The Rodgers Theatre Circuit

When people think of the Rodgers Theatre, they often picture the beautiful Art Moderne landmark that still stands in downtown Poplar Bluff.

But its story began decades earlier.

Long before the Rodgers Theatre opened in 1949, Isaac Walter Rodgers had spent more than fifty years building an extensive independent theatre circuit. Beginning with traveling exhibitions in the 1890s and continuing through silent films, vaudeville, sound pictures, neighborhood theatres, and modern movie palaces, the Rodgers organization eventually operated theatres across multiple states while serving hundreds of communities throughout the Mississippi River Valley.

This book brings those scattered stories together for the first time.

For more than a year, thousands of newspaper pages, photographs, advertisements, postcards, city directories, maps, and archival records have been gathered and compared to reconstruct the history of the Rodgers Theatre Circuit.

Much of this material has never before been assembled into a single historical narrative.

Rather than relying upon family tradition or scattered memories alone, the project draws heavily upon contemporary newspapers and surviving primary sources to document the people, theatres, and communities that shaped the Rodgers organization.

Although no historical work can ever be completely exhaustive, it is our hope that this volume provides the strongest foundation yet assembled for future research into the Rodgers family and their remarkable theatre circuit.

The first batch of First Edition copies will be signed and individually numbered. This offer is available while supplies last — once the signed batch is full, standard copies will be offered instead. Pre-orders are $24.99 per copy, with shipping available or local pickup in Poplar Bluff.

Want your copy personalized? Use the Sign to field during checkout to tell us the name you'd like it signed to. Leave it blank for a standard signed copy.

Your card is charged securely through Square at checkout. We expect to begin fulfilling orders in late fall 2026 — possibly near or before Thanksgiving, and no later than Christmas.