Oxford High School alumna Emma Pittman is starring in her second Broadway show. She is currently playing the role of Cherry Valance in “The Outsiders”. As a student, the OHS theatre program helped her recognize her passion for performing.
“I just know that without the theatre program at OHS I would not be where I am today,” Pittman said. “It was because of that program that I fell in love with theatre and had the idea of pursuing it as a career. So it is important to me to give back. The program that John Davenport has created is so well crafted on so many levels.”
Pittman’s first major role on Broadway was playing “Roxie Hart” in “Chicago,” after winning the 2019 competition, “The Search For Roxie”. With “The Outsiders” currently on Broadway, Pittman has a very active schedule with performances eight times a week and the show running from April 2024 to July 2025. Pittman went to college in New York City, and she faced a large transition after moving from a small town in Mississippi to one of the most populated cities in America.
“It was a transition that, looking back, happened over a long period of time,” Pittman said. “I did the Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive, as well as the Rockettes Summer Intensive in NYC during my summer breaks in high school. During those intensives I got to know the city super well, so by the time I moved here for college it was not too overwhelming.”
John Davenport, theatre director of OHS for over 20 years, taught Pittman and had a significant affect on her theatrical development. Pittman credits the theatre program created by Davenport in having a profound impact on her preparation for Broadway-level performances. Davenport recognized Pittman’s natural talent during her high school career.
“What I thought stood out about her was just her eagerness and drive,” Davenport said. “I did not really learn how skilled she was until her sophomore year when she was choreographing something for us, and I picked up on how well she choreographed it and moved through the character. It was her own personal movement that was telling the story and embodying the emotion of the characters. She discovered for herself that she was also a singer and an actor in addition to being a dancer, and seeing that lightbulb go off was really fun. Over the next couple years it was clear to me that she wanted to pursue theatre, and once she went off to college she still had that drive.”
Even with a tight schedule and a full calendar, Pittman made it a priority to give back to the OHS theatre community. This past fall, she visited the cast of OHS theatre production “Funny Girl”, inspiring and motivating the young crew and cast for their upcoming performance.
Madalyn Sullivan, freshman and theatre member at OHS, saw Pittman perform as both Roxie and
Cherry. Sullivan sees Pittman as a role model and inspiration.
“She is truly a star,” Sullivan said. “She inspires me because she is a triple threat on Broadway: being amazing at acting, singing, and dancing. It is so surreal that she has walked the halls of Oxford High School and danced at some of the studios I’ve danced at. She is proof that anything is possible if you keep working hard. Emma is the total package and that is what sets her apart. She was so encouraging and kind when I met her at the stage door of “Chicago” and when she spoke to the “Funny Girl” cast. I cannot wait to watch her continue to shine.”
Pittman is not only an inspiration, but a mentor to OHS theatre students, and the local theatre community is proud to watch Pittman live her dream.
“She is the example that it can be done,” Davenport said. “She is the role model of you have to have the love for wanting to just perform, period, and that it can be achieved. It was clear that she was beyond her years when she was in high school, she had the skill set, she had the awareness of herself and the awareness of her ability. You know she is thankful for what opportunities she has had, and we could not be more proud.”
