Lake Charles Little Theatre turns 100 with an exhibit at Historic City Hall
On With the Show fills the third-floor gallery with a century of costumes, playbills and photographs.
LakeCharles.com · 1 min read ·
Oct10The event in this storyOn With the Show: 100 Years of the Lake Charles Little Theatre10 AM · Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center
Historic City Hall marks 100 years of the Lake Charles Little Theatre, the oldest cultural organization in Southwest Louisiana, with an exhibit of photos, costumes, props and playbills from 1926 to today.
The Lake Charles Little Theatre is 100 years old, and Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center is marking the anniversary with a new exhibit. "On With the Show: 100 Years of the Lake Charles Little Theatre" opened October 10 on the building's third floor, put together by the city with the theatre and the O'Carroll Group.
Rosa Hart and a group of arts-minded local women founded the theatre in 1926, which makes it the longest-running cultural organization in Southwest Louisiana. It came before the arts council, the symphony, the dance companies and any dedicated gallery space, and for decades its all-volunteer company and its stage were where much of the city's arts life began, with alumni who went on to national stages.
The exhibit tells that story with photographs from the 1920s to now, vintage costumes, stage props, old playbills, memorabilia and video. The pieces come from the theatre's own collection, the McNeese Archives and alumni who lent their own keepsakes. Brett Downer of the O'Carroll Group curated it with historian Adley J. Cormier, members of the theatre's board and McNeese design student Ella Maddox.
Plan a visit
Historic City Hall is at 1001 Ryan Street, open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the exhibit is on the third floor through December 5. The second floor holds the Black Heritage Gallery and Gallery by the Lake, and on Saturday mornings the Charlestown Farmers Market sets up on Bilbo Street behind the building from 8 a.m. to noon.