By Rachel Cook

Tribune Intern

We've had an article about the Dixie Theater's long-past days as a movie theater, but now it's time for a look into more recent history.

In 1994, after 12 years of performing in high school auditoriums and other small venues, the Marshall County Community Theatre organization purchased the Dixie and began renovation work. The new theater was opened in July 1995, and thus the practice of regularly staging plays at the Dixie was born.

According to David Sanders, MCCT's primary missions are to provide a theatrical variety to Lewisburg as well as to bring in visiting acts or artists. Past shows such as "Children of Eden" and "Charlotte's Web," and past visitors such as the Nashville Symphony and the recent WannaBeatles stand as proof that they've accomplished those goals.

Perhaps one of their proudest achievements has been establishing an opportunity for community children to get involved in fine arts. "Charlotte's Web," obviously a children's production, stands as one of the most successful Dixie shows to date.

Next weekend's upcoming production, however, breaks from the Dixie's recent pattern of musicals and child-heavy shows. "Flowers for Algernon," the story of a mentally challenged man who undergoes a fictional operation to make him smarter, contains neither large musical numbers nor a cast made of minors. What it does have is emotion. Like 2000's wildly successful "Children of Eden," "Algernon" has comedy, tragedy, a love story, and ultimate themes of hope. Sanders, the director, cautions, "Bring tissues."

So, though 2013 is the 100th anniversary of the Dixie, remember that it is also the 18th anniversary of MCCT at the Dixie.