COME BE HERE! Krannert Center Announces its 2025-26 Performance Season
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign proudly invites you to Come Be Here and experience its 2025-26 performance season, featuring an exciting mix of emerging and world-class artists in this, its 56th year. Events from September to May showcase national and international performers as well as university student performances in music, theatre, lyric theatre, and dance.
“We are beyond excited for the upcoming season,” said Julieanne Ehre, Assistant Director for Programming and Engagement. “The Krannert Center experience truly offers something for everyone, from the hilarious theater show BURNOUT PARADISE to celebrating 100 years of John Coltrane with Ravi Coltrane. Patrons will be inspired, moved, and uplifted by Dance Theatre of Harlem, Rhiannon Giddens, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and so much more.”
The season kicks off with the 20th anniversary of a Krannert Center signature event, the ELLNORA Guitar Festival returns for its every-other-year occurrence. The festival happens September 4-6, with night one of ELLNORA also serving as Krannert Center’s traditional Opening Night Party, with free performances from national touring artists. On Friday and Saturday, featured artists for ELLNORA include Roseanne Cash, Jeff Tweedy, Sharon Isbin and Strings for Peace, and Samantha Fish, among many others.
Marquee performances are headlined by jazz legend Herbie Hancock, who will open his fall 2025 North American Tour at Krannert Center October 16. Additional performances will feature the National Arab Orchestra October 11, the exhilarating pageantry of Cirque Kalabanté on January 29-30, and a fantastic evening of song, story, and dance from Natalie MacMaster, Donnell Leahy and the Celtic All-Stars March 3. The Marquee season also includes The Three Italian Tenors on March 26, Dance Theatre of Harlem on March 27, and a special Earth Day-focused performance of Nashville’s Stephan Crump’s Slow Water.
Classical music aficionados will be inspired by superstars Joshua Bell, violin and Larisa Martínez, soprano with Voice and the Violin April 17, a special celebration of the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Les Arts Florissants with violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte November 15, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Music Director Vasily Petrenko January 29, a Sunday afternoon with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with with Vikingur Ólavfsson, piano and music director Stéphane Denève March 29, and the annual visit by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Riccardo Muti November 4. Our long-standing artists-in-residence, Sinfonia da Camera and the Jupiter String Quartet, each feature a complete season of performances, including special guests.
Other celebrated musicians appearing at Krannert Center include jazz heavyweights saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and trumpeter Terence Blanchard with a tribute to John Coltrane and Miles Davis March 6, guitarist Kaki King with her family-friendly multimedia presentation BUGS November 15, a collaboration between David Lang’s contemporary classical music ensemble Bang on a Can with the Los Angeles Master Chorale November 15, a host of pianists performing The Complete Philip Glass Piano Etudes February 6, and Pulitzer Prize-winning banjo player and music historian Rhiannon Giddens April 22.
Dance enthusiasts will revel in this season, with performances by GALLIM Dance September 27, Leslie Cuyjet and Angie Pittman October 17 & 18, the return of the Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble February 13 & 14, Hope Boykin’s The Other Side February 21, and Dance Theatre of Harlem March 27. Krannert Center will also host a Hip Hop Convene February 26-28, featuring a return visit by Versa Style Street Dance Company, among other hip-hop dance artists.
Theatre-goers will be mesmerized by the exhausting-yet-fantastical production of the hit BURNOUT PARADISE November 7 & 8.
In addition to our Marquee season, Krannert Center is privileged to host our University of Illinois resident producers as they present their selections for the 2025-26 season. Highlights from Illinois Theatre’s season include The Play That Goes Wrong October 29-November 1 and Radium Girls April 10-18. Lyric Theatre @ Illinois’ season includes a production of Anastasia November 13-15 and Little Women April 16-18, and Dance at Illinois’ season includes four performances, starting with October Dance October 9-11.
Krannert Center’s Uncorked series will continue to feature the best of the Champaign-Urbana local music scene at Stage 5 in the Krannert Center lobby on select Thursdays from 5-7pm. The Krannert Center Youth Series has expanded to feature eight performances for K-12 students this year, including student-only performances from some of our most prominent Marquee performers, including Cirque Kalabanté, Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East, Kaki King, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the 360 ALLSTARS.
We are grateful to host the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra as they return to Krannert Center for their 66th season. Music Director and conductor Stephen Alltop will lead the CUSO through four performances: Season Opening: The Thrill of the Orchestra, October 4; Good Tidings! Holiday Concert December 10; Happy Birthday, America! American Highlights for the 250th Anniversary of the United States March 7; and Verdi’s Requiem May 2. They will also perform a Youth Series concert, The Composer’s Toolbox, April 7 & 8.
