Prelude to a Kiss
Prelude to a Kiss tells the story of a couple, Peter and Rita, who fall in love despite Rita’s pessimistic outlook on life. Shortly after their wedding, a supernatural event tests the strength of their love and commitment to
each other, when a mysterious old man insists on kissing the bride. While honeymooning, Peter gradually realizes that the woman by his side is not his wife. The wedding kiss caused Rita’s soul and the old man’s to change places. Peter must track down the old man and free his young love’s spirit, trapped in an aging and diseased body, before it’s too late
Doubt
Doubt, winner of a 2005 Pulitzer Prize, Drama Desk Award and Tony Award, tells the tale of a nun in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 who suspects a popular priest of inappropriate behavior with a student. Armed with nothing more than a resolute belief in her suspicion and a few circumstantial details, she instigates a relentless campaign to remove the priest, enlisting the help of a subordinate nun and the child’s tormented mother. The simple, yet ever-shifting plot leaves all four characters and the audience wondering whether they were justified in their thoughts, motives and actions. “An eloquent
and provocative investigation of truth and consequences. A gripping mystery, tightly written.” – Time Out New York.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a unique musical comedy that centers around a fictional spelling bee set in the geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally-quirky grown-ups. The tale of “overachievers’ angst” chronicles the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. Four audience volunteers are recruited before each performance to participate onstage as guest spellers, so study study study!. The play was nominated for six Tony awards in 2005.
Quake
Quake premiered in the 2001 Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. “Quake tells the story of Lucy, who traverses the continent in search of an elusive balance between independence and commitment, career and family, extraordinary achievement and ordinary existence. In a succession of surreal, contorted affairs, she fails to reconcile her driving need for ideal love with the realities of modern romance. On her way, she is distracted by an obsession with ‘That Woman,’ a notoriously brilliant serial-killer and astrophysicist — America’s Most Wanted Woman. ‘That Woman’ coaches Lucy as she zags across the continent and zigs through her many relationships in search of ‘The Big Love.’
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum takes comedy back to its roots, “combining situations from time-tested, 2000 year old comedies of Roman playwright Plautus with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville.” It tells the bawdy story of the slave Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The original production opened in 1962 and played 964 performances – still the longest Broadway run for a Stephen Sondheim-written musical. Co-author Larry Gelbart is perhaps best-known for his Emmy-winning writing for the long-running CBS series M*A*S*H.
Always, Patsy Cline
Always…Patsy Cline has been one of the most produced musicals in America, according to American Theatre Magazine. A tribute to the legendary country singer who died tragically at age 30 in a plane crash in 1963, the show is based on a true story about Cline’s friendship with a fan from Houston named Louise Seger. Seger befriended the star in a Texas honkytonk in 1961, and continued a correspondence with Cline until her death. The musical play includes many of Patsy Cline’s
unforgettable hits such as Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, Sweet Dreams and Walking After Midnight…27 songs in all. OxACT is thrilled to welcome local favorite and nationally known recording artist Lisa Biales to the stage as Patsy–an amazing treat for everyone who loves and supports both OxACT and our amazingly rich local musicians community
Black Comedy
This long one-act farce includes reversal of light and dark and a plot full of mistaken identities. Action supposedly in the dark is illuminated; when the lights are supposed to be on, the stage is the dark.
Pirates of Penzance
The story concerns Frederic, who, having celebrated his 21st birthday (or so he thinks), is to be released from his apprenticeship to a band of tenderhearted pirates. He meets Mabel, the daughter of Major-General Stanley, and the two young people fall instantly in love. Frederic finds out, however, that he was born on February 29, and so, technically, he only has a birthday each leap year. His apprenticeship indentures state that he remains apprenticed to the pirates until his 21st birthday, and so he must serve for another 63 years. Mabel agrees to wait for him faithfully, the pirates try to steer clear of the pursuing police, and Mabel’s friends keep things lively and tuneful.
Spoon River Anthology
A “prime piece of Americana,” Charles Aidman’s 1963 adaptation of the poems of Edgar Lee Masters from the Spoon River Anthology will be directed by Bill Brewer, one of OxACT’s original founding members.
In this Tony Award-winning drama, a “brooding and loving American folk poem brought to life on a stage” (N.Y. Times), we are introduced in a cemetery to the ghosts of those who were inhabitants of a small Illinois town and whose secrets have gone with them to the grave.
The 60-odd characterizations and vignettes offer an array of roles and impersonations, from young lovers to preachers and teachers, portraying both the solid and humorous sides of life.
Quilters
Based on the book The Quilters: Women and Domestic Arts by Patricia Cooper and Norma Bradley Allen,
Quilters follows the story of a pioneer woman (Sarah) and six women who are called her daughters. Rather than a straightforward storyline, the musical is presented as a series of short tales and tableaux matched with musical numbers, each presenting an aspect of frontier life or womanhood: “…a show pieced together with love and stitched with pride…a thing of beauty, comfort and joy” (NY Post).
Cast
Sarah: Nora Ellen Bowers
Daughter: Emily Gerberick-Douglass
Daughter: Rebecca Howard
Daughter: Patricia Minick
Daughter: Deb Richardson
Daughter: Donna Stevens
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