SCHOOLS: Curtain call

Students get ready for spring musical.

By: Sarah Winkelman
   After months of rehearsal, the cast of "Oliver!" is ready to take the stage.
   This year’s fifth-grade musical involves a cast of more than 60 students. Music teacher Sarah Stoloff, who provides the direction for the musical, said the production will take place today (Thursday) and Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Crossroads North Middle School.
   "We’ve been practicing since February," Ms. Stoloff said. "The fifth grade does a musical every spring that involves the vast majority of the class. Everyone who auditions gets a role of some sort."
   The musical is the story of an orphan named Oliver who lives in a workhouse where he is underfed. He is sold to the local undertaker after he dares to ask for a second helping of gruel. There he is mistreated until he finally escapes, after which he is picked up by the Artful Dodger in a train station and sent to the house of Fagin, a criminal who encourages young orphans living on the street to pick pockets in return for room and board. Soon after, Oliver is wrongly accused of stealing from Mr. Brownlow, who turns out to be his uncle.
   "Of course, the musical has a happy ending with Oliver and his uncle being reunited," Ms. Stoloff said. "They all live happily ever after."
   Ms. Stoloff said the students have been rehearsing three days a week before school, running through different scenes each day.
   "The students were very involved in this production," she said. "They helped a lot with the backstage stuff, scenery too. It was a group effort."
   Not only are the students involved, but the teachers are as well. Many of them will play street vendors for the musical’s "Who Will Buy?" number.
   The students involved in the production have more than just a passing interest in the theater. Fifth-graders Danielle DeGroff, Kayla Noll and Samantha Satnick said they have been acting in local plays and plan to continue their acting careers well after the curtain has closed on "Oliver!"
   "We love the theater," they said. "It is so much fun to try out and get a part."
   In the musical, Danielle plays a variety of characters, most notably Charlotte, a girl who works as a pickpocket for Fagin. For the Friday performance she plays five separate parts: an orphan, part of a trio that sings the song "It’s a Fine Life," two street urchins and Charlotte.
   "The hardest part is remembering who I am," she said. "And all the costume changes are hard. I have to change quickly and sometimes I have to wear layers of clothes."
   Kayla said she plays Mrs. Sowerberry, the undertaker’s wife. Oliver is sold to Mrs. Sowerberry’s husband, who uses him as a funeral assistant.
   "It’s hard to get into character sometimes because Mrs. Sowerberry is so mean," Kayla said.
   Samantha said she also has a hard time getting into character, which, in her case, is a boy. She plays the Artful Dodger, a 14-year-old boy.
   "It’s hard because I don’t have anyone to really look to for help on how to be not only a boy but an older boy," she said.
   The girls also said their class has a love of singing, which is good because "Oliver!" has 13 songs, including "Pick a Pocket," "Food, Glorious Food," "Consider Yourself" and "Be Back Soon."
   After months of hard work and anticipation, the girls are ready to see the fruits of their labor.
   "I’m just excited to put this on in front of our parents so they can see what we’ve been working so hard on," Danielle said.