H-Town Community Theatre Produces First Youth Musical

By Aubrey Eyrolles, Henryetta, OK – This spring, H-Town Community Theatre is producing its first youth musical. Originally written by Lewis Carroll as the sequel to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” “Through the Looking Glass” was adapted for the stage by James DeVita, with music and lyrics by Bill Francoeur. The production is directed by Claudia Pollard and Heather Turner, and the all-youth cast of 4th through 8th graders come from several communities including Henryetta, Weleetka, Dewar, and Wilson. The 22 cast members will spend the next eight weeks rehearsing after school and on weekends, with public performances scheduled for April 24 and April 25 at the Alice Ghostley Auditorium at Henryetta High School.

“Through the Looking Glass” is the first youth show that the group is producing. The idea to produce a youth musical came about because H-Town wanted younger students to have the opportunity to get involved in theatre. “We do not have a music teacher at the elementary school anymore. This is our first time in years to not have an actual music teacher. Every year the 4th and 5th graders got to do a musical, and they did not get to do that this year without a music teacher,” according to Claudia. H-Town did not want those children to miss out on the experience of being in a musical, so they decided to provide that opportunity through their nonprofit community theater.

Claudia, the drama coach at Henryetta High School, took steps to start H-Town Community Theatre in 2019, but COVID-19 temporarily sidetracked the idea. Claudia resurrected the idea for H-Town several years later when she met Heather and Patrick Turner, who also work for Henryetta Public Schools. In early 2025, H-Town Community Theatre was founded as a nonprofit with five board members: President Claudia Pollard, Vice President Patrick Turner, Treasurer Heather Turner, Secretary Casta Mordecai, and Chief of Set Construction Ed Mordecai. Since its founding, H-Town has produced two successful shows: “Blithe Spirit” by Noël Coward and “When We Get Good Again” by James McLindon.

H-Town’s ultimate goal is to support the high school theatre program, both monetarily and by creating a pipeline of future actors and stagehands to participate in the high school productions. H-Town is also passionate about providing more opportunities for Henryettans to experience live theatre. According to Patrick Turner, “the tickets are only $10 so that more people will have access to live theatre.” If you want to follow H-Town’s progress and find out about upcoming fundraisers and performances, you can find them on Facebook under “HTCT – H-Town Comm. Theatre.”

Performances of “Through the Looking Glass” are on April 24 and 25 at 7pm at the Alice Ghostley Auditorium at Henryetta High School, located at 1801 Troy Aikman Drive. To buy tickets or to make a donation to H-Town, go to htowncommtheatre.ludus.com. If you are interested in donating concession items for H-Town performances, you can message them on Facebook.