Back to the main announcement about the move to Oklahoma City
An Open Letter to the Great People of Edmond:
For 22 wonderful years, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park has called the City of Edmond home. Tuesday, following Oklahoma City Council approval of a three-year lease, OSP announced that starting in 2007, Oklahoma's premiere classical theater will stage its summer season in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, in the Myriad Botanical Gardens. In a partnership with the Myriad Gardens Foundation, the two organizations will raise the money required to make necessary improvements to the Water Stage.
For residents of Edmond, OSP's recent story is well-known. OSP's stage in Hafer Park was burnt to the ground in 2001, and again in 2005. Following the second burning, OSP's partner, the University of Central Oklahoma, stepped forward and offered OSP a temporary home. The organization has enjoyed that hospitality the last two summers, and we can never fully express our gratitude to the people of UCO for their assistance in our time of need. The City of Edmond also stepped forward and helped with some of OSP's expenses this past summer.
But following the burning of OSP's stage for the second time, the organization took a look at all of its options. And it was impossible to deny the amazing developments occurring in downtown Oklahoma City. These developments are well known to the people of Edmond, as Oklahomans from all over greater Oklahoma City now work and play more and more in downtown OKC. The hotels, the restaurants, the corporate presence, the conventions, the new residences, the beauty of the Myriad Gardens, and the central location of the Arts District were ultimately too much to deny. The organization recognized that the best possible home to ensure OSP's future survival and long term growth was downtown Oklahoma City.
However, this does not in any way sever our strong ties to our ancestral home - Edmond. We cannot put into words what Edmond has meant to OSP. We simply would not exist without it. Twenty-two years of success in entertaining and enriching the lives of tens of thousands of Oklahomans is a testament to the support OSP has enjoyed in the City of Edmond. And that will never be forgotten. OSP's partnership with UCO will continue, as strong as ever, and that will maintain bonds that cannot be broken. In addition, OSP will continue to stage its annual production of A Christmas Carol at UCO's Mitchell Hall.
OSP started in Edmond in 1985 as the creation of the late Jack O'Meara and present Artistic Director Kathryn McGill. Edmond will always be the place of our birth. And for these 22 wonderful years, we say thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. And now we cannot wait to host you, our old Edmond friends, in our new OKC home. As Kathryn always says to the audience before a show, "Prepare Ye For A Lark!"
David Holt
President, Board of Directors
Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park |
