Leatherneck Nation

The new Performing Arts Center is on schedule to open for the Fall Semester.

Watch a time-lapse of the construction which condenses 3 1/2 years into 41 seconds !!


 
 

Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts Interior Updates

 
 
 

  
 
 

Just got back from the Goldfarb Center ribbon-cutting ceremony. All I can say is...wow. It was my first time actually being inside it (after having walked past it nearly every day since it first broke ground), and it's an absolutely incredible facility. If you ever have the chance to see a show/performance at the Goldfarb, definitely check it out, and see if you can get someone to show you around a bit. The main theatre is awesome, but there is so much more to the facility than that...phenomenal classrooms, impressive rehearsal spaces, offices and other useful rooms. The Clow Theatre is a great "black box theatre" for student performances that can be configured a ton of different ways (thrust stage, in the round, etc.)

I have no doubt that any performing arts-interested student (even if they're not a theatre, dance, or music major) will be wowed with a tour of it. Students like my daughter...a biology major who is also passionate about art and enjoyed working on the theatre crew in HS.

It doesn't really do the facility justice, but here's the video from the ribbon cutting ceremony:


 

And if you're near Macomb and not busy tomorrow night, the inaugural performance by Chicken Wire Empire still has tickets available for $10.35 (including fees) at https://www.westernpresents.com/

"Chicken Wire Empire is a Wisconsin-based bluegrass band known for their dynamic musicality, thorough arrangements, and true-to-life songwriting. They’ve been recognized worldwide for their top-tier performances and collaborations with dozens of artists from all corners of the bluegrass genre."

Goldfarb Center now open at Western Illinois University.
From WGEM-TV:
https://www.wgem.com/2026/09/16/goldfar ... niversity/
 
 

‘This building is a work of art.’ WIU celebrates opening of Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts.
From Tri-States Public Radio, WIUM-FM:
https://www.tspr.org/tspr-local-news/20 ... rming-arts
 
 

I haven't been there yet (obviously), but wonder how it compares to the Prairie Home Alliance Theater in Peoria. Would there be a chance of getting acts that play there to play at the Goldfarb Center? I've been loving Peoria's tendency to show "oldies but goodies", and wish WIU would push for more acts like that. Just my preference.

rocki wrote: Thu Sep 17, 2026 11:11 am I haven't been there yet (obviously), but wonder how it compares to the Prairie Home Alliance Theater in Peoria. Would there be a chance of getting acts that play there to play at the Goldfarb Center? I've been loving Peoria's tendency to show "oldies but goodies", and wish WIU would push for more acts like that. Just my preference.



 

It looks like the Prairie Home Alliance Theater (the theater attached to the Peoria Civic Center) has 2,000 seats. The Goldfarb Center Great Hall holds 869, so it's a little less than half the size. I'm hoping we can eventually pull in something close to what we used to get back in the 80s and 90s in terms of artists. A variety of acts, shows, and performances...bands, comedians, smaller-scale musicals. This first season is supposed to be just "getting our feet wet" because we didn't know exactly when the theater would be usable until pretty late in the booking process. Next year, hopefully they can bring in a few more things.

Personally though, I'm pretty happy with what they got in the first year. Chicken Wire Empire last night was a lot of fun. I'm excited about Gravity this Sunday, STOMP in December, planning on seeing Forgottonia in February (I know Chris and saw that show when he premiered it at the Hainline Theater) and the Taiko drumming show in March. That's the kind of stuff I grew up watching in the old BCA days, although there was usually one or two "big name" type acts in a season back then. I'm also planning to go see the student production of "Into The Woods" in April (I enjoy musicals).

For comparison, ISU has an 800-seat concert hall and 450-seat theatre at their CPA that was opened in 2002. Our main recital hall (I think it's called the Simpkins Recital Hall, now that COFAC has been restructured) holds 498.
They also have a small performance space roughly the size of our Clow Theatre at the Goldfarb (around 150 seats). Also, our Hainline Theatre holds 387 for smaller theatrical productions. In the list below, I'm also including performance spaces at other universities:

ISU Braden Auditorium - 3,457 seats
U of I Krannert Center Great Hall - 2,059 seats (concert hall, not set up for theatre productions)
SIUC Shryock Auditorium - 1200 seats (one of the oldest still-operational buildings on their campus)
GSU Center for Performing Arts - 1,165 seats
U of I Krannert Center Tryon Festival Theater - 979 seats
WIU Goldfarb Great Hall - 869 seats
ISU Concert Hall - 800 seats
EIU Doudna Center Concert Hall - 568 seats
U of I Krannert Center Colwell Playhouse - 565 seats
SIUC McLeod Theater - 521 seats
WIU Simpkins Recital Hall - 498 seats
NIU O'Connell Theater
ISU Theater - 450 seats
WIU Hainline Theater - 387 seats
EIU Doudna Center Theater - 290 seats
 
EDIT - forgot to mention ISU's Braden Auditorium with 3,457 seats
 

Do they serve cocktails and/or light reffreshments during the shows?  That is one of the things I like at the Adler here in Davenport.