About The Little Theatre On The Square

The Little Theatre on the Square is a theater in Sullivan, Illinois. It is located in Sullivan's town square on Harrison Street. It is the only professional theater between Chicago and St. Louis.

​

The theater originally opened in 1924 as a movie theater, called "The Grand Theatre." The Grand Theatre showed movies throughout the year, except during the summer months.[2] It was in 1957 that Guy S. Little, Jr. came up with the idea of renting out the theater for the summer months to present plays. Renting the theater allowed him to begin fulfilling his lifelong dream of owning and operating a professional theater.

 

Entering into the first "Summer of Musicals," Little was fresh out of graduate school in New York where he had been studying and doing work in the professional theater. When Little began the theater, he called the event "Summer of Musicals" until he actually purchased The Grand Theatre in 1963 and officially changed the name to "The Little Theatre on the Square." Mr. Little continued to bring many plays and musicals to the small town throughout his ownership of the theater.[3]

After twenty-two years of operating the theater, Mr. Little announced that he would not be putting on a twenty-third season due to the cost of operation and salaries for the stars and supporting actors. Although the twenty-third season was not run by Little, it did occur thanks to Sullivan Theatre, Inc. which put on five shows for the season. With the resignation of Little, the theater went from an independently owned business to a non-profit enterprise. The theater began operating as a not-for-profit organization in 1981 and continued to produce many plays and musicals. It was run by a board of trustees who represented the regional market area of Central Illinois.[1] On a later, unknown date, The Little Theater on the Square Inc. purchased the building from Mr. Little and began renovations to surrounding buildings. The year after purchasing the theater, the board decided to purchase adjoining buildings that, once renovated, would house the ticket office, public restroom, and administrative offices. In the year 2000, the theater purchased another building that was used for rehearsal space, a dance studio, and apartments that would house the actors during their stay. Yet another building was purchased in 2001, this one was used for the technical production facility.

​

Many different actors, both famous and relatively unknown, have shown up on stage throughout the many seasons of the theater in Sullivan. In 1959, the theater became a part of the Actors' Equity Association and began featuring easily recognizable stars who were Equity members, along with others who were not Equity members. Guy Little, Jr. would choose his cast members, both Equity and non-Equity, from auditions in New York and Chicago during the off seasons. He averaged approximately thirty-five performers per show. A few of the bigger-name stars that have been seen on stage are Alan Alda, Ruth Warrick, Rosemary Prinz, Margaret Hamilton, Eddie Bracken, Joe E. Brown, Margaret Truman, Ann B. Davis, Annamary Dickey, Don Hastings, John Carradine, Dennis Weaver, Robert Reed, Cesar Romero, Betty Ann Grove, Patricia Morrison, Ron Ely, Betty Grable, Virginia Graham, Bill Hayes, Ann Miller, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Mickey Rooney, Kathryn Crosby, Kitty Carlisle, Robert Newman, and many more.

 

In recent years, a number of performers and artist who have appeared at The Little Theatre been featured on Broadway and in the West End (London) including Marisha Wallace (Aladdin, Something Rotten, Dreamgirls), J. Michael Zygo (Once, School Of Rock) and Alysha Deslorieux, (Hamilton, Once On This Island). Countless actors have also performed in National Touring Companies of various shows.

​