Wednesday night, the Victory Theater in downtown Rogers will be hosting its first onstage musical performance since renovating after damage from a spring tornado that struck the city two years ago. Kinya Christian, arts, culture and film manager for the City of Rogers Parks and Recreation Department, recently spoke with Ozarks at Large's Sophia Nourani about the 99-year-old theater and the significance of the upcoming show.
Christian: A lot of old-time famous people have run across that stage. I think one of the most popular ones that people talk about is Will Rogers. He performed there, and then Fats Domino in the early '60s. So a lot of history is wrapped up in that theater. Interestingly, back in 1927, the capacity for the theater was over 700. And so now in 2026, the capacity of the theater is 446. So a lot has changed in the last nearly 100 years about how we view the theater experience and how many people we can fit in the theater. But it's exciting to have it back open again and continuing to make history.
Sophia Nourani: Maybe tell me a little bit about the storm damage that happened in Rogers in 2024, how that impacted the theater and a bit about what that renovation process was like.
Christian: So it happened May 26. I remember very clearly watching the storm on the radar because I live in Springdale, and I could see where it was headed and what it was about to do. And my whole spirit was crushed. And then to see the damage firsthand — after we had been open, I think maybe we were technically open 74 days, and we'd been able to have four concerts in there with a great season planned. The new theater seating, the lighting and sound package that was put into the theater, state of the art. And it was just all shut down in a matter of seconds behind that tornado.
Nourani: And I'm sure there was grief there, and it took a minute before you guys had to start thinking about putting the pieces back together. But you had to.
Christian: We had to keep going with all of the planned programming. We just kept going. We just really didn't miss a beat. We started to utilize other properties within the city, specifically Mount Hebron Park, and we branded that pavilion there the Preview Center. We continued on with the Banff Film Festival and more concerts. We talked a little bit about the Prairie View Center Jazz concert series, which we'll do again this summer. But we're just excited to be able to be back in the theater and to pick up where we left off. It feels like it's been forever, but it's been two years. And a lot can happen in two years. And it has. But we're just hitting the ground running with lots of different activities and programming in the theater. We don't want to take it for granted. And we want to show how much we love it, too.
Nourani: You guys officially reopened back in April and started with a movie series. Tell me a little bit about that and how it felt fitting for starting things back up again at the theater.
Christian: So in a way, to help celebrate the 250th anniversary of America, I worked closely with Serena Barnett, the director for the Rogers Historical Museum, and together we chose six films that we thought really highlighted America's stories, either in a nonfiction sort of way or in a fictional way. And so the very first movie we showed at the end of April was Selma. And that one really is so timely in light of everything that's happening right now. And so it was wonderful to bring people back into the theater, many who had never seen the film, which is a biographical film about Martin Luther King. And so it was nice, the conversations that happened after that, and just the gratitude that people expressed. Our community really felt close — people talking, strangers who had never met each other before having conversations about this film. Some had seen it and some who hadn't. And it was just really, it was exactly the thing that I want to accomplish in this position, to see that happen.
Nourani: What a special way to create dialogue with film in that space specifically. But we're also talking today about a concert that is happening — Moonchild on May 20. Tell me a little bit about how that group was chosen and how this came together.
Christian: So I was first introduced to Moonchild through the Tiny Desk concerts. So I saw their performance and they're all just pure instrumentalists and pure musicians. They play multiple instruments and their music is very genre — it's a little jazzy, it's R&B, there's a little hip-hop, there's some electronica in there, and they just put it together in a very unique way that's just them. And I thought, what a perfect group to put on stage at the Victory to experience an intimate, up-close performance with a group like that. And I thought that it would appeal to lots of people — people who just love a live music experience, people who love the Tiny Desk series. I love the conversations that happen in the comments underneath the video. And I'm like, that sounds like my community. Let's see if we can get them here.
Nourani: Well, I'm glad that you were able to come on here today and catch some of those listeners as well. What else should people know specifically about that event — tickets and other details?
Christian: Sure. So it is Wednesday, May 20. The doors open at 6:30. The concert starts at 7:30 and it's just Moonchild — there's no opener. They are the headliner. They are the show. And tickets you can buy at thevictorytheater.com. They start at $35. There's not a bad seat in the house. You could just stand in the aisle and get an awesome experience, or be at the very back of the balcony and get the best experience ever. And you can get tickets at the door too if you decide last minute.
Nourani: Well, and not just for the music as well, but to see the beautiful space that you guys have worked so hard to put back together.
Christian: It's really state of the art. There really isn't anything like it in the country at the capacity that the theater holds. And so it's unique. And I just can't wait for people to experience it. And I think it wouldn't even matter what kind of music it is, or if it's a film festival or a movie — it's just so unique. It's an experience. I would just encourage people to look at thevictorytheater.com and all of the cool things that we have coming up. We have more film festivals planned for the summer, more movies and more music.
Kinya Christian is arts, culture and film manager for the City of Rogers Parks and Recreation Department. She spoke with Ozarks at Large's Sophia Nourani last week about the historic Victory Theater in downtown Rogers and its show with Grammy-nominated Moonchild taking place Wednesday night. You can find more information at thevictorytheater.com.
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