The Chronicles of Jason: Oxford, AL

Oxford Performing Arts Center

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

This was a very special trip! First, our last real day off was Monday the 13th when we traveled the short distance from Auburn, AL to Oxford, AL (just 92 miles) and had the rest of the day to relax. I even took a long walk to a big thrift store. Why not!?

Also, I would be seeing some dear friends who were coming to the show in Oxford. The theater was modern but beautiful. Actually, the building was not modern, but it had been completely renovated and was lovely. But more than that...check out the chandelier. I'll explain after the pictures.

From the website: In 1920, the citizens of the community agreed that an elementary school must be provided for its children. Space at the old Oxford College building, which had been purchased by the City of Oxford in 1911 and was now called Calhoun County High School, was inadequate for the children who were meeting in an old store building located behind the bank on Choccolocco Street as well as in the Baptist and Methodist churches.

On April 5, 1921, children in grades 1-7 moved into the new $40,000 steam heated building, the school was called Oxford Elementary School. After a new Oxford High School was completed in 1951, Oxford Elementary School moved in 1952 into the building which the high school had vacated.

In 1953, the building [which was] previously the Oxford Elementary School, became the Oxford City Hall. In December 2001, city government offices moved to the new City Hall, and the Police Department then occupied the building until a new Justice Center was constructed in 2009.

The Oxford Arts Council, formed by the City of Oxford in 1981, made known the need for a performing arts center to be used as an entertainment venue for musical and theatrical productions. The City Council awarded a bid of $10.4 million in May of 2011 to construct a Performing Arts Center. The original part of the building would serve as the lobby with offices and meeting rooms still preserving the antiquity of the building. The original pine floors, columns, and brick exterior would remain intact. The new part of the center, extending from the original building, would contain a state-of-the-art theater with approximately 1,200 seats.

Now the "Grand Old Lady" is all dressed up with a new name: The Oxford Performing Arts Center. The first performance was May 17, 2013, by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.

This probably doesn't look familiar to you--but I knew immediately.

It's from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

I walked into the theater from the lobby, and I immediately saw the chandelier and stopped in my tracks. I just stared at it for a moment, wondering if I was crazy. As I was staring up at the chandelier, a random guy who works at the theater happened to walk up right behind me. He said, without prompting, "That's from Phantom of the Opera." I said, "I know!"

So, though this theater was nice, it wasn't large enough of a place to host the actual tour of The Phantom of the Opera. But it turns out a local university, Jacksonville State University, did a production of the show here in 2017. And the theater bought the chandelier to permanently hang in the theater. What a crazy thing! So cool!

Backstage was also very nice--made very nice for the artists who perform there --