The Curtain Has Risen Again For Oceanside Theater Company: PHOTOS

OCEANSIDE, CA — It was a long and entertainment-deprived 18 months, but the Oceanside Theatre Company (OTC) welcomed theater patrons back to the Historic Brooks Theater this past weekend for the first production since the COVID crisis shuttered the venue in March of 2020.

The production was appropriately titled, Welcome Back: The Curtain Rises Again. The night featured audience favorites from past OTC shows, including Sweet Charity, and Man of La Mancha, as well as showcasing some of the Youth Theater Outreach performers and OTC's new Music Series Director, renowned Oceanside musician, Shane Hall.

Shane gave a soulful performance at last weekend's show including a song he wrote for his mom. On November 26th, Shane will take the helm as the Musical Director in an upcoming Acoustic Musical Jam at the Brooks Theatre featuring Kaleo Wassman from the band Pepper. As Shane said, "It's going to be a beautiful thing".

The cast of The Curtain Rises Again included:

Luke Monday (OTC’s Red, Book of Mormon National Tour)

Kalin Booker (OTC’s Sweet Charity)

Bob Himlin (OTC’s Sweet Charity, Foxfire, and Man of La Mancha)

Olivia Pence (Sweet Charity, Man of La Mancha)

Audrey Eytchison (Sweet Charity)

The Youth Program performers include Antonio Cayler (Shrek the Musical) age 18,

Annabelle Lopez, age 8, and Keaton Russo, age 9.

"It's exhilarating to finally be able to produce a show for our loyal - and very patient - OTC patrons after being dark for the past eighteen months,” said Ted Leib, OTC’s Artistic Director. “Theatre is such a vital part of our culture, both here in Oceanside and beyond, and to have our artform return after all this time is like taking a breath of air after nearly drowning!”

Watch a quick flashback video of Saturday night's opening.

Coming in November, the OTC Youth Outreach Program and Boys & Girls Clubs of Oceanside (BGCO) will resume their Youth Theater Arts partnership to produce Shrek, The Musical, with a cast of local youth. On November 5th -7th and 12th -14th, the program culminates in six performances for family, friends and the general public, where the beloved Shrek characters will come to life onstage at the historic Brooks Theater. Tickets are available at https://bit.ly/SHREKTKTS.

ABOUT OCEANSIDE THEATRE COMPANY (OTC): Oceanside Theatre Company (OTC), the resident professional theater company operating the Historic Brooks Theater in downtown Oceanside, is a center point of the Oceanside CA Cultural District (OCCD). OTC'S mission is to produce professional theatrical, musical, and visual art for the entertainment and enrichment of the community; present educational opportunities in the arts for children and adults; and provide a safe, state-of-the-art public venue for expansion of artistic endeavors in North San Diego County and greater Southern California. OTC produces a four-show mainstage theatre season in the 198-seat venue, as well as a Music Series, a Youth Theater Arts Program, and events in the adjacent, Studio 219 blackbox theater. To learn more visit www.oceansidetheatre.org.

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