About the Hall
Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts is the realization of a dream that began in the 1960s - to conceive, create and construct a state-of-the-art performing arts center to serve the needs of Springfield and the surrounding region. The Hall is named for the wife of well-known developer, entrepreneur and philanthropist John Q. Hammons, in recognition of the couple's major donation to the venue’s capital campaign. Since its gala opening in October of 1992, Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts has met and exceeded the expectations of arts enthusiasts.
Located on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, Juanita K. Hammons Hall regularly attracts patrons from southern and central Missouri, northern Arkansas, and eastern Kansas and Oklahoma. The venue features a 2,264-seat theatre including multi-level boxes and orchestra pit; spacious backstage facilities with individual, crew and chorus dressing rooms, cast lounge, green room, loading dock and break areas; expansive multi-level foyer-style lobby; public and private reception areas; full-service front-of-house, technical and support staff; on-site computerized box office; and 5-level parking garage adjacent to the building.
Hammons Hall presents a full season which includes touring Broadway musical productions,
single performances covering the gamut of entertainment from classical music to jazz
to dance to theatre, children’s shows, and an emerging concert artists recital series.
In keeping with Hammons Hall’s mission to serve the student population, Missouri State
University concerts, recitals and lectures are also a part of the season’s schedule.
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra has presented their concert season in the Hall since the venue opened in 1992; other
community arts organizations perform in the Hall and/or partner with the Hall to present
performances by touring artists, and Visual Artist Alliance of Springfield, and Springfield Public Schools have ongoing art exhibitions hanging in the Hall’s lobby gallery spaces. To complete
each season, the Hall is available for rental to touring companies, for concerts,
conferences and large-scale receptions.
The amazing variety of artists who have trod the boards at Juanita K. Hammons Hall include Broadway greats Robert Goulet, Carol Channing, Theodore Bikel; plus stars like Frankie Avalon, Cathy Rigby, Jack Jones, Tim Conway, Barbara Eden, Ted Neeley and Melissa Gilbert starring in Broadway touring productions; the casts of Cats, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Riverdance, Hairspray, Mamma Mia!, Annie, The Producers, STOMP, Blue Man Group, Grease, and many other Broadway shows, from the classics to cutting-edge. Also taking the stage through the years at Hammons Hall: entertainers Marvin Hamlisch, Judy Collins, Gregory Hines, The Smothers Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Hal Holbrook, Tom Jones, The Righteous Brothers, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, The Chieftains, Jim Brickman, Kris Kristofferson, Garrison Keillor, George Carlin, Joan Rivers, and Jerry Seinfeld; the legendary Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Harry Belafonte, Lou Rawls and Gregory Peck; classical artists from the New York City Opera, the BBC Philharmonic, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the St. Louis Symphony; jazz greats Maynard Ferguson, Wynton Marsalis, John Pizzarelli, Diane Schuur and Dave Brubeck; a whole roster of talented dancers, rock stars, comics, children’s performers – and even the magic of David Copperfield!