ATMTC to Present Oliver! at Round House Theatre

Directed by Joseph Ritsch, with musical direction by William Yanesh, and choreography by Helen Hayes Award Nominee Rachel Leigh Dolan, this steampunk-inspired OLIVER! features an extraordinary team of Helen Hayes Award Recognized Washington, D.C. performers and Adventure Theatre MTC veterans, accompanied by a chamber orchestra. Ticket information is available on Adventure Theatre MTC's website and box office, www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org or by calling 301-634-2270.

The 1968 film won five Oscars following three Tony Award wins for the 1963 original musical including Best Original Score for the joyful music by Lionel Bart, including "Consider Yourself," "You've Got To Pick a Pocket or Two," "Oom-Pah-Pah!" and the exuberant "Food Glorious Food." The New York Times says OLIVER! "is designed to leave a warm feeling, one reason for its longstanding success."

"OLIVER! is an ambitious, but exciting project for us," says Michael J. Bobbitt, Producing Artistic Director of Adventure Theatre MTC. "Adventure Theatre MTC has long been known for its one-act, youth-oriented professional shows in Glen Echo Park, but OLIVER! presents a leap of faith for both our family audiences and the theatre industry that ATMTC can produce the same award winning magic in a full-length, two-act professional production."

A young orphan meets a cheeky pickpocket on the streets of 1853 London who shows him a whole new way of life. True to Charles Dickens twists, Oliver stumbles upon a gentleman by chance who might just hold the key to his mysterious past.

Helen Hayes Award Recognized Rick Hammerly and Felicia Curry join the cast of seasoned Washington, D.C. actors Melynda Burdette, Sean Elias, Elise Kowalick, Kyle Louviere, Jennie Lutz Danny Pushkin, Melrose Pyne, Keith Richards, Greg Twomey, Rick Westerkamp, and Marni Ratner Whalen. Leading the cast of young professionals is Franco Cabanas and ATMTC veteran Jake Foster, joined by Sam Cornbrooks, Kendall Jones, Josephine Matta, Elias Rodriguez, Donathan Arnold, John Ray, Charlotte "Lottie" Doughty, Arya Balian, Henry Niepoetter, Kevin Grieco, Taylor Rand, and Nadia Gaylin.

Joseph Ritsch, Producing Artistic Director of Rep Stage, speaks to the heart this production, "As a director I always ask, why this play now? Why OLIVER! now? Of course it's never a bad thing to revisit an award winning classic that has been moving audiences for fifty-five years, but what insights does this musical adaptation of Dickens' Victorian London have for us in our modern times? I was so taken by Oliver's continual ability to find the joy in life even in the most dire of circumstances. There is a light in this young man that shines bright no matter how dark his world gets. There is something so beautifully hopeful in that, and in today's complicated world of 2015, such hope is indeed a welcomed necessity."

Press performance for OLIVER! is July 26 at 7pm. Tickets are $35 for students and $45 for adults and can be purchased on Adventure Theatre MTC's website, www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org or by calling the box office, 301-634-2270. All performances will take place at Round House Theatre in Bethesda, MD.