Hattiesburg Little Theatre Collection

The Hattiesburg Little Theatre in Hattiesburg, Mississippi was reorganized in 1960 after thirty years of inactivity, and presented theatrical productions until approximately 1982. The founders included civic leaders, local business people, University of Southern Mississippi faculty and alumni, and often, their respective spouses. Unlike professional theatre in which actors, directors, designers, and craftsmen are paid for their assigned tasks, community theatre relies almost entirely on its dedicated volunteers. True to this tradition, members of the Theatre's Board of Directors governed the organization, as well as designed and constructed the sets and costumes, and performed roles on stage.

The Hattiesburg Little Theatre maintained its first residency in a hangar at the Bobby Chain Municipal Airport, south of Hattiesburg. In the early 1970's, the airport suffered a fire that displaced the theatre company. The Holiday Inn Hotel at 900 Broadway Drive, served as temporary headquarters for approximately two to four years. Performances were staged in the hotel's ballroom. During 1975, Dr. Julian Katz , owner of the Royal Street Andre Hotel (also known as the America Building, and originally known as the Ross Building) at 207 E. Front Street, offered to lease the top floor of his building for a permanent home to the Hattiesburg Little Theatre. The rent was $200 per month.

Primarily, the company produced and performed contemporary dramas, comedies and murder mystery plays, and typically produced three to four different plays per year. In an effort to secure a more desirable location for the theatre, local businessmen Rodney and Wiley Fairchild donated a building located at 126 E. Pine Street in 1977. The building needed extensive renovation, but when fund raising efforts failed to reach fruition, the property remained undeveloped, and the building was eventually torn down. Around 1982, the Hattiesburg Little Theatre became inactive.

During the summer of 1985, a splinter group, led by Nancy Albers, reorganized to produce a one-time performance to benefit the Citivan Camp for Retarded Adults. The production received such a positive response from the community that the ensemble established a charter board of directors for a newly named community theatre. The Hattiesburg Little Theatre is credited as being the forerunner of this company, Just Over The Rainbow Theatre (JORT.). At present, JORT is producing and performing plays at the Cloverleaf Mall, Hattiesburg, Mississippi.