Throughout history, different types of art have been created by new societies. These arts, such as painting, dancing, and music, have brought people together through emotion and collaboration. This year, a number of students in Bear River High School’s Theatre Department have worked for many hours to create their fabulous version of Oliver! by Lionel Bart.
Lionel Bart’s Oliver! is based on Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist. Dickens wrote this book partially after his own life. When he was 12, his father went to a debtors’ prison, forcing the rest of his family to go and work in the workhouses for the poor. The story of Oliver Twist is about an orphan boy in England around the 1840s. Similar to Dickens, the story follows Oliver as he goes from a child labor workhouse to coffin making, to a thief in London. Each situation he finds himself in is quite terrible, however, Oliver is able to find the good side to each new situation. One student, Andi Farnsworth (a senior), expressed what she has learned from working on this show. “Situations, when it's abusive it's not good … but happiness is a mindset, not necessarily your situation, it can impact it a lot but being able to find the things that you're happy about and that you're grateful for is super important.” Farnsworth plays a character called The Artful Dodger. Dodger is the boy that finds Oliver when he reaches London. He takes Oliver under his wing and shows this new world to Oliver. Shortly after, Oliver meets many other characters, including Nancy. Nancy is played by Olyvia Richards (senior). She was raised in a similar situation to Oliver and Dodger. She often comes to visit because the group of thieves is the closest thing she has ever had to a family. Richards said that Nancy is unlike the many other roles she has done. “The other characters I've played there are mostly like silly goofy characters. This time, Nancy is serious,” she said. Richards also has done lots of prep work for her role. “I have done so much research on the time period…” she said, “Liljenquist [the director] also gave us a history lesson the first day too.” Allison Liljenquist, the director, has also done endless work to get this show to where it is. Liljenquist explained how when she chooses shows, she picks ones that will get people to come and watch, and ones that allow an opportunity for cast, crew and audience to learn something. For Oliver! specifically, she said, “I’ve done a lot of research… It’s been really, not humbling…humbling but in a bad way, how humans were treated, especially children… we’re not going to be executing kids the way that they did in the 1840s, but there are still very, very real ways that we dehumanize other people around us because of differences.” These students have put hours upon hours of work to get this show to where it is. The show opens on February 29th and runs to March 4th. Come support these incredibly hard working students and learn about hard, complicated topics in a live, onstage performance of Oliver! Photo Caption: Andi Farnsworth and Olyvia Richards rehearsing I’d Do Anything for Oliver! at their first dress rehearsal. Taken by Rebecca Hayden By Rebecca Hayden
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