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."
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