Robert D. Manahan Center for the Performing Arts

The Robert D. Manahan Center for the Performing Arts is a community theatre venue and the corporate headquarters of Stage 212, Inc., located at 700 First Street in LaSalle, Illinois, United States. The building was acquired by Stage 212 in 1996 and dedicated the following year in honor of Robert D. Manahan. It serves as the primary performance space for the organization's year-round season of plays, musicals, children's productions, and off-season shows. Stage 212 traces its origins to 1968, when it began as a summer project of the Spring Valley Youth Center at 212 W. St. Paul Street — the address that gave the group its name. It was chartered as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in 1970. By 1980 the organization had moved to the LaSalle-Peru area and evolved into a year-round operation involving participants of all ages. Since its founding, Stage 212 has mounted more than 200 major productions, including a full-scale play or musical quarterly since the summer of 1978, along with children's productions, one-acts, revues, and traveling shows. The Center hosts a regular season that typically includes winter, spring, summer, fall, and off-season productions, as well as children's summer workshops and shows. Recent and upcoming seasons have featured titles such as "Fiddler on the Roof," "Frozen," "The Curious Savage," "The Shark is Broken," "Little Women," "The Play That Goes Wrong," and "The Drowsy Chaperone." The venue also offers season tickets and children's workshops, and its box office operates on Mondays and Saturdays when shows are in production. The organization's mission is to educate people of all ages in the theatre arts by involving them in the creation of high-quality theatrical productions performed for the community. It encourages participation with or without previous experience, holds public auditions with no participation fees, and welcomes volunteers for set construction, backstage and technical crews, costuming, and more. Business affairs are supervised by a Management Board, and the organization employs a Business Manager, a Production Manager, and Box Office personnel.

Stage 212, Inc. began in 1968 as a summer project of the Spring Valley Youth Center, which was then located at 212 W. St. Paul Street — the origin of the organization's name. In 1970, the community theatre group was chartered as an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. By 1980, Stage 212 had moved to the LaSalle-Peru area and evolved into a year-round operation involving participants from every age group. Since its founding, the organization has mounted more than 200 major productions, including a full-scale play or musical quarterly since the summer of 1978, along with children's productions, one-acts, revues, and traveling shows. The theater building at 700 First Street in LaSalle, Illinois, was acquired by Stage 212 in 1996 and dedicated the following year as The Robert D. Manahan Center for the Performing Arts. The building also serves as the organization's corporate headquarters. The venue has hosted a continuous schedule of productions, including winter, spring, summer, fall, and off-season shows, as well as children's summer productions. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the postponement of 2020 productions, but the organization resumed with virtual and adapted performances in 2021 and returned to full seasons thereafter. The Center continues to operate as a community theatre, with a mission to educate people of all ages in the theatre arts through participation in high-quality theatrical productions.

• 2021

  Resumes with virtual and adapted performances, including 'The Virtual Diaries of Adam and Eve' and 'Spoon River Anthology'.

• 2020

  Productions postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 1997

  Building dedicated as The Robert D. Manahan Center for the Performing Arts.

• 1996

  Acquires the theater building at 700 First Street in LaSalle, Illinois.

• 1980

  Moves to the LaSalle-Peru area and evolves into a year-round operation.

• 1978

  Begins mounting a full-scale play or musical quarterly.

• 1970

  Chartered as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.

• 1968

  Stage 212 begins as a summer project of the Spring Valley Youth Center at 212 W. St. Paul Street.

Community theatre and performing arts venue serving the Illinois Valley.

• Fiddler on the Roof

• Frozen

• The Curious Savage

• 2026

  The Shark is Broken

• 2026

  Little Women

• 2026

  The Play That Goes Wrong

• 2026

  The Drowsy Chaperone

• 2025

  Legally Blonde

• 2025

  Tarzan

• 2025

  The Miracle Worker

• 2025

  Puffs

• 2024

  Anastasia

• 2024

  Bonnie & Clyde

• 2024

  Misery

• 2023

  The Wizard of Oz

• 2023

  Little Shop of Horrors

• 2023

  Steel Magnolias

• 2022

  Into the Woods

• 2021

  Jesus Christ Superstar

• 2019

  Hello, Dolly!

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5. 5Robert D. Manahan Center for the Performing Arts - Wikidatawikidata.org