Clinton Area Showboat Theatre facts for kids
The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre is a special professional theater in Clinton, Iowa. It's a "summer stock" theater, meaning it puts on shows during the summer. This theater is unique because it's located on a showboat! The boat is currently docked on a levee by the Army Corps of Engineers. With 217 seats, the Clinton Showboat has been putting on musicals and comedies for many years. James Kyle Davis is currently the Executive Producer.
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History of the Showboat
Building the Original Boat
The boat was first built in 1936 near Pittsburgh by the Dravo Corporation. It was named Omar. It wasn't built to be a theater at first. Instead, it was a working boat, a coal-fired towboat used to push barges on the Ohio River. The boat is mostly made of steel. It is 207 feet long, 36 feet wide, and 37½ feet high. When it was in the water, it weighed 581 tons.
The large wooden paddlewheel was rebuilt in 1980. It is about 32 feet wide. Two special engines powered the paddlewheel. These engines needed 25 to 75 tons of coal every day. They produced 1,000 horsepower, which is a lot of power!
For 25 years, the Omar pushed barges up and down the Ohio River. In 1962, the Ohio River Company gave the boat to the State of West Virginia. This was for their 100-year celebration.
Turning a Towboat into a Showboat
The State of West Virginia changed the towboat into a showboat. The main deck, lounge, and captain's rooms on the second deck were kept. The old kitchen area and crew's rooms became the theater space. The builders also raised the pilothouse (where the captain steers). This created a new third deck for a theater balcony and museum exhibits. The pilothouse still had the captain's steering wheel and a great view of the river. The new showboat was named Rhododendron, which is the state flower of West Virginia.
Clinton, Iowa Buys the Showboat
On September 15, 1966, the city of Clinton, Iowa, bought the Rhododendron. They paid $21,165 for it. A week later, the boat started a long 1,600-mile trip to Clinton. It was towed down the Monongahela River to Pittsburgh. Then it went down the Ohio River to Cairo, IL. Finally, it traveled up the Mississippi River to Clinton.
Once it arrived, the boat was docked at Riverfront Park in Clinton. The city used it as a floating theater.
The Showboat Becomes the City of Clinton
In 1975, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers started building a new flood control wall in Clinton. This meant the showboat had to move for five years. When the showboat came back to Clinton in 1980, it was given a new name: City of Clinton.
After its return, the City of Clinton was pulled out of the river. It was placed permanently on the new levee. This was done to protect the boat from damage during winter and to make it easier for people to visit. At the same time, the outside of the boat was painted, and the inside was updated.
The Lillian Russell Theater
In 1980, the theater inside the City of Clinton was named the "Lillian Russell Theater." This was to honor Lillian Russell, a famous actress born in Clinton. In 1940, a movie about Russell was shown for the first time in Clinton. To remember this event, the city made a special brass plaque. This plaque was placed in the Lillian Russell Theater.
In 1983, the Clinton Park Board and the Showboat Advisory Board decided to start their own theater company. Before this, they had paid other theater companies to put on plays. Starting their own company was a way to save money. They hired an artistic director and created the Showboat Players. Their first show was in the summer of 1984.
The Clinton Area Showboat Theater Company
In 1988, a new nonprofit group was formed to manage the Lillian Russell Theater. This group was called the Clinton Area Showboat Theater (CAST). By 1989, CAST had leased the theater. The city changed the showboat museum into a theater shop. The city also replaced the old boilers and made the front part of the main deck a waiting area. In 1989 and 1990, this waiting area was used by the Showboat Players for rehearsals.
Improvements in the 1990s
In 1991, the city rebuilt the entire first deck of the City of Clinton. They removed all the small motors, generators, and pumps. A ticket office for the Mississippi Belle II casino boat was built in the front of the first deck. A new CAST box office and a snack stand were also added. The city also installed air conditioning and heating on the first deck, in the theater, and in the dressing rooms.
In 1992, the city added an elevator for people with disabilities. They also created a special seating area in the back of the theater for wheelchairs. In 1995, a ramp was built to the second deck for easier access.
Over time, other groups like the Mississippi Belle II, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, and the Iowa Gaming Commission moved off the showboat. This meant CAST now had full use of the showboat. They moved their box office to the area where the Gaming Commission used to be. The Artistic Director's office and the Production Stage Manager's office moved to the area left by the DCI. The old box office was removed to create more space near the snack stand.
Updates in the 2000s
In 2006, the city installed a new fire control system. They also added new fire exit signs and a new air conditioning system. The outside of the City of Clinton and its paddle wheel were painted.
Later in the 2000s, the theater got new carpet, new wooden floors, and new seats.
In June 2016, the Clinton City Council talked about painting the outside of the boat again. This was because the paint was chipping and there was rust.
Artistic Leadership
The Clinton Showboat is currently led by Artistic Director Courtney Crouse. She has a special degree in Directing from Western Illinois University. Before this, she was an Associate Artistic Director at Timber Lake Playhouse.
Before 2023, James Beaudry was the Producing Artistic Director for two years after the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also an Artistic Director at Timber Lake Playhouse.
In 2014, CAST hired Matthew Teague Miller as the new producing artistic director. Miller had directed the musical Les Misérables at the nearby Timber Lake Playhouse. Miller has degrees in Musical Theatre and Directing. He served as Artistic Manager until the 2020 COVID shutdown. He then left to focus on his family.
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