Krannert Center continues its support of local presenters with this year’s PYGMALION September 18-20, featuring poet and author Carmen Gimenez and comedians Josh Johnson and Hannibal Buress; the opening night of the Champaign-Urbana Folk and Roots Festival October 2, the opening night of the Champaign-Urbana Jazz Festival on October 16, and the second anniversary of Illinois Public Media’s radio station, Illinois Soul, on February 7.
Tickets for all 2025-26 performances at Krannert Center will be available to Marquee Circle members on Wednesday, August 6 at 10am. Loop members may purchase tickets on Friday, August 8 at 10am. Tickets will be available to the public on Wednesday, August 13 at 10am. Complete information on how to buy tickets is here.
Since 1969, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts has offered a vibrant selection of music, theatre, and dance programming. Fulfilling roles as both a professional venue for internationally touring artists and a hub of education in and through the performing arts, Krannert Center works at the intersection of classroom, laboratory, and public square. Audience members from all walks of life are welcome, and we encourage all to COME BE HERE and experience the Krannert Center.
The complete Krannert Center 2025-26 Season (ALL EVENTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
ELLNORA SEP 4-6
Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge
TH Sep 4 at 5:30pm
Stage 5
Marel Hidalgo Quartet
TH Sep 4 at 6:30pm
Stage 6
Bertha: Grateful Drag
TH Sep 4 at 7:30pm
Amphitheatre
Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis
TH Sep 4 at 8:30pm
Stage 6
Jackie Venson
FR Sept 5 at 5pm
Stage 5
Louis Cato
FR Sept 5 at 6pm
Stage 6
Daniel Casares & Company
FR Sep 5 at 7:30pm
Colwell Playhouse
Samantha Fish
FR Sep 5 at 9:30pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
Strings for Peace
SA Sep 6 at 2pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Jiji
SA Sep 6 at 4pm
Stage 5
Dave Holland and Lionel Loueke
SA Sep 6 at 5pm
Stage 5
Rosanne Cash
SA Sep 6 at 6:30pm
Colwell Playhouse
Jeff Tweedy
SA Sep 6 at 8pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Gary Clark Jr.
SA Sep 6 at 9:30pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
_____________________________
PYGMALION: Carmen Giminez
TH Sept 18 – Time to be announced
Stage 5
PYGMALION: Josh Johnson
FR Sep 19 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
PYGMALION: Hannibal Buress
SA Sep 20 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Jupiter String Quartet with Special Guest
FR Sep 26 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Jupiter String Quartet Series
Lyric Theatre @ Illinois: Lyric Under the Stars
FR-SA Sep 26-27 – Time to be determined
GALLIM - Andrea Miller, Choreographer
SA Sep 27 at 7:30pm
Colwell Playhouse
Illinois Theatre: Daniel J. Sullivan Artists-in-Residence Third Rail Immersive Theatre Workshop Supervised by Scott C. Neale
FR-SA Sep 27-28 – Time to be determined
Nidia Góngora
TU Sept 30 at 7:30pm
Colwell Playhouse
Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra: Season Opening: The Thrill of the Orchestra
SA Oct 4 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Dance at Illinois: October Dance
TH-SA Oct 9-11 – Time to be determined
Tryon Festival Theatre
Miguel Zenón Quartet
FR-SA Oct 10-11 at 7:30pm
Studio Theatre
National Arab Orchestra
SA Oct 11 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Herbie Hancock: 2025 North American Fall Tour
TH Oct 16 at 7:30pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
Leslie Cuyjet and Angie Pittman
FR Oct 17-18 at 7pm
Studio Theatre
Sinfonia Da Camera: Love Triangle
SA Oct 18 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Atlas Maior
TH Oct 23 at 7:30pm
Studio Theatre
Nick Rudd Music Experience & Improvisers Exchange
Sphinx Virtuosi
SA Oct 25 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Great Hall Series
Illinois Theatre: The Play That Goes Wrong
WE-SA Oct 29-Nov 1
Time and venue to be determined
Trio Bohemo
SU Nov 2 at 3pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Sunday Salon Series—Emerging Artistry
Chicago Symphony Orchestra:
Muti Conducts Dvořák’s New World Symphony
Riccardo Muti, conductor
TU Nov 4 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Great Hall Series
Burnout Paradise
FR-SA Nov 7-8, 7:30pm
Colwell Playhouse
Illinois Theatre: A View from the Bridge
FR-SA Nov 7-8
TU-SA Nov 11-15
Time and venue to be determined
Sinfonia da Camera: Golden Anniversary: Benefit Concert
WE Nov 12 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Lyric Theatre @ Illinois: Anastasia
TH-SA Nov 13-15
Time and venue to be determined
Kaki King: BUGS (Krannert Center Youth Series)
A Kaki King & GLITCH Production
SA Nov 15 at 10am
Colwell Playhouse
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at 300:
