WATERVILLE — In its 125th year, the Waterville Opera House plans to bring two classic musicals, a comedy and a thriller to its storied stage while celebrating its own history.

A special announcement event was held Tuesday night, where Executive Director Michelle Sweet spoke about the opera house’s impact and legacy in the city.

“The diversity in our programming and our dedication to live theater enables us to provide our volunteer performers and audiences with regional theater production values at a community theater ticket price,” Sweet said. “Of that, I could not be more proud.”

The season is set to open with “The Importance of Being Earnest” (Jan. 22-31). This Oscar Wilde comedy is even older than the opera house, and tells the story of two men who weave themselves a complicated web of lies, leading to mistaken identities, secret entanglements and plenty of confusion.

Legend has it that the play was the very first to be performed on the Waterville Opera House stage, according to Sweet.

Sweet said she’s received countless requests for “Les Misérables” (April 16-25) over the years, but always felt such a demanding show was out of reach for the opera house’s relatively small community. Now, the Colby College theater and music departments will collaborate with the opera house on this musical about a former prisoner dodging a police inspector while building a new life in a time of great poverty and unrest.

“Dial M for Murder” (Aug. 27-Sept. 5), inspired an Alfred Hitchcock movie, has a long history in the theater. In this thriller full of blackmail and passion, a man seeks revenge on his cheating wife. Sweet said an updated version of the play is planned for late summer.

“Annie” (Nov. 12-28) is slated as the final production of the season. The musical about a young orphan searching for her parents in an unexpectedly glamorous New York City will be celebrating its 50th anniversary on the stage. Sweet said “Annie” was the first musical she worked on as opera house staff in 2017.

At Tuesday’s event, Sweet also announced a fundraising campaign to help cover the cost of updating technology and equipment. The first phase of the campaign has an $800,000 fundraising goal, of which Sweet said 30% has already been raised.

Season passes are on sale, and audience members get a 20% discount if they reserve tickets to all four shows at once.