Theater
Orphans and thieves
Matthew Brown (right, as Oliver) and Caden Waidyatilleka (as Artful Dodger) in Oliver!
Consider yourself at home. Consider yourself one of the family. Consider yourself lucky if you score tickets to the Hawaii Education of the Arts’ (HEARTS) production of Oliver! A keiki cast means a house full of aunties, uncles, sistahs, cousins, bruddahs, tutus, maddahs and faddahs but with eight performances, you might get lucky.
HEARTS, based at the Kailua Church of the Nazarene and run by Christian artists, is a nonprofit dedicated to providing Hawai’i’s kids a performing arts education. You know the curriculum: piano, singing, ‘ukulele, percussion, praise and worship bandÖand the mounting of a musical–no small feat. Successful past productions include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (which completely sold out last year), Honk Jr., You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The venue–Paliku Theatre–and Oliver!–with its score of hit songs–is a guaranteed worth-the-ticket-price experience.
To refresh your memory, the Lionel Bart musical is based on Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist; the movie Oliver! won five Oscars in 1968 including Best Picture; the Broadway production won three Tonys in the 1962-1963 season. Please, sir, you want some more.
Oliver, Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College campus, Thu 7/13 through Sat 7/22, Thu, Fri, Sat, 7pm & Fri matinees, 1pm. $15 & $20 evening performances; $10 matinees. 741-ARTS (2787)
