BUCKFIELD – The Oddfellow Theater will celebrate its 10th-year anniversary Friday and Saturday, May 16-17. Friday’s production will be a first performance reunion show and Saturday’s event will be the 10th anniversary “Early Evening Show.” Both shows will start at 7:30 p.m., with the lobby opening at 6:30.

In May 1998, the Oddfellow Theater opened its doors for the first time.

Since then, the small 156-seat theater has been selling out performances and bringing in audience members from all over the state. On May 16, the cast of the very first show will reassemble for a night of world-class juggling, magic and comedy.

The original lineup was made up of Morty Hansen and Fritz Grobe of blink, Matt and Jason Tardy of Two, magician Bruce Mckenzie Johnson and Oddfellow owner Mike Miclon. The entire cast will return for the celebration.

On May 17, the longest running live variety show in Maine will celebrate its 10th anniversary. “The Early Evening Show” came to be in the opening week of performance at the Oddfellow Theater. It was originally created to fill out the schedule, but quickly sold out and continued selling out for the next 10 years.

Fashioned after “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” “The Early Evening Show” with Mike Miclon is a tongue-and-cheek spoof of the classic late-night talk show. “The Early Evening Show” has showcased nationally and internationally known acts such as singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne, Cirque du Sole performer Steve Ragatz and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Henry Taylor. The show quickly won national attention as a small show with a big draw and was featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in Yankee Magazine.

Tickets are available by calling the Odd Fellow Theater box office at 336-3306. They are $15, all seats. For more information, check out www.Oddfellow.com.