Les Arts Florissants with Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin
SA Nov 15, at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Great Hall Series
David Lang | Bang on a Can and Los Angeles Master Chorale
TU Nov 18 at 7:30PM
Colwell Playhouse
Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East
TH-FR Nov 20-21 at 10am (Krannert Center Youth Series)
TH Nov 20 at 7:30pm
Colwell Playhouse
The Nutcracker
TH Dec 4 at 7:30pm
FR Dec 5 at 7:30pm
SA Dec 6 at 2:00 and 7:30pm
SU Dec 7 at 2:00 and 6:00pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra: Good Tidings! Holiday Concert
WE Dec 10 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Sinfonia da Camera: Holiday Concert: Winter Fantasia
SA Dec 13 at 7:30pm
Virginia Theatre
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, Music Director
TH Jan 29 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Great Hall Series
Cirque Kalabanté
TH-FR Jan 29-30 at 11am (Krannert Center Youth Series)
FR Jan 30 at 7:30pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
Dance at Illinois: January Dance
TH-SA Jan 29-31
Time and venue to be determined
The Complete Philip Glass Piano Etudes
FR Feb 6 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Illinois Soul 2nd Anniversary Concert feat. MAYSA
SA Feb 7 at 7:30pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
Patti LuPone | Matters of the Heart
TU Feb 10 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble
FR-SA Feb 13-14 at 7:30pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
Illinois Theatre: Everybody
FR-SA Feb 13-14
WE-SA Feb 18-21
Time and venue to be determined
Lyric Theatre @ Illinois: Carnaval!
TU Feb 17
Time and venue to be determined
The Other Side: Choreographed by Hope Boykin
SA Feb 21 at 2pm (Krannert Center Youth Series)
Tryon Festival Theatre
Brooklyn Rider with Kayhan Kalhor: Silent City
TU Feb 24 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Hip Hop Convene
TH-SA Feb 26-28
Versa Style Street Dance Company: Origins of Hip Hop
TH-FR Feb 26-27 (Krannert Center Youth Series)
Venue and time to be determined
Sinfonia da Camera: Rach 3
SA Feb 28 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Balourdet Quartet
SU March 1 at 3pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Sunday Salon Series—Emerging Artistry
Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy and the Celtic All Stars
TU Mar 3 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Dance at Illinois: Studio Concert
TH-SA Mar 5-7
Time and venue to be determined
Ravi Coltrane and Terence Blanchard
FR Mar 6 at 7:30pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
Tanya Tagaq
SA Mar 7 at 7:30pm
Colwell Playhouse
Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra: Happy Birthday, America! American Highlights for the 250th Anniversary of the United States
SA Mar 7 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Wild Up: Arthur Russell’s 24 to 24 Music
TU March 10
Studio Theatre
Time to be determined
Jupiter String Quartet
TH March 12 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Jupiter String Quartet Series
The Three Italian Tenors
TH March 26 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Dance Theatre of Harlem
FR March 27 at 10am (Krannert Center Youth Series)
FR March 27 at 7:30pm
Colwell Playhouse
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Stéphane Denève, music director
Vikingur Ólavfsson, piano
SU March 29 at 3pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Great Hall Series
Illinois Theatre: Radium Girls
FR-SA Apr 10-11
WE-SA Apr 15-18
Time and venue to be determined
Lyric Theatre @ Illinois: Little Women
TH-SA April 16-18
Time and venue to be determined
Voice & the Violin: Joshua Bell, violin and Larisa Martínez, soprano
FR April 17 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Great Hall Series
Sinfonia da Camera: American Spring
SA Apr 18 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Krannert Center Debut Artist
SU April 19 at 3pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Sunday Salon Series—Emerging Artistry
Stephan Crump: Slow Water
TU April 21 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Rhiannon Giddens
WE April 22 at 7:30pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
Dance at Illinois: Senior Thesis Concert
FR-SA Apr 24-25
Illinois Theatre: The City and the City
FR-SA Apr 24-25
WE-SA Apr 29-May 2
Jupiter String Quartet with Special Guest
SA April 25 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Jupiter String Quartet Series
360 ALLSTARS
WE April 29 at 7:30pm
Tryon Festival Theatre
Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra: Verdi’s Requiem
SA May 2 at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Lyric Theatre @ Illinois: Make Me A Song
Dates/Times to be determined