Audiences will be asking for seconds when Oliver Twist finds a home on the Max Cameron Theatre stage this weekend.
Brooks Secondary School is proudly presenting four evening performances of its version of Oliver!
“It’s not a review of Oliver!, it’s the actual Broadway musical,” said Brooks vice-principal Shannon Behan.
The musical, based on Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist, tells the well-known story of a young runaway orphan’s search for family and love.
Along his journey Oliver, played by Saverio Colasanto, meets a variety of Dickens’ memorable characters played by 25 students in various roles. The orphans in the institution Oliver escapes from are played by Henderson Elementary School and homeschool students who serve also as a chorus for the musical.
Behan is directing the show and has been working on the students’ acting skills, which she said has been easy with “the level of talent youth have here. These kids are so talented. They come so skilled. In this town there are so many opportunities to help develop the students.”
Sarah Barton-Bridges has been working with the students on the production’s choreography and music director Roy Carson has been developing the students’ singing.
Behan said students have been working hard since the end of January to prepare the show. “The students have been practicing every day since then pretty much,” she said.
For the last four Sundays students have been coming in for practice as well. “Polishing is a key word here,” she added.
For every student who is performing on stage, Behan has involved many others with tasks to prepare the show from the design and construction of sets and props to the selling of tickets. “One of my goals when I took this on was to involve as many students as possible from the school.”
The art classes have been working on a lot of the set pieces, the media design class has been working on the programs and other graphic design items that are needed. Other students will help out as ushers or by selling tickets or handing out posters, she said.
“It’s like weaving a tapestry,” said Behan. “You’ve got all these skills and the ultimate vision is that it all meshes together into a show.”
Four performances of Oliver! are planned. Opening night is Friday, May 10 followed by shows on Saturday, May 11, Thursday, May 16 and Friday, May 17. All performances begin at 7 pm at the Max. The show’s run time is about 90 minutes. Tickets are $10 and are available at the high school’s main office. For information readers can call Brooks at 604.483.3171.
