TSA's Oliver! Show to Assist Beach House
With less than two weeks to go, Toledo School for the Arts is anxiously awaiting sell-out for their highly anticipated annual fall musical. After last year’s success with the pop-culture smash Legally Blonde, TSA decided to go in a radically different direction. The school returns back to the roots of theater with an October 3rd through 6th production of the classic Oliver! The Musical. Originally presented in West End London in 1960, the show is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic Oliver Twist, chronicling an orphan who runs away from the orphanage and hooks up with a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor.
TSA’s twist on Oliver! comes in the form of charity. The themes of children without homes running through this production struck a chord in the hearts of many a student cast member, as well as producer and TSA Artistic Director David Saygers. In an effort to use TSA’s audience gathering power for good, the team decided to source donations for local shelter, Beach House, at each of the four shows. Those attending the show are encouraged to spare a few dollars, collected at the end of each performance by cast members and other involved students.
Founded in 1921, Toledo’s Beach House Family Shelter is the only local shelter to house both single women and families. Over 200 homeless are served each year- provided a safe, sober and secure emergency shelter staffed at all hours, 365 days per year. Children represent nearly half of the residents of Beach House, consistent with a sad yet staggering national trend of homelessness among the under 18 set increasing by 60% over the past four years.
TSA felt the need to help on a number of levels, but as an educational institution, when Beach House executive Tammy Holder explained that only 25% of homeless in Ohio graduate high school, struggling with twice the rate of learning disabilities, three times the rate of emotional/behavioral problems, and four times the rate of delayed development (as compared to housed peers), Saygers and the students felt absolutely compelled to act.
The public has four opportunities to see Oliver!, and is urged at those shows to consider a gift to Beach House. All shows run at Owens Community College Center for Fine & Performing Arts (30335 Oregon Road, Perrysburg, OH 43551) with ticket prices running $14 for adults and $8 for students/seniors. Tickets can be purchased by calling 419.246.8732x226. Show offerings are:
Thursday, October 3rd at 7:00pm
Friday, October 4th at 7:00pm
Saturday, October 5th at 7:00pm
Sunday, October 6th at 2:30pm
TSA is thankful for the support of Oliver! sponsors Theater League and The Blade.
Oliver! Show Credits:
Music, Lyrics and Book by Lionel Bart. Licensed by Arrangement with Oliver Productions, Ltd. and Oliver Promotions, Ltd.
CONTACTS:
Letha Ferguson, TSA Assistant Artistic Director | [email protected]
Lindsay Williams, TSA Communications Manager | [email protected]
Press Release Contact Name: Lindsay
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Press Release Contact Phone: 4192468732
Organization Name: Toledo School for the Arts
Website or Link: www.ts4arts.org
Organization Address: 333 14th Street, Toledo, 43604