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Letter to the editor

A quite hefty 'Oliver!'

By BILL COATS
Published July 20, 2007

The orphanage is filled beyond capacity. Gruel must be rationed.

If times seem bleak, it's only a facade for the youthful joy reigning this summer within the New Tampa Players.

Next Friday, when the Players open eight performances of Oliver!, orphans will pour onto the stage from all directions. After complaining about the gruel, all 36 will fill the University Area Community Center with their anthem of Food, Glorious Food.

Director Dennis Duggan isn't complaining, but this isn't exactly what he envisioned.

As Duggan planned his cast, he called for 32 children - 20 orphans and 12 pickpockets. Then he opened auditions in May and more than 130 people showed up. Duggan and several assistants watched and listened until they were glassy-eyed.

Then Duggan, a burly former policeman, sat to make his choices. Each applicant had filled out a form. Stapled to each form was the photo of a cute, hopeful face.

"When I see the faces, it's like, 'Okay, okay, okay,' " he recalled.

By the time Duggan was finished, his kid quotient had nearly doubled to 35 orphans and 20 pickpockets.

Except he wasn't finished.

Patina Walker, a Hunter's Green mom, won a spot in the adult chorus. Rehearsals began, children swarming. Walker immediately thought about her tiny, fidgety 4-year-old, Haley.

"I saw the other little kids, and I said, 'She could be an orphan,' " Walker said.

She approached Duggan.

"Okay," he said.

Producer Jenine Morehouse said the big crowd has worked together well.

"People say, 'You've got a cast of almost 80 people. You must be pulling your hair out.' But it's been a blast."

'Their moment'

Duggan, 50, has been a theater buff since high school, and has performed or directed with Temple Terrace's Masque Community Theater, the Carrollwood Players and other troupes. The older Duggan has become, the more devoted he has become to working with youth.

In the 1990s, when the Masque asked Duggan to direct The Wizard of Oz, he added a condition: no cast member older than 18. The Masque agreed and has been staging youth-only productions since. Duggan spent three years as the troupe's youth director.

Duggan is splitting his time between theater and football. He is head coach in the fledgling football program at Tampa Bay Christian Academy.

Emily Morehouse, whom Duggan chose to play the Artful Dodger, has known him since she was 4, when Duggan played the Cowardly Lion in a Masque production of Wizard. Emily was a munchkin. Last summer, at 15, Emily played Dorothy. Duggan returned as the lion.

As a director, Duggan finds a way for each child to step into the limelight, such as dancing next to a soloist, Emily said. In Oliver!, the smallest boy gets to stomp on the foot of the orphanage boss. In Wizard, munchkin Emily popped out of an egg.

"He just makes sure that they all get to have their moment," she said.

In Oliver!, Duggan's assistant director is 20-year-old C.J. Eversoll. His choreographer is 18-year-old Kelsey Willette, who must dash away to college after opening night.

"If they have talent, I don't care how old they are," Duggan said.

Born to perform

Oliver himself will be played by 8-year-old Owen Teague of Temple Terrace, who already has played several lead roles in productions at his school, MacFarlane Park School for International Studies, and in community theaters around the Tampa Bay area.

Owen, a precocious blond, has been working to memorize lines, songs and footwork.

"It's a lot harder than I thought it was," he said.

But Owen loves Duggan. "He's really funny," Owen said. "He tells us exactly what he wants."

Duggan returns the compliment. "Every time Owen comes on stage, he lights up the stage."

"It's just something he enjoys," said Owen's mom, Gail Teague. "He doesn't have any brothers and sisters. When he gets out there into community theater, he's just playing with other girls and boys and people and having a good time. It's all a big family."

Speaking of family, the challenging role of 60-year-old Fagin fell to Duggan's 22-year-old son, Justin, after an older adult backed out. The elder Duggan thought his son was too young, but other organizers talked him into it.

"He's a ham," said the father. "I don't know where he gets it."

Bill Coats can be reached at 813 269-5309 or coats@sptimes.com.

IF YOU GO

'Oliver!'

Where: The New Tampa Players will perform Oliver! at the University Area Community Center, 14013 N 22nd St.

When: Shows are at 8 p.m. July 27 and 28 and Aug. 3 and 4, at 2 p.m. July 28 and Aug. 4, and 3 p.m. July 29 and Aug. 5.

Tickets: Order by phone or through the Players' Web site, newtampaplayers.com. They cost $14 for adults, $12 for seniors and children, and $10 for groups of 10 or more.

Information: Call the Players at (813) 386-6687 or visit the Web site.

[Last modified July 19, 2007, 08:04:05]