Sumter Players to present 'Oliver!' at Rylander Theatre

By Jackson Carlstrom, Editor-In-Chief

Sumter Players, Americus’ local community theatre organization, is currently working on their next production for their 2022-23 season, ‘Oliver!’ The overarching theme of Sumter Player’s 2022-23 season is “Exploring the Mystery of Fate,” and ‘Oliver!’ will continue to explore that topic even further.

‘Oliver!’, written by Lionel Bart, is a coming-of-age musical that is based on Charles Dickens’ famous novel Oliver Twist. The musical transports audiences to London in the 1830s and follows a young orphan named Oliver who, while searching for community, finds himself falsely accused of a theft he did not commit. The musical made its debut in England in 1960 and eventually made its way to the United States on Broadway in 1963, where it received 10 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. Since then, it has seen several revivals in the United States and England, and even a film adaptation in 1968 that won Best Picture at the Oscars.

The cast of ‘Oliver!’ rehearses a few weeks before opening night.

Photo by Jackson Carlstrom.

“Audiences will get to hear some beautiful singing, some very lively and fun dancing, and a group of about 50 people having the time of their lives on stage,” Irmgard Schopen-Davis, director of the musical, said. “Our rehearsals have been so much fun. We’ve laughed, we’ve sang, and we’ve really enjoyed getting to know each other. It’s going to be a fun evening’s entertainment.”

‘Oliver!’ will be open to audiences from March 2-5 at the Rylander Theatre. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances are at 7:00 PM, and the Sunday performance is at 2:30 PM. Tickets can be purchased on Rylander Theatre’s website or at the box office before the show.

The cast of ‘Oliver!’ rehearsing.

Photo by Jackson Carlstrom.