Joplin Little Theatre committee faces critics
October 05, 2014
The Joplin Little Theatre now sporting its new marquee has been getting a facelift in celebration of its 75th season, representing the time-frame for the longest running theatre west of the Mississippi River. Funding for the lighted signage was provided by Bill and Rebecca Perry, long time supporters of the theatre.

by Mari Winn Taylor

Amid claps of thunder reverberating outside the Joplin Little Theatre about two dozen long-time theatre supporters met on the evening of October 1, 2014, to discuss their continuing concerns over the replacement of the memorial tile floor. Some, of course, were there to defend the position that the former black and white tile floor needed to be replaced, either because it was deteriorating or because it was outdated. The gray barn-side ceramic plank floor that was chosen to replace it was, according to an anonymous 19-year old who spoke, needed "to keep the theatre alive"...a necessary "facelift." His youthful perspective, however, was not the prevailing opinion, especially for Debbie Thompson whose now deceased husband had bought her a tile in honor of her birthday. While having second thoughts about ever again contributing money to the theatre, Thompson said she wants the original floor back.

On stage facing the audience was a committee of eight JLT supporters, presumably equally selected for their views on the topic at hand. They were meeting to convey the wishes of the audience to the board of directors who would have the final say. The board is set to assemble on October 21, 2014.

"This is a civilized thing we are doing here," said Chet Fritz, whose participation in the theatre has spanned many decades. But, he added, "Why couldn't it have been done three months ago?"


The lobby of the Joplin Little Theatre's disputed new look reveals a gray plank floor that was compared by a critic to one found in a Kentucky Fried Chicken or similar fast food establishment, lacking the character and history of the old engraved black and white floor. On the wall a not exactly facsimile of the proposed memorial mural is seen.

Initially speaking, as he had done at the meeting on August 19, 2014, Tony Flint, board president, reiterated that the board had decided the former engraved black and white floor was not repairable, that they had "looked into replicating it the way it was," but that they were "ham stringed" by their decision to move "very quickly." Their decision to create a memorial wall mural, he said grew from a desire to "keep the memory of those donating to the theatre in a more lasting media."

"We care about the history of the theatre...we could move on and say 'what's done is done'...but we care," Flint stated. However, several members of the audience were not convinced that the consensus of the board was or is to preserve the history of the theatre, something the destroyed memorial floor represented. With the exception of Gary Rooney, most audience members were opposed to the mural as a replacement.

At this point members of the audience who spoke went off on a tangent--away from a discussion of the floor to comments about the racks containing historical posters that long were located in the hallway next to the president's room/kitchen. Currently, they had been pushed together to the rear of the location, allowing for what apparently was considered proper placement of several cafe tables and chairs that now lined the area. According to Cleo Copeland, she was responsible for removing [these same*] posters from a dumpster and preserving them. It became obvious that being shunted to the rear of the room (hopefully not for removal altogether) was a worry of several members of the history committee who agreed that the current board, like a past one, was "not showing respect for history."

{*correction noted: posters were different ones, according to JLT spokesperson.]

Getting back on the subject of the floor, Jon Lowe presented the argument that the new flooring could be taken up and the original floor replicated. He offered his research--something apparently the board hadn't really done--that through cryogenics' research tiles now were manufactured that would withstand the test of time. Thanks to Austin Allen of Smith's Tile Store, and his passion for preservation, Lowe said, the tiles would be provided at cost. But most importantly, Lowe revealed that he had the funding in place to replace the floor without cost to the theatre.

Well then, shouldn't replacing the floor be a no-brainer? Lowe's presentation received a round of applause, but seeming a bit frustrated, he felt he had to remind the board of the consensus of the audience, this coming after several comments were made suggesting that the board was set in their decision to create a mural and leave the floor as is.

Why the stubborn stance? Why not replace the floor and use the mural as a tribute to new contributors? Several in the audience were of this opinion, including Cecie Fritz. Bill Perry would agree with her. He said he's "ready to move on."

It seems that somehow the board authorized the expenditure of $4,000 towards creation of the mural, an interesting decision, since Copeland, who owns a Joplin design business, was thwarted in her attempt to discover just what the mural would look like. It seems that nobody in the audience, including Flint, really knew. What appears currently in the lobby originally toted as a facsimile contains an unrelated picture and a bunch of names, some duplicated and at least one misspelled, my daughter's.

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The names of the members of the special committee are: Cleo Copeland, Mary Greenwood, LindaAnn Baker, Jesse De Gonia, Bill Welsh, Rebecca Perry, Heather Briley and Lisa Wood.

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