Trustus is a year round professional theater in downtown Columbia. Trustus has always been to bring the best of the newest and original plays, to an audience craving professional theatre in a setting that is comfortable and unique. Trustus' uniqueness is the comfortable chairs, complimentary popcorn and bar that allows you to pretend you're really sitting at home in your living rooms while watching thought provoking, entertaining, quality theatre. Trustus' year around season is comprised of eight mainstage productions that combine comedy, drama, musicals and a Late Night season of one-acts and sketch comedy at 11:15pm on Fridays. Over the years, we have premiered over 65 shows in the southeast, including: Angels in America, Falsettos, Beirut, Colored Museum, The Boys Next Door, The Sum of Us, The Joy of Going Somewhere Definite, Fires in the Mirror and Boy Gets Girl.
Trustus Theatre
520 Lady Street
803-254-9732

The founders of the Town Theatre were not professional producers, directors or actors. They were a group of families who dreamed of a new concept for Columbia: a theatre where they and their families could not only watch plays, but also take part in them for fun and learn from the experience.
Town Theatre provides an exceptional opportunity for entry level actors by giving them the chance to work on stage with experienced veterans, many of whom are working professionals volunteering their time. Many of Town Theatre's current and alumni performers have appeared on Broadway, network television and in major feature films. They include Cats, A Chorus Line, Ruthless People, Hill Street Blues, and North and South. Every performance has open auditions, with all community members being encouraged to attend. There is also ample opportunity for members of the community to get involved behind the scenes.
Town Theatre
1012 Sumter Street
803.799.4764

The Colonial Life Arena is the largest arena in the state of South Carolina with 18,000 seats, and the tenth largest on-campus basketball facility in the nation. Located on the beautiful University of South Carolina campus, this one-of-a-kind facility features 41 suites, four Entertainment Suites, and the Frank McGuire Club, a full-service hospitality room that has a capacity of 300. The state-of-the-art facility also features plush seating, a technologically advanced sound system, a four-sided video scoreboard, and a one-of-a-kind selection of unique concession foods that will delight fans of all ages.
Colonial Life Arena
801 Lincoln Street
1-877-4-TWC-TIX

Carolina Ballet
771-6303 | carolinaballet.net
Mostly Mozart & Friends: Feb 10-12 at CMFA Art Space on Pulaski St. Giselle: Apr 14-15 at Township Auditorium on Taylor St.
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Columbia City Ballet
803-799-7605  www.columbiacityballet.com
Romeo and Juliet Feb 3-4. Sleeping Beauty: Mar 9-10 at Koger Center for the Arts on Assembly St.
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Columbia Classical Ballet
803-252-9112  www.columbiaclassicalballet.org
Lifechance “Gala of the Stars”: Jan 21 at Koger Center for the Arts on Assembly St. Le Corsaire (The Pirate): Mar 2 at Koger
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USC Dance Company
803-777-5112  www.cas.sc.edu/
Breaking Ground: Feb 8-11 at Drayton Hall Theatre. Ballet Stars of New York: Mar 23 at Koger Center for the Arts. Cinderella: Apr 20-21 at Koger. Student Choreography Showcase: Apr 20-21 at Koger
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USC Dance Conservatory
803-777-7264. www.cas.sc.edu/dance/Academics/conservperform.html
USC Dance Conservatory in Concert: Apr 20-21 at Koger Center for the Arts

Lake Murray Symphony Orchestra
803- 771.7937  Website: lmso.org
Sunday Concert Series: The Joy of Dance: Feb 19 at Harbison Theater at Midlands Tech, 7300 College St, Irmo
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South Carolina Philharmonic
803- 771.7937     scphilharmonic.com
Soundscapes: Jan 14 at Koger Center for the Arts on Assembly Street. Love Songs: Feb 11 at Koger. Mother Russia: March 24 at Koger. Ode to Joy: Apr 28 at Koger.
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University of South Carolina School of Music
803-777-7000  www.music.sc.edu/
Too many events for complete list. Please check website and see following:

Southern Exposure New Music Series: Jan 21 (Exposed Wiring IV with Odd Appetite ) & Feb 29 (Imani Woodwind Quintet) in USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St.

Chamber Innovista Concert Series: Jan 22 & Apr 15 in USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St.

Gospel Choir Spring Concert: Feb 7 in USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St.

Symphony Orchestra: Amore: Feb 14 at Koger Center for the Arts on Assembly Street.

Percussion Ensemble Concert: Mar 26 in USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St.

Opera at USC: An Evening of One Acts: Rita and Pepito: Mar 31, Apr in USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St.

Left Bank Big Band Concert: Apr 10 in USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St.

Symphony Orchestra & Choirs: Defiant Requiem & the Verdi Requiem: Apr 15 at Koger Center for the Arts on Assembly St.

Carolina Alive Vocal Jazz Ensemble Concert: Apr 18 in USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St.

An Evening of Chamber Music: Apr 19 in USC School of Music Recital Hall, 813 Assembly St.

Symphonic Winds on the Horseshoe: Apr 22 in USC Horseshoe.

