SPRINGFIELD LITTLE THEATRE SPRINGFIELD MISSOURI FULL
The Gillioz Theatre on historic Route 66 has a full schedule of movies, concerts, opera, plays, comedians and other productions available year-round with new events added frequently. The non-profit production company in downtown Springfield performs more than 30 weekends per year. Springfield Little Theatre produces a season of plays and musicals for some 60,000 patrons annually, but those aren’t the only options for theater-goers.įind energetic, modern works on the cutting edge of theater production at the Springfield Contemporary Theatre. If it’s old-world charm you’re looking for, Landers Theatre is the place to book your next theater experience. The historic venue-built in 1909 and rebuilt in 1921 after a devastating fire-is home to the Springfield Little Theatre, Missouri’s oldest and largest civic theater operation. Festivals, concerts, plays, musicals, opera and much more provide exciting performing arts entertainment year-round. In 1996 the Landers was featured in Southern Living magazine and in 2001 the Landers Theatre was awarded the McReynolds Award for Historic Preservation.From dazzling Broadway shows to a talented local artistic community, Springfield’s performing arts scene is more vibrant than ever before. Honorees have stars with their names on them displayed in front of the building. The Little Theatre currently maintains its home in the Landers Theatre and has recently added a Walk of Fame in front of the theater. A green phosphorescent haze in the balcony has also been reported. It is said that the Landers is haunted by not one but three ghosts - a tall man in Elizabethan clothing and a mother and child. The original open cage from the elevator was used over the refreshment bar. The first Little Theatre production shown at the Landers was "The Importance of Being Earnest." In 1980 the Little Theatre expanded the lobby eastward, added a refreshment bar, handicap ramp and a restroom on the main floor.
Through grants and fundraising, money was raised to remodel the building in the early1970s. Since it never sat vacant, there was surprisingly little renovation that needed to be done when the Springfield Little Theatre purchased the building in 1970. In 1927 radio station WIBM broadcasted from the Landers until it was moved to the Kentwood Arms.Ĭontinuously through the 1960s, the Landers Theatre was a motion picture theater. The theater was rebuilt in 1922 by Ensley Barbour. An asbestos curtain and other fireproofing precautions kept the theater from being a total loss. On December 17, 1920, the Landers suffered a major fire. In 1927 the Landers became the 35th theater in the United States to show "talkies," showing Al Jolson in "The Jazz Singer." In 1915 "Birth of Nation" was shown in the theater and afterward silent movies were a regular feature with musical or drama productions playing between the motion pictures. Some other famous performers who appeared there were George Cohan, Lon Chaney, John Philip Sousa and Lillian Russell. The Weaver Brothers and Elviry were regulars at the Landers, before they went on to make movies. The Landers Theatre was part of the Orpheum circuit of theaters, showing vaudeville and "tab" or tabloid shows with a different show each week. It had the second largest stage in the state. The four-story building even has some architectural features that look like screaming devils.
The design of the theater is very ornate, reflecting the influences of Napoleon III's baroque and Renaissance architecture. He was joined in the venture by his son Douglas J. The theater was the dream of John Landers, a newcomer to Springfield with a lumber business. The new Landers Theatre at 311 East Walnut opened on September 18, 1909, with a production called "Golden Girl." The total capacity of the theater was 824.
When the Baldwin Theatre burned down in 1909 the construction of the Landers Theatre, already begun, was greatly accelerated.
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