Lucille Fletcher was a beloved Oxford resident and an American screenwriter of film, radio and television. Her credits include The Hitch-Hiker, an original radio play written for Orson Welles and adapted for a notable episode of The Twilight Zone television series. Fletcher’s greatest success, Sorry, Wrong Number, premiered on May 25, 1943, as an episode of the radio series Suspense. It was broadcast nationwide seven times between 1943 and 1948. Barbara Stanwyck starred in the 1948 film version of Sorry, Wrong Number and, in 1952, performed the original radio play over the airwaves. A 1959 version produced for the CBS radio series Suspense received a 1960 Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama. Two operas were based on the play, which Orson Welles called “the greatest single radio script ever written”.
The Community Center partnered with Tred Avon Players to present the two radio scripts of The Hitch-Hiker and Sorry Wrong Number in a “readers’ theatre” format which means “a dramatic presentation of a written work in a script form. Readers read from a “script” and reading parts are divided among the readers. No memorization, costumes, blocking, or special lighting is needed.” The actors bring the words to life straight from the page. Ed Langrell is directing.
For the dinner, The Robert Morris Inn is partnering to create a memorable menu based on best seasonal ingredients and Master Chef Mark Salter’s favorite creations. Dinner is only offered on the Saturday evening performance.
Saturday, March 28th at 7:00 PM is the Readers’ Theatre Dinner featuring Master Chef Mark Salter’s menu offered for $60 with cash bar and Sunday, March 29th the Readers’ Theatre performance will start at 2:00 PM with cash bar, but not a meal, for $10. It is always a special event when three organizations partner to deliver a unique experience. What a gift Lucille Fletcher was for the community at large to celebrate.
The Movie Sorry Wrong Number will be played a week earlier, Thursday, March 19th at 7:00 PM as part of Oxford Community Center’s “Thursday Nights at the OCC” programming. The film is shown for free. A community dinner is offered at 6:00 PM on the 19th for $10 but RSVP is required for the dinner portion as the Center can only accommodate thirty people for the community dinners.
The Robert Morris Inn was built as River View House in 1710 and an Inn since 1800, it is the oldest full-service Inn in America. Four of the 310 year old rooms were indeed slept in by Founding Father Robert Morris, George Washington and many other dignitaries of the day and since. Red brick fireplaces around which heated discussion on the arguments for independence from Britain took place and negotiations for sugar cane, tobacco and French wine worked out. Wood paneling, red brick fireplaces and oak timbers are all as they were 310 years ago, hand built by ships carpenters from locally acquired materials and the red bricks from England, used as ships ballast. One cannot get any more historic than this. Enjoy the Eastern Shore’s most unique historic restaurant with rooms under Master Chef Mark Salter and Innkeeper Ian Fleming. Visit robertmorrisinn.com
The Tred Avon Players, Inc. (TAP) is a non-profit Maryland corporation, organized in 1982 to present plays and musicals at the Oxford Community Center, in Oxford Maryland. Since the first sold-out melodramas in August of that year, TAP has grown in community stature and artistic merit to present a mix of plays and musicals each year in one of the most beautiful towns on the Eastern Shore, for a growing, enthusiastic audience. For more information visit tredavonplayers.org.
The Oxford Community Center Building (OCC) has served as a community resource for over 80 years, first as a grammar school and then a high school and, for the last quarter century, as a cultural activities center and meeting place. OCC provides to residents and visitors alike a year-round schedule of social, cultural, and recreational programs and events. It is indeed a mid-shore treasure enriching lives since 1928. Programs are funded in part by a grant from the Talbot County Arts Council with revenues provided by the Maryland State Arts Council.
For tickets and more information please visit oxfordcc.org or contact the Oxford Community Center at 410-226-5904, email [email protected]. Sign up for OCC’s weekly e-newsletter for additional announcements and updates or like OCC’s Facebook page at Oxford Community Center, Inc. The OCC is always open online at www.oxfordcc.org.
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