Lubbock Moonlight Musicals

As the millennium turned, so did the wheels in the minds of the City Council. They planned a new venue for Lubbock—it was to be something that was unique and special to set us apart from other cities. They decided to build an out-of-doors amphitheatre. As time spent and cost of construction increased on the project, they lost a bit of their enthusiasm and focus. Once the huge stage and graduated grass terraces were built, they abandoned the project.

In 2005, Gerald Dolter, head of the voice department at Texas Tech University, asked the city if he might stage musical theatre productions at the amphitheatre. They approved and agreed to install a public restroom facility. In August, 2006, Moonlight Musicals began with a fantastic production of Oklahoma! It was well received and the next year, Gerald staged 3 musicals—one each month of the summer. This same schedule has continued for the past 10 years and audiences have grown exponentially. Each production is accompanied by a full orchestra of 24-32 pieces.

 In 2008, George McMahan and Robin Henson, along with Gerald Dolter, secured a grant for $500,000 from the CH Foundation. This grant was matched by donations to the project of labor, in-kind, and cash donations. A 3,200 square foot stage building was built, with dressing rooms, restrooms for the cast, a set building area, and prop storage. Additionally, a roof was erected over the stage to provide shade for the actors and a ticket booth was built to replace the card table used by Select-a-Seat.

In 2010, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals added dinner theatre productions to its year. Offering 4 dinner theatre productions through the fall and winter months, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals was providing family-friendly entertainment all year long. With constant marketing keeping the name of the company fresh in people’s minds, more and more Lubbockites began embracing the local company, with its tremendous productions and large pool of talent.

In 2013, Robin, George, and Gerald raised money to construct a sound building at the amphitheatre to house the expensive sound equipment and to replace the folding table and easy up tent that had been its home each night of the summer.

November 2013 was the debut of Moonlight Broadway, the professional leg of Lubbock Moonlight Musicals. Les Miserables’ thrilled audiences. Many theatre-goers commented as they left the performance that it was as good as the productions of Les Mis that they had seen on Broadway and the West End in London. We were thrilled!

Professional productions of CATS, Mary Poppins, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Disney’s The Little Mermaid have established Moonlight Broadway as a worthy professional production company, and our growth of audiences proves it. The Little Mermaid’s 6 performances in February 2016 had a total audience of 7,800.

In 2014, the same group raised additional funding through grants to build a new concession building and covered picnic pavilion. The pavilion has been used for a number of pre-performance meals for various groups and businesses, as well as civic organization luncheons.

We have 19 performances on stage each summer at the amphitheatre, totaling an audience of 14,750 over the three summer months.

The summer of 2016 will find the second production of our Moonlight Children’s Theatre series. Young audiences will be thrilled with a production geared toward them. Our Moonlight Children’s Theatre will stage performances of Into the Woods JR at the Moonlight Musicals Amphitheatre on Friday and Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. through the month of July. Children will have time to meet and take pictures with the cast following each performance. We are offering the production at a very affordable price. Children’s tickets are $10 and parents are $5. Discounts are available for families with multiple children. We believe that this will become a tremendous part of Lubbock’s summer culture and will enhance the future of the arts in Lubbock by exposing many young children to musical theatre.

Entering our 20th year, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals is pleased to be able to provide the Lubbock area with extremely diverse artistic offerings.  From the immense Moonlight Broadway productions to Moonlight Musicals outdoor creations to the innovative youth-oriented shows produced by Moonlight Directions, every effort is given to create something enjoyable for all theatregoers. Beyond shows, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals also provides a summer-time educational opportunity via the Moonlight Arts Academy where youth, ages 5-17, may participate in camps focusing on a vast assortment of artistic disciplines. Another outreach program experiencing significant growth is our audition-only performance ensemble, Moonlight Directions, comprised of area high-school students who wish to increase their talents in every aspect of performing.