Auditorium at Quincy Community Theatre to be named April 9 after longtime managing artistic director

QUINCY — Quincy Community Theatre will formally dedicate the Barbara Rowell Auditorium on April 9. 

“As managing artistic director from 1983 to 2006, Barbara’s impact on QCT’s past, present and future cannot be overstated,” artistic director Brandon Thomsen said in a press release. “Perhaps most visible of Barbara’s diverse legacy is the very building that our theatre occupies — a venue to match her grand vision for what community theatre can be. For this reason, we can’t think of a better way to honor her legacy than to name the auditorium, where she devoted so many years of her life, in her honor.”

Doors will open at noon, with the celebration formally starting at 1 p.m. in the OLC lobby. After the unveiling, guests will then move into the newly-named auditorium where they will continue to honor Rowell through photos, words and song. A light reception in the lobby will follow the program. 

A fund named in Rowell’s honor will be established to help with long-term capital improvements to help maintain the space she built for generations to come. Memorial donations can be made at the event, online at 1qct.org/barbara-rowell or by mail to Quincy Community Theatre, 300 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 118, Quincy, Ill., 62301.