Nestled just off the main drag of a charming historic village in central Missouri lies a white building that looks more like a church than a theater. Since 1961, the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, Missouri's oldest professional regional theater, has been producing shows that people travel many miles to see. Throughout the theater's 48 seasons and more that 330 productions, the theater has grown, changed and struggled through hardships.

Originally built in 1872 as the Arrow Rock Baptist Church, the building was left vacant as the population of Arrow Rock dwindled and churches joined together. The owners proposed the church be made into a theater, and in 1961, the first season opened with the Oscar Wilde play “The Importance of Being Earnest” on a small, 9-by-20-foot stage.