OXFORD HILLS — They want to wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of their hearts.
Oxford Hills Music and Performing Arts Association presents the first-ever A Christmas Cabaret. The free concerts are scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, at Cafe Nomad on Main Street in Norway, 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at First Baptist Church on the Green on Paris Hill in Paris and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20 at First Congregational Church on East Main Street in Paris.
Having a free performance as a gift for the community to enjoy is something that OHMPAA’s Advisory Board has discussed for a little while now, member and director of the cabaret Kelsey Franklin said.
“We wanted to have locations right here in the Oxford Hills community that were sort of easily accessible for any guest,” she said. “[Cafe] Nomad is definitely a venue we never sort of bridged that gap before. We are interested to see how it will go as far as a performance space, but we’re excited for the intimate aspect of it.”
Auditions were held at the end of October and the show features 13 performers hailing from all over Oxford Hills. Even Franklin’s mom, Joyce, is involved, playing the piano.
“It’s my first time directing a show I held auditions for. It’s scary and exciting and all of those emotions combined,” Franklin said, laughing.
But despite her jitters, she promises the show will feature lots of variety.
“We wanted to definitely have the theater aspect to it so the first act will actually be themed Christmas songs from Broadway musicals. It could be a different arrangements of it,” Franklin said, adding the first half of the performance will include “Seasons of Love” from “Rent.”
The second act will take a more traditional turn with songs like “Santa Baby,” “The Christmas Song,” and “A Marshmallow World.”
“Of course, no Christmas show is not complete without a sing-a-long,” Franklin said, noting well known Christmas carols will be saved for that part of the show.
She said she’s heard a lot of buzz around the cabaret and can’t wait to showcase all the hard work everyone has put in to make the show a success.
“I am excited about the gift aspect of it,” Franklin said. “OOMPA as a whole, the cast, myself as the director, Norm [Hutchins] as the producer, we’re all super excited to see what the show actually brings. We just want it to be light hearted and fun and enjoyable for anyone who comes. We are the gift givers we want everyone to be entertained but we want people to feel the spirit of Christmas.”
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