The Cactus Theater is a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

. It hosts live music productions,

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, and theatrical plays.

History

In 1938, Lubbock businessmen Joe H. Bryant, M. A. Sanders, and Glenn Woody built Lubbock's first suburban neighborhood movie theater. The

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style theater was designed by architect Robert Maxey. The theater was built as a "second-run" movie theater and boasted a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 720. It also had "washed air" cooling and a marquee with over 750 feet of

neon lighting Neon lighting consists of brightly glowing, electrified glass tubes or bulbs that contain rarefied neon or other gases. Neon lights are a type of cold cathode gas-discharge light. A neon tube is a sealed glass tube with a metal electrode ...

. The Cactus remained opened for twenty years. However, by 1957, there were seventeen movie theaters in the city. The competition from the other traditional theaters and the popularity of six new

drive-in theater A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers ...

s forced the older Cactus out of business. The Cactus closed on May 6, 1958.

Remodeled theater

As part of the development of Lubbock's Depot District in 1993, Don Caldwell, along with a group of investors, bought the Cactus Theater and refurbished it into a live performance/movie theater. The refurbished theater retains its original

balcony A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Maltese balcony is ...

, slope, and stage. The seating was replaced with four hundred modern seats. The old

projection Projection, projections or projective may refer to: Physics * Projection (physics), the action/process of light, heat, or sound reflecting from a surface to another in a different direction * The display of images by a projector Optics, graphic ...

booth was redesigned with

spotlight Spotlight or spot light may refer to: Lighting * Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps * Spotlight (theatre lighting) * Spotlight, a searchlight * Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types Art, entertainment, an ...

s and a state-of-the-art sound and light package. The theater's West Texas heritage was recognized with

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s on both walls, painted by artist John Russell Thomasson, depicting Caprock Canyon. The theater now features shows such as Nostalgia Nights, The Cactus Family Christmas Celebration, Gospel Night, Cactus Cuties local artist showcase, new artist showcase, and The JD's, a

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

group founded by the late Don Allison, a musician and producer at the Cactus. Artists like

Joe Ely Joe Ely (born February 9, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll. He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo ...

B. J. Thomas Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Popular songs by Thomas include "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' ...

Gary Morris Gary Gwyn Morris (born December 7, 1948) is an American singer and stage actor who charted a string of hits on the country music charts throughout the 1980s. Morris is known for the 1983 ballad "The Wind Beneath My Wings", although his credits ...

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country music and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He was best ...

, and

The Maines Brothers Band The Maines Brothers Band is an American, Texas-based country music band. The Maines Brothers for which the band was named are Lloyd Maines ( steel, rhythm, and electric guitar, vocals), Donnie Maines (percussion, vocals), Kenny Maines (lead vocal ...

have played at the venue. The theater features live theatrical plays and music including ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'', ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

'', ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'', ''

Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story ''Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story'' is a musical in two acts written by Alan Janes, and featuring the music of Buddy Holly. It opened at London's Victoria Palace Theatre on 12 October 1989. An early example of the jukebox musical, ''Buddy'' ran in L ...

'', '' The Rainmaker'', '' Hello Dolly!'', ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'', and more. The Cactus Theater has also played host to several debut musical plays from local writers, such as ''Heavenly Country'' and ''Holy Rock ‘n Rollers''.

Cactus Cuties

No longer singing as a group, the girls of The Cactus Cuties were one of the many popular acts at the Cactus Theater. These singing girls were coached and managed by Cameron Caldwell at Terri Caldwell Music. Originally, the Cactus Cuties were Baylee Barrett, Blaire Elbert, Andi Kitten, and Madeline Powell. In the summer of 2007 the Cuties were invited to guest star on Disney Channel's "Cory in The House" which aired around the same time their first YouTube video went viral in early 2008. The video featured five Cactus Cuties (one of whom no longer sung with the group) singing their own rendition of the "

Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...

" and captured the hearts of over three million people in one month. Their unique and amazing harmonies as well as their character and charm made the girls very popular on the internet. As of 2017, the video has over 10 million views. The Cactus Theater continues to host programs such as the Holly Ave and the Cactus Kids aimed toward developing young talent and upcoming artists. The Cactus Cuties performed on ''

The Rachael Ray Show ''The Rachael Ray Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by Rachael Ray that debuted in Broadcast syndication, syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006 and also airs in other countries. It is taped at Chelsea St ...

'', ''

Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded in ...

'',

National Day of Prayer The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation". The president is required by law () to sign a ...

Cannon House Office Building The Cannon House Office Building, often called the "Old House Office Building," completed in 1908, is the oldest congressional office building as well as a significant example of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture. It occupies a site south of t ...

in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

's Search for the Most Talented Kids. Their singing is also available on a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

and a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

both titled ''Cactus Cuties: Live at the Cactus 2009''. For personal reasons, Andi Kitten decided it was time to leave the group in September 2010. Makenzie Patton joined the remaining three girls shortly thereafter.

References

External links

Cactus TheaterThe Cactus Cuties
Official website
The Cactus Cuties
Playlist on YouTube
Photos of the Llano Estacado

Cactus Theater
at Cinema Treasures {{DEFAULTSORT:Cactus Theater, Lubbock, Texas Music venues in Lubbock, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Lubbock, Texas Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Theatres in Lubbock, Texas Theatres completed in 1938

History

Remodeled theater

Cactus Cuties

See also

References

External links