Pictures from Oliver!

Click here to see many photographs from Oliver!

Rehearsals for Oliver!" get underway

As the first rehearsal for "Oliver!" gets underway in Fiske Hall at the Universalist Church of West Hartford on Fern Street, director Susan Jane Stamme is standing in front of a large semi-circle of actors listening with reasonable attentiveness, except maybe for a few of the more fidgety boys.
Stamme told the assembled cast that it's going to be a good ensemble, with even most of the minor characters playing more than one role and probably getting a line or two besides.
All but two of the roles are cast -- apparently finding someone to play the evil Bill Sykes is a chore -- but things are coming together.
She said the stage show is "not the same" as the Oscar-winning musical that many people have seen on DVD. The scenes are a little different and there won't be as much dancing, of course.
Still, "the story's basically the same," Stamme said.
There's no getting around that the play takes place during "a very, very dark time in England" where the poverty is crippling. Ugly things happen.
But, Stamme said, the challenge is to capture the essence that underlies the tale -- "the grace, the light, the hope for better things. That's what this play is all about."


Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Lemondrops and raindrops

Auditions began today for this year's production of "Oliver!.'

Director Susan Jane Stamme had a couple of dozen eager actors on stage to sing about lemondrops falling from the sky -- and to try to catch them with their mouths open wide and their heads tilted back wildly.

It seemed that everyone had fun.

"If you want to be  in the play, you'll be in the play," Stamme told the prospective cast members, including many veterans of the UU Players and some new faces, too.

"This is not about looking for an opera star," Stamme said, just good singers with a feel for the stage.

Though we won't know who plays what for awhile yet, it's already clear that "Oliver!" is going to offer a standout cast for a classic musical.

If you want to audition, be at Fiske Hall at the Universalist Church of West Hartford on Tuesday evening. 

But in any case, plan on seeing the show in March. It'll be great.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Oliver! hits the stage in March 2009

The Universalist Players announce its spring production of Oliver!
We enthusiastically welcome back Susan Jane Stamm as Director. New players in third and fourth grade are invited to audition for the chorus. Returning children and adults may audition for principle roles.Anyone interested in auditioning for the role of Oliver should prepare aslow ballad to sing at the audition. *Auditions will be held on Sunday, Nov. 16th, 1-3 PM and Tuesday,Nov. 18th, 7-9PM, in Fiske Hall.
*Want to get involved behind the scenes? The Production Committee is
seeking new members. If you have any questions, please contact Sam Lanza,Gretchen Fountain, Amy Barr-Saxena or Lisa Smith-Horn.


Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

New blog to discuss church's plan to eliminate most music programs

Since I know I am not alone in my confusion about the seemingly inexplicable proposal to eliminate most of the music programs at our church, I set up a blog today to help facilitate discussion about the idea. Here’s the web address: http://westhartforduu.blogspot.com.

Anyone who would like to contribute posts to the blog – no matter what your position – is more than welcome to do it, as long as the tone is respectful to our shared community. Just send me whatever you’d like to post and I’ll post it. You can also add comments to any blog entry by clicking on the comments line at the end. I have to approve them before they will show up, though, so that I can make sure nothing is posted from spammers.

I’d love especially to hear from those of you have solid information about what’s been proposed and why. It’s easier to talk about a plan when we know for sure what it is.

My understanding is that we’re having a meeting in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sunday to discuss this between services. I’d strongly urge everyone who wants to preserve our music program to be there.

Thanks,

Steve Majerus-Collins

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Many new pictures on the uuplayers.org site

The troupe's website -- www.uuplayers.org -- has been updated to include lots of new photographs (and more) of the show. Check 'em out!

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Charlotte's Web poster

If you'd like to print off this poster and put it up somewhere, please do! Here's the link to download it.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.