Chapin Community Theatre
803-240-8544  www.chapintheatre.org/
Rumors: Mar 9-24 Harbison Theater at Midlands Tech, 7300 College St, Irmo
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Columbia Children's Theatre
803-691-4548. www.columbiachildrenstheatre.com
3400 Forest Drive, Forest Acres
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Junior: Feb 2-5. Pinkalicious the Musical: Feb 10-19. Rumpelstiltskin: April 13-22
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South Carolina Shakespeare Company
803-787-2273  www.shakespearesc.org
Much Ado About Nothing: tentatively Jan 2012. Matinees for Columbia Schools. Check websites for exact locations, dates, and times.
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Theatre South Carolina
803-777-4288. www.cas.sc.edu/thea
Present Laughter: Feb 17-25 at Longstreet Theatre, 1300 Greene St. Macbeth: Apr 14-22 at Drayton Hall, 1214 College St. Undergraduate Original Works: Feb 21-26 at Lab Theatre, 1400 Wheat St. Broken Glass: Mar 29-Apr 1 at Lab Theatre, 1400 Wheat St. Twelfth Night, or What You Will: Apr 19-22 at Lab Theatre, 1400 Wheat St.
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Featured Theatre: Town Theatre
803-799-2510. www. towntheatre.com
1012 Sumter St in Downtown Columbia
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Jan 20-Feb 4
This play centers on two con men living on the French Riviera. The first, suave and sophisticated, makes his living by talking rich ladies out of their money. The other, a small-time crook, swindles women by waking their compassion with fabricated stories about his grandmother’s failing health. They soon discover that the town isn’t big enough for two swindlers. So, they make a deal– the first one to extract $50,000 from a young female heiress wins. The other must leave town.

Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps: Mar 9-24
Town’s offering is related to Alfred Hitchcosk’s 1935 suspense-filled classic, with some surprises of its own. Audiences will appreciate allusions to other Hitchcock films including Rear Window, Psycho and North by Northwest. One actor plays the hero, one actress plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play the remaining personalities, from heroes, villains, men, women, and children, to the occasional inanimate object. You’ll be “thrilled” with lightening-fast changes and special effects in this unique theatre farce!

Peter Pan: Mar 31-Apr 1
You’ll be a kid again when Town’s Youth Program’s Peter Pan and Tinker Bell carry you off to the enchanted Neverland. There, you will find all the beloved characters of this classic adventure: Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, Pirates, Tiger Lily, and the Mermaids of the Lagoon. So, follow the second star to the right and straight on to Town Theatre for an adventure you’ll never forget!
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Featured Theatre: Trustus Theatre
803-254-9732. www.trustus.org
520 Lady St in Downtown Columbia
Gem of the Ocean: Feb 10-Mar 3
Set in 1904, August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean begins on the eve of Aunt Esther's 287th birthday. When Citizen Barlow comes to her Pittsburg's Hill District home seeking asylum, she sets him off on a spiritual journey to find a city in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Gem of the Ocean is the ninth work in Wilson's ten-play cycle that has recorded the American Black experience and helped to define generations. Gem of the Ocean will leave you moved and inspired.

Passing Strange: Mar 23-Apr 14
From singer-songwriter and performance artist Stew comes "Passing Strange", a daring musical that takes you on a journey across boundaries of place, identity and theatrical convention. Stew brings us the story of a young bohemian who charts a course for "the real" through sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Loaded with soulful lyrics and overflowing with passion, the show takes us from black middle-class America to Amsterdam, Berlin and beyond on a journey towards personal and artistic authenticity.

Kitty, Kitty, Kitty: Jan 4-14
Kitty, a suicidal housecat, finds his true love in his clone, the first successfully cloned housecat, Kitty Kitty. But, Kitty Kitty doesn't love Kitty back. So Kitty decides to make another clone of himself, Kitty Kitty Kitty. But something goes wrong in the cloning process, and he makes more copies of himself, each one more abnormal than the last. Kitty, Kitty, Kitty is a comedy about love, unrequited love, and regret.

Amazons and Their Men: Jan 26-Feb 4.
The Frau used to direct beautiful films for a fascist government. Now she’s trying to make a film that’s simply beautiful. But when telegrams start to arrive from the Minister of Propaganda, it becomes impossible for the Frau to ignore the real war outside her sound stage. Amazons and Their Men is a darkly comedic look at the role of artists during wartime inspired by the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl.

A Behanding In Spokane: Apr 19-28.
Carmichael has been searching for his missing left hand for almost half a century. Enter two bickering lovebirds with a hand to sell, a hotel clerk with an aversion to gunfire, and we’re set for an hilarious roller coaster of love, hate, desperation and hope.
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Village Square Theatre
803-359-1436 | www.villagesquaretheatre.com
105 Caughman Rd, Lexington
The King and I: Feb 17-Mar 4. Snow White: April 26-May 6
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Workshop Theatre
803-799-6551 | www.workshoptheatre.com
1136 Bull Street
john & jen: Jan 13-28. Cat On a Hot Tin Roof: Mar 16-31