Lee Theater to Present "Oliver" this Weekend
from the Lee Theater's Facebook. "Oliver" is a an adaption of Charles Dickson's "Oliver Twist."
Lee University Theatre will conclude its 2016-17 season with the production of Lionel Bart’s “Oliver!”
Performances will take place on Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee on Sunday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m.
The following weekend, April 6-8, performances will be at 7:30 p.m. nightly. All shows will be held in Lee’s Dixon Center Auditorium, according to a media release.
Tickets are sold at the Communications Arts Box office Monday – Friday, 3-6 p.m., and one hour prior to curtain time at the Dixon Center Box Office. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children and seniors.
The award-winning musical adaptation of Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” springs to life with some of the most memorable characters and songs to ever hit the stage. The musical follows the young orphan boy through London and its world of theft and violence with in search of a home, a family and love.
“We are very excited about presenting such a well-loved musical,” said Daniel Buck, assistant professor of theatre at Lee and director of the production. “There are over 100 people that have had a hand in making this production a reality, and it’s been thrilling to see such a concerted effort toward excellence.”
According to a press release there are 23 Lee students cast in the production. The main character, Oliver, is played by two children from the Bradley Country community – Slate Patterson, a student at North Lee Elementary, and Isaac Buck, a student at Lake Forest Middle School. Twenty children from the community will also appear in the opening scene of the play.
Chelsea Boelter, senior theatre student and stagecraft teaching assistant, described how the set reflects the dimensions of incorporating children into the production.
“The set is as filled with child-like amusement as the cast is,” Boelter said. “It is heavily reminiscent of a playground – complete with angles, ramps and ropes – that brings the youth of the show into a visible context.”
Additionally, a 15-piece orchestra arranged by Lee faculty Drs. Ron and Chery Brendel, musical directors of the production, will perform in the musical.
For more information, call 423-614-8350, visit www.leeuniversity.edu/theatre/, or email theatre@leeuniversity.edu. Fans are encouraged to follow Lee University Theatre on Facebook.
