Willow Park, TX, October 13, 2026 – After 38 continuous years, The Promise, a non-profit theatrical production company that performs musicals telling the story of Jesus Christ, will end productions indefinitely following the fall 2026 season.
Founded in Glen Rose, Texas in 1989, The Promise has been an annual tradition for many area families, bringing hundreds of thousands of visitors to North Central Texas from all over the state, and from around the country. With spinoff productions performed in Branson, Missouri, and internationally in Moscow, Russia and Seoul, South Korea, it is estimated that several million people have seen The Promise live. Still, The Promise continued to perform annually at its original location in Glen Rose until 2024.
In 2024, The Texas Amphitheater, purpose built for The Promise in a joint venture with Somervell County, and The Promise’s home since 1989, was suffering from years of deferred maintenance. The Promise approached the county about purchasing the amphitheater, so the facility could be brought up to industry standards. After public bidding, The Promise was the only bidder, but its offer was deemed too low. A second round of bidding ensued, and this time The Promise was outbid. Negotiations with the new ownership to keep The Promise at the amphitheater were unsuccessful, leading The Promise to look for a temporary performance location, which it eventually found in Willow Park, Texas. The Promise opened its first Willow Park production, The Promise of Christmas, in December of 2025, where nearly 13,000 patrons saw it to overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Relocating and re-designing The Promise’s productions for a new space was a formidable and costly endeavor, but after the initial success of The Promise of Christmas, The Promise seemed well on its way to a successful transition; proportional attendance at the spring and fall productions would have laid a solid foundation toward the ultimate goal of securing a new, permanent performance facility. Unexpectedly, however, attendance for the 2026 spring production dropped by more than half from the Christmas season, despite continued positive reviews and expanded marketing efforts. This led to cost-cutting measures, a professional marketing analysis, and a reduction in the length of the 2026 fall season, which was designed to be financially successful even if only about 50% of a typical fall audience attended. Unfortunately, by the close of the 2026 fall season, only about 30% of the number of tickets typical for a fall season had been sold, leaving The Promise in a tenuous financial position.
Friends of The Promise graciously stepped up to fill in the gaps, and planning was underway to launch the 2026 production of The Promise of Christmas until recent factors outside of The Promise’s control have rendered a 2026 Christmas season impossible. With no Christmas season, and no means outside of ticket sales to generate the revenue needed to sustain day-to-day operations from one season to the next, the board of The Promise has made the difficult decision to suspend operations indefinitely. The Promise will continue to evaluate new opportunities as they present themselves, but has no plans for future productions at this time.
While the leadership of The Promise is saddened that the door appears closed for continued ministry to the North Central Texas community at this time, it is exceedingly grateful to God for the privilege it has been to be able to tell His story, and also grateful to everyone who has supported, attended, performed in, and otherwise been a part of the ministry of The Promise over the last four decades. We believe that whatever the future holds for The Promise, it will be for the glory of God and the good of His people.
