Downtown Springfield Association
The historic Gillioz Theatre in Downtown Springfield
Downtown Business Spotlight

Save Our Stages: The Historic Gillioz Theatre

September 30, 2020


Your favorite Downtown restaurants and retailers are open again. So are the movie theaters. Things are still tough for our live music venues, but you can help.

The historic Gillioz Theatre hasn’t been able to host any touring musicians or comedians in months. But the team is doing everything it can to be ready for when the tours start again. You can support them in a couple of ways.

Watch a movie

The Gillioz is showing classic movies every Friday night in October and November. That includes spooky movies to celebrate the Halloween season as well as the annual screenings of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Tickets are $10 and capacity is 240 patrons.

Your safety remains a top priority at the Gillioz. Concessions are pre-order only, so your snacks will meet you at your seat. No standing in line, no handling cash or cards. Tickets are touchless, masks are required and physical distancing is regulated throughout the theatre. There are sanitizer stations located throughout the venue and moviegoers are be released by rows to avoid crowding.

Here’s the lineup for the next two months:

  • Oct. 2 — Carrie
  • Oct. 9 — The Silence of the Lambs
  • Oct. 16 — The Phantom of the Opera
  • Oct. 23 — The Exorcist
  • Oct. 30 — Rocky Horror Picture Show
  • Nov. 6 — Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  • Nov. 13 — Pulp Fiction
  • Nov. 20 — Dirty Dancing
  • Nov. 27 — National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Visit the Gillioz website to buy your tickets and your concessions.

Buy a poster

For years Geoff Steele, Executive Director of the Gillioz, has been getting touring acts to sign posters for years. Those posters have lived inside the venue, but now they can be yours! For the first time the Gillioz is auctioning off 99 event posters from its archives. The auction is going on now through Oct. 31.

Some of the posters have already been purchased, but many more are still available. Artists include:

  • Melissa Etheridge
  • Vince Gill
  • Jason Isbell
  • Kansas
  • Kris Kristofferson & The Strangers
  • Pat Metheny
  • Dwight Yoakam

The 11×17-inch unframed posters are certified and stamped on the reverse side, verifying them as one of less than five in existence. Only one of each event is being auctioned to the public. Check out the auction website and place your bid today!

Take a tour

The Gillioz has teamed up with the History Museum on the Square for special tours. It’s part of the museum’s Haunted History Walking Tours.

On Oct. 3 and 10 you can take the History Museum’s walking tour, then — for an extra $15 — take a special tour of the Gillioz. On the hour-long tour you’ll see parts of the theatre that aren’t normally open to the public and hear some ghost stories.

Please note the Gillioz, built in 1926, is not wheelchair accessible on all parts of the tour, which requires walking and stairs. You can buy tickets for the Haunted History Walking Tour through the History Museum on the Square.

Get some merch

Want to show off your love for the Gillioz everywhere you go? Buy some merch! The Gillioz has teamed up with CrackerJack Shack to produce a line of shirts, masks and more, bearing logos and images from the theatre.

Each month will feature specific curated items in the Gillioz Online Shop. Items are available for limited pre-sale, making them commemorative pieces! Start shopping now!

Make a donation

If none of those options work for you, there is another way to help. You can donate directly to the Gillioz Theatre. Visit their website and look for the “Donate” button on the main page.

Touring acts will return to this historic building on Park Central East. You can help make sure the Gillioz Theatre is ready to host them.