I went to see Legally Blonde the Musical a few nights ago. Hundreds of us packed into the darkened theater, our moods rising and falling with the actors on stage,  songs bringing us all together, united in wanting it all to work out; we all have the same goal for these few hours.  It reminded me of how much I love going to the theater, and thankfully Tulsa has a thriving theater scene.

Whether you’re in the mood to see a mainstream musical or something more “outside the box”, there really is something for everyone here.

For me, discovering theater in Tulsa was something of a fluke; my only personal experience with theater was school productions.  That is until I saw a production of Our Town at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, and a whole new world opened up: a theater junkie was born.  I begged and pleaded with my family to see any and every show that came through town, and as I got older I went on my own.

Things in Tulsa have changed a lot in the 10+ years since I saw that show; though the PAC is still a great venue for productions from national tours, Theater Tulsa and other local productions, there are so many more options to junkies like me these days.

One of my favorite places, the Nightingale Theater, has carved out a niche as the non-traditional theater locale in Tulsa.  Over the years they’ve hosted moving performances of The Vagina Monologues and The Laramie Project, and pushed the envelope with Burlesque shows and the Horsemeat Flea Circus.  No matter what you’re in the mood for, anytime you go to the Nightingale you’ll come away with a new frame of mind when it comes to theater.

The University of Tulsa has also become quite a fix for this theater junkie.  As an undergrad I took as many theater classes as I could without majoring in it, and attended as many shows there as possible.  Besides putting on a host of greatly produced classic musicals and plays, TU has created an environment and forum for young writers and actors to create new and unusual works. I often go back as an alum to support artists willing to put their work on display.

So now, years later, my infatuation with a performance of Thornton Wilder has given way to an infatuation with the growth of theater in the city, with the underbelly of Tulsa nurturing artists and helping give birth to their new creations.

Kate Huggins can be reached on her Twitter page.