In the nearly 20 years since Clayton Avery made his mainstage Springfield Little Theatre debut in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA, he has steadily ascended to direct another beloved classic by the legendary Broadway duo. Avery helms a cast of more than 40 performers in the pivotal classic American musical, OKLAHOMA! The song and dance spectacular closes SLT’s 90^th EMERALD ANNIVERSARY SEASON. Avery says that he is aiming to deliver the beauty and joy that audiences expect while viewing the work through a fresh lens.

“I’m going for a traditional look. [We’re] absolutely honoring the text, but the original script has a lot of subtexts and a lot of sarcasm and a lot of saying one thing but meaning another thing. I am just curious what happens if a lot of that is taken away and what you say is what you feel,” Avery explained after studying the script and other stagings including the 2019 Broadway revival. “There is a way to kind of combine the two. That’s kind of what I’m going for. It will still absolutely be traditional, pretty, happy OKLAHOMA!”

The original 1943 Broadway debut stunned with the spectacular dream ballet that integrated story and dance to further the plot. Avery recruited fellow Silver Dollar City performer Melody Boyens to choreograph the show, including the iconic ballet. Details like finding the right choreographer for his vision and overseeing the construction of the 19th-century costumes fill Avery’s to-do list.

“I’m just swimming in documents of cast conflicts and this version of a rehearsal schedule and that version of a rehearsal schedule and costume concepts,” he described. “You’ve got to think about how many days does this take place over? How many costumes does this person [need]? Honestly, some of this stuff is probably more than I need to be doing. Doing it, even if it’s outside of my technical job description, it helps me learn the show by doing all the things.”

Many SLT students on a professional trajectory have dreamt of sitting in the directors’ chair on a mainstage production. While a creative vision and a broad technical understanding of staging a musical are critical, Avery shared that there is more to directing than many people appreciate.

“Leadership is probably #1. Being a good leader,” he explained. “Being able to collaborate with everyone on the creative team. The actors. I like using the actors’ input. A lot of times they have better ideas than I do. Just being an actor for so many years before directing, I just know what I liked from directors, or didn’t like from directors. It’s just been a process mainly from being a performer of seeing what I like, what I don’t like.”

Avery began training at SLT as an actor in elementary school. He initially took an acting class from Executive Director Beth Domann and an improv class from Y.E.S. Troupe alumni Lucas Grabeel and Susan LaBarr. After attending Summer Stages, Avery began auditioning for mainstage productions, eventually landing an ensemble role in CINDERELLA.

“I still remember choreo from that show, but I don’t remember choreo from a show that was like two or three years ago,” he joked. “It’s funny how strongly that first one sticks in your brain and is so magical.”

Avery closed out his final two years of high school as a member of Y.E.S. Troupe in what he remembers was “such a strong group.” Under the tutelage of Tony nominee Robert Westenberg, Avery studied theatre at Drury University. He ultimately double majored in both theatre and music in preparation to work as a music director.

Professional theatres in Kansas and Colorado quickly came knocking. Avery spent time at various playhouses including Great Plains Theatre and the Glenwood Vaudeville Review. He recalled learning classic vaudeville-style during his residency in Glenwood Springs and that those skills enhanced his performances at Silver Dollar City. However, he can trace the origin of his comedic skills all the way back to his childhood.

“We lived out in the country. I didn’t have any neighbors. I was just always at home pretending,” Avery remembered. “My mom would take me to the theatre a lot as a kid. I saw a lot of theatre combined with being at home and having no friends around me and just using my imagination. I feel like I always kind of had a bit of a theatrical something inside of me. For me, I’ve always loved finding the physicality and the voice of a character. Then, being a musician I feel like also helps with comedic timing.”

His unique style and mesmerizing stage presence captured lead roles in SLT productions including THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, HELLO, DOLLY! (Cornelius Hackl), and THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (Max). When Avery set his sights on returning to the Ozarks, an opportunity that combined his talents appeared, solidifying his next move.

“It was kind of perfect timing because the Welk in Branson announced they were doing SHREK in the summer and it was a really well paying, long run. SHREK was one of my favorite shows that I did at SLT,” he said. “I ended up playing Lord Farquaad. That was the summer of 2019. While I was there, that’s when I met [my partner] Brian [Kress]. He was also working in Branson at the Showboat [Branson Belle]. Then COVID happened. I just ended up staying. That’s when more of the directing things started coming.”

Avery began his SLT directing run in the education program in the 2016-2017 season. His success led to larger assignments including music director for THE WIZARD OF OZ, THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MUSICAL, and CLUE THE MUSICAL. Eventually, he stepped up to direct mainstage title SCHOOL OF ROCK.

“It just started with JR. shows, and I guess I proved myself,” Avery reflected. “I don’t know. Beth just continued asking. Then OKLAHOMA is the biggest one I’ve had, definitely, so far. SCHOOL OF ROCK was a big one. That was a mainstage and a full two act show.”

Avery aims to continue growing and learning with a goal to pursue a masters’ degree. Until then, he expressed gratitude for the training ground SLT has provided in fostering his career. The community theatre label has never diminished his view of the programs.

“I think most of the shows that I’ve done or seen at SLT have been better than many of the professional shows I’ve been in.”

Tickets for OKLAHOMA! are now on sale.