The Gallery Players Presents OLIVER!? 4/30-5/22

The Gallery Players proudly announces cast and creative team for the final production of its 44th season; Lionel Bart's Oliver!. Directed by The Gallery Players' Executive Director, Neal J. Freeman and produced by the theatre's Artistic Director Heather Siobhan Curran, Oliver! springs to life Saturday, April 30 and runs through Sunday, May 22, 2011.

As the orphan Oliver journeys from the workhouse to the slums of Victorian London, he encounters such colorful and iconic characters as the cunning Artful Dodger, the wily Fagin, and the menacing Bill Sykes. Lionel Bart's take on the famous Dickens novel Oliver Twist has become a musical theater classic with a score that includes such well-known songs as "Food, Glorious Food," "Where is Love?," "Consider Yourself," and "Who Will Buy?".

Led by Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson's River Alexander* as Oliver (Off Broadway: Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, Public Theater; Regional: A Christmas Story - The Musical, Seattle's 5th Avenue Theater; Caroline or Change, The Gallery Players) and Pearl Theatre Company's Dominic Cuskern* as Fagin (Broadway: Inherit the Wind, National Tour: Victor/Victoria), the cast of Oliver! is the largest ever assembled on The Gallery Players' stage.

Oliver! also features Conly Bashman, Tyler Bellmon, Stacie Bono* (Astoria Performing Arts Center: Children of Eden, Ragtime), Debra Thais Evans (Nat'l Tour: Hairspray; The Gallery Players: Thoroughly Modern Millie), Melissa Gonzalez, Nicholas Gonzalez, Zenovia Gonzalez, Stephanie Holser, Greg Horton* (OOB: With Glee, Prospect Theater Co; Singapore Mikado, Theater Ten Ten, 2006 NYITAward: Outstanding Actor; The Gallery Players: Reefer Madness, City of Angels), Leah Jennings, Yakov Klugman, Bill Krakauer, Tony Lance, Zev Lane, Audrey Heffernan Meyer*, Michael Mizwicki, Judy Molner, David Morales, Zac Mordechai, Asher Muldoon, Michael Padgett*, Hayley Richelson, Caroline Rosenblum*, Benjamin Schendler-Terry, Eric Stephenson and Jesse Turtz*. *denotes member, Actors Equity Association. This is an AEA approved showcase.

The Gallery Players' Executive Director Neal J. Freeman directs Oliver!, and the theater's Artistic Director Heather Siobhan Curran produces for The Gallery Players (2009 NYIT Award, Outstanding Production of a Musical: Like You Like It). Oliver! marks this team's third collaboration at The Gallery Players. ??The music director is Kevin Lawson (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Gallery Players), Oliver! is choreographed by Josie Bray. The Scenic Designer is Cory Rodriguez, the costume designer is Megan Q. Dudley, the Lighting Designer is Tracy Lynn Wertheimer, the Props Designer is Ashley Cavadas and the Fight Director is Diego Villada. Matt Remington is the Production Stage Manager, the Associate Producers are Hannah Mason and Judy Molner, the Assistant Director is Brian Letchworth and the Assistant Stage Managers are Andrew Blake, Laura Conatser and Jian Li. ??Oliver! opens Saturday, April 30, 2011 and continues Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm through Sunday, May 22, 2011.

Tickets to Oliver! at The Gallery Players are $18 for adults, $14 for Seniors & Children 12 and under. Individual tickets can be purchased by calling TheaterMania at (212) 352-3101, or online at www.galleryplayers.com. The Gallery Players is located at 199 14th St., between 4th and 5th Avenues in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Take the F Train to 4th Ave. or the R Train to 9th Street. By car: BQE to Hamilton Avenue to 14th Street.

A New York institution since 1967, The Gallery Players has served actors and audiences alike for more than 4 decades by showcasing burgeoning new talent and offering a home base for theater professionals. Its eclectic programming of intimate revivals and ambitious new work in inventive productions has earned it the reputation of "New York's Best Kept Secret." The Gallery Players is the recipient of the Off-Off Broadway Review's 2000 Award for Lifetime Achievement and was the recipient of New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical in 2007, 2008 & 2009 for their productions of Urinetown! the musical, Yank! A New Musical, and Like You Like It. Among its famous alumni are founding member Harvey Fierstein; Broadway regulars Nancy Anderson, Jeffry Denman and Diedre Goodwin; New York theater personality Seth Rudetsky and many others.

Oliver! marks the close of The Gallery Players' 44th main stage season. Season. The Gallery Players' summer celebration of new works continues with The 14th Annual Black Box New Play Festival, June 2 - 26th, 2011.

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