Parallel Lives
In the opening scene, two Supreme Beings plan the beginning of the world with the relish of two slightly sadistic suburban wives decorating a living room. Once they’ve decided on the color scheme of the races, a little concerned that white people will feel slighted being such a boring color, they create sex and the sexes. Afraid women will have too many advantages, the Beings decide to make childbirth painful and to give men enormous egos as compensation. From this moment, the audience is whisked through the outrageous universe of Kathy and Mo, where two actresses play men and women struggling through the common rituals of modern life: teenagers on a date, sisters at their grandmother’s funeral, a man and a woman together in a country-western bar. With boundless humor, Parallel Lives reexamines the ongoing quest to find parity and love in a contest handicapped by capricious gods—or in this case, goddesses.
Talking With…
Talking With… is composed of eleven ten-minute monologues, each featuring a different woman who talks about her life. The play includes the pieces, “Fifteen Minutes,” “Scraps,” “Clear Glass Marbles,” “Audition,” “Rodeo,” “Twirler,” “Lamps,” “Handler,” “Dragons,” “French Fries,” and “Marks.”Idiosyncratic characters amuse, move and frighten, always speaking from the depths of their souls. They include a baton twirler, a fundamentalist snake handler, an ex rodeo rider and an actress willing to go to any length to get a job.
Cast
15 Minutes: Sara Christman
Twirler: Jana Fiehrer
Marks: Deb Richardson
Audition: Katie Grywalski
Scraps: Angela Mullins
Clear Glass Marbles: Heidi Bortel
Lamps: Nora Ellen Bowers
Handler: Amy Griswold
Rodeo: Rebecca Howard
Dragons: Buffy Hanna
French Fries: Ginger Scott
The Rainmaker
Set in a drought-ridden rural town in the West in Depression-era America, the play tells the story of a pivotal hot summer day in the life of spinsterish Lizzie Curry. Lizzie keeps house for her father and two brothers on the family cattle ranch. She has just returned from a trip to visit pseudo-cousins (all male), which was undertaken with the failed expectation that she would find a husband. As their farm languishes under the devastating drought, Lizzie’s family worries about her marriage prospects more than about their dying cattle. A charming confidence trickster named Starbuck arrives and promises to bring rain in exchange for $100. His arrival sets off a series of events that enable Lizzie to see herself in a new light.
John, Ray, and Daryl 
Buffy and Dan 
Bob and Chris
The Prince and the Pauper
When Prince Edward changes clothes with Tom Canty, the beggar boy, no one in the audience will have difficulty in telling the actors apart, but through the magic of theatre, everybody on the stage is convinced that Tom, now dressed in royal clothing, is actually the heir to the throne. The true prince, now dressed in rags, is booted out of the palace. From here on out, the two lads lead an extraordinary existence as each tries to get along in a strange new world.
Forever Plaid
Once upon a time, there were four guys (Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie) who discovered that they shared a love for music and then got together to become their idols – The Four Freshman, The Hi-Lo’s and The Crew Cuts. Rehearsing in the basement of Smudge’s family’s plumbing supply company, they became “Forever Plaid”. On the way to their first big gig, the “Plaids” are broadsided by a school bus and killed instantly. It is at the moment when their careers and lives end that the story of Forever Plaid begins….
Singing in close harmony, squabbling boyishly over the smallest intonations and executing their charmingly outlandish choreography with overzealous precision, the “Plaids” are a guaranteed smash, with a program of beloved songs and delightful patter that keeps audiences rolling in the aisles when they’re not humming along to some of the great nostalgic pop hits of the 1950s.
