Welcome to the historic Little Theatre in downtown New London, Minnesota.  The Little Theatre is owned and operated by a non-profit organization, the Crow River Players, Inc.  Our purpose is to bring to the communities of New London and Spicer, and the surrounding areas quality affordable live entertainment. Our venue includes theatrical productions, musical variety shows, concerts, and a monthly informal entertainment night called Open Stage. 

We are one of the rare community theatres that shares our facility with the local school district. The New London-Spicer Schools use our facility for their Spring, Fall, and One Act play productions. For more information about the school’s play schedule Click here.

The Little Theatre, built in 1921, has had different titles and uses through the years.  Known as The Ideal Theatre, the building’s main purpose was a community playhouse.  When it was renamed The Rialto, it began its life as a silent movie house and later with ‘talkies’ in the ‘50s & ‘60s.  A basketball court, high school graduation auditorium, and community meeting center are among the many other purposes this building has served. In the ‘70s, it acquired its present name, The Little Theatre, when the New London- Spicer High School began holding their drama class rehearsals and productions there. This continued until the early ‘90s when the building was condemned. Unwilling to allow the destruction of this piece of history, a group of concerned citizens from the New London-Spicer area united to save the building.  Following a massive effort of fund-raising, contributions of materials, and many hours of donated labor, the restoration and modernization of the building was completed.  In 1998, this group officially became the Crow River Players accepting the responsibility of maintaining and managing the building.  Once again, The Little Theatre became a community playhouse as well as the performing arts center for the school; providing quality live entertainment.  That continues today, in conjunction with a new purpose, a concert hall.

Our Mission Statement:

1. Preserve, restore and operate the historic structure known as The Little Theatre.

2. The operation of the theatre shall be for the purpose of providing space for students of the New London-Spicer School District as well as other persons or organizations who desire to use the theatre for any lawful purpose including plays, lectures, concerts and meetings.

3. Advance the performing arts of the New London-Spicer schools and the community at large.

The Little Theatre/Crow River Players promotes community involvement and afford artists personal growth opportunities. In addition to plays the group has held artists’ showcases featuring local musicians, concerts, displayed artwork of visual artists and worked with local organizations to create programs for special events. The group has no paid staff [only the production Directors are paid]. Profits are used to maintain and improve the building.

Little Theatre Refurbishing/YES Team's GREEN Project

The application of the exterior insulation began in April. Kevin Welsh, the contractor for this innovative project, glued & fastened rigid foam insulation to the cement block exterior sealing it with Flexcoat, a thin stucco finish. The former utilitarian block exterior has been transformed into an attractive finish, that will reduce our energy consumption considerably. 

In May the new metal roof was installed by Pulsifer’s Construction.  The roof not only replaced our worn shingles, but supplied necessary attic ventilation.  

The front of the building has a new look, too.  The single pane upper windows have been removed and replaced with insulated stucco insets.  We finished the transformation with fresh paint in a new color scheme that accents the unique architectural detail.

The inside has undergone some changes also.  The stage has doubled in size with the addition of a lower level thrust.

Future plans are to include solar panels and LED stage lights.

Moving the Little Theatre from an energy dinosaur to a energy efficient building is a continuing joint effort between the Crow River Players and the NL-S eighth graders that participate in a project called YES (Youth Energy Summit).  In 2007 the YES team replaced our standard incandescent light bulbs with CFL lights.  Last spring, utilizing the research and funding of that same team, we made use of  an innovative process and installed insulation to the exterior of the building.  As a result, this winter we are witnessing nearly a third reduction in our energy bills!  This year’s YES team has been researching passive solar heat.  Pooling the funds banked by last year’s YES team plus the on-going fundraising by this year’s team will finance this project completely. Installation is scheduled to begin this spring on the south side of the building.  The solar panels will be designed to collect the maximum heat during the coldest months of January and February.  Thanks to the initiative of 8th graders, this historic 1921 building has gotten a face-lift in appearance and energy efficiency.