The Junction City Little Theater began in 1950, the under the vision and guidance of Bettina Coover.  Coover was a vibrant intelligent, and imaginative woman who became an integral part of a community wherever she lived. 

 She came to Junction City in 1948 from Wichita where she contributed her talents in community theater there. Here, she joined the Ladies Reading club, was an active member of the Universalist Church, and worked with the Girl Scouts. She was instrumental in helping to found the Mental Health Association in Geary County.

 In 1950, several talented women, all members of the Ladies Reading Club of Junction City, decided to form a drama study group. 

 Urged on by the energetic and talented Bettina Coover, they further agreed to perform Thornton Wilder’s “The Happy Journey,” the forerunner of his popular classic, “Our Town.” This great success was followed by another play, “The Lady is Not For Burning.” These productions become the humble beginnings of the Junction City Little Theater. 

 In 1955, Bettina Coover, Betty Cleary, Mona Kessinger, and Alma Hornbaker signed the documents of incorporation creating the Junction City Little Theater.

 The early productions were staged in schools, auditoriums and churches, which created significant lighting and scenery challenges. In 1960, the Little Theater moved to the 18th street location, renting the building form the city. Before the city acquired the building, it had been the USO for Colored Troops. 

 In 2008, the Little Theater moved to the newly renovated C.L. Hoover Opera House, where it opened its 301st production, Meredith Willson’s The Music Man to sellout crowds