Stefanie Hero
Imagine: Your father goes off to be a hero and you are left to deal with everything. Your mother doesn’t want to mother anymore so you have to. Your brothers and sister need to be taken care of so you take care of them. The really scary thing is that your father is the king and your mother, the queen. You are a princess and you have to take control. And you’re just a young girl. Throw in an evil sorcerer, a dragon, several spells, a mysterious knight and some swans, and you’re off on a most delightful journey. First Stefanie’s mother is turned into a tear drop and her brothers and sister are turned into swans. This is all the doings of the evil Leopold T. Bosco. Why is he doing this? He wants Stefanie all to himself. But, with the aid of Horace, the sorcerer’s assistant, and Debra, a real swan, Stefanie sets off to tackle the tasks that right all the wrongs. She must collect a scale from the tail of Madame Zhenobia, the dragon from the Kingdom of the Stars, take a thistle from Madame’s garden, and many more adventures to conquer the evils she faces. It’s just not easy being a princess these days.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Charles Schulz’s beloved comic comes to life in Clark Gesner’s classic musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The whole gang is here: bossy Lucy is hopelessly in love with piano prodigy Schroeder who doesn’t give her the time of day, perfectionist Sally is still mocking blanket-toting Linus, Snoopy is in the doghouse, and “blockhead,” himself, Charlie Brown, is in rare form. Brief vignettes span the months from Valentine’s Day to Beethoven Day, from wild optimism to utter despair. In this revised version, with additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and dialogue by Michael Mayer, the sweet, joyful innocence of the Peanuts gang is maintained, but a fresh insouciance and playfulness is revealed. The new script features two new songs, particularly funny dialogue, and new, catchy orchestrations. Whether you’re keen to fly with the Red Baron, moon over the Moonlight Sonata, or just do your best to find “Happiness,” You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a crowd-pleasing classic.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown Cast
House of Blue Leaves
Artie Shaugnessy is a songwriter with visions of glory. Toiling by day as a zookeeper, he suffers in seedy lounges by night, plying his wares at piano bars in Queens, New York, where he lives with his wife, Bananas, much to the chagrin of Artie’s downstairs mistress, Bunny Flingus, who’ll sleep with him anytime but refuses to cook until they are married. On the day the Pope is making his first visit to the city, Artie’s son Ronny goes AWOL from Fort Dix, stowing a homemade bomb intended to blow up the Pope in Yankee Stadium. Also arriving are Artie’s old school chum, now a successful Hollywood producer, Billy Einhorn, with starlet girlfriend in tow, who holds the key to Artie’s dreams of getting out of Queens and away from the life he so despises. But like many dreams, this promise of glory evaporates amid the chaos of ordinary lives.
My Emperor’s New Clothes
Everyone is familiar with the timeless story by Hans Christian Andersen, but the present version abounds in delightful differences: The action now takes place in the mythical kingdom of Mango-Chutney, which has a parade every day, a one-man army named Pony, and an Emperor who is known as the wisest man in the world because he has read the dictionary all the way through. The Emperor, deciding to hold a special parade for which he must have the most beautiful clothes in the world, offers half of the state treasury to the weaver who comes up with the finest cloth. And being as wise as he is, he also announces that he will give the other half of the treasury plus the hand of his daughter, Princess Farthingale to anyone who can make him believe that something is real when actually it is not. Needless to say all this leads to much furious activity and some diabolical plotting by Skreech and Clodney, two oafish spies from neighboring Bulgravia. And while it is touch and go for a while, all ends happily and in a burst of song as the villains are routed, the Princess united with her true love, and the Emperor saved by the cheerfully vocal intercession of the enthralled audience.
Sylvia
Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after twenty-two years of child-raising in the suburbs. Greg’s career as a financial trader is winding down, while Kate’s career, as a public-school English teacher, is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a dog he found in the park—or that has found him—bearing only the name “Sylvia” on her name tag. A street-smart mixture of Lab and poodle, Sylvia becomes a major bone of contention between husband and wife. She offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of his job and the unknowns of middle age. To Kate, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection. And Sylvia thinks Kate just doesn’t understand the relationship between man and dog. The marriage is put in serious jeopardy until, after a series of hilarious and touching complications, Greg and Kate learn to compromise, and Sylvia becomes a valued part of their lives.
Thank you for a great 2025-26 season!
Thank you to all of our donors, volunteers, and patrons for helping us present another successful season! Check back in August for the announcement of our 2026-27 season! Which of our amazing productions... READ MORE
Become an OxACT Supporter!
We count on the generosity of our community as we continue to provide a wonderful training ground for actors, directors, and those most valuable behind-the-scene crews. It takes a lot to put on... READ MORE
Founding Patrons
These are the names of the founding patrons of the Oxford Area Community Theater. Without their faith in the future of community theater in our town, we wouldn’t be here. Susan Braunig Bill... READ MORE
Timeline of the Creation of the Oxford Community Arts Center
The following is a summary of the progression of events and financial decisions as recorded in the OxACT meeting minutes and treasurer’s reports from August, 1997 to March, 1999, in regards to the... READ MORE