2020 VISION

A new year, a new decade, and it’s been a busy one so far. The set for the new play is almost completed, rehearsals are getting underway, and I’m really looking forward to this one. I think everyone is going to love it.

When we began Ragtown Gospel Theater, our simple mission was to present the gospel through music and drama. Most of our plays have been biblical times settings, but some of our most popular productions have been those that provided a little different perspective. Regardless of that perspective, they all remain true to our mission. We strive to always present the Person and Promise of Jesus in a new way that helps us all to see Him and all He did for us more clearly.

With that still in our hearts, we’re beginning our 14th season at Ragtown with a bang! Sweet Sixteen is a funny play that takes place in a retirement home filled with quirky residents. Glenn Polk plays Cobb Cochran, a “one-hit-wonder” from 1959. His one hit song, “Sweet Sixteen” made him a teenage heart-throb during the brief time before Elvis got out of the Army and took back over the charts.  When Cobb Cochran moves into Little Willows Retirement Home, he finds that his fans…especially the female ones…have not forgotten him.

It is a sweet story with a deeply encouraging message…and a lot of laughs. You gotta see this one.

And I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about our summer production. Goodness, this has been a long time coming! I started working on my first musical in 1995. I finished it in 2002. It’s called Ragtown! Originally, we planned to build an amphitheater side-by-side with the gospel theater. Our plan was to stage Ragtown! during the summer in the amphitheater, and do gospel productions the rest of the year in the gospel theater.

We did the excavation work for the amphitheater when we began building the gospel theater in 2005, but that’s as far as we got on the outdoor stage. Funding and a variety of other challenges changed our course. We have remained committed to the original vision, but there has just been no way to get it done.

I know I don’t have to explain to you how it feels when you just know God has opened a door, even though you don’t see it yet. Suddenly all of us just knew it was time. There has been an uncanny certainty about it that none of us can explain, because nothing has changed…we just all agreed…we need to put Ragtown! on the stage now. And so we are. July 4th through August 29th we’ll be presenting Ragtown…The Musical on the stage at Ragtown Gospel Theater. I’m at work now adapting it to an indoor production.

Ragtown! is built around the founding of Post City, Texas, the eccentric cereal inventor C.W. Post’s “utopian city” that he set out to build at the gateway to the South Plains of Texas. It is a big, rollicking musical with a wonderful story to tell, 11 big original songs, lots of humor…but more importantly, at its core is a message of faith, forgiveness, and hope that will warm your heart.

Christmas 2020 we bring our own Christmas classic back to life on the Ragtown stage. Nicklaus and Meena Elliffe, Cornelius Houchen, Ula Goiterflaven, and all the children who make Say Nicklaus! such a Ragtown favorite are coming back to touch our hearts again. And yes, we’ll be serving a “Meena Cup’a Cocoa” for this one!

If you haven’t renewed your Family Circle Membership for 2020, it’s time to give Robin a call (877-724-8696). It’s still $120, which gives you two tickets to every production this year, as many times as you wish to attend. Your adult guests received a 25% discount on their tickets as well. We have a few fun surprises in store exclusively to our Family Circle members from time to time.

Can’t wait to see you coming through our doors again for Sweet Sixteen. Oh my goodness this is going to be fun!

What A Day Of Rejoicing That Will Be!