The much-anticipated “The Roxy’s Legend of Toyland” opens tomorrow night at 7 p.m., but attendees will see a different kind of art before they even step into the historic theater.

The three glass-paned signs that used to hold movie posters – one in the front and two on the side of the Historic Roxy Theatre in downtown Russellville – are sporting hand-painted artwork crafted by Melissa Grissom’s Russellville High School art students.

The painting in the front display is a decorated Christmas tree with toys around its base in front of a snowy background. Around the corner, the left pane boasts a scroll with “The Roxy’s Legend of Toyland” on it in front of a snowflake background. The right pane showcases a nutcracker doll.

“We were actually able to use an original wooden nutcracker cutout for it and the original lettering from when the show was put on years ago,” Grissom said. She explained that they used a projector to project images onto the paper for tracing.

“The art is a mixture of what they asked us to put on it and what we wanted to put on it,” she said.

The students who worked on the art, like Nichole Putman, Kacie Fleming and Karli Monroe to name a few, have taken art for years. Students said they really enjoyed getting the opportunity to participate in the painting.

Fleming and Monroe are also acting in the production, and they said that it was a special aspect, getting to create the artwork for the show in which they are participating.

In the past the art students have painted a guitar, a winter scene with a snowman and a watermelon guitar to add a little extra artistic flair to the Roxy.

“I think it’s important that everyone in the community supports each other, including when it comes to the arts in all forms – not just painting and theater,” Grissom said. She said the project is a great way to bring art into the community.