Pictured are cast members of Cast and Company’s last musical, “The Music Man” in 2019. Cast and Company is set to return with “Oklahoma!” in 2025. Submitted photo

CLYMER — Next year, the wind will come sweeping down the plains from Oklahoma to the town of Clymer, as their local community theater group, Cast and Company, has recently announced their plans to return in 2025 with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!”

The last musical put on by Cast and Company was “The Music Man” in 2019. Director, Debby Schurman, said they had meant to do one following that but could not because of Covid. With the musical taking place every other year because of the Tulip Festival, one was not held the following year either, and then after that Schurman said it was thought that people were losing interest.

“I said I don’t want this to stop because I stop,” Schurman said. “This will be my last year as director, but I want it to continue after me. I wanted to do one more, and this is the year we get to do it.”

Cast and Company was started by members of the Clymer community many years ago, and is a group of people who love music and acting, Schurman said. She said musicals put on by the group help bring the community together, bring people out of their shells, and that even those who just come to watch from the community love them.

Auditions for “Oklahoma!” are set for Feb. 6 in the Clymer Central School music room at 6:30 p.m. Schurman said anyone who has any interest in participating should come audition and that there will be a part for everyone.

“It’s fun and it’s a place to put yourself aside for a while and become your character,” Schurman said. “We also need males to audition, because a lot of the time they don’t, and in ‘Oklahoma!’ there’s a lot of male parts so we will need them.”

When it comes to practice times, Schurman said she will work with people on their schedules but that she needs everyone to be committed. Additionally, she said participating in these musicals creates lasting memories that people cherish later, help people to make new friends and learn more about people they already know, and in general have a fun time, so much so that it is sad when it is over.

For Schurman, her hopes for the upcoming musical are that it will be a great success.

“I hope we get enough people to audition and that the community is once again brought together so Cast and Company can keep performing musicals,” Schurman said. “It really brings the community together, and for those in the audience it is a joy to watch and they look forward to it every time. I hope it will be a success.”

Schurman said the Cast and Company board is also looking for new members. There are a few others besides Schurman that are planning to be done after this musical, and Schurman said they need more to take over for the musicals in Clymer to continue.

“I’ve been doing this since 1995 and this will be my last one,” Schurman said “It’s important to me that Cast and Company keeps going.”

For more information on Cast and Company and the upcoming production of “Oklahoma!”, visit the Cast and Company Facebook page.