Ashley Wells’ resume will tell you that she has been working for Lyric Theatre for 22 years. But if you ask her, she’ll tell you that her love and dedication for the Official State Theatre of Oklahoma began when she was just 16 years old.
As a child, she spent many Saturday nights in the audience with her parents, but the year she turned 16, she auditioned to dance in the summer musicals. That season there were five shows, and she was offered a part in all five, despite her young age. She remembers rehearsing during the days and performing at night all summer long. It was the beginning of her lengthy love affair with theater.
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Wells went to Oklahoma City University for two years and then left for Mountain View Conservatory, in Texas in May ’92. Shortly after, she headed for New York. She worked at several regional theaters such as Music Theatre of Wichita, Casa Manana in Fort Worth and North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts, before landing a part on Broadway in Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing. Living in California in 1996-1998, she eventually found herself working in casting for Ron Howard’s films and discovered that she had a gift for getting actors to give very good auditions. She knew how to make actors feel safe. She then fell in love, got married and moved to Florida. After having a child, a job opportunity brought the couple back to Oklahoma … where Wells got a job in the business office at her beloved Lyric Theatre. She also choreographed many of the shows and began assistant directing.
“It is funny to think about a little 16-year-old who just wanted todance and sing, who grew up to be someone who helps run the same $5 million organization,” she said. “Lyric has been here since 1963. There are not many organizations that have been around so long, especially after COVID.”
Wells and the team at Lyric were able to keep the theatre afloat through the pandemic with daring innovation and creativity. “Michael Baron, the Producing Artistic Director, and I produced Grease and we took it outside — we produced it on the McGuinness High School football field. We did shows on the outdoor Myriad Garden stage. We did a Christmas show at Harn Homestead; a pared-down version of the play with a scene at each of the buildings at Harn Homestead, just trying to keep the crowd moving. We were the only Christmas Carol happening in the world in 2020. The New York Times interviewed us.”
Memorable as that experience was, the benefits for keeping the theater’s presence strong go well beyond notoriety. “When you ask any entrepreneurs looking to move their company to Oklahoma, the first thing they ask is, ‘What does Oklahoma have to offer to my employees?” Wells is quick to answer. “Oklahoma City has a thriving arts community! Between the ballet, the Philharmonic, our theater and so many other community theaters, the economic impact that we have in this state is vital.”
Wells is enthusiastic about the Lyric Theatre lineup for the 2025 season and the Oklahoma talent behind it. “We recently closed a sold out run of Waitress, which was a crowd favorite, and in April we open an intriguing new play, a Grapes of Wrath sequel Mother Road by Octavio Solis, and in the summer at the Civic Center we have Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and then Beautiful, the Carole King Musical, followed by the traditional Oklahoma. In the fall we’ll be back in the Plaza with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and our season closes with A Christmas Carol. This year everything is done by Oklahomans and for Oklahomans — our cast, our sound designers, our costume designers. All the money stays in Oklahoma to revitalize Oklahoma.”
Wells is currently running Lyric’s Thelma Gaylord Academy, which teaches young people ages 6-18 to sing, dance and act. Teaching dance classes there was one of her first jobs when moving back to Oklahoma.
Susan Webb, Lyric Theatre’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations, said about Wells, “She’s a very quiet partner in making beautiful things happen for this theatre. The actors take center stage. But none of that can happen if you don’t have someone behind the scenes with heart, attention to detail and patience.” The Lyric Theatre — and all of Oklahoma — is lucky to have a person as passionate about the arts as Ashley Wells.
