Just Off Broadway Theatre

Built in 1910 as a maintenance and administrative building for Penn Valley Park, the Just Off Broadway Theatre has been in operation since 2000. After years of operating for the park, a fire destroyed most of the original structure in 1991. Using the remaining stone walls, the venue was built as a Black box theater, meaning all the walls in the stage room are painted Black for the sake of lighting and flexibility. The Just Off Broadway Theatre is the only one of its kind in Kansas City and features an ever evolving variety of live performances.

When Penn Valley Park was first being constructed in the early twentieth century, there came a need for a general administrative building, with space for a barn and storage. In 1910, a structure was built at the south-eastern tip of the park to service these needs of the park. Due to its large stone walls, and impressive architecture, the building looked much more important to outside viewers than just a mere maintenance and administrative building. The original building was mostly made of wood, with large stone walls enclosing a courtyard. 

The building operated in its original form for many decades, but after eighty years, it was used primarily for storage. In 1991, the complex was destroyed in a fire; only the features made of stone remained. Terry Dopson, the Director of Kansas City Parks and Recreation at that time, had the idea to turn the ruins of the historic structure into a Black box live theater. The construction of the Just Off Broadway Theatre was largely paid for by insurance money and local donors. The theater was completed in 2000 and was the only theater of its kind in Kansas City.

In the early years of production, the theater was hampered by a cramped interior, with unisex dressing rooms, and inadequate space for guests and performers. This was largely changed in 2011 when MainCor, a development company for the area, allocated funds for improvements. Construction helped to complete the theater, enlarging the box office, lobby, storage, and office space, as well as created equitable dressing rooms. This has allowed the theater to continue to produce hundreds of unique plays and performances. 

Just Off Broadway Theater history, Just Off Broadway. Accessed July 6th 2022. https://justoffbroadway.org/history.html.

Horsley, Lynn. JUST OFF BROADWAY THEATRE GETS LARGER HOME, KC History. July 10th 2011. Accessed July 6th 2022. https://kchistory.org/islandora/object/kchistory%3A61225.