A young man named Henry leaves his bed and partner in the middle of the night ("Prologue (or, A Conjuction of Drones...)") and hikes into the woods.

Henry reaches a clearing in an Illinois cornfield ("The Long Hike") where a group of friends are sitting around a campfire telling stories about their childhoods and lives.

Jo Daviess relates her worries about the hold the Founding Fathers have on the American imagination, and the dangers of racism and conservatism ("a story about Zombies").

Carl returns to Decatur to be with her, but Henry meets and falls in love with Douglas, an artist ("To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament").

Carl struggles with having lost the love of his life ("In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth") and, feeling he is unable to confide in Henry, commits suicide ("The Seer's Tower").

[8] Peck directed and choreographed; set design was by Adam Rigg, with lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker and costumes by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung.

[3] A reviewer from TheWrap, however, thought that the production was "not only sentimental but downright whimsical" and "precious", and criticized the choreography as displaying "a limited dance vocabulary".

[16] The New York Times reviewers were split, with Jesse Green calling Illinoise "unforgettable"[20] but Gia Kourlas stating that the show was "a place of overflowing emotion, but little dance spirit".