REMEMBERING THE RODGERS: A theatre steeped in fond memories

From “A White Christmas,” to “Tommy, The Rock Opera,” Poplar Bluff’s historic Rodgers Theatre holds many fond memories for residents near and far.

This is the first in a series of stories called Memories of the Rodgers running in the Daily American Republic between now and the Oct. 21 premiere of a locally filmed movie, directed by a Poplar Bluff native.

Those who share their memories with us are also entered to win a pair of tickets to one of two events: the premiere of “Herd,” a movie about a family overcoming hardship during a zombie apocalypse, or the Restore the Rodgers banquet Oct. 19.

Drawings will be held at noon Oct. 16, live on the DAR Facebook page.

Lee Sparks shared that he has many fond memories of the Rodgers, including watching “Gone with the Wind,” with his mother, and visiting it with friends who worked there before it was split into two screens.

“There is no other quite like the Rodgers Theatre in its prime,” Sparks told us.

Coming to town on a Saturday was exciting for teens, recalled Susan Martin.

“I was going with a group of friends to see ‘Tommy, The Rock Opera,’” she said, adding those Saturday trips to town were “a typical 70s teen thing to do. That was always the highlight of the weekend. Plus, we could share the stories with friends at school Monday.”

Wally Duncan, president of the Rodgers Theatre board, is pleased to help host the movie premiere.

“We’re going to have a busy week that week,” he said. “The banquet (Oct. 19) is our annual fundraiser and is always a good time. There’s good food, entertainment, games and an auction.

“It’s an opportunity for people to support the Rodgers and have a good time.”

The banquet will be held at the Black River Coliseum and will start at 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. A table sponsorship is eight tickets, at a total of $500.

On Oct. 21, events will begin at 1 p.m. with a street festival, food trucks, children’s activities and more. A zombie 5K will also be held.

The evening event starts with a red carpet kickoff at 5 p.m. with filmmakers and members of the cast, who will join a question and answer session after the screening.

The screening of the movie will begin at 6:30 p.m. “Herd” is an R-rated movie. Tickets for the screening went on sale Friday via Eventbrite on HERD.film.

Proceeds from these events will also help benefit the Rodgers restoration efforts.

To Duncan’s knowledge, this is the first time a movie of such local significance has been shown at the theatre. The director and co-writer, Steven Pierce, is a Poplar Bluff native.

“Steven’s been very generous. We’re looking forward to it being a big event,” said Duncan. “I’m not aware of any other time a movie of this magnitude involving local people (has been shown.)

“People will also recognize a lot of the scenery because a lot of the filming was done here and about Downtown.”

To share your memories, and enter to win tickets to one of these events, either comment on a Remembering the Rodgers post on the Daily American Republic Facebook page, or email dailyamericanrepublic@darnews.com.

More memories will be shared in the coming weeks.

Members of the Rodgers board also hope photographs will be shared, especially of the interior of the drug store previously inside the theatre.