Journal-Register.

"The songs make the show and this one is basically non-stop singing by four guys who know what they're doing. And they do it very well. A lighthearted tribute to the "guy groups" of the late '50s-early '60s, FOREVER PLAID offers up great laughs, including my favorite, a tribute to Ed Sullivan, the popular host of the long-running variety show on CBS. The long list of songs includes "Heart and Soul," "Sixteen Tons," "Cry," and "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing." The cast performs those close harmonies perfectly ." - Phil Funkenbusch, Illinois Times.

Jane and the trio opened the hour-long show with their jazzy versions of several popular standards. They were joined in the second half of the program by Mary Jo and Gus, singing some of the songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Michael Buble and other great entertainers.

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID : "There is something immensely satisfying about holding a ticket to a concert being given by performers from the A-list. 'An Evening of Jazz and Standards,' given by Gordon Productions, fulfilled expectations delightfully.

Jane & Co. have been around the Springfield music scene for a good many years, and they just keep getting better and better. Hartman possesses a deep and sultry voice, which certainly added the trimmings to the trio's numbers.

When Gordon and Mary Jo Curry took their half of the program, the audience was delighted. Not only do both have superb voices, but they are superb actors. Being an actor enlivens the songs to heights 'only singers' cannot achieve."- Maggie Boswell, The State Journal-Register.

The sophistication, wit, insight, heart and genius of Broadway’s most innovative and influential artist is at the center of this tribute to composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim.

This dazzling array of some of Sondheim's best-known songs featured numbers from landmark shows that revolutionized the musical theatre with their masterful craft and astounding creativity: COMPANY, FOLLIES, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE and PACIFIC OVERTURES, not to mention the classics written with musical theatre giants Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne and Richard Rodgers, WEST SIDE STORY, GYPSY and DO I HEAR A WALTZ? Also included are delectable rarities from the television musical EVENING PRIMROSE, the film THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION and the hit revue THE MAD SHOW.

SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM was sponsored by Robert Morris College.

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID : "....you certainly will like all of the performers. Talk about veterans. Talk about training. Talk about stage presence. Each of the cast has a moment when he or she really shines."- Maggie Boswell, The State Journal-Register.

Gordon Productions and WUIS/WIPA Radio were pleased to present IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY at the Hoogland Center For The Arts on December 3-5, 2004.

Taking a cue from the classic dramas of radio's golden age, this adaption of the classic Frank Capra film 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 a sound man provided all of the appropriate sound effects. This beloved Jimmy Stewart film was faithfully adapted for the stage (and the radio) by author Joe Landry.

The show featured an all-star cast of many popular Central Illinois performers including Ed MacMurdo as George Bailey, Mary Young as Mary Hatch Bailey, Phil Funkenbusch as Clarence Oddbody - Angel 2nd Class, Leigh Steiner as the Head Angel, Don Schneider as Mr. Potter, Tom Shrewsbury as Uncle Billy, Paul Presney, Jr. as Peter Bailey, Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson as Mrs. Bailey, Grace Smith as Violet Bick, Mac Warren and Brett Rutherford as the Sound Effects men and Dennis Rendleman, Gus Gordon, Claire Gordon, Jim Leach, Pat Foster, Cassy Gaddis, Alyssa Gaddis, Geoffrey Leathers and Charlie Germann in supporting roles. Click here for production photos: WONDERUL LIFE PHOTOS.

The show will be broadcast on Christmas Eve at 7pm and Christmas Day at 3pm on WUIS Radio (91.9 FM).

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID : "It was also a wonderful cast - the cream of the crop from years of Muni, Theatre Centre, New Salem and more. The format, the second 'radio show' presented by Gordon Productions with WUIS/WIPA Radio (and directed by Gus Gordon) was just plain fun."- Maggie Boswell, The State Journal-Register.

At the end of the year, Gordon Productions presented the fourth edition of our popular holiday musical revue, THE CHRISTMAS SONGBOOK.

THE CHRISTMAS SONGBOOK featured secular holiday favorites that were made famous by such entertainers as Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Karen Carpenter, Andy Williams, Rosemary Clooney, Elvis and others. White Christmas, I'll Be Home For Christmas, Blue Christmas and over 30 other holiday pop songs were presented.

The cast featured Ann Collins, Mary Jo Curry, Nancy Diefenback, Greg Floyd, Dick Garretson, Gus Gordon, Tom Heintzelman, Debbie Holmes, Roger Holmes, Debbie Rudis, Becky Watts and Steve Williams.

The show was performed at the Hoogland Center For The Arts (Theatre 3). Showdates were Friday, December 17 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, December 18 at 2:00 & 5:00p.m.; and Sunday, December 19 at 2:00 & 5:00 p.m.

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID : "The cast is A-list all the way, as are most of Gus Gordon's shows. Even those of us who have seen it before get a full quota of enjoyment, just from the voices, presence and antics of (the cast)."- Maggie Boswell, The State Journal-Register.