Windsor High School students will put on a production of the coming-of-age musical, “Oliver!,” with performances tonight through Saturday, Feb. 24-26.
Shows will be held at 7 p.m. each night, and a sensory friendly matinee performance will be at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The shows will be held in the auditorium at Windsor High, 6208 Hwy. 61-67, in Imperial. Admission is $5 for the 7 p.m. performances. There’s no charge to attend the sensory friendly performance, which is designed for those sensitive to loud noises or other sensory issues.
“The last two years, we did more modern musicals,” said director Lisa Honz, a Windsor High French teacher. “I like to go back and forth and have a class present both (traditional and modern musicals).”
“Oliver!,” based on the Charles Dickens’ novel, centers around an orphan boy who falls in with a group of pickpockets.
Honz said the musical holds a special place in her heart.
“When I was a little girl, I saw ‘Oliver!’ at the Muny, and Vincent Price played Fagin,” she said. “If people are familiar with the story of Oliver Twist, there is just a great plot twist.”
Windsor High senior Rachel Hannel Leech, who will play Oliver in the Windsor production, said she played a male character last year in the school’s production of “We Will Rock You.”
“It’s not really more challenging to play Oliver,” she said. “Oliver is a young boy, so he sings at a higher register.”
Leech said she enjoys participating in “Oliver!”
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “We try to interact with the audience. At one point, I hide behind a chair in the auditorium and a couple of us walk through the audience.”
Ethan Meece, a junior, plays Fagin, one of the villains.
“He just looked like a fun character,” Meece said. “He’s old and I feel I can pull off that look. He’s the leader of a bunch of bandits. I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Honz said people will recognize the songs from “Oliver!”
“A lot of people know the line, ‘Please, sir, I want some more,’” she said. “That leads to the song ‘Food, Glorious Food.’
“Other songs they may know are ‘Consider Yourself’ and ‘As Long As He Needs Me.’”
The rest of the cast includes seniors Amaya Hill and Nikki Garrett; juniors Alayna McCulley, Joe Bulmahn, Demetrios Dubis, Emily Weidner, William Glanert, Amelia Evans, Ridge Robinson, James Weidner, Joey Cusi, Matilda Kramer and Lindsay Schneider; sophomores Katie Boyster, Lily Harrison, Griffin Graves, Payton Brown and Wyatt Graham; and freshmen Kendra Butler, Blane Johnson, Beverly Miloscia and Sarah Winters.
Ellen Mueller, a Windsor Elementary second-grade teacher, is the musical director for the show.
“This is our 13th musical together,” Honz said.
Other faculty, retired staff and alumni helping with the production include Deanna Pahlmann, Robyn Hartley, Liska Hromnak, Julie Schubert and Jody Buchanan, as well as a number of parent volunteers, Honz said.
Tickets may be purchased at the door or through showtix4u.com/events/whsmusicals.