Archer City’s Royal Theater wasn’t always the center of the theatrical arts in this Lakes Trail Region community. But it certainly has always been at the center of plenty of drama. The Royal is a star, made famous in Larry McMurtry’s “The Last Picture Show” where its façade served as stand-in for the fictional Royal Theater, social center of the film’s town and, in closing down, symbolizing the end of a particular way of life in mid-century rural Texas.

The movie character “Royal Theater” was portrayed by the spruced-up façade of the actual Royal Theater, at the time having already met its real demise, gutted by a fire in 1965, leaving it in ruins. Film crews restored the front of the theater to serve in scenes for the movie. Despite the starring role, the theater remained nothing but a mere façade until the 1990s when Archer City citizens formed a foundation to return performances to the Royal Theater. The foundation used the Royal’s resurrection to create a performing arts center where, today, a robust season of theatrical productions takes to the stage. Theatrical productions like the Texasville Opry, the Late Week Lazy Boy Supper Club, and special holiday performances have brought the Royal back to life where the marquee proudly announces once again, “Now Playing."