The Cullman Community Theatre will come sweepin’ down the plain this weekend, staging its second major production since first forming as a new artistic outlet to tap local talent last year.

The community theatre group’s presentation of Oklahoma! kicks off this Friday, premiering a series of three performances that coordinates the efforts of dozens of Cullman-area performers and crew members, both on stage and behind the scenes.

The production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway classic comes just a year after the group’s first outing, a lavishly-produced and successful adaptation of The Music Man, which debuted last summer at the Cullman High School auditorium for a weekend-long run.

This year’s chosen musical features a slightly smaller cast, but its artistic vision is no less ambitious. Under the direction of Cullman Drama teachers Wayne Cook and Sara Jane Skinner, Oklahoma! will unite 40 cast members (in addition to an unseen assembly of crew members) to adapt the iconic story of Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and farmhand Jud Fry.

Tickets to Oklahoma! are available from now until Friday at the Cullman Civic Center, and will be available at the door the day of the show at the Cullman High auditorium. The musical is being produced with support from Cullman Parks, Recreation, & Sports Tourism.

Showtimes are at 7 p.m. Friday; and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $10 per person in advance (and $12 at the door); students can buy their tickets for $5 in advance, or for $7 at the door.

Search Facebook for “Cullman Community Theater” (not “Theatre”) for more information about Oklahoma!, as well as how you can get involved in upcoming community theatre productions.

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 145.