Ozark Theatre May House Local Theater Company

The Ozark Theatre, the vintage movie house dating to 1921 that most recently housed an antique mall and an office supply company, may soon host something closer to its roots: A theater company.

The Windsor Theatre Group, a 26-year-old company specializing in musical reviews in typically twice-a-year shows, has applied to move into the Ozark—provided give the nod to the owner.

Owner Dan Stevens has applied for a conditional use permit to use the building as a banquet hall and the headquarters for the Windsor company. The plan is before the council in a public hearing today at 7:30 p.m.

Jeff Stewart, co-founder and art director of the Windsor Theatre Group, said his company is hoping the Ozark will be its permanent home after spending the last two years in Crestwood Court. Windsor, along with other tenants of Crestwood Court, were kicked out when their leases were not renewed in the barren shopping mall.

"We're gypsies and that usually means moving from performing space to performing space," Stewart told Webster Groves Patch. He said the company has performed in 11 locations in its 26-year history. "We're hoping we get the final co-ahead. Then there's work that needs to be done on the interior. We're hoping that this fall we can produce a show in there."

Under the plans, Stewart's company would rent the theater space and cap maximum attendance at 200 seats. The Ozark's owner, Dan Stevens, has also requested that the building be used as a banquet hall for private events. City staff members have recommended that Webster Groves city council approve the conditional use permit.

Stevens had tried previously to get the space approved first as a condo development in 2004 (voters rejected it), then as a banquet center and dinner theater, but that plan came apart when the city required a sprinkler system, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Stevens' family had housed its Sterling Pen Co. there in 1988, and after the banquet center idea failed, Stevens opened an antique mall in the building, which was only there about a year, according to Webster Groves senior planner Matt Ament.

Webster Groves Patch reached Stevens by phone, but he declined to comment for this article.

The Ozark Theatre opened in 1921 as theater, then as Webster Groves Cinema. The Post-Dispatch reported that it was sold to a dental technology school in 1980.