Musician Robert Pitts was a force on the trumpet. Even fresh out of school, he could command a room with his instrument. Each note rang out of his bell, clear and joyful. Always smiling and easy to be around, Pitts was a natural showman. People just liked listening to him.

As a music major at Missouri State University, Pitts was already in demand. He began playing gigs around Springfield and gaining a reputation for being talented and dependable.

“[I was] playing trumpet a lot around town and then got asked to sub for one of the trumpet players in one of the shows in the [Landers Theatre orchestra] pit. That’s how it started,” Pitts recalled. “I subbed for like two shows for that person. That turned into me playing three or four shows in the pit full time.”

After playing in the orchestra for only a few productions, Pitts was tapped to music direct at Springfield Little Theatre. He was quickly a favorite among casts and creatives. Pitts downplays the enormous impact he had on shows and performers. As many great leaders do, he gave credit to the entire team.

“I just think everybody [at SLT] had a common goal when we get together to do that,” he reflected. “I’ve never even thought about the professional side of that when I was doing it. It was more we’re all together trying to accomplish one thing and that is to make the audience feel like they are sitting in something special. It was a special time.”

Pitts’ first production as music director was SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN. He had a closer-than-front-row view from the orchestra pit and remembers one unscripted incident that caught everyone by surprise. Set production in that era was still handled mostly by hand and not by computers, which meant some elements could be cumbersome to control.

“When we did that production, they would turn on the water the scene before [the infamous rain scene] so it could get pressure built up. There was a valve on one end to keep the water from going and build up the pressure,” Pitts explained. “Well, they forgot to turn it off and during the [wrong] scene, water started raining in the apartment right before the dancing part. It was just hilarious.”

Pitts recalled that all the actors kept their cool and stayed in character. “In that scene was Chuck [Rogers], Craig Zuckerman, and Holly Rone. Everybody just started dying laughing. Craig goes, ‘Hey, it’s raining in your apartment.’ They just knew to go with it. It was so funny.”

One of the first people to give Pitts working credits is the late former SLT executive director, Mick Denniston. Denniston publicly cherished and supported Pitts, championing his incredible talents and encouraging the cast to appreciate working with someone so professional.

“[Mick Denniston] was one of the best, influential people I’ve ever worked with. He was such a great man. We miss him,” Pitts shared.

In 1997, Pitts moved to New York City to pursue a Broadway career. There was a collective sadness at SLT when Denniston announced to the cast who was in production at the time that Pitts would be leaving. After a year and a half in the Big Apple, Pitts returned for a brief encore and worked on a handful of SLT productions.

He later relocated to Columbia, MO where he met his wife. They returned to the Ozarks in 2012. Pitts has hung up his trumpet but now works supporting music education. Since moving back, he has guest directed the Springfield Youth Symphony. Today, he consults as a fundraiser working with school bands, choirs, and orchestras. He beams sharing that his son is in band and choir and his daughter is in choir in Nixa.

SLT has attempted to recruit Pitts back to the theatre, but family commitments have become the priority. Still, he looks back on his previous experience fondly. “My time at Little Theatre was the most special time in my life for the years I was there.”

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