Oakwood Summer Theatre

Just a few weeks ago, I went to see “The Diary of Anne Frank” performed by the Oakwood Summer Theatre at Salem Community College. This was the first of three plays that OST will be producing this summer.

Having been to only a few plays in my lifetime, I do not pretend to be an expert by any means – but I CAN tell you that I was mesmerized by the story and I thought the actors did a great job. Probably most telling of all though – and I am not embarrassed to say it – when the play was over, I left the theater with a lump in my throat and tears slowly rolling down my face.

I have always been saddened thinking about how people suffered during the holocaust, and this play made me want to learn more about it – it made me want to tell people about it – and it made me want to help prevent it from ever happening again. In fact, I was so inspired to do something that I went down to Washington the very next week to visit the Holocaust Museum – unfortunately, they had already run out of passes for the day. My husband and I plan to return in the fall and I will try to go see it then.

Photo: Exterior of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
viewed from Raoul Wallenberg Place (15th St. SW.)

In the meantime, I have been anxiously awaiting the OST’s next play – “The Trial of Goldilocks” – that runs from July 16-18. I am sure this will be a different experience than the first I had, but I hope that it will be an experience none-the-less! I will let you know whether Goldilocks is guilty or innocent of the charge of breaking and entering the Bears’ cottage – or you can just go see for yourself! Finally, OST will conclude their 29th season with musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” a satire that tells the story of a rock and roll singer who is about to be inducted into the army.

By the way, I cannot believe that we have such a great theater company right here in Salem County and that it has been “A Salem County Tradition” since 1980 and I am just now discovering it! That just goes to show that you can live somewhere for years and not really know it – I am learning now that there are things to do right in my own backyard. For more information about OST, visit their website, http://www.oakwoodsummertheatre.com/.

Christine DeGraff is a partner at http://www.websketching.com/ and the developer of http://www.discoversalemcounty.com/, a grassroots website designed to help promote Salem County to both tourists and residents alike.