Oliver!, First Musical in Years, Takes Stage at Farmington High School

Farmington High School has an award-winning music department. And an accomplished Drama Club. Rarely have the two taken the stage together, but next week, for the musical Oliver! they will.

“We kept asking, ‘Can we do a musical?’” said Josh Rosenfield, a junior, from a seat in the auditorium where practice was going on. “It never really seemed feasible. It was like one of those things you ask your mom and you know you’re never going to get it.”

Thanks to Tracy Kane, an English and theater teacher who previously staged The Diary of Anne Frank and The Laramie Project at the school, the students got their wish.

“Miss Kane was fighting to have a musical,” said senior Stephanie Schloss, the play’s stage manager.

The decision has brought together a cast of talented young people and given them a chance to perform beyond their comfort zone.

“It has attracted a whole new bunch of kids,” Ziggy Schulting said.

Rosenfield agreed, saying, “I think it’s good so many people have come in because you get that big, wide range of talent.”

Oliver!, a British musical by Lionel Bart, is based on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. In it, a young orphan, Oliver, is cast out of the workhouse for requesting more food and sold to an undertaker. They mistreat him and he escapes, only to find his way into a gang of pickpockets. The innocent young boy finds trouble with them, trouble with some adults, and trouble with the law. Eventually his identity is revealed and, after some struggles, is united with his grandfather.

The Farmington High School production stars Brooke Tomlinson as Oliver. Why a girl to play a young boy?

“Brooke is just fantastic. Oliver is supposed to be a young kid. Brooke honestly was just perfect for the role,” Schloss said.

The appeal of the story brought a wide range of kids, though.

“It’s really interesting because different people in the show have different specialties, like Ariel [Marrero] is a really good dancer. She does a back handspring. And Jesse Chen stands on his head,” Schloss said.

The talent is not all on the kids’ side. For the production, Band Director Tom Johnston will lead an orchestra composed of his finest students, former students and student teachers.

Teachers Leslie Imse and Christen Hernandez coached the kids on vocal production, while Ken O’Brien heads up the show. O’Brien is a special education teacher in Meriden and a director with Oddfellows Playhouse.

The kids got some star-quality dancing instruction from choreographer Melissa Chasse, a dance instructor with the Hartt School Community Division and has performed for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mickey Mouse Club, The Babysitter's Club and numerous commercials.

A speech coach helped the young actors refine their British accents, both cockney and traditional British, so each could accurately portray his social standing through dialect.

The rehearsals were delayed by snow days, but after a solid week of practice over February vacation, the kids are ready to take the stage March 18, 19 and 20 at Farmington High School.

The Friday and Saturday performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday performance will be at 2:30 p.m. To get tickets, visit www.showtix4u.com. The show is expected to sell out.