Courtroom is Ready for Theatrical Productions
Thanks to grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission, the historic courtroom on the courthouse’s second floor is ready to host plays and other shows.
- Professional theater lighting that is computer-controlled has been installed.
- A theater curtain has been hung to separate the stage from the audience as necessary.
- Unsightly plexiglass has been removed from the original 1873 windows, and the windows are being restored.
- Blackout curtains over the massive windows create the atmosphere needed for all types of performances.
- The capacity of the theater has been expanded to 120 due to the rearrangement of the pew seating on the main theater floor and the installation of theater seating in the balcony donated by Clay County High School.
- The entire theater has been thoroughly cleaned and refreshed.
Contact Thomas Watson, Curator, if your organization would like to secure the courtroom for a special event.
Ideas for Community Productions
Many have said the courtroom reminds them of the one in which Atticus Finch defended a wrongfully accused man in To Kill a Mockingbird, and they're not wrong. The intimate setting and the historic beauty of the courthouse would be perfect for plays like Twelve Angry Men (or people as the case may be) or Inherit the Wind. A musical that could be produced on a stage the size of the one in the courtroom is 1776, a patriotic play about the writing of the Declaration of Independence. It would also be a great venue for a comedy like Steel Magnolias or Arsenic and Old Lace. One idea that's...
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