If you enjoy the performing arts, you need to see a show at the McKnight Center in Stillwater! My family and I went to The Adventures of Tortoise and Hare: The Next Gen and it was so much fun! The theater is incredible and the show was inventive and creative in ways that kept the entire audience engaged and laughing out loud! The story asked the question: what happens after the end of the standard fable? And they use lights and lasers to suck the audience in!
The McKnight Center opened in October 2019 on the edge of Oklahoma State’s campus. You can tell that the space was designed with an intentionality towards creating an open, inviting, world-class theater that will encourage people of all ages to enjoy the performing arts.
The theater is gorgeous! It has a clean, modern feel with a soaring ceiling, but more than that, it has incredibly comfy seats, wide aisles and some of the best acoustics that I’ve ever experienced. Even with my 8-year-old sitting in my lap for the majority of the performance, I was comfortable and able to see the stage.
Parking for the theater is also so easy! I’m always concerned with finding a spot that’s close to any event I’m attending, but the parking garage is right next door and it’s attached to the venue, which allows you park and be inside in less than 10 minutes. You enter right into the main lobby, which is gorgeous, expansive and filled with light!
My family of four will most certainly be getting tickets for more shows because every season, the McKnight Center has a family series geared towards children, plus several other productions that can work for audiences of all ages. Their next Family Series production is Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie Starring Indigo Blume on March 11. It is presented by the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences, which makes me so excited because I have always wanted to see something at the Kennedy Center!
Their full 2022/2023 season lineup includes everything from Elf in Concert with the Tulsa Symphony to An Evening Renee Elise Goldsberry (the original Angelica from Hamilton). Sign me up!
Emiley Bainbridge is the editorial assistant at MetroFamily Magazine. She’s married to Russ and the mom of Olivia and Nicholas. She’s currently taking forever to get a Master’s Degree in Library Science. She’s passionate about her family, Oklahoma and baked goods and enjoys reading, musical theater and dance parties.
