The Young Artists Repertory Theatre Company, Inc., (YART) will present its annual summer musical, August 22, 23, and 24 at the Hull Theatre at Augusta Preperatory Day School, 285 Flowing Wells Road Lionel Bart's Oliver! will be Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm.
For the first time, this YART production will feature both adults and children. "We hope to introduce YART to an audience that might not be inclined to attend a 'youth' production," said John Greene, Artistic Director. Greene will be directing this production and also appearing as Fagin, the leader of a rag-tag gang of young pickpockets. Three Augusta Prep students will also be in this production loosely based on the book Oliver Twist. Caroline Catchpole is Nancy, Tripp Calloway is The Artful Dodger, and Adam Kronowski is Noah, the undertaker's apprentice. "I saw these three in a production at Augusta Prep and was impressed with their talent, Greene said. "Caroline has a voice that belies her age," he said, "I expect her performance of As Long As He Needs Me, to be a show-stopper.
In the title role is 11-year-old Zebulon Weeks, a member of YART's Actors Studio, and who appeared in last year's production of The Wizard of Oz. "Zeb does a great job in the role, and more importantly for me, sings Where Is Love? beautifully," Greene said.
Also in the cast will be Arthur Wilson as Mr. Bumble. Wilson is one of Georgia's Three Tenors along with Greene and Bart Black, who will be making a cameo appearance. "In casting this show, I encouraged parents of my YARTists to take roles," Greene said. Denise Cheeks Mundy will be appearing as the Widow Corney and her two children, Stephanie and Lauren, are in the chorus. Toni Tiedemann will be portraying Mrs. Bedwin and will share the stage with her daughter, Ashton, and niece, Brandi Slater. Gary Henning will be returning to the stage as the Mr. Sowerberry, and his real-life daughter, Samantha, will be playing the undertaker's daughter, Charlotte.
Actors Jenifer Grundy Howlett , Bob Rollins, and Keith Manasco - known for their work with The Augusta Players and other theatre companies - will be playing Mrs. Sowerberry, Mr. Brownlow and Bill Sykes, respectively. Sarah Huskey and Mason Spires, both Actors Studio students, are Bet and Charlie Bates.
The orchestra will be conducted by Musical Director Stacy Reynolds and choreography is by Peter Powlus. Both are well known for their work with The Augusta Players, the Fort Gordon Dinner Theater and the Augusta Ballet.
Tickets for the performances are available at the door (cash or check) and at www.yart.org (charge/debit cards only).
Oliver! was made into a very popular movie starring Ron Moody, who created the role of Fagin on the stage, Mark Lester as Oliver, and the late Jack Wild as The Artful Dodger.
