Our History
Curtain Call Theatre provides quality theatrical productions to Kirksville Missouri and its surrounding environs. We began under this banner in 1997 when we took over and reincorporated the former Traveler’s Theatre that had been a mainstay in Kirksville for many years. After starting out with some one-act plays, we performed the mystery comedy The Butler Did It in the Kirksville Junior High auditorium in the spring of 1998. We performed several more shows there over the next few years, including The Good Doctor, Harvey, and Into the Woods, Guys and Dolls, and Once Upon a Mattress.
In the fall of 2000, Curtain Call presented a dinner theater production of Dracula at the Round Barn, an historic Adair County landmark on Route P. This was first of many performances at this location over the next several years, including Arsenic and Old Lace, The Odd Couple, You Can’t Take it With You, and The Foreigner. In 2006, an encore presentation of Dracula played to packed houses there. In 2013 we returned to the barn after a hiatus of several years to present a new performance of Arsenic and Old Lace in the spring and a production of Agatha Christie’s Spider’s Web in the fall.
Curtain Call has also performed at other venues throughout Kirksville, including the Kirskville Arts Center and Pickler’s Famous. Productions have included Godspell, Dial M for Murder, The Importance of Being Earnest, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Wait Until Dark. A 2009 production of Noises Off at the Baptist Student Union made use of Curtain Call’s first two-story set and sold out for four performances.
We have also become involved with community presentations and activities, including “cemetery walks” for both Novinger Renewal and the Kirksville Chamber of Commerce, where our actors have portrayed famous residents of these communities. Many of these have been repeated for local service groups and organizations.
Curtain Call’s productions in 2014 included a dinner theater presentation of Love Letters at the Journal Printing Building in March, a mystery dinner fundraiser for the YMCA at Jackson Stables on May 3rd, and our historical reenactments at Forest-Llewellyn Cemetery on July 3rd. We also used the DuKum Inn as a venue for the first time with a Halloween-themed mystery dinner theater in October and an old-time radio recreation of Miracle on 34th Street as our Christmas production.
In 2015, Curtain Call entered a new and exciting stage with our October production of 12 Angry Men. This show was the first to be presented in our own theater building at 512 Elizabeth Street. Our own theater building has been a long-time dream and the enthusiastic response to 12 Angry Men (including two sold-out performances) shows that the Kirksville community is ready to embrace us in this endeavor.
Our Mission
- Function as a facilitator for communtiy theatrical arts
- Offer a venue for local talent to practice and showcase their talents
- Provide worthwhile theatrical entertainment for communtiy audiences
- Provide actors, costumes, and direction for the annual Cemetery Theatre, Historical Society, and other organizations that need entertainment for their guests
- Perform mystery theatre fundraisers for other nonprofits
- We are a 100% volunteer organization
- 501c3 Federally recognized non-profit