Main Stage Productions

The Dreadful Journal of Phoebe Weems by Michael Wilhelm. (September 18-20 & 25-27, 2020) Phoebe, age 11, has a problem. She’s afraid of…well, basically everything. Will writing and drawing her fears and locking them in a notebook help?  Not if a gang of bullies gets ahold of it. Her parents, a psychologist, and her best friend all try to help. But true help may come from the unlikeliest of places. Another world premiere comedy/drama from Michael Wilhelm (Turtle Soup, Bentley). Rated PG for themes

A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas  by Laurie Brooks (November 13-15 & 20-22, 2020) Wilder’s series of award-winning children’s books chronicled her life with her pioneer family, except for one challenging year (1876) spent in Burr Oak, Iowa. This creative theatrical retelling, last performed by afO in 2014, portrays a year of trials:  loneliness, measles, town life.  Worst of all, Laura begins to suspect she is not wanted.  Filled with honest emotion, sweet humor and music of the time period, this piece is the most popular in afO’s history.  This Christmas, treat your whole family to an evening with Laura and her sisters. Rated G.

Mary’s Wedding  by Stephen Massicotte  (February 19-21 & 26-28, 2021) On the eve of Mary’s wedding, the audience is invited into a dream.  Charlie, a native Canadian, and Mary, a British emigrant, are neighbors on opposite sides of the social divide in their small town. Drawn together by their mutual love for horses, their friendship blooms, but is overshadowed by the looming threat of World War One.  Then Charlie joins a cavalry unit and heads overseas to fight in Europe.  This gorgeous piece of theatre is highly stylized, intimate and unforgettable. A tour de force for two talented young actors. Rated PG for themes.

The Charitable Sisterhood of the Second Trinity Victory Church by Bo Wilson (April 23-25 & 30-May 2, 2021) Flooded roads and washed-out bridges can’t keep the dedicated ladies of the Charitable Sisterhood away from the church where they’re sorting a mountain of donations for a relief effort. Meet Bea, the pastor’s wife; Lorraine, tireless mother of 9; Tina, a transplanted Yankee; and Janet, a new arrival. One woman’s trash is truly another’s treasure, and that pile of donated goods yields some surprising–and hilarious–results.  A side-splitting comedy with a serious lining, this feel-good area premiere is not to be missed. Rated PG-13 for themes.