About Gladstone Theatre in the Park

Gladstone Theatre in the Park (GTIP) is a nonprofit community theatre that brings free, high-quality musical theatre to Gladstone. Every summer, local performers stage two musicals at the amphitheater in Oak Grove Park, and hundreds of neighbors gather on the lawn for an evening under the stars. 2027 marks our 40th season!

Our Story

1988 - Van and Susie Ibsen teamed up with the City of Gladstone to stage GTIP's very first show, Oliver! Van directed, built and painted the set; Susie handled choreography, costumes and much more. Laurie Mayfield played piano for the whole show.

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1989 - The Northstar Community Band, led by Faye Rader, came on board as a sponsor and has played in the pit every summer since.

1988-1995 - Each season, local families built a temporary plywood stage before the first show and took it down after the last.

1996 - Thanks to volunteers, donors and the City of Gladstone, a permanent amphitheater opened with George M! 

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2002 - In July, fire destroyed the amphitheater. The community cleared the site and built a temporary stage, and Li'l Abner opened right on schedule - the show must go on! That summer, on GTIP's 15th anniversary, the stage was named the Ibsen Stage in honor of our founders.

2003 - A new and even better amphitheater, built with help from Gladstone and the City of North Kansas City, opened with Peter Pan - complete with a new fly system. 

 

 

 

 

 

Today - GTIP has performed for nearly half a million audience members, and we can't wait for many more seasons to come.