PARIS — In just over a week, Broadway will make its biennial return to the Mark S. Eastman Auditorium when Oxford Hills School Community Broadway Show (OHSCBS) celebrates its 50th year with a presentation of 42nd Street.

The production opens April 5 with a 7:30 p.m. show, with a second Saturday at the same time and a matinee on Sunday that starts at 1:30 p.m.

Adult admission will be $12, with $10 for students and senior citizens 55 and older. Tickets are being sold at the Fiber & Vine shop at 402 Main Street.

A community staple since 1974, OHSCBS was founded by Benny Reehl, Jerry Walker and Cynthia Wescott, the troupe’s original producers and directors.

“The concept was that it wouldn’t just be kids or just adults, it would kids and adults working to put on a full-fledged musical in all capacities,” says Kyle Jordan, band and orchestra director at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School and OHSCBS producer since 2004. “Everybody would be involved as cast members, crew members, and techies. It was very unique at the time and it has continued.”

Jordan was one of the kids involved, playing in the orchestra pit at OHSCBS productions when in high school, and starting again in 1994 when he returned to Oxford Hills to teach. His first production as producer, 20 years ago, was Annie Get Your Gun.

“This is a tradition we are very, very proud of,” Jordan continued. “This cast really enjoys being around each other. They work well together, excited, having a good time. It’s a labor of love. And our community has been engaged for years in these shows.”

Jordan said every production attracts veteran thespians as well as newcomers getting their first crack at stage acting. This production has about 30 cast members. The lead role of Peggy is being played by OHCHS student Brooke Taber.

“She is a go-getter,” Jordan said. “She is very talented, with limited experience. It’s her first opportunity in a lead role, and she has embraced every bit of it.”

Broadway musicals are selected by the production staff, with consideration of what is available to put on the best show possible. For 42nd Street, Jordan and his co-producers Jennifer St. Pierre and Dennis Boyd tapped into the expertise of Sasha Richardson, a trained dancer who runs Art Moves Dance Studio in South Paris.

“Sasha has incredible tap [dance] experience. Some of her students are in the production. We also have many who never tapped a day in their life, but have learned to do it just for this production.”

“42nd Street harkens to the gloriously rich era of Broadway musicals of the late 1930s and is the ultimate celebration of the unique art form that is Broadway,” St. Pierre told Corey Garrison during a WOXO on-air interview earlier this month. “The glitzy, exciting, Gilded Age-era musical draws on a wealth of Broadway show history, with flashy dance numbers, a catchy story, and epic songs. It’s the perfect salute to Broadway and the ultimate show of respect to the last 50 years of musical productions here in the Oxford Hills.

“It’s magical to be in our 50th year. In an age when people don’t go to see live theater anymore, you can go to a local theater, see people you know on stage, and bring your whole family for $50.”

Jordan said that Walker and Wescott, who led the group from its 1974 inception up until she retired in 2002, will be in attendance and look forward to mingling with the crowd.

“A Broadway musical is a huge undertaking for our school and the community,” Jordan said. “It would not happen without our sponsors. There are about 30 – businesses and anonymous individuals – who make this possible.”

“They help us keep ticket prices down,” St. Pierre said during her visit to WOXO. “And help us put our proceeds back into future productions, updating light and sound systems, stage curtains. They make it possible for us to have the means to put on the next show.”

For ticket information, stop in at Fiber & Vine or call or email Kim Hamlin at 207-739-2664/fiberandvine@gmail.com. All seating is reserved, and with three performances, Jordan expects fans will be able to purchase tickets at the door.

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