"Film begins at 1:00 PM, giving you the perfect midday outing." That's how the Woodstock Opera House pitches its Nov. 18 matinee, and the film is Shakespeare. The show is National Theatre Live's Hamlet, a filmed stage production starring Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera. A seat costs $5, fees included.
If you know the Midweek Matinee as the monthly classic movie at 121 W. Van Buren St., that still describes most of it. But the series has changed shape. It now runs 12 Wednesdays a year instead of following the fall-to-spring theater season, and it includes British stage productions. It also falls on weekdays tucked between the Opera House's busiest weekend runs of the holiday season, so the cheapest seat in the building is on the calmest day of the week.
A Series That Started in June
The schedule Shaw Local published on Aug. 26 listed nine matinees from September through May, each at 1 p.m. on one Wednesday a month. The official ticket package lists 12. The 2026-27 slate began in summer with Dick Tracy on June 17 and Jaws on July 15. On Aug. 19 came National Theatre Live: The Audience, the first stage production in the lineup.
The package page calls National Theatre Live "NEW THIS YEAR!" and says it brings "acclaimed British theatre productions to the big screen." Hamlet is the second one, and it comes after two fall classics, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on Sept. 16 and Breakfast at Tiffany's on Oct. 21.
So the series now runs through summer and puts British stage productions next to Hollywood films. And the $5 price that marketing and communications manager Colleen Rogalski described to Shaw Local as "affordable" hasn't changed.
Hamlet, Nov. 18
National Theatre Live's site lists Robert Hastie as director and Abeysekera in the title role. The Opera House calls the production "a fearless contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy," "darkly funny and emotionally gripping."
The afternoon runs on a set clock:
- Noon: concessions open
- 12:30 p.m.: doors open
- 1 p.m.: show starts, with the calendar block ending at 3 p.m.
The Opera House event page tells guests to "arrive early to shop, relax, and enjoy a bite to eat on the Square before the show." The Square has more lunch choices than it did a year ago. The Woodstock Independent reported that Ta Wan Thai & Ramen opened May 8 at 214 Main St. and The BratHaus opened June 22 at 101 N. Johnson St. Check either restaurant's current Wednesday hours before planning lunch around a 12:30 door time. Oak & Alchemy, the smokehouse and woodfired pizza spot that The Woodstock Independent reported opened June 25, is closed Monday through Wednesday, so it's a better fit for a weekend show.
The Quiet Day Between the Big Weekends
Look at the Opera House's November and December calendars together and a pattern shows up. The marquee runs fill Friday through Sunday, and each matinee falls on a Wednesday in between.
In November, Theatre 121's Annie opens Nov. 13 and plays three weekends: Nov. 13–15, Nov. 20–22 and Nov. 27–29. Hamlet lands on the Wednesday between the first two. The next morning, Nov. 19 at 10 a.m., the Opera House hosts Creative Living with Craig Bergmann and Russell Buvala.
December repeats it. The Nutcracker Ballet plays Dec. 11–13 and again Dec. 18–20, 10 performances in all. White Christmas falls on Wednesday, Dec. 16, between those two weekends. Creative Living with Amy Reinhard follows on Dec. 17 at 10 a.m.
Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest stretch on the Square. The city calendar lists a street-closure window for the Lighting of the Square on Nov. 27 from 2 to 9 p.m. That same night, Annie has an 8 p.m. curtain, later than its usual 7:30 p.m. evening start. Two days later, the Christmas Parade closure runs 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 29, the afternoon Annie closes with its 2 p.m. show. If you want the Opera House without the weekend crowds, Wednesday afternoon is the time.
Dec. 16 Shows White Christmas Twice
On Dec. 16 the Opera House screens the same 1954 film twice, at two prices.
The 1 p.m. Midweek Matinee. It's billed as White Christmas – A Movie Sing Along, with the same noon concessions and 12:30 p.m. doors as every matinee, for $5 including fees.
The 7 p.m. evening sing-along. This one is a separate event at $12 including fees, with concessions at 6 p.m. and doors at 6:30 p.m. The listing says "Costumes encouraged, lyrics provided, fun guaranteed!" and names the cast as Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen, with "Sisters" and "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" among the songs.
The two screenings are $7 apart. The afternoon one fits a weekday schedule, and the evening one fits a group that wants to show up in costume after work.
What's Left, and What the Packages Buy Now
By the time Hamlet plays, five of the season's 12 matinees will have screened. This is everything still ahead:
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| Wed., Nov. 18, 2026 | National Theatre Live: Hamlet |
| Wed., Dec. 16, 2026 | White Christmas – A Movie Sing Along |
| Wed., Jan. 20, 2027 | Walk the Line |
| Wed., Feb. 17, 2027 | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner |
| Wed., March 17, 2027 | My Cousin Vinny |
| Wed., April 21, 2027 | Apollo 13 |
| Wed., May 19, 2027 | Rear Window |
The full-season package, 12 shows for $49 or about $4.08 a seat, is now marked not on sale. These are the options still listed:
- Single seats at $5 each. Seeing all seven remaining shows this way costs $35.
- The 6-show package at $27.10 with fees. You have to pick six different shows, which works out to about $4.52 a seat. Next to six single tickets at $30, it saves $2.90. Add a single $5 seat for the seventh and the whole run costs $32.10.
- The 8-show package at $32. It needs eight different shows, one more than the seven left on the calendar. The box office at 815-338-5300 can tell you how it works this late in the season.
The savings are small at this point in the season. The main benefit of the 6-show package is that it commits you to six Wednesdays and gets those seats bought ahead of time. All tickets, single or package, go through the Midweek Matinee sales page.
The Rest of the Holiday Calendar
These are the other evening and weekend shows in the building through year's end:
- Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m.: Stand Up Throw Down, Millennials vs Gen X
- Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.: Lara Bell
- Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.: Girl Named Tom
- Dec. 5, 1 and 4 p.m.: Assisted Living: The Home for the Holidays
- Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m.: Ed Hall's Woodstock Christmas Guitar Night
- Dec. 31, 8 p.m.: New Year's Eve Bash: Disco to Midnight
Rogalski told Shaw Local that "more performances being announced nearly every week," so check the calendar again closer to December. For the matinees, the dates are set, and the next one is Hamlet at 1 p.m. on Nov. 18.
At Team Open Doors, we follow the Woodstock Square calendar closely because we live and work here too. If you're curious what your home near the Opera House is worth this season, we'd be glad to put together a free home valuation for you.
