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.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, audiences grew, making theater expansions necessary. In the expansion, audience seating was redone, the stage was updated, the scene and costume shops were combined into one building and dormitories were built for summer resident actors. Audience numbers continued to grow, and by the early 1990s, further expansions were needed. The new addition to the theater was placed behind the original chapel. In a nearly $1 million project, the chapel area, previously the theater, became the lobby, and the new addition became the auditorium. The newly constructed theater reopened in 1993 with 408 seats.

The early years of the new millennium saw many challenges for the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre. The dormitories that housed the actors burned down in 2004, and mismanagement in finances created major problems for the theater.

Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre Managing Director Steve Bertani stepped into the challenging job after years of experience with theaters in Missouri.

“If this theater would’ve closed, it would’ve closed in 2004,” Bertani said. “It was tanking. … The theater audience attendance had dramatically dropped. They were playing like 39 percent capacity seasons.”

Since then, significant changes have been made at the theater.

“[Today] there is a new enthusiasm with our patrons and with our Board [of Directors] that we are actually doing good stuff,” Bertani said.

In 2007, a new 24-room housing complex was completed to replace the dormitory that had burned down. In March of that year, for the first time in Lyceum history, a national touring company was hired to perform the popular show “Menopause the Musical.”

Longtime Arrow Rock resident and veteran Lyceum Theatre actress Tempe McLoughlin said she thinks little can be done nowadays to improve the theater, but she does have one suggestion.

“I think it would be wonderful if we could just expand the season to have a year-round theater,” McLoughlin said. “That would be a really great thing because it would help the economy of the village as well as just give us theater all the time.”
McLoughlin was introduced to Arrow Rock about 30 years ago when she and her husband moved to the village after college to work at the theater. She said they fell in love with the village and the people who lived there. Shortly thereafter, McLoughlin and her husband moved to Los Angeles, California, but when they decided to have children, they moved back to Arrow Rock to raise them. The couple has lived in Arrow Rock for the past 24 years, and they recognize the contribution the theater makes to the community.

“The [theater] is a very important part of the village,” McLoughlin said. “They are the ones that have the most concentrated number of visitors that come in during the summertime and into the fall, and that helps keep the businesses and that sort of thing alive. It’s also an incredible cultural opportunity for all of Missouri because we have live professional theater here, right in the middle of this tiny village. Our actors are from New York and Los Angeles and Chicago, and they come in, and they bring the world to the village. It’s pretty exciting.”

McLoughlin’s entire family has been involved with the theater over the years.

“My daughter Katie and I were both in ‘Brigadoon,’ which was the very first show on the new theater stage when we built the new theater part about ten years ago, so I’m probably the only actress that’s been on the old stage and the new stage acting, so that’s kind of neat,” McLoughlin said.

McLoughlin said she enjoys having people come from miles around to visit Arrow Rock, whether they are visiting the theater or not.

“[Arrow Rock] is a special place for people who visit because of the history and the ambiance and the step back in time,” McLoughlin said.

The village of Arrow Rock is a National Historic Landmark and hosts many significant tourist attractions. An extensive park allows for camping, fishing, hiking and picnicking. Historic buildings and stone gutters run along Main Street, and wooden walkways lead to antique shops, restaurants, an ice cream shop and a general store. Arrow Rock also is the location of the restored home of artist George Caleb Bingham. There is a State Historic Site Museum, and daily tours of the town are offered. Charming bed and breakfasts also appear along Main Street.

Jackie Buckley, marketing coordinator for the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, recently completed her first season of work at the theater. She said she has fond memories of visiting the theater and seeing performances in the past, including her first visit in 1980.

“I saw shows when I was much younger, when the theater was just what is now our lobby,” Buckley said. “I remember the first play that I ever saw here. I was just blown away by the quality of acting. The play was ‘Of Mice and Men.’It was sold out, and you know the actors would go outside or next door to change their costumes. It’s changed so much over the years.”

Buckley said she is very excited to work at a theater where professional actors from around the country perform.

She said the actors who come from big cities are shocked when they drive by fields and through the country to get to Arrow Rock, but it does not take long for their opinions of a small town to change.

“Once they’re here, they just fall in love with it,” Buckley said. “You know, the idea of going back to New York City and the hustle and the bustle just doesn’t seem that appealing.”

Buckley said that no matter what visitors do in Arrow Rock, they are sure to find one thing — a friendly face.

“I think that no matter what antique shop you go into or if you sign up for a tour of the historic homes or historic sites, it’s just a really fantastic quality of people that are here,” Buckley said. “It’s just a sweet little slice of Americana.”

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